Scratched car

bigfeller

Last night while parking I scratched a car next to me. Complete pain in the ass but the parking spaces are narrow and akward to get into.

I left a note on the window with my details and got a call back this morning.

I admitted responsibility and said I would pay to get the damage repaired. The owner wants to go to a main dealer to get it done. I have a mate who knows someone who runs a body shop and could get it done for about a third of the price. The guys who run this are supposed to be excellent and would do a perfect job.

My main issue (apart from the cost) is that the main dealer in question does not have a body shop so the work would be contracted out. So in essence I would be paying a main dealer for nothing!!

I'd prefer to get this done outside of insurance as my premium sucks as it is. So - apart from reasoning with the owner is there any other course I could take?

maidhc

bigfeller wrote:

Last night while parking I scratched a car next to me. Complete pain in the ass but the parking spaces are narrow and akward to get into.

I left a note on the window with my details and got a call back this morning.
- apart from reasoning with the owner is there any other course I could take?

Fair play to you for owning up! I have often been scratched and once got a massive dent from someone parking. Did they ever leave a note? Not at all.

You can reason quite easily with the car owner. I presume they don't have any of your details other than phone number so you can be quite firm and say you are giving x amount, which is fair, and not a penny more.

smash

I feel your pain. I left off my handbreak and my car rolled a few feet into another, I owned up and the guy brought the car to the garage he bought it from who don't even hold the franchise any more. Total cost.... 2,100 for new parts or 1,300 for repair - complete scam, it's only a dented bumper but they maintain that there are other parts damaged. His car is a 99, worth about 4k and I have to fork out 1300 now.

Kermitt

First of all Fair play to you for leaving your details, 90% of the people on the roads wouldn't. Secondly, I'm afraid the other motorist has the right to get their car fixed at a suitable garage of their choosing. It's of no benefit to them to screw you as they'll get no money from it so they are entitled to choose a place where they think the best repair will be carried out.

Wherever it is, if you're sorting it outside of insurance then make sure you pay the garage personally. otherwise you could get a wiseguy trying to cod you out of a few bob

bigfeller

At this stage I wish I was in the 90%!! :rolleyes: Would save me a fortune!

As the car is a bloody BMW I can see myself forking out a wad of cash. I don't mind paying for the repair - it was my fault so fairs fair. I just don't like the thought of getting ripped off over it.

Ah well - hopefully all will work out well. The right pain in the ass is I was hoping to sign up for charity rally in the next week - looks like that's put on hold!

maidhc

Kermitt wrote:

Secondly, I'm afraid the other motorist has the right to get their car fixed at a suitable garage of their choosing.

No they don't. They have a right to have the car fixed to the condition it was before any damage was caused to it. They cannot be unreasonable about it, e.g. fly in a bodyshop specialist from outer mongolia.

So long as the other party doesn't have any witnesses or insurance details you can afford to play hardball all you want.

bigfeller

maidhc wrote:

So long as the other party doesn't have any witnesses or insurance details you can afford to play hardball all you want.

They don't have my insurance details - but there's nothing to stop them reading them off the front of the vehicle! I don't want to play hard ball - just want to get it fixed at a fair price.

jhegarty

bigfeller wrote:

They don't have my insurance details - but there's nothing to stop them reading them off the front of the vehicle! I don't want to play hard ball - just want to get it fixed at a fair price.

ask them to get 3 quotes...and make sure you pay the garage directly....

bigfeller

From the phone call earlier on the owner sounds determined to go to a main dealer (most of which won't have an in house body shop) so those three quotes are bound to be high!

maidhc

bigfeller wrote:

From the phone call earlier on the owner sounds determined to go to a main dealer (most of which won't have an in house body shop) so those three quotes are bound to be high!

Say you also want a quote from a specialised bodyshop with a good reputation (such as carcraft or the like).

You must realise that from a legal POV the car owner is obliged to mitigate his damage, and this includes taking such reasonable steps as not going to the most expensive places on earth.

Can you not refuse to pay if the person is acting like this?

Skyuser

Just pay up what is on the receipt. The is no reason to cause hassle and stress to this person for what you done. I wouldn't want someone hassling me to go to some cheap dude.

maidhc

Skyuser wrote:

Just pay up what is on the receipt. The is no reason to cause hassle and stress to this person for what you done. I wouldn't want someone hassling me to go to some cheap dude.

The OP is being unbelievably reasonable here! It is the BMW driver is being obnoxious.

Hassle and stress is when you come out to your car and see a bang on the side that you have to pay to get repaired yourself.

colm_mcm

if someone crashed into my BMW, I'd want it to be repaired by the main dealer. If this guy's mate repaired it, I wouldn't want to be told in 2 years time, come trade-in time that the car was worth less because of a sub standard repair.
this mate might well do a better job than the main dealer, but I know I wouldn't be willing to take the risk.

BrianD3

It's understandable that the BMW owner would want to go to a main dealer. Now if it was my BMW I would go to a bodyshop that I know to be decent and trustworthy. However, most Joe Soaps aren't informed about good places to go for bodywork (or any other type of repairs or sevicing for that matter) . So they will automatically head to a main dealer for everything. They'll have none of this "my mate will fix that up no bother" stuff and who can blame them. There are far too many of "cute hoors" out there who will do a shoddy cheap job and can't be trusted.

smash

Kermitt wrote:

First of all Fair play to you for leaving your details, 90% of the people on the roads wouldn't. Secondly, I'm afraid the other motorist has the right to get their car fixed at a suitable garage of their choosing. It's of no benefit to them to screw you as they'll get no money from it so they are entitled to choose a place where they think the best repair will be carried out.

Wherever it is, if you're sorting it outside of insurance then make sure you pay the garage personally. otherwise you could get a wiseguy trying to cod you out of a few bob

I aint going through insurace because I'm not putting my no claims at risk over it, and he's asked me to drop a cheque into him.

faigs

colm_mcm wrote:

if someone crashed into my BMW, I'd want it to be repaired by the main dealer. If this guy's mate repaired it, I wouldn't want to be told in 2 years time, come trade-in time that the car was worth less because of a sub standard repair.
this mate might well do a better job than the main dealer, but I know I wouldn't be willing to take the risk.

How does this make sense if the BMW dealer doesn't do the job themselves? I know a couple of people who got scratches repaired in the same paintshop that all the dealers in town (Drogheda) use - the job is absolutely perfect and professionally done. You're just bypassing the middleman and getting the same job done for cheaper. They match the paint colour by computer and get it spot on with baking etc, years later you would never see the difference. The BMW driver obviously has more money than sense, he probably goes into the main dealer to get a lightbullb changed like the manuals tell you to.

OP, how about you find out where the BMW garage get their repairs done and you go directly to them for a quote?

delly

Regardless of what way you pay for it, you've done the right thing and it will come back to you.

About 3 months ago a guy in a Micra went into the back of my '05 golf. When i got out and saw his crumpled bonnet, wings and smashed headlights, I feared to look at my car. Surprise, surprise there was very lttle damage. Besides some scratchs and marks, the bumper had not budged which surprised me. I brought it to the McAllisters garage where the car was bought and they put it on a ramp. The guy showed me where the impact had gone under the bumper and bent in part of the bodywork, but this wasn't structural or visable.

End result was that the guy who hit me wanted to pay for the scratchs etc., but I just told him to leave it. I've had a few minor nudges myself which haven't resulted in anything, so it comes back to you.

bigfeller

faigs wrote:

OP, how about you find out where the BMW garage get their repairs done and you go directly to them for a quote?

I'm 90% sure the paintshop I am trying to get the work done is is the one that the local BMW garage use (not the one the car was purchased in). I've been told they do excellent work. I fully intend to return the car to the state it was in before this happened. I'm not looking to get a half assed job done. Fair's fair!

I just don't want to get ripped of in the process.

Borzoi

bigfeller wrote:

My main issue (apart from the cost) is that the main dealer in question does not have a body shop so the work would be contracted out. So in essence I would be paying a main dealer for nothing!!

I'd prefer to get this done outside of insurance as my premium sucks as it is. So - apart from reasoning with the owner is there any other course I could take?

If the BMW owner has always used the main dealer to service & maintain the car, then it's reasonable for him to expect you to pay main main dealer prices. But if he uses somebody else, then he's acting the maggot. Ask them.

BTW Fair play to you for your honesty!

BrianD3

faigs wrote:

The BMW driver obviously has more money than sense, he probably goes into the main dealer to get a lightbullb changed like the manuals tell you to.

That could well be the case! I know people who go to main dealers for everything from bulbs to tyres to windscreen wipers. As I said before, this is what ordinary Joes who are not car enthusiasts tend to do. I think they feel that main dealers are automatically competent and trustworthy and will "look after them" if that's where they bought the car. Had BMW man scraped his car himself he would probably head straight back to the garage he bought it off. He'd pay top whack for a job that could be done a lot cheaper and just as well by cutting out the dealer. But try telling him that.

Now he didn't scrape the car himself, someone else did. As it's not his money he's even less likely to want to shop around and become informed about the situation. He's not going to listen if the guy who scraped his car assures him that the job can be done cheaper elsewhere and that the main dealer will probably be subcontracting the work out anyway. Now if a neutral party or someone he trusts explains all this to him then he might change his mind.

conor_mc

I'd tell him to get a quote from his main dealer, and that you'll get a quote too. You'll meet him halfway unless he's prepared to be more reasonable.

If you're explaining to him that his main dealer won't even do the work themselves and he's choosing not to listen, then he should bear the extra cost of his ignorance.

You're being pretty fair in my opinion. It's a scratch, not a mangled bumper or something!

Skyuser

conor_mc wrote:

I'd tell him to get a quote from his main dealer, and that you'll get a quote too. You'll meet him halfway unless he's prepared to be more reasonable.

If you're explaining to him that his main dealer won't even do the work themselves and he's choosing not to listen, then he should bear the extra cost of his ignorance.

You're being pretty fair in my opinion. It's a scratch, not a mangled bumper or something!

There is no need for meeting halfway. He scratched the car, not the drivers fault if he can't park properly.

maidhc

Skyuser wrote:

There is no need for meeting halfway. He scratched the car, not the drivers fault if he can't park properly.

I think you have missed the point by a good one hundred yards.

Skyuser

maidhc wrote:

I think you have missed the point by a good one hundred yards.

Ya ya I get the whole 'he was so honest to leave his details' rubbish.

maidhc

Skyuser wrote:

Ya ya I get the whole 'he was so honest to leave his details' rubbish.

No, still at least 90 yards off.

The point is the amount of money the OP should pay. It isn't the BMW owners sole prerogative to decide this, he has to be reasonable.

If a perfect job can be done by a reputable company (say carcraft) for €100, he isnt automatically entitled to get a dealer who charges €1000..

Skyuser

Let the owner claim from his insurance then if he can't cough up.

JimmySmith

maidhc wrote:

If a perfect job can be done by a reputable company (say carcraft) for €100, he isnt automatically entitled to get a dealer who charges €1000..

Actually, he is entitled to it.
If the guy who did the damage disputes it, then the guy who owns the car that was damaged just has to go through insurance.
The Insurance company will then assess the quote and pay up.
I have heard assessors grumble about the price of a quote but never ever heard of one that objected to it.