question about a slight touch!!

emeraldstar

ok well the other day I was driving and I slightly touched another car (I'm a learner driver and was turning right at a junction, when taking off I rolled back a little few inches first because I didn't accelerate quite enough and the other guy was edging past me to go left at the junction so he was very near) and took some of the paint off, on a very small area at the front of his car. The car owner rang up yesterday and told me it would cost 270 euro to fix....a little tiny bit of paint on a tiny 1992 car!!!! This seems over-priced to me....or am I wrong? What does anyone else think?


EDIT: is it entirely my fault? Surely he was partially at least in the wrong for not having kept a sufficient distance behind? It was only a few inches that I rolled back...

FX Meister

It costs the same to fix a paint scratch like that on a 1992 or 2002. Try http://www.carcraft.ie/ they will do it for between €100 and €150 and offer a mobile service. Offer that to him and say you will not pay €270. After all, he may have got the quote from a main dealer but will get it done cheaper and pocket the difference.

mike65

emeraldstar wrote:

EDIT: is it entirely my fault? Surely he was partially at least in the wrong for not having kept a sufficient distance behind? It was only a few inches that I rolled back...

As you were'nt in control of your car then you take the blame basicly. Do you have L plates displayed?

Mike.

Anan1

€270 is not a lot of money to repair a car. You have to remember too that this person will be without a car for the day. I'd just pay it on production of a receipt.

bazz26

€270, sounds like a fairly small panel or quarter panel has been resprayed to me. The panel has to be sanded, primed and resprayed. Add paint and labour then it doesn't sound too bad, it could have been alot worse.

I doubt a main dealer would quote that price. A fairly newish car would have cost alot more to repair.

emeraldstar

Well i think 270 is a lot for a little brush of paint. I am a jobless student though!!

Yes i have L-plates displayed...but do you really think it would be thought of as the car being out of my control??

My dad was with me in the car. Neither of us felt any sort of impact at all so it was simply a little touch. We had absolutely no indication that anything at all had happened until we saw the man get out of his car behind us.

I don't think he is without a car for the day it is being touched-up as he has another.

FX Meister

emeraldstar wrote:

but do you really think it would be thought of as the car being out of my control??

Your car rolled backwards and hit another car. Unless that's what you meant to do then you were not in control. Just pay the money and treat it as an expensive lesson.

Anan1

emeraldstar wrote:

Well i think 270 is a lot for a little brush of paint. I am a jobless student though!!

Unfortunately, it's a car not a fence we're talking about here! As Bazz explained, there's a bit of work in it.

emeraldstar wrote:

Yes i have L-plates displayed...but do you really think it would be thought of as the car being out of my control??

Well you rolled back into him, so yes, unfortunately.

emeraldstar wrote:

I don't think he is without a car for the day it is being touched-up as he has another.

He still needs to bring the car to the repair shop, get back, and do it all again to collect the car. The point I'm making is that he's being inconvenienced.

At the end of the day, and I'm not being mean here, you did damage his car. By the sounds of things he's doing you a favour, he could just go through your insurance. Just pay up, IMO.

curiosity

Hmmm, are you sure it was you that did the damage? A lot of people who own cars that age would be more easygoing about a small tip like that. I wouldn't expect someone to fork out for a bit of paint damage on mine (tis 13yrs old). Strictly speaking though you are at fault if it happened as you described it. Letting your car roll back at a junction would be seen as not having the car under control. If it was only a few inches, he must have been right up your tail, which was silly (or devious) on his behalf. Most drivers would allow a decent bit of space, even more so if it was an 'L' plate in front. We all had to learn sometime, ya know! Situations like turning right at a junction are tricky when you're learning.

emeraldstar

Yes the damage was done by my car, there is a very slight scratch on the back of mine (my dad's actually!!) also...unnoticeable really. But this guy said he's currently trying to sell his car so of course I understand why the scratch is v annoying for him!!

I'm not trying to fob the blame off onto someone else, i completely accept that I was at least partly, if not fully, responsible, but I do think that he was too near to me...."right up my tail" as curiosity said. My mom rang a friend of ours who is a guard, just to get his opinion, and he said from what she told him it sounded like 80% my fault, 20% his.

And yea turning right at a junction sucks, lol!! I do treat it as a lesson learned...albeit an expensive one!!

Anan1

He was certainly stupid to be that close to a learner, but I don't think that changes the fact that you rolled into him. One thing you'll learn is over time is that everything to do with cars is very expensive. I completely understand your feeling that €270 is a lot of money but, honestly, in the scale of bodywork repairs it's nothing. If it makes you feel any better, my first accident at age 19 cost IR30,000.;)

Big Balls

All I'll say to the OP is that I had the corner of the bumper on a brand new car repaired and reprayed last year for €490 - in Gerry Maguires, one of the most expensive places you can go to in Dublin.

He's ripping you off!!!

On a side note, have you heard of a handbrake?

emeraldstar

Big Balls wrote:

All I'll say to the OP is that I had the corner of the bumper on a brand new car repaired and reprayed last year for €490 - in Gerry Maguires, one of the most expensive places you can go to in Dublin.

He's ripping you off!!!

On a side note, have you heard of a handbrake?

I surely have!! But for some reason I just didn't use it at that point. Hindsight is a great thing really, isn't it?

We've asked him to take it to a garage that we know is good near us for a second opinion....so we'll have to wait and see!!

curiosity

emeraldstar wrote:

But this guy said he's currently trying to sell his car so of course I understand why the scratch is v annoying for him!!

How very handy for him. He claims he's selling so as not to come off as a p**k for insisting on the full whack. What is he driving? Now, if it's a decent set of wheels which would sell on its looks/image, I'd feel he was in the right to insist you made good the damage. But if its a typical 14 year old car, with a few bumps and dings, then he's being a bit of a fusspot. I'd bet if it was his money he wouldn't bother. He'd sell it as is as he wouldn't get the value of the repair back in most cars that age. If it was me (my cars only a year younger) I'd probably wave it off as long as the other person apologised. I might take €20 of them for a pint or two if they offered, I don't need the hassle or the bad karma. Good luck with the learning OP:) .

ninty9er

If it's cheap and you're learning offer to buy the car and you can at least have something ready for when you pass your test. The rules of the road would dictate that he shouldn't hev been that close and should have been able to see your rear tyres. Though I generally get as close as possible in heavy traffic unless it's an L or elderly driver in front (there must have been a completely different way of correctly operating a car 60 years ago - the old "swerve left if turning right" effect

ninty9er

I've just gone and done the same, but no damage done. I reversed into a neighbour's car when parking.

If there was no damage in this case i'd say yer man could be trying to squeez ye

kdevitt

emeraldstar wrote:

We've asked him to take it to a garage that we know is good near us for a second opinion....so we'll have to wait and see!!

You do realise you have no right to ask him to do this? He can take the car to whoever he wants. I'd pay the €270 or whatever (which isn't a ripoff) direct to the garage doing the work and put it down to experience. Thats more than likely a cash figure - if he puts it through your insurance it'll cost more I'd imagine.

As for whether his car is 14 years old or brand new, it doesn't really make a difference.

fletch

€270 sounds fairly reasonable to me....just pay it and have done with it

Baraboo

Check with your insurance company.Even if you do not use them for a claim They will give you advice as to the legality of the situation.

As far as I know a car has to leave a half car gap behind you when you stop. you should be able to see some of his tyres when you are stopped in traffic. This might not apply if the car is passing at an angle to you when you are turning left. Your insurance company should be able to clarify. It could be he was too close to you.

heggie

they should see your tyres, not u see theirs :rolleyes:

Laura Fitz06

did no one ever tell you never take the blame you should of told him to ring the gards his word against yours

Volvoboy

well its a crappy situation, tbh if the fella brought his 12 yo car to my garage and asked for it to be fixed he'd be laughed at, 270 is reasonable (on a 5 yo car) not worth while on a 12 yo car!! in saying that if it were a bently or a rolls i could understand, if you'd rather not sheel out 270 snots, get him to drive to a motor factors and get him to buy a nail varnish size touch up paint. then if he is still insisting that the job is not being done by a profesional pm me ad i'll do it for you (Free of charge)

blahblah06

emerald did this geezer go into the back of you ?

emeraldstar

kdevitt wrote:

You do realise you have no right to ask him to do this?

Well maybe, but its hardly infringing on HIS rights just to make a simple request of him. If I had scratched my own car and was going to get it re-touched I would obviously go with the lowest cost available. It is not out of the way to expect him to do the same seeing as it is coming out of my wallet....he would display a lot more decency by doing so.

emeraldstar

ninty9er wrote:

If it's cheap and you're learning offer to buy the car and you can at least have something ready for when you pass your test. The rules of the road would dictate that he shouldn't hev been that close and should have been able to see your rear tyres.

Lol this was my mom's suggestion too - better to pay 600euros for a whole car than 270 for a teeny dab of paint!! :)

HungryJoey

Do you have ANY idea what car it is ?

Hj

emeraldstar

Volvoboy wrote:

then if he is still insisting that the job is not being done by a profesional pm me ad i'll do it for you (Free of charge)

Volvoboy, thanks a million for that offer, but I think with being in Tipperary it would probably be too inconvenient...hell, he'd probably bill me for the petrol!!

emeraldstar

HungryJoey wrote:

Do you have ANY idea what car it is ?

Hj

sorry no!! I really am bad at cars....my dad was with me and he didn't even notice what it was either and he normally does look at car models. All I know is that it's small, black/navy and 1992. But it wasn't one that I would immediately recognise like a Micra, Golf, Ka or something. I'd say it could have been an older model...??

....I know that doesn't really tell you much!!

Volvoboy

just looking in your location thingy Tipp/dublin anywho offer is still there.

emeraldstar

Dublin September-May for college, back in Tipp for the summer just

Volvoboy

how big was the scatch?

index finger length or a few inches tbh tell him you talked to the guardi which you did and tell him the most reasonable suggestion would be a touch up, 270euro on a 12 yo car is realy realy realy realy realy realy realy realy realy realy realy (think i've made my point) silly.

Duckjob

Volvoboy wrote:

how big was the scatch?

index finger length or a few inches tbh tell him you talked to the guardi which you did and tell him the most reasonable suggestion would be a touch up, 270euro on a 12 yo car is realy realy realy realy realy realy realy realy realy realy realy (think i've made my point) silly.

Doesnt matter whether the car is 1 week old or 30 yrs old, the fact is the guy had his car damaged and the fault appears to be on the side of the OP, so he is entitled to have a proper job done to restore the car to its condition before the incident.

The OP has every right to try to bargain an agreement but unfortunately, it is down to the other guy and how reasonable he wants or doesn't want to be.

To the OP, €270 IMO doesn't sound unreasonable. Look at it this way, your driving will probably improve because of it.:)

Anan1

Laura Fitz06 wrote:

did no one ever tell you never take the blame you should of told him to ring the gards his word against yours

Are you suggesting that she should have lied to the Guards?

bogmanfan

Whole situation sucks, IMO. As a fellow learner the one thing that p**sses me off most about other drivers is this. There's a really steep hill leading up to my estate with traffic lights at the top. Every single time I'm stopped there, the car behind pulls right up on my bumper even though I have my L plates prominently displayed. I then panic, knowing that if I slip back even a couple of inches I'm going to hit them, and cut out. Honestly, they can see the L plates, why not leave a few feet between their car and mine? W***ers!
As for your situation OP, I'd tell the guy to p*ss off, he shouldn't have been that close to you in the first place.

Anan1

bogmanfan wrote:

As for your situation OP, I'd tell the guy to p*ss off, he shouldn't have been that close to you in the first place.

So he claims from her insurance? Very clever, bogmanfan, very clever.

Sizzler

Given the amount is relativley small I doubt if it would even pass by the insurance excess amount? Since the OP is a student best bet is to tell the guy you're skint and you can pay him €50 a month till the debt is paid off and see what he says then Take the sting out of it. He has fook all else options!

Anan1

Sizzler wrote:

Given the amount is relativley small I doubt if it would even pass by the insurance excess amount? Since the OP is a student best bet is to tell the guy you're skint and you can pay him €50 a month till the debt is paid off and see what he says then Take the sting out of it. He has fook all else options!

Yes he does. As I've just said, he can claim from her insurance. They will pay the full retail cost of the repair & replacement car, and will claim the excess back from the OP.

Kimbot

Actually if I remember rightly if someone runs into the back of you large or small they are at fault!!! Even tho you rolled back onto them there should be a distance between two cars to allow for that roll so it is their fault in 1 respect for getting so close in the first place!! I wouldn't pay out for something like that depending on the circumstances, i.e. there was not enough room for him to turn left and he hit my car, or even that he didn't allow room for the car on front to make room for their manouvere before he proceeded!!

Sizzler

Anan1 wrote:

Yes he does. As I've just said, he can claim from her insurance. They will pay the full retail cost of the repair & replacement car, and will claim the excess back from the OP.

Guy tried to claim off my insurance for a €200 scratch and the insurance company told him it was too small so go away and deal with me, which he did.
So before you jump the gun appreciate that every set of circumstances is different.Insurance companies arent arsed with half baked claims like this. If they were your premium would be €3k a year to help fund the 1000 assessors they would need.

Anyway, you cant just go and randomly claim off peoples insurance, the OP could say she "wasnt aware" of any damage after the incident in question and the insurance co would in all probability file it in B for bin.

Sizzler

jonny24ie wrote:

Actually if I remember rightly if someone runs into the back of you large or small they are at fault!!! Even tho you rolled back onto them there should be a distance between two cars to allow for that roll so it is their fault in 1 respect for getting so close in the first place!! I wouldn't pay out for something like that depending on the circumstances, i.e. there was not enough room for him to turn left and he hit my car, or even that he didn't allow room for the car on front to make room for their manouvere before he proceeded!!

Excellent point. The OP could say he drove into her. His word against hers.
If hes taking the p1ss on a claim then adopt the USA rulebook, countersue

mloc123

eh I don't see the problem here at all, €270 is nothing in terms of having a car sprayed.

It would cost the same if you had scrathed every inch of the panel or if you had put a tiny scratch on it. The entire panel will need to be sanded, primed, flattened, sprayed, laquered and wet sanded then polished.... €270 is a bargain imo.