crashed!

hubbabubba09

just hit an old bmw.my car is fine its a punto,only the plate bashed,was in a line of traffic he stopped to let another car out i hit him,all his rusty metal bumper is bashed also above it and below the bumper bashed,its an 86 model bmw.he is gone to get quotes,help!

Dartz

With a ****box car like that, if it's as rusted as you said, it might be an insurance scam. Catch somebody following to close behind, jam on, cost them their NCB and git rid of the wreck.

The Law sees it like this...
You were following to close behind to stop in time... you caused the accident... you have to pay.

It ****ing sucks... but them's the brakes. Never trust a rusty car in traffic.

DannyBuoy

Help with what? You hit him from behind I presume? All you can do is hope the quotes are reasonable, remember the repair work needs only bring a car to the standard it was at before the accident so if he gets quotes for everything new and a top of the range paint job to the whole car then you may have a cause for discussion with him, otherwise you're relying on his mercy I think!
Depending on the cost you may be better off not to let it go to insurance. Of course if he's holding his neck since then it could get messy..

Santa Claus

Was the car in good condition like a vintage collector car or was it an old banger. If the car was in good nick then sourcing and fitting parts will be costly, if not then it's be a breakers yard for a new boot,bumper,etc.

Ring your insurance and let them know. tell them you haven't decided if you're going to pay cash or not yet but best to advise them in case you need to go through them.

hubbabubba09

fúckit,his car is a piece of **** pure rust bucket,but I was in the wrong so I suppose I have to cough up,dont seem to fair he gets a brand new back for his car though

Mr. Presentable

hubbabubba09 wrote: »

just hit an old bmw.my car is fine its a punto,only the plate bashed,was in a line of traffic he stopped to let another car out i hit him,all his rusty metal bumper is bashed also above it and below the bumper bashed,its an 86 model bmw.he is gone to get quotes,help!

An 86, eh? That makes it a classic car!

Wait and see what quotes he gets.

smash

he shouldn't get a brand new back of his car if his car wasn't in perfect condition to start with. He might just as you for a few hundred... pay it and walk away!

Santa Claus

steve06 wrote: »

he shouldn't get a brand new back of his car if his car wasn't in perfect condition to start with. He might just as you for a few hundred... pay it and walk away!

Shouldn't you get him to sign something also ? I was told before by an insurance company to get the other party to sign a letter stating they were accepting cash as full & final payment....the insurance company gave me the exact text to put in the letter over the phone.
just in case he decided to go to the gardai to complain that you had crashed into him without paying and you'd have proof to show you had paid !

smash

yea, that's the best way to do it.

felim

If you have comprehensive insurance, your company will be able to send an assessor to look at his car (and you can still pay out of your pocket and not affect your NCB), if his bumper is rusted to sh*t like you say, it'll be obvious that he can't get a new back for his car, a rear ending doesn't cause rust.

hubbabubba09

he says his car is a write off,it will cost €2000 to fix and he crash crowd told him the car isnt worth it,but he want s to keep it and have it repaired.btw,my bonnets is dented and I cannot open it,thought it was fine but on inspection when i got home its a little worse than i thought,so maybe i may have to go through insurance

zefer

That was a very quick quote he got...Seems bit suss to me

hobochris

hubbabubba09 wrote: »

he says his car is a write off,it will cost €2000 to fix and he crash crowd told him the car isnt worth it,but he want s to keep it and have it repaired.btw,my bonnets is dented and I cannot open it,thought it was fine but on inspection when i got home its a little worse than i thought,so maybe i may have to go through insurance

Id say going through insurance would be your best bet, He wont be able to chance his arm as much with them as they know the ins and outs of car repair probably a lot more then he does.

voxpop

Who did he get his quote off ?

2k is probably a figure he plucked out of his head - although sometimes, what seems like a small shunt can cause alot more damage than is visible.

I would tell him that at 2k your going to go through your insurance and that it will prob take a few months, by the time they send out an accessor and all. Offer to settle straight away for a grand - the guy will prob take the cash and never fix up his car.

If you do settle - get a document and have both parties sign it.


Btw if you throw an 86 bmw in the vrt calculator you get 2k back as the omsp - coincidence?

Gary ITR

voxpop wrote: »

Who did he get his quote off ?

2k is probably a figure he plucked out of his head - although sometimes, what seems like a small shunt can cause alot more damage than is visible.

I would tell him that at 2k your going to go through your insurance and that it will prob take a few months, by the time they send out an accessor and all. Offer to settle straight away for a grand - the guy will prob take the cash and never fix up his car.

If you do settle - get a document and have both parties sign it.


Btw if you throw an 86 bmw in the vrt calculator you get 2k back as the omsp - coincidence?

BMW what? The op doesn't say what car it is. For all we know it could be an E30 M3

voxpop

Onkle wrote: »

BMW what? The op doesn't say what car it is. For all we know it could be an E30 M3

I just put in a few(5 and 3 series) to get a rough idea - tbh by the the OP describes it, the car sound like a rust bucket. I think it pretty clear we are not talking about a classic of any sort

Abelloid

hobochris wrote: »

Id say going through insurance would be your best bet, He wont be able to chance his arm as much with them as they know the ins and outs of car repair probably a lot more then he does.

I agree. They'll probably scrap it.

Dartz

OP's getting scammed.

That's what it looks like. A car in that poor a condition wouldn't even be worth 2grand. If he wants it repaired, he should've bloody looked after it.

OP, what's the damage to your car? A stuck bonnet and a slight dent? Is it really light damage like you say? Take a photograph and post it. you really should've taken a photograph of his car as well.... it's why I always carry a cheap instant camera in the glove box)

There's no way you could do 2 grands worth of damage to a car, and only receive a slight dent in return, unless you've got a car made of solid steel, or his was crumbling tin-foil.

And if it's the second case, you might want to discuss as much with your insurance company/solicitor/whatever you do.

Gary ITR

Evidently it's a 316 E30..

OP left me a message. I'd does sound suss.

Offer to buy him this and you'll take his old one from him. You'd sell it for a few quid for parts. Or go through Insurance but you'll loose your NCD

Vikings

Onkle wrote: »

Offer to buy him this and you'll take his old one from him.

was just going to suggest that! Except sub in my own car instead of that one... it's on adverts OP

Don't even think of coughing up that kind of money on a repair job for him!

hubbabubba09

I dont know wha to do now he says he wants to keep the car and to have it fixed what option do I really have?
my bonnet isnt bad really needs to be straightened and a small dent bout 7 inches long u wouldnt even notice it really.

Abelloid

Insurance.

Santa Claus

I don't know what the OP messaged to Onkle to make him think it's suss, but Dartz you can't just jump to the conclusion that it's a scam.

2k might not be such a high figure for repairs....Imagine the hassle someone will have to go to trawling parts sites to source the bits for an 86 model, not as easy as picking up parts for a 04 mondeo or something like that.
If it was a total junker then it wouldn't have had an NCT so I wonder if the OP checked it's discs ?

It all really depends on the driver I suppose as to whether it's a scam or not, maybe it's an older guy who's owned it from new and wants to keep it precisely because of it's age as he'll get the cheap road tax in a few years. My local GP had an 82 merc that someone crashed into at night and he was raging when the insurance said it was an economic write off as he loved the car and kept it in great condition (not show condition but it was clean and well maintained).

Anyway as I said earlier, report it to insurance company whether you intend to go through them or nor. They'll often offer advice on how to deal with it yourself if you need it !

hubbabubba09

I suppose I will ring the insurance company,thanks for the advice.

PCPhoto

OP... he doesnt have a choice if he's saying that his car is a write off then his insurance company shouldnt/wouldnt allow him to drive a car that is not road worthy.

talk to your insurance company and find out from them what they think is best way forward - you may loose your "No Claims" .... or you might have found a scammer.

his garage or the place where he got the quote value his car at approx 2K ... which isnt the actual market value..... repair work might not even be needed ...its another dent in a car thats 20+ years old..... I've had it done to me and just said ..."ah forget it as long as no-one is hurt its alright " .... been bumped into due to someone in front of me suddenly deciding they want to turn right and hitting the brakes - I was paying attention but the guy behind me wasnt.... cost me a fair chunk to get fixed but it was an accident and accidents happen sometimes.

I think you need to get his car assessed by whomever your insurance company uses or get an independent assessor and then decide if you want to go down the road of insurance or pay for his repairs. I'm sure you would be able to locate parts online and bring them to a decent mechanic.

hubbabubba09

in fairness he seems like a fairly alright guy,he just wants it like it was,but I was wondering about that quote he got,crash repairs wanting to make a few bob I think,

Eoin

Dartz wrote: »

There's no way you could do 2 grands worth of damage to a car, and only receive a slight dent in return, unless you've got a car made of solid steel, or his was crumbling tin-foil.

The only thing about that is that plastic bumper skins can pop back into shape after a knock, hiding some damage behind it. So either way, it would be a good idea to get it looked at for piece of mind.

ji

Lads 2 grand is nothing when it come to body work on a car..

You crashed into him it dosent matter how **** his car is.
You pay, simple, your lucky he's not claiming for whiplash etc
Pay up quick before he has time to think about it...

kdevitt

Firstly - just because the car is a write off, it doesn't make in non-roadworthy. In this case its obviously uneconomical to repair based on the cars value.

Secondly - you hit him - and obviously smacked into him if your own bonnet can't be opened - 2k's worth of damage is very easily done - especially if a BMW approved garage have been quoting him. New chrome bumpers are expensive, as is a new rear panel - and on an E30 you need to drill out the spot welds and reweld the panel. Thats neglecting the fact that the rear well could be creased. He's perfectly entitled to have the car repaired at an approved garage of his choice. You can pay the garage directly though if you choose not to go through your insurance company.

Thirdly - the OMSP is 2000 because of the minimum VRT rate associated with the car, don't expect that to be the value that your insurance company will place on it. An 86 316i will be worth no more than 1k as far as the insurance are concerned, and thats likely to be all they pay out.

Go through your insurance - if the payout is small enough, you can cover it yourself and not lose your NCB. Then again, he may develop some whiplash!

If he actually is a decent bloke - then he'd more likely to be understanding if you're decent with him. And I have a spare bumper for that car at home he can have - need minor work.

hubbabubba09

insurance company closed,will ring first thing
mine isnt too bad can open it.Im just more concerned bout his.cheers for the offer of the bumper,I might put that too him

Dartz

Santa Claus wrote: »

I don't know what the OP messaged to Onkle to make him think it's suss, but Dartz you can't just jump to the conclusion that it's a scam.

I have a very low opinion of humanity. Assume everything's a scam, unless it's proved otherwise. The law in this case is too easy to abuse....