fender bender ;( what next?

AndyTheDude

I scratched a car in a car park today while pulling out of the parking space. I waited for the owner, we exchanged phone numbers and now I'm waiting for a call. The damage is very light as you can see in the pictures, just a minor scratch to the front bumper, so I wouldn't like to go through the insurance. What's the procedure here in Ireland? And does anyone here have an idea how much it's going to cost to fix it? The car is a '07 Mazda 5.

djimi

He gets a quote for repairs, and if youre happy youre not being taken for a ride then you give him the money to get the work done, along with a signed document from him to say that you have paid up and the matter is closed.

MarkR

Ask the other driver to get a couple of quotes from local panel beaters. That doesn't look bad, but to fix it properly the whole bumper would need to be resprayed.

If you have a panel beater you trust, you can get the other guy to get a quote of them too, but you can't make them choose your one!

Once you get some quotes, you'll have an idea of how much the job will roughly be, and give the money to the other driver.

I think in any incident when property (the car) is damaged, you are required to notify the gardai. Also, look into getting a receipt from the other driver saying something along the lines of fully covering the cost of repair to vehicle / waiving any future claims. Don't know if that would hold up, but no harm to have.

Edit : Looks like djimi are thinking the same!

thebiglad

I am no panel beater but I had similar damage to a rear bumper of my car (reversed into a wall!) and got a Smart repair for €100 by these people.

http://www.thesmartrepaircentre.ie/Contact/

Doubtless many other Smart repair options available - definitely worth getting their opinion.

By the way my car is Metallic Black too and repair is totally invisible.

Professey Chin

Fine parking job he did going by that line on the ground -_-

MickySticks

The Great Chinholio wrote: »

Fine parking job he did going by that line on the ground -_-

Who said it was a he?

gyppo

The Great Chinholio wrote: »

Fine parking job he did going by that line on the ground -_-

If he parked upside down in the middle of the road, it doesnt matter. What does matter is that this persons car should not be damaged by other drivers.

AndyTheDude

Thanks for the quick replies, lads.

djimi wrote: »

He gets a quote for repairs, and if youre happy youre not being taken for a ride then you give him the money to get the work done, along with a signed document from him to say that you have paid up and the matter is closed.

So I pay BEFORE the work is done, right? What should I do when I am being taking for a ride?

MarkR wrote: »

I think in any incident when property (the car) is damaged, you are required to notify the gardai.

Are you sure about this, Mark? I mean, it's just a scratch, I'm pretty sure they have more important things to do...

MickySticks wrote: »

Who said it was a he?

It was a nice lady with a bunch of kids. My fault anyway, I was in a hurry.:rolleyes:

MarkR

AndyTheDude wrote: »

Thanks for the quick replies, lads.


So I pay BEFORE the work is done, right? What should I do when I am being taking for a ride?

Are you sure about this, Mark? I mean, it's just a scratch, I'm pretty sure they have more important things to do...


It was a nice lady with a bunch of kids. My fault anyway, I was in a hurry.:rolleyes:

I wouldn't worry too much about it, but they are well used to it.

Duties on occurrence of accident.

106.—(1) Where injury is caused to person or property in a public place and a vehicle is involved in the occurrence of the injury (whether the use of the vehicle was or was not the cause of the injury), the following provisions shall have effect:

(a) if the vehicle is not stationary after the occurrence, the driver of the vehicle shall stop the vehicle;

(b) the driver or other person in charge of the vehicle shall keep the vehicle at or near the place of the occurrence for a period which is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case and having regard to the provisions of this section;

(c) the driver of the vehicle or, if he is killed or incapacitated, the person then in charge of the vehicle shall give on demand the appropriate information to a member of the Garda Síochána or, if no such member is present, to one person entitled under this section to demand such information;

(d) if a member of the Garda Síochána is not present at the occurrence and either—

(i) there is no person entitled under this section to demand the information, or

(ii) the case is one in which, as respects the sole person entitled under this section to demand the appropriate information or each of the persons so entitled, it is reasonably clear that he could not be expected to make a demand because of injury, illness, age or other disability,

the driver of the vehicle or, if he is killed or incapacitated, the person then in charge of the vehicle shall report the occurrence as soon as possible to a member of the Garda Síochána and, if necessary, shall go for that purpose to the nearest convenient Garda Síochána station and also shall give on demand the appropriate information to the member.

granturismo

AndyTheDude wrote: »

So I pay BEFORE the work is done, right? What should I do when I am being taking for a ride?

After being on both sides of similar -

Its up to the other party as to where they want to get the repair done. If you refuse to meet the cost or disagree with the company they want to use, they can just refer the matter to your insurance company.

If there is an issue over €20-€50 is it really worth falling out and having to deal with your insurance company?

MugMugs

I really can't see the Gardai giving two hoots about this OP. Fair play for sticking around BTW.

Professey Chin

gyppo wrote: »

If he parked upside down in the middle of the road, it doesnt matter. What does matter is that this persons car should not be damaged by other drivers.

In that case I think it would matter :P

MargeS

I can't believe you stuck around and waited for the owner. I've had this happen to me TWICE and no one has waited for me to come back

MarkR

MarkR wrote: »

.............

I think in any incident when property (the car) is damaged, you are required to notify the gardai. ..............

100% incorrect.

AndyTheDude

I went to see a local panel beater this morning. I showed him the pictures and got a quote for €160, which seems reasonable. Full respray would be €240. I'm still waiting for a call from the lady. What's the time frame for the repair? I am a bit broke at the moment and am hoping that the owner won't be pushing me to get it done within next few days. Would 10-14 days offer on my side be ok? The damage doesn't affect driving in any way, obviously.

I can't believe you stuck around and waited for the owner. I've had this happen to me TWICE and no one has waited for me to come back

Well, there still are honest ppl on this planet, we're a dying breed though... :rolleyes:

AndyTheDude

One more thing, I haven't noticed the Gardai, can't see a point to be honest.

MarkR

RoverJames wrote: »

100% incorrect.

I'm no legal eagle, but doesn't the road traffic act say otherwise?

the driver of the vehicle or, if he is killed or incapacitated, the person then in charge of the vehicle shall report the occurrence as soon as possible to a member of the Garda Síochána and, if necessary, shall go for that purpose to the nearest convenient Garda Síochána station and also shall give on demand the appropriate information to the member.

I most likely wouldn't do it myself in practice, unless I thought I was going to have trouble later on.

MarkR

MarkR wrote: »

I'm no legal eagle, but doesn't the road traffic act say otherwise?..........

No

Limbo123

AndyTheDude wrote: »

I scratched a car in a car park today while pulling out of the parking space. I waited for the owner, we exchanged phone numbers and now I'm waiting for a call.

Good on you! You have restored my faith in the average motorist

I have lost count of the amount of times ive returned to my motor to find dents or scratches where some selfish thick pr@$k has thought nothing more to opening their door and using my car as a door stop or has brushed up against the side of my car and left the scene :mad:

Nice to hear there are some decent people out there

Hope all turns out well.....

MarkR

RoverJames wrote: »

MarkR wrote: »

I'm no legal eagle, but doesn't the road traffic act say otherwise?..........

No

Thanks, but could you elaborate a bit more? I genuinely want to know. The act says the driver has to contact the Gardai from how I read it.

Is the act not relevant here?

Nonoperational

Back to the topic of repairing the bumper, if it was my car I'd want it perfect and think it would be reasonable to get the full bumper repair. I'd budget max €250-300. They may be happy with a smart type repair which would be a lot cheaper.

I think you only need to report it to the Guards if there is an injury. A minor tip then exchanging details is enough.

slimjimmc

MarkR wrote: »

I'm no legal eagle, but doesn't the road traffic act say otherwise?

No, read the entire section 106, especially paragraph 5b.

It says you must report an accident to Gardaí if
a) no Garda is present at the scene
AND
b) the owner or person in charge of the property is not present or in no fit state through injury, illness or disability to demand your name,address and insurance details details off you.

You don't have to report any minor accident to the Gardaí if the other driver is about.


A few €100 should sort out the scratch at a decent body shop. You might like to try to persuade them to go directly to a good body shop instead of to a main dealer since most dealers end up sub-contracting the work out to a body shop and charge you a premium.

rob180

Well done on you OP, good to see there's still decent motorists out there. Some idiot side swipe my car once and did about €800 worth of damage. She was only about six months old from brand new at the time.Did that person stay around or leave a note? Nope