Accidentally scraped side of car when parking

cailin.

Tonight I was parking my car in a packed and busy car park. There was limited spaces and I found one that was big enough to get into. I misjudged the distance I had to the rear of the left of my own car and ended up scratching off the front right bumper of a parked car. I carefully reversed back and didn't touch off the car where I had previously been too close. I parked my own car and went to check the damage I caused. My own car has a slight dent and a few scrapes, nothing that I'm particularly bothered about.
The "victim" car had what I would describe as a minor scratch to the paintwork. There was no dent that I could see and the damage seemed minor - albeit there was a scuff and a scratch left to the paint work. I waited for ten minutes and the owner didn't show. I got a pen and paper and wrote an apologetic note, with my own name and phone number and went into the store.
An hour later I got a call from a Garda Station and they said they'e received a note I'd left on someone's car and verified my reg number/contact details. The Gard said that he didn't know the name of the person who's car I'd hit when I'd asked, but said there was nothing to worry about and we could sort it out between ourselves.

I took a picture of the damage caused too. I'm a Novice driver but have never damaged someone else's car or had an accident, so I'd appreciate advice if you've ever been in a similar situation and what happened next?

mickdw

cailin. wrote: »

Tonight I was parking my car in a packed and busy car park. There was limited spaces and I found one that was big enough to get into. I misjudged the distance I had to the rear of the left of my own car and ended up scratching off the front right bumper of a parked car. I carefully reversed back and didn't touch off the car where I had previously been too close. I parked my own car and went to check the damage I caused. My own car has a slight dent and a few scrapes, nothing that I'm particularly bothered about.
The "victim" car had what I would describe as a minor scratch to the paintwork. There was no dent that I could see and the damage seemed minor - albeit there was a scuff and a scratch left to the paint work. I waited for ten minutes and the owner didn't show. I got a pen and paper and wrote an apologetic note, with my own name and phone number and went into the store.
An hour later I got a call from a Garda Station and they said they'e received a note I'd left on someone's car and verified my reg number/contact details. The Gard said that he didn't know the name of the person who's car I'd hit when I'd asked, but said there was nothing to worry about and we could sort it out between ourselves.

I took a picture of the damage caused too. I'm a Novice driver but have never damaged someone else's car or had an accident, so I'd appreciate advice if you've ever been in a similar situation and what happened next?

If you want to settle it without involving insurance, tell them to get quote and pay them. You have no power to tell the car owner who to go to etc but would expect it to be from a legit business.
If you don't like the quote, let your insurance deal with it.

ratracer

Fair play to you for leaving your name and number OP, many would not have bothered!!

You have no contact details for the owner, but you did all you could to contact them. They may ring you they may not. Make sure to keep the pic you took, one would hope the owner is decent and honest, the damage might easily polish out and that may be the end of the matter. All you can do now is wait and see!!

cailin.

The owner just called there. She is saying that the whole car will need to be resprayed. She is taking it to the garage tomorrow. I am not paying for the whole car, I will pay for the panel at the front where I damaged. She asked if I wanted to pay her cash.....!!

scamalert

had to edit post: seems you being fair made you idiot,since whatever damage you did your insurance will cover it,but given you have pics it might not be to expensive,then again the way system works here youll be lucky to get minimum 300% increase come next renewal.

Anyway get onto your insurer and ask that they send someone to inspect your car, and get photos printed sent out to them,hopefully theres someone smart enough to cop on done damage and keep estimate of fixing as low as possible.

as for the other party ignore the scumbag, and only deal trough your insurer,also would be good idea just to get in touch with guards maybe to get cctv footage if any exists to prove it was just a scratch,as they might make out that you rammed it.

out of curiosity what make and year was it ?

ratracer

cailin. wrote: »

The owner just called there. She is saying that the whole car will need to be resprayed. She is taking it to the garage tomorrow. I am not paying for the whole car, I will pay for the panel at the front where I damaged. She asked if I wanted to pay her cash.....!!

Ah sh1t, sounds like a bit of a scam if she's looking for cash!! It's gonna be a bit of a pain for you OP. If you are certain that you have a pic of the damage that you caused only, you may need to consider legal advice. It is a civil matter, so nothing more the guards can do. You can look for more than one quote from her. You should inform your insurance company of the incident, in case it escalates, but don't let them settle anything without you knowing what it's for.

2Mad2BeMad

cailin. wrote: »

The owner just called there. She is saying that the whole car will need to be resprayed. She is taking it to the garage tomorrow. I am not paying for the whole car, I will pay for the panel at the front where I damaged. She asked if I wanted to pay her cash.....!!

And people wonder why no one leaves a note after a slight scrape in car parks, its people like this trying to take full advantage.

Op tell her to get lost your not paying for a full spray, tell her you have evidence of the damage you done and if she is really that bothered about it she will contact your insurance company, who most likely wont entertain her at all if shes already gone and got a full respray.

jimbis

That's a real pain the girl is being a Cnut. My mothers car got a scrape in a car park last week and a note was left, that woman was honest so I went and got the cheapest quote I could get from a mate for her.

This girl seems to be just looking to make a few quid for xmas by the sounds of it, tell her you took a photo of the damage after it happened and there is no way your paying for a full respray. You'll happily pay for what you done if she gets a quote for it. Might be worth offering her a few 100 cash, she might just grab that and be happy. Saves your insurance spiralling too.
If you settle on a cash agreement then type up a letter saying you are not admitting liability but are offering x amount of money for repair and get them to sign it, that just stops her coming back for more afterwards.

Vic_08

cailin. wrote: »

The owner just called there. She is saying that the whole car will need to be resprayed. She is taking it to the garage tomorrow. I am not paying for the whole car, I will pay for the panel at the front where I damaged. She asked if I wanted to pay her cash.....!!

Sounds like you may have a scumbag wanting to take advantage.

Wait until she comes back with a quote, whatever it is insist on a written quote from an identifiable business.

If it sounds OTT maybe go there with your photo and ask them if they quoted for fixing the dent you did or the whole car.

Tell her you want a second quote and you will attend a second repair shop to ensure the quote is only for fixing the damage you are responsible for.

I wouldn't bother going 12 rounds with her if she is obviously trying to take you for a ride, refuse any further contact and direct her to your insurance company. Be aware that they are often not great at blocking chancers with inflated claims and you will be screwed for the next 5 years with a claim on your policy which will mean higher premiums and limit your choices of policies so you need to weigh up what route is the least expensive overall for you.

You should also ask your Ins if you can refund their payout after settling in return for a clean NCB, some will do and you can decide if the cost is worth it after they settle.

FishOnABike

cailin. wrote: »

The owner just called there. She is saying that the whole car will need to be resprayed. She is taking it to the garage tomorrow. I am not paying for the whole car, I will pay for the panel at the front where I damaged. She asked if I wanted to pay her cash.....!!

Sounds like they are trying it on and see it as a way to make some easy cash.

I had someone tip into the rere corner of my car a year or two ago causing some light cracking to paint and undercoat on the bumper but no significant damage to the bumper itself.

I got three quotes and went with the most reasonable one. Cost was about €130. Couldn't see the repair / respray on the bumper. There's no need to have a car fully resprayed.

JustAThought

Maybe she was just being a bit of a blonde and didn't realise you can get part of the car touched up or matched - I think Halfords do specific touch up paints for specific makes of cars and their years. Thankfully you have a picture - send it to a few garages and ask for an estimate to touch up - don't say why - and see what price range they come back with. For the record the main dealers in my experience will totally take the piss so you will cut 50% off by not going to a dealer. Do not part with a pile of cash to this chancer without getting a quote yourself for what you agree you did the damage to - its not a free ride for her to fix every other scrape she has and get a new finish - a touch up to a scratch can be a relatively minor item. It is reasonable for you to get estimates for the damage and have an idea of the price you will pay - two or three quotes should give you a reasonable indication.
What year was the car. Hopefully it was not a Ferrari!?

screamer

Depends on the colour of the car sometimes if an odd tone they can't match then they do need to respray the whole side of the car to make it blend in. Might be better to let insurance company sort it out but then it's your ncb that'll be affected and you'll probably not be able to move insurance companies at renewal.

boombang

That's amazing. You do the honest thing and she takes the piss. The neck on some people.

Still, fair play to you.

Big Nasty

screamer wrote: »

Depends on the colour of the car sometimes if an odd tone they can't match then they do need to respray the whole side of the car to make it blend in.

Say wha?

kirving

I'm no painter, but I honestly can't see how colour matching for any year or colour is an issue when we have digital colour analysers and automated paint mixing.

Absolutely no need to paint the side of the car for a bumper or door. Rear quarter panel is a different story of course.

Voodoomelon

I wouldn't be overly worried, sounds like the other owner didn't know what they were talking about. Hopefully they clarify what they meant by "the whole car".

Worst case is the clear coat has to be blended to adjoining panels. You say it's the front right bumper, I doubt many bodyshops bother blending a bumper to the adjoining wings or bonnet, in which case I would expect a bill for no more than €250-€400 absolute maximum for a whole front bumper spray from a proper bodyshop.

cailin.

Thanks for all the replies and guidance re quotes for the work. I've a friend who works in a reputable garage and he's saying I'm looking at between 250-450 depending.
I'm absolutely willing to incur the cost of damage that I caused to her car to avoid going through my insurance. (Which is already 1250 a year with a full NCB and no points on license). I also noticed that the left side of the bumper was scratched to bits too. Theres CCTV available anyway should I need it. A few people have mentioned she might be looking to make some easy cash before Christmas. Maybe she thinks I came down in the last shower!

I feel her response might have been appropriate if the car was a Ferrari, it's a 2007 Ford Mondeo 😱

BettePorter

cailin. wrote:

The owner just called there. She is saying that the whole car will need to be resprayed.

Jesus wept! People really stink! Is EVERY second person on the make or what ? Even when u try and do the right thing, you get a chancer who sees dollar signs!

scudzilla

cailin. wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies and guidance re quotes for the work. I've a friend who works in a reputable garage and he's saying I'm looking at between 250-450 depending.
I'm absolutely willing to incur the cost of damage that I caused to her car to avoid going through my insurance. (Which is already 1250 a year with a full NCB and no points on license). I also noticed that the left side of the bumper was scratched to bits too. Theres CCTV available anyway should I need it. A few people have mentioned she might be looking to make some easy cash before Christmas. Maybe she thinks I came down in the last shower!

I feel her response might have been appropriate if the car was a Ferrari, it's a 2007 Ford Mondeo 😱

First thing in the morning contact whoever runs the CCTV and explain that there was an incident, ask them to burn a copy to disc for you , they may not release it to you, you may need a solicitor to ask for it, not 100% sure, then again, they may be fine and give you a copy without hassle

PrettyBoy

cailin. wrote: »

The owner just called there. She is saying that the whole car will need to be resprayed. She is taking it to the garage tomorrow. I am not paying for the whole car, I will pay for the panel at the front where I damaged. She asked if I wanted to pay her cash.....!!

Is she an experienced panel beater and painter? Nice of her to tell you the whole car needs to be done before she even gets it looked at it. Another greedy cunt looking for a handy payout..that's what you get for doing the right thing nowadays, would honestly make you think twice about leaving a note if it happened again.

goz83

That's pretty crappy alright. You were honest, left a note and are willing to sort it out. The owner sounds like a right witch. I have had a couple of minor bumps in the first year of driving. Damaged a tail light on a micra and caused some bumper scuffing on a brand new insignia. The micra cost €600 and the insignia cost €1700. Cash was paid in both instances, as the insurance hike would have been colossal. The prices for repair were honest though, whether or not the owners went with the main dealer prices, that was the cost to put the cars back to the proper condition.

I've had many times my own cars have been damaged and nothing was said. Some people are pure scum.

kona

cailin. wrote: »

The owner just called there. She is saying that the whole car will need to be resprayed. She is taking it to the garage tomorrow. I am not paying for the whole car, I will pay for the panel at the front where I damaged. She asked if I wanted to pay her cash.....!!

Well done for being honest.
As for the person you hit. There's no need for a full respray of the car. Anything more than a bumper being sprayed is taking the piss

kona

scamalert wrote: »

had to edit post: seems you being fair made you idiot,since whatever damage you did your insurance will cover it,but given you have pics it might not be to expensive,then again the way system works here youll be lucky to get minimum 300% increase come next renewal.

Anyway get onto your insurer and ask that they send someone to inspect your car, and get photos printed sent out to them,hopefully theres someone smart enough to cop on done damage and keep estimate of fixing as low as possible.

as for the other party ignore the scumbag, and only deal trough your insurer,also would be good idea just to get in touch with guards maybe to get cctv footage if any exists to prove it was just a scratch,as they might make out that you rammed it.

out of curiosity what make and year was it ?

Don't go near your insurance. Are you mental.

DamoKen

kona wrote: »

Don't go near your insurance. Are you mental.

Agreed, I naively asked my insurance to inspect a car where the quote for damage was insane. Like yourself it was the slightest of bumps, tiny fleck of paint gone that without knowing where to look you wouldn't notice.

Insurance were very effective at paying out without question (or my consent), not very effective with the inspection. When I called to get an update was told it had been paid. They offered to "inspect" the invoice when I told them it had been a con :rolleyes:

My experience with insurers is if you leave it up to them unless it's a very large claim they'll normally pay out without much fuss. It's you that then takes the hit on premiums.

Sounds like she is taking the total p*ss, either looking to give her tired car a makeover or go on a shopping spree before Christmas. Provide the pics, get the CCTV if you can for them but be very clear to your insurer not to pay until it's properly assessed and fairly priced. I'd then pay whatever it is myself.

nice_guy80

I saw a woman mangle the side of her range rover last week

she took the side out of it by turning out of the space too quickly and forgetting about the permanent steel bollard that she had to be careful not to bang the drivers door off when she got into the car!
she was driving off, leaving a piece of the plastic trim behind her (after driving over it with the rear wheel)!
I did my deed for the day and pointed out the piece of her car lying on the ground
the look on her face...

ratracer

How did you get on with this since OP?

cailin.

The owner had asked the garage to respray the whole car, but they only resprayed the panel. I spoke directly with the garage and they gave me a breakdown of the work and a proforma invoice which amounted to €400. The owner of the car has not replied to a request to sign a note saying that she is happy with the arrangement of me paying for the repair work on such a date and the matter was resolved between ourselves. She is ignoring me now.

I have a papertrail anyway from the garage. Not sure whether to inform my insurance company incase she attempts to make any future claims.
An expensive lesson learnt!

IrishZeus

cailin. wrote: »

The owner had asked the garage to respray the whole car, but they only resprayed the panel. I spoke directly with the garage and they gave me a breakdown of the work and a proforma invoice which amounted to €400. The owner of the car has not replied to a request to sign a note saying that she is happy with the arrangement of me paying for the repair work on such a date and the matter was resolved between ourselves. She is ignoring me now.

I have a papertrail anyway from the garage. Not sure whether to inform my insurance company incase she attempts to make any future claims.
An expensive lesson learnt!

OP, it probably wouldn't have much legal precedence, but it might be worth dropping her a message saying something like "Hi, I have paid €XXX in settlement of the matter. If I don't hear from you within 7 days, I will consider the matter closed"

Won't stand up in court by might give you some closure.