Damaged a car (accident!)

LegacyUser

Hi all,

Had a GP appt earlier which was pushed up to today unexpectedly. I parked in a spot but was at a slight angle. When I came back another car was parked very close beside me, also at an angle. As I tried to reverse, I managed to scrape a sizeable scratch on the owner's parked car as she sat in her car looking on. My car was also scratched slightly.

I got out immediately and thought initially that it was her fault and then realised what I had done. I apologised (while shaking with nerves) and gave her my details and made her call me to show that I wasn't going to be sneaking off etc.

I feel really guilty for it and am usually a good enough driver. I am anxious that she is going to contact me with a huge quote that I won't be able to pay and that if I go through my insurer that it will go up next year. I didn't take any photos as I was in a bit of a state. It didn't cause a dent just paint and a scratch.

It was 100% my fault but I am finding it hard to focus on anything else with worry.

Not sure what I am looking for here. Just needed a vent. Thank god no one was hurt and that it is only superficial but I am still very worried. My OH was in a similar situation not so long ago and was on the receiving end. He suggested I texted her apologising again to show I am being upfront and helpful which I did. I didn't mention money just that I am sorry and to let me know if she needs anything. She seemed nice and a bit flustered like me.

Any suggestions or anyone else been in a similar situation?

Purgative

I am anxious that she is going to contact me with a huge quote that I won't be able to pay and that if I go through my insurer that it will go up next year. I didn't take any photos as I was in a bit of a state. It didn't cause a dent just paint and a scratch.

You really should let your insurance know in any case.


If she does try and rip you off, you'd then have to go to your insurer and depending on the time lag wouldn't look so good.


Yes it probably will go up next year but then I usually have a bit of a row with them and they trim it down to something like reasonable.


Tell your insurer let them handle it and save yourself the worry.


All the best.

araic88

I don't know much about these things but wouldn't her insurance go up too, if it's claimed through insurance, even if she wasn't at fault. She won't want that, so I doubt she'll rip you off. If she tries, get quotes from a few places.
I got the most ridiculously random quotes when someone keyed my car, the highest was like 2.5 times the cheapest.
.
It doesn't sound like she'll be too tricky to deal with, and if she is, just take the hit with your insurance, it's not worth the stress. These things happen and it doesn't mean you're not a good driver. It's not like you're posting about feeling guilty that you snuck away & weren't sorting it! People who do that probably wouldn't give it a second thought though.

Hope it works out well & get sorted quickly.
I never properly look into it myself but some policies have a step back option? Could be worth it in the future

Tork

Do you have protection on your no claims bonus?

Rubberchikken

Call your insurance company.
It's what you pay insurance for.

Don't contact her. People can be weird after things like this. Ok when details are being exchanged then a day or so later all manners of things are changed. You know what you did. It's easily fixed. Just contact your insurance company and let them deal with it. It'll be fine.

LegacyUser

Like others have said, contact your insurance company and let them sort it. Don't beat yourself up about it, it was a silly mistake but if that's one of the worst ones you'll ever make then you're doing alright. It's done now, what happened can't be changed and unfortunately there's little to nothing you can do to change what will be the financial consequences.

Try to get into the habit of reversing in to parking spaces. Much easier and arguably safer to drive out of a parking space than it is to reverse out.

LegacyUser

So, I texted her and apologised again and told her if she needed anything from me to let her know. She got back to me and said there was no damage at all and it came off with a wet towel! Phew! She said that side is full of scrapes from her own mistakes driving and not to worry.

All is well that ends well! But will be more careful, nonetheless....

LegacyUser

OP_heree wrote: »

So, I texted her and apologised again and told her if she needed anything from me to let her know. She got back to me and said there was no damage at all and it came off with a wet towel! Phew! She said that side is full of scrapes from her own mistakes driving and not to worry.

All is well that ends well! But will be more careful, nonetheless....

Excellent! Make sure you save those messages, just in case, but looking like a case of all's well that end's well

ManOfMystery

Sounds like it worked out ok. In most cases, unless the paint is actually broken (you can feel this with edge of a fingernail), light scrapes and other marks will buff out anyway (or at least fade enough to not be noticeable) without the vehicle needing paintwork.

If this happens again don't lose sleep over it! As we speak, hundreds if not thousands of people all over the world will have fender benders and bumps and other small collisions today. It's just a car, it's just metal, it's repairable. As long as it's minor and no-one gets hurt that's all that matters.

Rodin

I always reverse into a space. So much easier.
Safer too.

HotMama89

Glad it worked out for you. I once apparently caused 3.5k of damage to a car and 120euro to my own had to go through insurance as I was buying a house at the time. Insurance actually came down about 80 euro the following year!

LegacyUser

Thanks all for the kind messages! There are nice people out there and glad it came to a nice conclusion for all involved.

Mods can close if they think it necessary!

xx

Hannibal_Smith

Mod Note

Thank you OP. If you require the thread reopened just let one of the Mod Team know.

Thanks all

HS