Can I challenge quote from garage

Inkers92

Hi, wife had a tip in supermarket carpark. Her fault and gave details etc. Other car was a 2021 reg (of course!!) Relatively minor damage to passenger side front panel and door which I guess would make it more expensive as it involves two parts as such. No problem paying for damage but driver got quote and in my opinion the garage is taking the p*ss. The quote includes cost of a new panel and 12 hours of labour. From photo it doesn't even look dented more like paint damage. Is there any way to challenge this quote or do we just have to suck it up if we want to keep off insurance. It just seems really excessive to me.

on_the_roots

Do you have to accept this single quote from the other party? No chance asking for a couple of other quotes?

Henry Ford III

You could get your own (cheaper) quote but the 3rd party is under no obligation to accept it.

The trick is to satisfy their requirements for a perfect job at a price point that suits.

enricoh

Sod that! That's what insurance is for!

Iodine1

Get insurance company to access damage and price and then decide if you want to pay or let the insurance company deal with it.

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117772753#Comment_117772753

Yep. OP’s choice is to let insurance cover it, let insurance cover it and reimburse them, or pay cash if the injured party is happy to let them.

Why do people think this is a negotiation?

Inkers92

Thanks for replies. Mmm. My sense is that if I get insurance to assess it won't make a huge difference to the price. I don't want to go through insurance for this as wife is named driver on my policy (step back only) and have excess of 500 anyway (quote is 1500). I suppose cash it is and just move on. I understand other party wants to get new car perfect. No prob with that. Just sick of what I see as price gouging in Ireland, lack of regulation, lack of transparency. There is no way it should cost what they are quoting but I know that trying to question or query it will just impact on my time with no outcome other than I pay up at the end. I might call to the garage and force the "salesman" (no sales involved here) to at least explain their quote face to face. Or on the other hand just give over the cash, put it down to bad luck or (ahem) bad driving and move on.

on_the_roots

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117780054#Comment_117780054

Because OP don't want to resolve this via insurance? For the sake of 1500,00 or less I would do the same and not have a claim in my history.

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785023#Comment_117785023

Not the OPs choice. Depends on the goodwill/patience of the person not at fault.

mickdw

I thought you were going to say 4k or something like that.

1500 sounds reasonable enough for any damage on a new car.

To be honest, if that was my new car, I'd be seriously pissed at having to get it repaired and painted due to someone elses stupidity never mind them then querying the repair cost.

Pay the bill. Believe me, they can really turn the screw if they wish.

On such a new car, they could easily insist on a new door also. Sounds like alot of the side of the car will be painted. They may need to paint the entire side to ensure its uniform. Then with all that paintwork, they would be entitled to depreciation of their car due to being a repaired car.

1500 is ok and if it's any kind of expensive car, well it's a bargain.

listermint

Two panels and paint. 1500 is reasonable frankly.

seagull

Start insisting on extra quotes, and you'll wind up without the option of settling privately.

Dav010

I was expecting a much higher quote when reading the op, €1500 isn’t bad for 2 panels.

ratracer

I’d also pay the €1500 and be thankful that’s all it is!

If it were my brand new car that was hit, I’d also be going to a very reputable body shop ( chances are the dealer is only going to send it out to one any way), but I’d also be sure I had a hire car and a depreciation hit in it also.

Actually, if you do a bit of digging around, find out where the dealer will be getting the car repaired, and then try get the other party to just deal directly with them, this may take the dealer ‘cut’ out of it.

rock22

Someone did the same to my car at the beginning of the year. An eight year old car. All handled by their insurance but the quote was over 1200 euros. Throw in a replacement car ( I ended up with it for a week because of Brexit delays getting parts) and 1500 euro is cheap by any standards.