[Repair] Just bumped into someone in the car park…

[Abcmsaj]

I haven’t looked back at the dash am footage because I think it was 90% my fault, so I’ve said I’ll pay for both repairs, preferably outside of insurance as I don’t want my premium to go up.

It’s a 2021 M3, 5 months old, I pulled out of a parking space as the young girl was turning a corner and my view was blocked. Just sideswiped her car… her door and rear panel is scraped and dented slightly and she has a flat rear tyre, so she’s probably worse off! But I’m here to enquire about my repair

Attached a few images. Do you think I’ll need a whole new bumper or can an auto place sort it out? The only damage I see which isn’t scraped paint is at the bottom where the plastics broken.

Anyone done a repair like this before and what were you quoted? Thanks

 

[mswlogo]

95% of that looks like it should buff out.
Let a good detailer have a shot at it.

 

[Abcmsaj]

That's what I like to read, thank you. I'll send off for some quotes and also message Leeds SC through the app to see if they have ideas

95% of that looks like it should buff out.
Let a good detailer have a shot at it.

 

[DM206433]

As above, I’d try a good detailer first. The main thing is that you didn’t break the light cluster which would have cost you a small fortune to repair.

 

[Casss]

Why would you pay to repair two cars outside of insurance? Unless the damage to the other car is just a detailing job, if it needs dent removal or a new door + a new tyre and alloy repair + two panels repainting (maybe blending required on a third) + your car repairs you’re looking at something up to £2-3k at a rough guess? That’s best case scenario. Does your plan change if the other driver rings you up after you pay for everything and tells you they’re suffering from neck pain? What if they need a courtesy car, what if they want compensating for loss of value? Etc.

Your premium isn’t going to go up £2k because of this, and it’s why you pay the insurance company in the first place - let them deal with it all properly. From experience, dealing with this stuff can be stressful and it never goes smoothly. You pay an insurer to foot the bill and take the financial risk for exactly this situation. It takes time and it’s a nuisance too.

I agree with other posters in that lots of that crud on your car will polish or sand out, but it will not look pretty. The bumper will need repainting minimum, and you’ll want someone to take it off and check nothing behind it is borked.

Edit: just remember also… unless you get a solicitor involved, any agreement between you and the other driver with regards the repairs is just a verbal agreement and based on you trusting them not to do something daft. Do you know them? Unless you 100% trust them, you’re taking all the risk here. What’s to stop them having you pay for everything then calling their insurer without telling you they intend to, claiming injury. Now your insurer will be informed by another insurer that you’ve been in an accident, are at fault, have caused injury and haven’t informed them. Just a word of caution because this could lead to you being refused cover by certain insurers or underwriting groups.

 

[The_Cable_Guy]

Echo above a lot of that will come off and look a lot less unsightly

 

[Irata]

The M3 is stronger there than I imagined, by the sound of the other car.

Sorry to hear about this, it's always a gutting experience. But everyone is safe, that's what matters.

After the paint and rubber from the other car is polished off your car, that could just be a smart repair job over that area of the bumper.

I've seen small areas of broken plastic bumper smart repaired too.

 

[Abcmsaj]

Why would you pay to repair two cars outside of insurance? Unless the damage to the other car is just a detailing job, if it needs dent removal or a new door + a new tyre and alloy repair + two panels repainting (maybe blending required on a third) + your car repairs you’re looking at something up to £2-3k at a rough guess? That’s best case scenario. Does your plan change if the other driver rings you up after you pay for everything and tells you they’re suffering from neck pain? What if they need a courtesy car, what if they want compensating for loss of value? Etc.

Your premium isn’t going to go up £2k because of this, and it’s why you pay the insurance company in the first place - let them deal with it all properly. From experience, dealing with this stuff can be stressful and it never goes smoothly. You pay an insurer to foot the bill and take the financial risk for exactly this situation. It takes time and it’s a nuisance too.

I agree with other posters in that lots of that crud on your car will polish or sand out, but it will not look pretty. The bumper will need repainting minimum, and you’ll want someone to take it off and check nothing behind it is borked.

Edit: just remember also… unless you get a solicitor involved, any agreement between you and the other driver with regards the repairs is just a verbal agreement and based on you trusting them not to do something daft. Do you know them? Unless you 100% trust them, you’re taking all the risk here. What’s to stop them having you pay for everything then calling their insurer without telling you they intend to, claiming injury. Now your insurer will be informed by another insurer that you’ve been in an accident, are at fault, have caused injury and haven’t informed them. Just a word of caution because this could lead to you being refused cover by certain insurers or underwriting groups.

Yeah you are 100000% right. I think I've been brought up being told that claiming on insurance is terrible because I'll lose my NCD and my premium will go up next year, but I've just done a quote on CTM and if I add the claim and reduce my NCD by 2 years, it's not terrible... way cheaper than forking out £1500+ on repairs of 2 cars and less stress too.

I have witnesses (my girlfriend in the car and a third party) so I am hoping that nobody claims injury! I was going to wait until they got some quotes for damages before I went to the insurer (in case it wasn't that expensive) but given that they could just claim after the fact anyway, I'd rather not take the risk and I'll call my insurer in the morning, I think.

 

[chwe]

Having once reversed into another person's stationary car (blame kids screaming in back seats) I have to agree that's it's far easier just to accept it as a bit of life experience and let the insurance company deal with it.

In my case in the end I didn't even lose out because they spent so long asking Arnold Clark to work out the cost of repair they decided just to get it sorted without claiming, although it sounds as if you might have caused a bit more damage than I did.

At the end of the day though, your insurance company are unlikely to whack up your premium that much. Do you have protected NCD? That's the one thing I always shell out the extra for..

 

[Abcmsaj]

Having once reversed into another person's stationary car (blame kids screaming in back seats) I have to agree that's it's far easier just to accept it as a bit of life experience and let the insurance company deal with it.

In my case in the end I didn't even lose out because they spent so long asking Arnold Clark to work out the cost of repair they decided just to get it sorted without claiming, although it sounds as if you might have caused a bit more damage than I did.

At the end of the day though, your insurance company are unlikely to whack up your premium that much. Do you have protected NCD? That's the one thing I always shell out the extra for..

Nah ironically, I looked into protected NCD and didn't think it was worth it! The step back for this claim will take me down to 3 years NCD, not wipe it out entirely... but next renewal, I'll look into protected NCD again

 

[m3p_uk]

You'll need to let your insurer know asap as per the terms and conditions of your insurance even if you don't want them to pay
If not and they find out because for example you drive it and have another accident to the rear and they see this your insurance will be invalid......

 

[Abcmsaj]

Another thing I didn't realise about insurance is that I can go through mine and accept full blame, to get my insurance to pay for my car repairs and hers. But then they don't just directly deal with her to sort it... she would have to then claim through her insurance, which actually affects her premium next year even if she wasn't to blame. Very odd!

 

[m3p_uk]

I'd also check the dashcam footage for peace of mind if it was me

 

[Abcmsaj]

I'd also check the dashcam footage for peace of mind if it was me

Well funny you should say that, I did last night and I think I'm already about 40% out of the parking bay as the left-side camera catches her turning the corner. I think that if it were me driving in her position, I'd have put the brakes on... She is a newer driver (driving a 2012 Audi?) and had a blackbox in her car so I gave her benefit of the doubt at the time, but I think I blamed myself more than I needed to at the time

 

[m3p_uk]

Well funny you should say that, I did last night and I think I'm already about 40% out of the parking bay as the left-side camera catches her turning the corner. I think that if it were me driving in her position, I'd have put the brakes on... She is a newer driver (driving a 2012 Audi?) and had a blackbox in her car so I gave her benefit of the doubt at the time, but I think I blamed myself more than I needed to at the time

Suggest letting your insurance know and send in the footage as well for them to sort out

 

[Casss]

Yeah you are 100000% right. I think I've been brought up being told that claiming on insurance is terrible because I'll lose my NCD and my premium will go up next year, but I've just done a quote on CTM and if I add the claim and reduce my NCD by 2 years, it's not terrible... way cheaper than forking out £1500+ on repairs of 2 cars and less stress too.

I have witnesses (my girlfriend in the car and a third party) so I am hoping that nobody claims injury! I was going to wait until they got some quotes for damages before I went to the insurer (in case it wasn't that expensive) but given that they could just claim after the fact anyway, I'd rather not take the risk and I'll call my insurer in the morning, I think.

Insurance terms not withstanding, it rarely if ever makes financial sense to pay for it yourself anyway. In my experience at least, low speed scrapes, dings or paint on a single panel where the cost is less than your excess or your excess +100% and where no one else is involved are the only times it's worth considering doing out of pocket. ('Cosmetic' not 'accident damage') i.e. nudging a bollard, bush scrapes etc. if that makes sense.

I think you're on the right track going through a claim, given what you've said since about your NCB and premium etc. you won't even need to declare it after a few years and it'll be in the rear view mirror so to speak. Also think you're being very honest about taking fault which is no bad thing, but let your insurers decide ultimately, as upon viewing the footage they may decide to push for 50/50 which will reduce the impact on your insurance too.

 

[GT_M3]

Someone scraped my M3 bumper when I was parked and wanted to pay for the repairs outside of insurance. I got a quote from a Tesla approved body shop who said I needed a new bumper (it was cracked by the fog light) and a respray - quoted £3.3k. Other party said they knew a body shop that could repair the bumper and paint it for less, but as a 6 month old Tesla I said I wanted to do it properly. I also said that I needed a loan car to get to work (this was pre-pandemic). He went through insurance. I was given a brand new iPace for about 2 weeks which must have cost a fortune. Pleased to get the M3 back though.

I don’t know how much his BMW cost to fix, he dented his door and pulled his rear bumper off. A very expensive mistake unfortunately. . And I’m still not clear if I have to declare it, so just renewed wih my existing insurer who dealt with it from my side.

 

[WannabeOwner]

which actually affects her premium next year even if she wasn't to blame

If insurance companies agree it was your fault I don't think that will be the case [for her] (but may depend on how cheep-and-cheerful her insurance is; plenty have "we'll stitch you up when we can" clauses ...)

 

[Abcmsaj]

If insurance companies agree it was your fault I don't think that will be the case [for her] (but may depend on how cheep-and-cheerful her insurance is; plenty have "we'll stitch you up when we can" clauses ...)

Good to know, I feel less guilty now. On the phone to insurance now so I guess I'm about to find out if going with Peugeot was a mistake, or if I should have forked out for one of the bigger names

 

[WannabeOwner]

Good to know

Although ...

Insurance Companies often do knock-for-knock. Each pays for their own client's repairs. In such situations they perhaps??! don't bother to establish party-at-fault, and that can lead to increased premiums for the party that was not in the wrong.

But your insurance company won't want you to admit fault ...

... so if that happens the lass may have to kick up a fuss in order to get it sorted, and you can of course help at that point (if you want to) by telling your insurance company that you were at faulty and they need to sort it out (in her favour).