dilemma over bump in car

audbod38

Hi , i was in minor collision last night, other drivers fault, he pulled out of side street without looking. Anyway he told me to get a quote and let him know the cost,which i did today, was only my bumper that was damaged, so i took it to local repair shop and was quoted £450, i gave him paperwork regarding this, for him to come to my house an hour later stating that he felt it was excessive. Asked if i would get another quote from someone that was recommended to him , which i did, to be told he can fix it for £130 as he can get 2nd hand bumpers. Now i dont really want to get it repaired with 2nd hand parts but the man in question is our local minister and i feel quite bad taking money from him, i asked to do it through his insurance but he doesnt want it to affect his no claims, any advice , would a 2nd hand bumper be ok ?

anotherbigspender

I think your Minister may be trying to abuse his position.

You offered him the option of not involving insurance - he didn't want to take it. Call your insurers, let them deal with it. That's what you pay them for.

overlander

It all depends on the age and value of the car. If its old and not worth much then no problem, but if its worth over 15K and newish then no way.

MarkyMarkD

If it's a reasonably old car, then secondhand superficial parts like bumpers are no problem at all.

It's far greener to recycle than to insist on new parts in any case.

trumpton

What if you are not satisfied with the work? That could cause big problems. You have given him a fair alternative - I'd say either have it done at the place you got the quote from or go through his insurers.

baydreamer

I had a similar thing happen to me in a hospital car-park,(a car reversed into me, leaving me requiring a new bumper & spraying).
My advice is go through your insurers, they should fight your corner if you're not at fault(mine did and reclaimed all costs from other party(£412.95) and 'me' deemed 'not-at-fault' thereby keeping my no-claims bonus.
I had my bumper affixed and resprayed by a body-repair specialists on my insurers list...but wasnt happy with the colour-match,so contacted my insurers again who got it put right! I'm not sure I would have had any comeback if I had not used my insurance company?
Just something to bear in mind...
Regards...:think:

jonathon

i had the same thing in the work carpark some one reversed into me, i got a quote from ford £430 he paid no problems.

aqueoushumour01

don't compromise on this unless your car is falling apart anyway, but even then, this wasn't your fault and it's important to work is done to a good standard. As said above, you wouldn't have any comeback if it was done DIY and you weren't happy with the work. Go through your insurance.

cyclonebri1

All sound advice, i would take it. Don't worry you won't get "struck down" :rolleyes:

Quentin

You shouldn't just settle for second hand parts.

You won't know the history of the bumper - it may have already been in a collision and absorbed the impact. Some bumpers have internal absorption systems to take the shock ofd a collision, and once "used" like this will be useless in another collision when the shock of the impact will pass on to the car body.

Also, you may need a hire car whilst the repairs are being done - it doesn't look as though this will go down well with the guilty party.

You should also be claiming compensation for the inconvenience and expense you are being put to over this (you already have devoted time and money in running round getting a quote for the guy, then having to go and get another one.

Put this through insurance - if he wants to preserve his NCD he can always reimburse his insurer what they have to pay out.

roddydogs

Yes, but if you "Put it Thru" insurance, how do you know the "Minister" will admit all blame? i had the same thing happen, the lady was most apolgetic and said "claim of my insurance" However, when i did this, she "Changed" her story and i ended up with a "Knock for Knock"