Accident/Insurance

IrishMark_2

Dear All,
I'm new here and was wondering if somebody could help me please?
About a month ago I was reversing out of my drive when I scratched my housemate's car. I've agreed to pay for the damage either through my own pocket or through insurance. He owns a brand new honda civic (2010) and wants the repairs done via a honda bodyshop which is fine. We live in a house near London and he is from Lincolnshire. He says that he wants his father to travel from Lincolnshire to Bristol, via London to collect and return the car, for it to be fixed in a Honda bodyshop in Bristol. He has given me an estimate of roughly £250 for the repairs and expects me to pay his father's travel costs and hotel costs etc... I feel this is a bit much since it could potentially reach 5/600 pounds, especially considering there are closer Honda bodyshops than Bristol and there is a bodyshop (although admittedly not Honda) which is right beside us. Could anybody please inform me of what my rights are in this case? Am I under any obligation to pay anything more than the cost of the repair? I haven't signed anything. I will obviously pay for the damage to his car, but I don't want him to take money unnecessarily from me. Has anybody any advice on this matter?
It would be greatly appreciated.
All the best,
Mark

lisyloo

It's completely unreasonable in my view.
I don't think an insurer would pay it and don't see why you should.
He might be entitled to a hire car though whilst this is being fixed.
He would be entitled to get repairs done where he wants, but an insurer will not pay more for this, so you shouldn't either.

If it looks to start getting messy then you might have to hand it over to your insurer.

bouncydog1

I would get a price for the repairs from the nearest Honda approved bodyshop. Find out whether they include a courtesy car and if not how much is a hire car going to cost for the duration that his car is off the roads.

Then use that as a base price and tell your mate that is what you will pay for. Depending on amount you may wish to go via your insurer. He will not be able to dictate to an insurer where the vehicle is repaired unless he has good reason and even then they would not pay his fathers costs and accommodation.

adamc260

http://www.honda.co.uk/cars/findashowroom/results/?nearto=London&region=UK&search-submit=&services=bodyshophealthcheck

Theres a list of the honda approved bodyshops in London area... ask him why he can't use one of them?

lisyloo

He will not be able to dictate to an insurer where the vehicle is repaired

You do have the right to use your own repairer.
The insurer will not pay more though, so if your own repairer is more expensive than theirs then you can be asked to make up the shortfall.
You are entitled to car hire, sometimes the repairer provides it, other times the insurance pays for a hire car.

Last time I had a third party claim, the repairer would not provide a courtesy car and we had a hire car provided.

So when you are considering the bill, bear in mind you might need to add on car hire is the repairer doesn't provide a courtesy car. Round my way it's about £34 for a hire car per day. It could potentially take a few days.

mikey72

lisyloo wrote: »

You do have the right to use your own repairer.
The insurer will not pay more though, so if your own repairer is more expensive than theirs then you can be asked to make up the shortfall.
You are entitled to car hire, sometimes the repairer provides it, other times the insurance pays for a hire car.

Last time I had a third party claim, the repairer would not provide a courtesy car and we had a hire car provided.

So when you are considering the bill, bear in mind you might need to add on car hire is the repairer doesn't provide a courtesy car. Round my way it's about £34 for a hire car per day. It could potentially take a few days.

You can use your own repairer, they will pay regardless of cost, (providing it's justifiable), and they will be obliged to pay for a car if it's a third party claim.
It's fair to insist on a Honda garage, to preserve any warranty.
It's reasonable to insist on a garage you trust, regardless of where it is, providing the cost is reasonable. You can't claim an unreasonable cost to get it there though.

IrishMark_2

Many thanks to one and all for these fantastic responses. It seems that all the instruments agree: As long as I agree to pay for the damage to his car, I am under no obligation to pay for how-so-ever the car arrives to the body-repair shop. If he disagrees with this assessment or attempts to take things further (he has already threatened me with legal action) I am completely within my rights to pass it over to the insurance company and let them deal with it?
Please tell me if any of this is incorrect or foolish?
Thanks,
Mark.

mikey72

I think the cost would be alot more than £250 on a 2010 car, so I'd just pass it to the insurance tbh. and avoid the aggravation.

adamc260

mikey72 wrote: »

You can use your own repairer, they will pay regardless of cost, (providing it's justifiable), and they will be obliged to pay for a car if it's a third party claim.
It's fair to insist on a Honda garage, to preserve any warranty.
It's reasonable to insist on a garage you trust, regardless of where it is, providing the cost is reasonable. You can't claim an unreasonable cost to get it there though.

It's unreasonable to pay for a vehicle to be taken from Bristol to London and back when there are Honda Dealerships in London who all repair vehicles in the same way

dacouch

adamc260 wrote: »

It's unreasonable to pay for a vehicle to be taken from Bristol to London and back when there are Honda Dealerships in London who all repair vehicles in the same way

Even if the father has a wedding to go to in Bristol at the same time ?

adamc260

dacouch wrote: »

Even if the father has a wedding to go to in Bristol at the same time ?

Does it state that anywhere? Just says he wants his dad to travel down, take the car there and pay for expenses? If i'm incorrect then I apologise, but under normal circumstances it seems unreasonable