reversing into a BMW

woody9452

Hi...

Im sorry if this is the wrong place to post...

on friday i was in a bay in the carpark of the train station i began to reverse i looked over my left shoulder and began to pull out, very slowly about 2mph there was a black bmw z4 just parked behind me to the right of my car, not in bay i went back into this car, the woman went mad and i went over and gave my insurance details, name etc, she told me it would be a new bumper...(i accept this is my fault as i should of looked, although she cant park there, and she would of clearly seen me reversing and had known i wouldn't of got out of the bay...anyhow...)


my friend came over to my car, as did a by-passer as i was upset, they went over to the bmw and rubbed off the mark and said it was just friction and that it was only on the surface, i took photos and you can see the difference before and after rubbing it....i took the bypasses number incase i would need it...

anyhow the woman texted me today saying that ' i will get a quote from a painter i know, so discount price. The marks cannot be removed because layers of paint have been scratched off in parts. have you had any thoughts about whether you want to pay cash or go through insurance'

obviously i will see what amount she texts me tomorrow, my question is if i claim through insurance will i have to pay my excess of £250? and is this lady actually doing me a favour by getting it done by a friend of hers... any help would be massively appreciated, i only passed my test in december, my insurance is up in december...i have no years no claims anyway???

attila_

sorry to hear it, these things happen.

I may be wrong but if you're fully comp then you pay excess if your car is damaged. If she is claiming on your insurance to fix her car only then you don't pay...you will just see next year's insurance premium go up.

I would wait for a quote - if its around the 300 mark perhaps pay in cash (and get a written signed agreement) on transaction. If she says something crazy - go through the insurance.

If you have a lot of time left on your policy you could start the argument that it wasn't you fault blah blah and see where that takes you.

You don't want to be applying for a new insurance mid-way through a claim.

Still could be worse...at least you're not a bmw driver:)

paddedjohn

Even if you decide to settle privately you still have to let your insurance company know for information purposes only, this may cause your premiums to rise next year.

slyracoon

Always best to go through insurance. The other driver could come back in a few days/months/years and start claiming they suffered personal injury etc. etc. Go through insurance to cover your back. Even if you don't claim you need to inform them of the accident or else you will be in breach of your policy conditions. Your premiums will rise but if you fail to tell them and they find out later (by the 3rd party initiating a claim) they may revoke your policy and you will find it hard to find insurance in the future.

Its always safest to reverse into spaces and to drive out of them, this gives best visibility and reduces risk of collisions like this occuring when your reversing out of spaces into traffic. As a new driver I assume you were taught about that?

albionrovers

BMW driver goes crazy shocker ... what has the make of car got to do with anything? It eats away at non-BMW drivers' brains so it does .....

pendulum

I would be paying cash if I were you, subject to the price being reasonable, and I agree that up to £300 is about right. If you go through insurance, you will forfeit the year's no claims discount you would have earned, and have a fault accident which you will have to declare (it'll be on record and they will find out if you don't), and this will put up your premiums significantly. If you're a new driver, that will cost you a lot more than £300 in the long run.

Do make sure you get a signed receipt to say your payment is a "full and final settlement" for the parking bump which happened on <date>.

If you settle privately for a parking bump, your insurers will never find out unless you tell them, and if you did tell them, the premium increase will be minor as there was no claim attached to the accident.

colino

Wait until they come back to you and hope it is as cheap as £300. Doesn't take much though to dislodge/break the plastic lugs on a beemer bumper so it may ratchet up quite quickly and you'll be better off using the insurance route.

richard734

Or ask for 3 seperate quotes from independant workshops.
I just put a massive dent in the passanger door of our car, rubbed it on the gate post.
A local small garage pulled the dent, replaced the trim with new and resprayed for £200

That was within the last 3 weeks. It is easy enough to knock up a printed header and claim for work that has not been done. Not unheard of from some people! I would be surprised if Bumper to Bmper contact at <5mph could cause enough damage to teh paint to justify that much work.

It might be worth suggesting back to the owner that you have spoken to the insurance company and they will require viewing by their asessor before agreeing the claim..... If they are scamming, that should give them second thoughts...

colino

OP, I hope it all works out well for you but put yourself in the shoes of the other car owner and ask what you would do to retain the good looks of your car if someone else damaged it. Sometimes it is just less stressful and better karma to let the insurance do what you pay it for.

woody9452

thanks Richard

thanks for your help, ill see what she comes back with today, i have a witness to the bump.

£300 does seem a bit excessive, it was just friction, its pretty much all rubbed off the back of my car, i understand and accept responsiblity and appriciate if i was in the same position.

I will go to a garage as well, im not too fussed about my car, and get a quote and its similar.

bigjl.

£300 is reasonable for a bumper to be painted.