Help needed now! Someone drove into side mirror - should I claim?

Daz2009

Was your car parked or did it happen whilst driving,because if it was parked it can't possibly be 50/50.
The dearest place to get a mirror from and painted will be the dealers but did the £250 include fitting too ?
Have a look here,http://www.eurocarparts.com/,put your reg no in and see how much a non genuine mirror is.......you should be able to get it painted for around £40 at a small bodyshop and then it will need fitting but on most cars that should take less than an hour

agav

It happened while driving in a narrow road, cars parked on both sides, husband already driving when car from opposite pushes in and hits our mirror with his then speeds away. I can see that I could buy mirror online quite cheap but what will I do if the other guy decides to try his luck, report it and blame us? The insurance company already said that the blame is 50/50 even though the guy didn't stop at the scene. Will I have to pay excess then?

HappyMJ

agav wrote: »

It happened while driving in a narrow road, cars parked on both sides, husband already driving when car from opposite pushes in and hits our mirror with his then speeds away. I can see that I could buy mirror online quite cheap but what will I do if the other guy decides to try his luck, report it and blame us? The insurance company already said that the blame is 50/50 even though the guy didn't stop at the scene. Will I have to pay excess then?

If you want it fixed then you'll have to pay the excess. Or wait until the other party pays up first. I can't see the other party being 100% responsible in this case so I'd just pay it myself (without claiming) and quit worrying about it.

agav

I am not sure how you decided that the guy is not 100% responsible. If you see a car driving already in a narrow road you don't push in and break their mirror but wait for them to pass and then go yourself. It's not that we had anywhere to go as it was to tight for two cars.

Aretnap

Fault depends on who did what in the run up to the accident. While the other guy should have stopped at the scene the fact that he didn't doesn't make the accident retrospectively become his fault, it just means that he potentially committed an offence in it's aftermath. For a clip between two moving cars on a narrow road 50/50 is the likely outcome unless there's an independent witness or some other evidence to show that it was clearly one party's fault. It sucks, but if the other guy's version of events differs from yours the insurers will just settle at 50/50: they won't think a wing mirror is worth a major investigation.

Local independent places are likely to be cheaper than the Ford garage, try getting quotes from a couple of them and it may well work out cheaper than going through your insurance, losing some of your excess and no claims and having it recorded as a (partial) fault claim.

forgotmyname

neilmcl wrote: »

Only if he claims via his own insurer.

oops yes of course i meant that even if i didnt say it...

Its mad how sometimes you reply to a post them come back later and think what twit wrote that.. Oh it was me.

I didnt put what i thought i had.

cootuk

Or get a used housing off Ebay/breakers even if in wrong colour.
If in wrong colour then wet and dry sand it down, prime, spray in correct colour. Spray top coat and allow to dry for a week or so.
Fit.
Most just bolt on/off and maybe an electrical connection.
Depends if it's the clip on hopusing or the whole mirror housing, and whether replacement has all the motors in.
I know of one case where diy cost around £100 for whole housing and spray cans.

mattyprice4004

cootuk wrote: »

Or get a used housing off Ebay/breakers even if in wrong colour.
If in wrong colour then wet and dry sand it down, prime, spray in correct colour. Spray top coat and allow to dry for a week or so.
Fit.
Most just bolt on/off and maybe an electrical connection.
Depends if it's the clip on hopusing or the whole mirror housing, and whether replacement has all the motors in.
I know of one case where diy cost around £100 for whole housing and spray cans.

Did the same in my old car - total cost £15.

steve-L

agav wrote: »

I am not sure how you decided that the guy is not 100% responsible. If you see a car driving already in a narrow road you don't push in and break their mirror but wait for them to pass and then go yourself. It's not that we had anywhere to go as it was to tight for two cars.

You were not stationary!

If you were partly on his side of the road (at all) then its partly your fault...

Quentin

If it's 50/50 then you can still claim 50% of your costs off the third party

( You won't have any excess to pay over this)