Car park scrape - where do I stand legally?

JoCornet

I was jammed into a very tight space today and had to manoeuvre laboriously out. The car in the next space was close but not illegal - the problem was more that the car park (doctors' surgery) is not really designed to accommodate full-sized cars. Anyway I lightly scraped the other car's rear valance during this manoeuvre. The gentleman was in his car at the time, and I was very apologetic and volunteered all my details - including my insurance details, although as the damage was so minor I asked him if we could sort it out privately. I also took a photo of the damage on my mobile phone. It is certainly not dented and I doubt whether it will need much more than polishing out. It is possible that there will be a small touch-up job, but there are certainly no dents. So I suggested that he got a quote from a bodywork shop. It then occurred to me that I could visit body repair places myself and ask their advice. I went to three, and one advised that the worst case scenario was likely to be £200 - although if no touch-up was needed it would just be "beer money". The next one suggested around £130 + VAT. The third garage turned out to be the one where the driver had taken his car for a quote, so of course they were unwilling to enter into dialogue with me as the "other party", which I can understand. However this is also the repair garage locally considered to be the most expensive, and I am terrified that they will quote him for replacement of the entire valance. I guess that would be around the £500 mark? (The car is a 3 year-old Peugeot 107.)

So, my question is this: if I want a cash settlement situation with no lawyers or insurance involved, do I have to go along with what is potentially an over-inflated quote, or do I have the legal right to insist he seeks other quotes? I am loath to ring him and try to come to some kind of agreement - firstly I suppose I am clinging to the hope that he may realise that the damage is too minor to bother about, and any phone call may provoke him. And secondly - to be frank he didn't come across as the kind of person you could negotiate with.

I would be grateful for any advice - thanks!

notanewuser

You have no rights to insist anything.

zzzLazyDaisy

To be honest you don't have any right to force him to take the car somewhere else or to accept less than the car will cost to repair. I don't see how the other bodyshops could give more then a ball park figure without inspecting the damage anyway.

However, he does have the right to place the matter in the hands of his insurers and leave it to them to sort it out with your insurers.

smjxm09

It would be worth pointing out that even if the other party was not at fault his premium would still go up even it it was protected.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

your at the mercy of the third party, if he chooses to go down a route for insurance you have no alternative.

in theory you should declair things such as this to your insurers, but for minor scrape that could cost minimal amount of money to repair and increase premiums for 5 years for both for the sake of claiming a polish job as you put it would not be very sensible as it will cost more in the long run of things for both of you.

what i would do i ring him again, and say you have had quotes based upon the photo of the damage and all agree its minimal damage and not costly to repair tell him where youve been to get quotes and would he like to choose one if he doesnt wish to go down that route of insurance claim.

you could also ask a company such like chipsaway (other companies out there) to quote, and that the thrid party would get it repaired convienient to them home or work etc so they dont get inconvienced much.

Cornucopia

Halfords will do an on-the-spot estimate for small "chip" repairs.

IIRC, they quote £65 for a chip up to the size of a 5p piece.

smashingyour...

smjxm09 wrote: »

It would be worth pointing out that even if the other party was not at fault his premium[STRIKE] would[/STRIKE]could still go up even it it was protected.

Fixed that for you.;)

smashingyour...

Cornucopia wrote: »

Halfords will do an on-the-spot estimate for small "chip" repairs.

IIRC, they quote £65 for a chip up to the size of a 5p piece.

That's one way to wind up the innocent party.

Tiddlywinks

OP - if you had hit my car, I would NOT be looking for a cheap "get-out" for you.

I'd want the repair to be done at an approved garage that gave a decent warranty.

Anyway, a body shop will not have been able to give an accurate quote without seeing the car. A photo would not adequately reflect the depth of the damage of the various angles necessary to make an absolute judgement.

This is your mistake - do what the injured party wants... after all, you have caused him a lot of inconvenience... with more to come... just pay up and suck it up!

plane_boy2000

May not just be damage to the valence, it could be to any supporting bracket undeneath, although I'm not sure on the make up of a 107 (how did you manage to hit a 107 parked correctly - there tiny!)

The injured party has the right to a decent repair where he chooses IMO. A few years back a guy reversed out of a space into our then 6 week old car. He wanted to settle direct which was fine, but wasn't happy at me wanting a 6 week old car repaired by the main dealer (to ensure any corrosion / paint warranty was preserved). In the end I claimed through his insurer.

OddballJamie

You're lucky they are even entertaining settling it privately and you have no right to tell them where they get it repaired and if they need a hire car you'll be footing the bill for that.
My car is 3 years old this September and if it was mine you bumped, it would be through the insurance, work done at main dealer (one that has a bodyshop, not outsourced), hire car and I'd claim for possible premium increases.

The car in the next space was close but not illegal

Unless the car is parked over the car park exit, I don't see how any laws are broken.