Bump one day after MOT ran out!

elljay

I am devastated and so mad and angry with myself - really upset!

My car was due for its MOT yesterday, I took it to the garage where they did some work including brakes but didn't have all the parts needed for a couple of other bits so the mechanic said he'd ring me in a couple of days. He didn't do the MOT and said it would be fine for a day or so (So stupid of me for taking that advice)

So today I had my first accident ever in over 30 years of driving, hit a car in a Tesco carpark. I left my details and the owners have rung while I've been out, they're ringing back later. There's a slight dent in their wheel arch and lots of paint scraped off.

I also apologised on my note which I suppose I shouldn't have but it was totally my fault for misjudging the space.

Can anyone advise me what to do and what to say to the guy when he rings? They sounded lovely on the message but that won't stop them wanting me to rightly pay for the damage.

If it's hellishly expensive (is that likely?) will my insurance be invalid? I've read conflicting views on this. I've tried to ring the garage to see if the parts are in and if they will try the MOT anyway but no answer now.

Please can you advise me? My head is all over the place and I can't think straight. Thank you.


....and to top it all, the passenger side windscreen wiper flew off while driving along, so that's another thing to sort before the MOT.

Quentin

Don't accept liability.

If you want to pay for his repairs remember you are responsible for all his costs, not just the garage bill (eg car hire whilst repairs carried out), and the injured party can choose where to get repairs done.

If you want to preserve your NCD and don't intend claiming for your own repairs you can let your insurer handle this, and reimburse them their outlay and have your NCD reinstated.

No MOT won't affect your insurance. Ignore any conflicting advice over this.

The only downside would be if your car were to be written off, when no MOT would affect its value.

elljay

Hello, thank you so much for such a speedy response. I suppose by apologising and saying I hit them on the note I have already admitted liability. Morally it seemed the right thing to do - if not I could just have driven away and I would never do that. It's obviously my fault anyway, whether I admit it or not.

I'll just have to wait for him to ring me and see what he says. I assume his next step would be to get an estimate of the work needed and go from there. Am I entitled to see his estimates and does he need to get 3 or anything like that? Or do I just have to accept what he tells me and write the cheque. I've never claimed for anything on insurance so don't know how the ncd and excess system works. I'll dig out the policy and ring them in the morning.

Thank you for the confident response re MOT, I'll be on to the garage first thing in the morning. Really grateful for your reply.

arcon5

I also apologised on my note which I suppose I shouldn't have

Your insurance won't like you accepting liability - but it's certainly the right thing to do, since you are clearly the party 100% at fault.

They cannot refuse a third party claim because of the MOT.

fivetide

The only issue is whether you'd want to claim for your own car. If you are fully comp you might have issues getting the insurer to pay up for your car.

As said though, they cannot refuse the 3rd party claim so the damage to him is covered.

As you suspect, a signed note apologising and saying it was all your fault (which unless he was parked very illegally it most certainly was) is very much admitting liability already.

Well done to you for being so honest though. Hopefulyl karma will look after you!

stormbreaker

If the vehicle you struck was parked and unattended then you did the right thing. You can't argue liability if the other car was stationary. To drive off, without doing something would be an offense, you may not have been caught but why live with the worry, we all have accidents.
I don't think having an MOT or not will have any bearing on an insurance claim.
If the claim is likely to be expensive then go through your insurance that's why we have it. You may not have a choice if the other party inform their insurance and want to claim through them, then the insurance companies deal direct with each other. You will be liable for the excess.
If you don't have NCD protection then there is little you can do now.

elljay

Thank you all for such helpful and reassuring responses - I quite expected people to rip into me for being so irresponsible.

Don't think karma is helping me much at the moment, I'm dreading this phone call! It never occurred to me to drive away I have to say so can't take any real credit in making the right choice.

I won't claim for my own car, I'll live with the scrapes and touch it up when I can find the right paint. It's Y reg so not exactly new though until now the bodywork was in great condition - I'm a pretty careful driver but today was in an unfamiliar area and don't know my way round that carpark so was distracted, I'm so stupid. Wish I'd photographed the other car so I could check the damage but was not thinking straight.

Will chase MOT first thing tomorrow, it sounds as they are 2 separate issues anyway. Thank you all, you've been so nice.

stormbreaker

Take comfort in the fact no one was hurt. As much as an MOT is valid for a year, the checks done are actually only valid for that day as it is purely a safety check.
It is helpful to know that you can have your MOT done a month in advance. If it passes the MOT issued is valid for the 13 months. If it fails, in theory, you have a month to get the defects rectified, again bearing in mind an MOT is to check that your car is safe to drive.

Norman_Castle

I'm dreading this phone call! It never occurred to me to drive away I have to say so can't take any real credit in making the right choice.

You can take credit for being honest.. I recently found minor damage to the rear arch on a car I had borrowed. It was at the height of the front bumper of the 4x4 which had been parked next to me. I hope karma gets them. (is it unkarmistic to say that?).
If the other driver is willing it may be cheaper to go direct to a bodyshop rather than through the insurers.

dacouch

fivetide wrote: »

The only issue is whether you'd want to claim for your own car. If you are fully comp you might have issues getting the insurer to pay up for your car.

As said though, they cannot refuse the 3rd party claim so the damage to him is covered.

As you suspect, a signed note apologising and saying it was all your fault (which unless he was parked very illegally it most certainly was) is very much admitting liability already.

Well done to you for being so honest though. Hopefulyl karma will look after you!

Why the lack of an MOT affect the OP from claiming from his own policy assuming the car was roadworthy

fivetide

dacouch wrote: »

Why the lack of an MOT affect the OP from claiming from his own policy assuming the car was roadworthy

Have another read. I said "you might have issues"

You've been here for a while. You know full well many insurers try to say no MOT then no valid insurance. It is a clause that can be fought and they won't refuse a 3rd party claim as in the OP's case but if they wanted to claim for their own car I'd expect to have to submit a complaint at least and get the car inspected for roadworthiness i.e. they might have issues.

Perfectly clear.

Since the OP's car is old and they aren't claiming your point is irrelevant anyway.