Partner bumped into old lady

Dan-Dan

ha ha , quality JC

pinkteapot

What the car is worth is utterly irrelevant, unless the cost of the damage exceeds it (which it doesn't).

If the bumper is dented then that panel needs to be replaced. The new one will need spraying to match the car. New panels aren't cheap. £200 seems slightly OTT but not by much. I bumped a lamppost in a car park and annoyingly creased two panels. I seem to remember that costing about £250 but it was a few years ago. And that was on a 2002 Astra worth less than £1k at the time.

Modern cars (and that includes 2002) crumple like paper so even with minor bumps you're usually looking at replacing a panel.

Skintski

pinkteapot wrote: »

What the car is worth is utterly irrelevant, unless the cost of the damage exceeds it (which it doesn't).

If the bumper is dented then that panel needs to be replaced. The new one will need spraying to match the car. New panels aren't cheap. £200 seems slightly OTT but not by much. I bumped a lamppost in a car park and annoyingly creased two panels. I seem to remember that costing about £250 but it was a few years ago. And that was on a 2002 Astra worth less than £1k at the time.

Modern cars (and that includes 2002) crumple like paper so even with minor bumps you're usually looking at replacing a panel.

Not these days, insurance companies are pushing body shops to repair rather than replace so if cracked/dented it will probably be repaired. Plus if the vehicle is 2002 a new bumper may push it over the edge into being beyond an economical repair.

As for the earlier suggestion of tell her to take to a body shop of your choice, if that was me I would tell you to do one. It's my vehicle and I will take it where I want it to be repaired as is the owners right.

jimjames

andydunf wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

I'd rather pay increased insurance premiums for the next 20 years than hand over £200 for an old banger of a Micra.

Your choice.

But the increased insurance may be much higher than £200. We had accident where our parked car was hit by a third party. Increased insurance costs over the first year since have been over £200. And that's for an accident where we are not at fault.

To avoid that accident being recorded would be well worth £200 in my experience.

Herzlos

Either do it through your insurance, or arrange to go in and pay the garage bill yourself, and ensure there's a box of chocolates, flowers and a £50 gift voucher for somewhere in the car when they collect it. Don't waste your time arguing over it; you want them to think you were a lovely bloke and not a chancer.

agrinnall

andydunf wrote: »

Nothing worse than someone trying to rip you off this close to Christmas?

I'll bet the relatives of the 250,000 people who died in the Boxing Day tsunami 10 years ago wish that someone had tried to rip them off close to Christmas instead.

Dan-Dan

Herzlos wrote: »

Either do it through your insurance, or arrange to go in and pay the garage bill yourself, and ensure there's a box of chocolates, flowers and a £50 gift voucher for somewhere in the car when they collect it. Don't waste your time arguing over it; you want them to think you were a lovely bloke and not a chancer.

The op would have to go some to come across like that , if this threads anything to go by

Mojisola

andydunf wrote: »

My partner was driving our car around a round-about and bumped into the old lady in front. She wasn't going any faster than 10MPH. Our number plate suffered a crack down it which was the only damage on our part.

Nothing worse than someone trying to rip you off this close to Christmas?

Perhaps being run into and then have the perpetrator get nasty about paying for the damage?

Your partner was at fault - it isn't the victim's fault that she's old or has an old car or has found more damage than was visible at the time.

wba31

OP - what was the point in this entire thread if you are hell bent on going through insurance anyway?

buglawton

OP's first post seemed undecided. Perhaps OP has made up their mind based on the sage advice of some of the replies