Hit by new driver

bbfb10

Last Thursday at around 20:00 my car was parked outside on the road when it was hit by a neighbours son who scraped his car along the back of mine whilst attempting to exit his drive. The damage didnt look too bad at the time and the neighbours mum has said that as their son is liable they would cover the cost of the repair but would prefer not to go through the insurance company as this would affect their sons premium for the following year. Fair enough l thought.

The next day l went to move my car and the reversing sensors made one long beep then stopped working altogether. After cleaning the car, the damage was shown as an area, roughly 12" long and 7" wide of scraped paintwork. I took the car to VW for a quote and was given a figure of £650.

After hearing this the neighbours are reluctant to pay for the damage as the price is "far too high for such a small area". Even after emailing over the quote l was given they are trying to get me to go to a backstreet garage to get it fixed.

My preference is to go with VW to get the repairs done, but lm unsure of my rights in this situation. Can l insist that the car is repaired by VW? If they refuse to meet the cost can l also insist that the work is done through the insurance company?

Thanks in advance.

tykesi

The ball is well and truly in your court with this one. If you're not willing to compromise on getting VW to do it then it'll have to go through the insurance. Worth being aware though that if it does go through the insurance it's unlikely that VW will be the ones doing or arranging the work.

Quentin

You can insist your car is repaired at your choice of garage. (Whether you do this privately or through insurance)


Just contact their insurer and ask to speak to their innocent third party claims dept and they should look after you.


If your neighbour subsequently wants to get their NCD back they can reimburse their insurer their costs

Spicy_McHaggis

It's up to you where you have the repair done. If they don't like VWs prices ask for his insurance details and claim through them.

straighttalker

As others have said, it's your prerogative to go where you want to have your repairs done. If they aren't happy, approach their insurers direct and get them to sort it. The third party insurer will bend over backwards for you to go with them as they will not want you to use an accident management firm.

Also, be sure to make sure there wasn't a leaf, crisp packet or small speck of dust which got lodged between your car and the neighbours when the collision occurred as some on here will be adamant that you sue said leaf, crisp packet or small speck of dust.

arcon5

What car is it and what age? Unless it's only a few years old I think it's reasonable for them to want to mitigate their losses and find a decent local garage rather than a main dealer whoes rates are ridiculous on anybodies scale.

Of course you can go to their iinsurers who may or may not agree to using your chosen garage.

Herzlos

New driver is likely to have an excess of at least £600 (normally £100 optional + £500 compulsory or the likes) anyway, so maybe worth pointing that out.

PDC

If that figure is including fixing an issue with the reversing sensors then it doesn't sound a bad figure to me.

Had quotes for damage in a similar instance last year and small local places came in around £300-350 and larger dealer £1200. This was only for paint damage of a similar size to what you describe.

If they don't want to pay and have seen the invoice then I would just tell them you will go through insurance then. Seems to me you have done them a favour by offering to settle outside of that as they asked already.

straighttalker

Herzlos wrote: »

New driver is likely to have an excess of at least £600 (normally £100 optional + £500 compulsory or the likes) anyway, so maybe worth pointing that out.

New driver doesn't pay an excess on third party claims.

Hoof_Hearted

Some main dealers don't have a body shop but will use a reputable local specialist (and add a premium on top). I don't think it's unreasonable for them to ask you to get a second quote from a good body shop, but you definitely hold all the cards.

byjimini

Let us know how you get on.