Do I make a claim for old scratches on car?

EmmyRoo

Hi,
I'm hoping someone can give me some advice regarding my car insurance.

Back in the Easter holidays this year I accidentally scratched my car's driver's side doors (both) and rear wheel arch on a gate, getting out of an extremely tight car park.
At the time I was annoyed but thought I'd just get them repaired at some point, and thought no more about it.

Now, a few months down the line, I am wanting to trade in my car for a newer model and am wanting to get the scratches fixed first. I got a quote from a local body shop which was over £800, which I can't afford to just pay, so I thought I could claim on my insurance and only have to pay the excess (this is what the body shop man advised me to do).

However, I just looked at the policy wording (I'm with 1st Central) and it says you're meant to inform them of any accident within 48 hours or they could refuse to indemnify you.

So my concern is that if I ring them up to ask about claiming, they may refuse to pay out, but will still mark the "incident" on my policy which will then put up my premiums for the next 5 years, so I lose out doubly!

What can I do about this? Do I have no choice but to either pay for the repairs myself or take the risk of asking 1st Central about possibly claiming?

Thanks for any help!

OnanTheBarbarian

Have you thought about a quote from the likes of "chips away" instead? - May be cheaper?

1st Central could refuse to indemnify if you told them when the damage arose. Alternatively the damage could have only just happened, cough.

You would have to pay your excess and your premiums will most likely be loaded for the next 5 years when you have to declare this incident

SailorSam

Are you willing to lose your no claims bonus for a few scratches.It could cost you a lot more than £800 over the next few years.

Quentin

EmmyRoo wrote: »

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So my concern is that if I ring them up to ask about claiming, they may refuse to pay out, but will still mark the "incident" on my policy which will then put up my premiums for the next 5 years, so I lose out doubly!

If your "concern" is a question, then what you could do is some dummy quotes with and without this incident in your history to see what difference a fault incident (with no cost involved) makes to the premium.


Then once you know you can do the sums and make a decision!

lisyloo

Will the scratches knock £800 off the trade in price?
I'd look at Chips away or similar franchises if I were you.
They come and rub down and spray paint at your home rather than taking parts off and using a proper oven.
A lot cheaper and might be appropriate for cars that aren't pristine condition.

rudekid48

OnanTheBarbarian wrote: »

Have you thought about a quote from the likes of "chips away" instead? - May be cheaper?

1st Central could refuse to indemnify if you told them when the damage arose. Alternatively the damage could have only just happened, cough.

You would have to pay your excess and your premiums will most likely be loaded for the next 5 years when you have to declare this incident

Nice thought, but if the insurer wants to inspect the damage then any assessor should know the difference between new and 4 month old scratches - £800 is more than a scuff...

EmmyRoo

Thanks for all the responses.

As rudekid says, I'd worry that the scratches would look too old to have been recently done, I think there might be a tiny bit of rust on one of them.

The £800 quote is because the scratches are on both doors and the wheel arch, plus there's a bit of a dent too, so there are a few panels and things to remove to fix them. They're not too horrific really, and the car's in good condition otherwise, only 5 years old, so I want to try and get the most I can for trade-in.

I have a protected NCD but it's the increase in premiums that concerns me. Doing a few dummy quotes is a good idea though.

I hadn't heard of Chips Away before so I'll definitely look into that option too.

I thought of maybe taking the car to Arnold Clark as it is and asking them how much they'd offer for trade in with the scratches and how that'd compare to their offer if we fixed the damage first. Not sure if I'd just fall into a car salesman's trap if I did that though??

Archergirl

Off subject, but I'd never use 1st Central again, once bitten.....