MMD: Should I make my son pay for his mistake?

onlyroz

Not enough info. What is the cost of the repair? What is the insurance excess? How big is the no claims bonus and how much would this be reduced by after the claim?

onomatopoeia99

cjdavies wrote: »

Insurance goes up annually claim or no claim, will be extra wirh claim, so needs to be worked out with claim added.

Mine has been flat for about 10 years at £200/year on my daily driver (Porsche)

gloriouslyhappy

MSE_Naomi wrote: »

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

My 19-year-old regularly borrows the family car, and contributes money to its running costs. He was recently in a small accident and badly dented the bumper. Our insurance will cover the repairs but my husband thinks we should make him pay upfront to teach him to take responsibility. [/I]

Sounds like he already takes responsibility if he 'fessed up to the accident, so no need for punitive measures, especially as he's contributing to the running costs. Give him a break!

Dorchadrummerboy

He is your son and probably not got a lot of money - not just anybody - you were both young drivers at one point This will make him a more aware driver

seeroo

Depends on if he was at fault and how much it was. I had a bump in my mum's car when I was younger not long after I passed my test and I paid for the damage outside of the insurance to the other guy. Ended up paying £350 for a scratch on his bumper but it did teach me a lesson to be more careful. I thought it was fair at the time.

What wasn't fair was my brother had a worse accident where he was driving like an idiot and hit a curb at speed. Bent the wheel axel and didn't pay a penny!

glentoran99

cjdavies wrote: »

Insurance goes up annually claim or no claim, will be extra wirh claim, so needs to be worked out with claim added.

You need to shop around.. My insurance either stays the same or goes down each year

prowla

silvercar wrote: »

He's 19 and a relatively new driver. You knew this risk when you agreed to lend him the car.

Be very grateful he wasn't injured.

I agree - he will have one or two minor bumps, but hopefully nothing major!

If you don't like the risk, then don't lend him the car!

kingbing

Agree with gloriouslyhappy. He clearly already takes responsibility and probably doesn't earn much, if anything. These things happen in life. Forgive him and move on.

JoBaby

You've said it was an accident so no I don't think he should pay. Would your husband expect to pay for repairs if he had an accident? We all make mistakes

AlextheFly

Was this accident with another party? If so then beware of paying upfront - an accident involving a "badly dented" bumper could well result in a personal injury claim from the other car's occupants, even if they said at the time that they were fine (injuries such as whiplash can often come on in the days following, and claims can be made up to 3 years post-accident!) If that happens and you've paid upfront for the damage, then you'll have given up the chance for the insurers to pay for the damage but will still lose your no claims bonus. Lose:lose!