Damage to neighbours car 4 May at 9:38AM in England 7 replies 131 views

Katiemajor1975

My son was angle grinding his car on our drive. There is a 3 foot wall then the neighbour’s drive (about a car parking space apart).  My neighbour is claiming spark from the grinder have damaged all panels of his motor home.  My son doesn’t think that’s possible - damage could only have been made to the side panel and bonnet.
The neighbour has received a quote for the work but it is vague £180 for ‘other’.  My son has asked for clarification.  The neighbour says the work is booked in and he’ll take legal action if my son doesn’t pay.  what should my son do next? He’s not saying he won’t pay but he only accept part of the damage and wants to know what items on the quote is for.
thanks

GeordieGeorge

When he showed your son the marks, were they consistent with the story?

Katiemajor1975

Not really.  My son was on one side of his car with it up on jacks, underneath the car.  the neighbour is saying the sparks came out from under one side of my sons car, travelled the car width plus a bit, to his campervan and then hit every panel of his van.  Also, it was sub-zero temperatures at the time and so the sparks wouldn't have stayed hot enough to damage the neighbour's vehicle.  In addition, this happened over three months ago and the neighbour has only raised it two weeks ago.

GSDMum

Do you live near a railway line? Brake dust (small iron particles) from the trains can fly in the air and settle/stick on nearby car paintwork, if not washed off the filings will corrode and damage the surface of the car.

Your son needs to ask for a full technical report. The paint shop should supply such a report. Your son needs to know the cause of the problem, and what the rectification is proposed, in writing. 

GSDMum

Just another thought, notify your household insurance of the problem.... maybe they could help.

naedanger

Your son should tell your neighbour he must be given an opportunity to see the alleged damage himself and get it checked if necessary. Otherwise he cannot know whether he caused the damage or whether the repair bill is reasonable, and will dispute any claim on that basis.

My thought is what sort of repair is being done on every panel for £180? It doesn't sound much if the panels were actually damaged.

Katiemajor1975

The damage can be seen but it could be just as easily stone chips as damaged by the angle grinder.  Also, as it is on every panel (which would not have been physically possible), my son is dubious as to whther he did in fact, damage the vehicle at all.  The total quote for repairs is £470.  It is split into parts of about £140, labour about £150 and the 'other' for £180.  There is no explanation as to what the 'other' is for.

naedanger

Would stone chips not be quite different from sparks? Usually stones leave a dent whereas I wouldn't have thought sparks would. Not sure what damage sparks would do - maybe like melt damage or black charring.