Quite a horrible dent on my Mercedes DONT know how to move forward

Richard53

pinkshoes said:

Standingstrong said:

marlot said:

Is the dent just in the door?  Or is the sill damaged?

How old is the car?  Mileage?

Even if the car is classed as a writeoff, it might be worth buying it back from the insurance company and doing a cheap job (enough to stop it rusting).

Dent in door it’s got a little ding in the sill also… 

2018 , 33500 miles 

Just contact your insurance and get them to sort it. 

As above, do the maths first. My insurance excess was (from memory) £500 (compulsory + voluntary), so for a £600 bill it wasn't worth claiming.

Waunakee

pinkshoes said

Cars are only written off when the cost of the damage is more than the value of the car.

We're talking a dent and some scratches. I'm assuming your car is worth more than £1000 ish???

Just contact your insurance and get them to sort it. I take it whoever did this didn't leave a name or address??

The original poster appears to have been despatched back to fantasy land!

Car_54

pinkshoes said:

Standingstrong said:

marlot said:

Is the dent just in the door?  Or is the sill damaged?

How old is the car?  Mileage?

Even if the car is classed as a writeoff, it might be worth buying it back from the insurance company and doing a cheap job (enough to stop it rusting).

Dent in door it’s got a little ding in the sill also… 

2018 , 33500 miles 

Cars are only written off when the cost of the damage is more than the value of the car.

Well, not quite. Cost of repairs, plus any incidentals (hire car?), plus a bit for luck.

molerat

Car_54 said:

ElefantEd said:

How to move forward: 1) depress clutch 2) engage 1st gear 3) release clutch slowly whilst depressing accelerator

4) Stall. The handbrake is still on.

Not on my car, could be if you drive some old fashioned sort of car

Car_54

molerat said:

Car_54 said:

ElefantEd said:

How to move forward: 1) depress clutch 2) engage 1st gear 3) release clutch slowly whilst depressing accelerator

4) Stall. The handbrake is still on.

Not on my car, could be if you drive some old fashioned sort of car

Fair point!

Ath_Wat

I got a dent like that on my car about 8 or 9 years ago.  Bit worse really.

I ignored it.  Car is still fine.

motorguy

Grey_Critic said:

pinkshoes said:

Cars are only written off when the cost of the damage is more than the value of the car.

We're talking a dent and some scratches. I'm assuming your car is worth more than £1000 ish???

Just contact your insurance and get them to sort it. I take it whoever did this didn't leave a name or address??

Just remember that even if you decide to pay for it yourself you are still required to infoem your insurance company and fro tales on here that can create problems.

So as pinkshoes said Just contact your insurance and get them to sort it. A lot less hassle.

So you're advising him to tell the insurance company, which by your own admittance that can create problems?

AND on top of that, he'll no doubt have excess to pay on his insurance, he'll have to declare the claim for 5 years and it'll likely put his insurance up for several years at least??

Not a pups chance i'd be telling the insurance company.  Find a local recommended / reputable body shop and get them to sort it.  £1000 tops, less if they're lucky.  

motorguy

Ath_Wat said:

I got a dent like that on my car about 8 or 9 years ago.  Bit worse really.

I ignored it.  Car is still fine.

Not much point in driving a nice car and then having that damage on it.

I'd be getting it repaired.

Come resale time he'll either have to repair it before selling or the cost of the repair will be knocked off the value so you'd just be kicking the can down the road AND have to look at it in the meantime.

Some old scrapper yes, 5 year old car thats worth maybe £15K+, i'd be getting it fixed.

Ath_Wat

motorguy said:

Ath_Wat said:

I got a dent like that on my car about 8 or 9 years ago.  Bit worse really.

I ignored it.  Car is still fine.

Not much point in driving a nice car and then having that damage on it.

I'd be getting it repaired.

Come resale time he'll either have to repair it before selling or the cost of the repair will be knocked off the value so you'd just be kicking the can down the road AND have to look at it in the meantime.

Some old scrapper yes, 5 year old car thats worth maybe £15K+, i'd be getting it fixed.

I'm glad to say my life wouldn't be in any way negatively impacted by looking at a scratch on a car.  It's a car.

But then as your posting name is "motorguy", you probably put far more importance on cars than I do.

Richard53

motorguy said:

Ath_Wat said:

I got a dent like that on my car about 8 or 9 years ago.  Bit worse really.

I ignored it.  Car is still fine.

Come resale time he'll either have to repair it before selling or the cost of the repair will be knocked off the value

It would have more effect on a sale than just the value of the repair, though. You're asking someone to buy a damaged car. Say it's 'worth' £10k and the repair is fairly judged to be £500. Could you really ask £9500 and expect to get it? I doubt it. You're selling a car, plus damage, plus a trip to the bodyshop, plus a hint that the owner didn't really care about the car, and so on. That would do far more damage to the car's value than just the repair cost. I'd only consider a damaged car if I knew I could pay the price AND fix the damage for a lot less than a pristine car. Otherwise why take the risk?

I take your point, though. Fix it before sale, definitely. Otherwise I'm reminded of those chancers who advertise "No MoT but will pass easily." Yeah, mate.