My car rolled into another... Advice appreciated

Mudchild

Somehow I managed to not engage the handbrake properly, and my car gently rolled into the car  parked next to it while I was elsewhere. Damage is minor - scratching to their headlight cover and to bumper panel, nothing beyond that. Also scratching to one of my doors.

Found the owner, apologised, exchanged details, promised to get it sorted. Communications are positive.

Never happened to me before, just considering options. 

As the damage is not major, I'm assuming it would be better to just pay for it without going through insurance. So I'm thinking I get a quote from a garage and/or body shop based on the photo, see what the other party thinks of it, they could compare with quotes at their end if they wish, then I'll just pay them that amount, perhaps round it up a bit for the inconvenience.

Does this seem sensible?

Thanks

Alex

Desmond_Hume

In a perfect world, yes, you could do that.  You need to be wary of other damage suddenly having occurred that they want sorting and pull a fast one to get it done at the same time, at your expense. 

You’re technically going to have to declare this accident anyway, so might as well just go through insurance and let them deal with it. 

Oh and finally, leave the car in gear in the future 👍. 

pramsay13

I think you'll find that even minor damage will run into hundreds and even thousands quite easily.

What about the other person needing another car while theirs is being fixed?

By all means get a quote but be prepared for it to be too much. 

DullGreyGuy

Mudchild said:

As the damage is not major, I'm assuming it would be better to just pay for it without going through insurance. So I'm thinking I get a quote from a garage and/or body shop based on the photo, see what the other party thinks of it, they could compare with quotes at their end if they wish, then I'll just pay them that amount, perhaps round it up a bit for the inconvenience.

Does this seem sensible?

How old was their car? What was the general state of it?

Many people in this type of scenario will take their car to their franchise dealership to have it looked at and they will quote for a "proper" fix resulting in blending paint across multiple panels etc rather than just the local "scratch doctor"/mobile repairer. Those garages can also be fairly keen on selling passing their details on to accident management companies to provide a like for like hire car. 

What you think maybe a few hundred quid touchup very quickly becomes a few thousand. 

Ultimately you will have already told your insurers, as legally required and not having "forgotten to", and if their quotes come in too high then pass it to your insurers to deal with. 

uknick

Bumper panel smart repair about £250 ish; headlight repair assuming it doesn't need replacing about the same (at least that's what they charge in the Reading area).  Could be around £500.

If you're not claiming any repairs for your car there's nothing for you to pay if you go through your insurance.

Do you think your insurance premiums might increase by £500 over the next 5 years or so?