Damage to a 3rd person's car.

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

crockers

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 30, 2007
Messages
7,097
Location
North Wilts
Car
XC60 MY2014 SeLux Nav plus lot and lots of toys...
Have had my granddaughter on the phone today -- in tears.

Apparently she backed into a BMW - admits she was wrong.

The owner has had the car inspected by BMW and they want £700+ - no damage to my granddaughters Toyota Yaris.(well minimal).

He then threatens her that she has 7 days to pay or he will go to police - in other words scaring the sh!te out of the kid.

Now - we can't go to insurers as she has a £600 excess (she is only 18 and been driving for 5 months) so next years premium will go through the roof.

I have asked for a copy of the estimate and thought I would call the BMW garage and get them to talk me through it and then if agreeable pay them direct.

Preferably I would like a second opinion - but she is in Yorkshire and I am in Wiltshire and if it was my car I would want it done by BMW too.

Am I approaching this in the correct manner?

Personally I would like to tell him where to go for threatening and scaring her but that is emotion speaking and cold facts.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts etc..



edit...damage was a dent in the wing - and a scratch - BMW are talking about taking the wing off to repair it and spray it. - seem excessive
 
She should report it to the police herself, then when he does not it would be classed as not stopping after an accident.......
 
She should report it to the police herself, then when he does not it would be classed as not stopping after an accident.......

No I think he is threatening her with the police to get the money - obviously all details have been exchanged so no need to report the accident as she obviously did stop.

I have told her the police will not be interested in this ....
 
Yep I agree, get her to report to police immediately, You have every right to ask for evidence of the quote and if you want to settle out of Insurance thats great, it shouldn't matter to him... I would be the same if he had been like that to one of my kids....
 
What I mean is if she reports an accident and he does not then he would get into trouble!
and you are right the monetary side of it is a civil matter so she should tell him to go ahead as the police will just tell him to stop wasting their time.
 
What are the parents doing about it?

Police won't care about it unless someone is hurt.

It'll just mean you/her/parents will have to get the job done by a BMW approved workshop in good time.

It's what you'd expect if was the other way around.
 
Sorry I am lost -- they have exchanged details - no one is hurt - so why involve the police ....???:confused: :confused: :confused:
 
I don't understand how the police could help, what would be more likely is that he will just claim on his insurance, and they will try to recover it from your granddaughter.

This is whay you are trying to avoid, so really he is holding all the cards if you dont want to claim. (Although technically you should tell them even if you settle outside of the insurance policy)

If you have not done it already I would talk to him, get the copy of the quote and talk to BMW, and see where it goes.

Hope it works out.
 
What are the parents doing about it?

Police won't care about it unless someone is hurt.

It'll just mean you/her/parents will have to get the job done by a BMW approved workshop in good time.

It's what you'd expect if was the other way around.

Yes I agree - I have asked for the estimate so I can call the garage and after having spoken to them give them the go ahead and agree to pay..
 
Yes I agree - I have asked for the estimate so I can call the garage and after having spoken to them give them the go ahead and agree to pay..

Top man. ;)
 
While I think it's most unlikely the Police will be interested, I don't think it's a good idea to go into a Police station and admit careless driving - they might just find that too hard to resist.

The money side of it is entirely a civil matter and of no interest to the Police.

To be honest, £700 for anything in a pukka BMW bodyshop doesn't sound too bad - normally the slightest thing and you're into 4 figures. Removing the wing to repair it sounds odd - and if the wing was replaced then does £700 seems too cheap?

Of course, next thing he'll want a like for like hire car.

Paying £700 as full and final settlement might be the preferable course.

Oh, and she *has* to report to her insurers anyway - it's a condition of all policies.
It's as well to do that anway just in case the costs spiral - she just needs to say that they won;t be claiming at this time.
 
Last edited:
The BMW guy will probably want it done by BMW for the same reasons (warranty etc) as we as Merc owners would, so that is fair.

I would ask him to take it to the garage and ask for a copy of the estimate. If it appears reasonable, then authorise the repairs to go ahead and tell the garage to bill you direct with a breakdown invoice. Then pay it DIRECT to the garage if it appears reasonable and whats on it is related to the accident.

Not sure why he is threatening - if he is asking for an amount with no proof, dont pay it. He could be one of the types who are happy with a dented wing and £700+ beer money.

I would keep insurance out of it completely due to her being so young.
 
I'm surprised that they would take the wing off to repare it - would that not make it more difficult to establish the correct line? But I suppose the BMW owner does hold all the cards as he could just put a claim in.

If I can help in anyway please let me know - I am based in Yorkshire.

David
 
If you do not claim for your own damage I think you do not have to pay the excess? I may be wrong.
 
Has the BMW driver mentioned an insurance repair at all ? Seems a bit OTT to threaten a youngster with police action if she did all the right things at the scene of the acciden-- exchanged names and addresses insurance company details etc..:( If he gets stroppy casually mention that " the alternative would be an insurance repair but of course that would mean having to declare he was involved in an accident on his next policy renewal" Many Insurance companies don't distinguish between accidents that are your fault or someone else's! That ought to give him pause for thought.;)
 
not 100% sure, and its worth double checking, but AFAIK you are pefectly entitled to deal with his insurance and not deal via yours. Ie, his isurance pays the garage the bill for repair and then claims it back from yourself, rather than your insurance company.

When i worked at a well-known motor insurance company a few years ago now, we wrote to the third party stating that they had been in an accident and we hold them responsibkle. The TP would then write back with either their insurance details or offer to just pay for the damages themselves.

My memory could be failing me though!! This was 10+ odd years ago
 
Last edited:
Have had my granddaughter on the phone today -- in tears.

Apparently she backed into a BMW - admits she was wrong.

The owner has had the car inspected by BMW and they want £700+ - no damage to my granddaughters Toyota Yaris.(well minimal).

He then threatens her that she has 7 days to pay or he will go to police - in other words scaring the sh!te out of the kid.

Now - we can't go to insurers as she has a £600 excess (she is only 18 and been driving for 5 months) so next years premium will go through the roof.

I have asked for a copy of the estimate and thought I would call the BMW garage and get them to talk me through it and then if agreeable pay them direct.

Preferably I would like a second opinion - but she is in Yorkshire and I am in Wiltshire and if it was my car I would want it done by BMW too.

Am I approaching this in the correct manner?

Personally I would like to tell him where to go for threatening and scaring her but that is emotion speaking and cold facts.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts etc..



edit...damage was a dent in the wing - and a scratch - BMW are talking about taking the wing off to repair it and spray it. - seem excessive


Let me know if I can help in any way I'm based in Yorkshire and know a couple of the BMW dealers well particularly, Stratstone in Doncaster & Sytner in Sheffield. We also put a lot of business Sytners way, so like I say if I can be of assistance please let me know. :)
 
Last edited:
I have asked for the estimate so I can call the garage and after having spoken to them give them the go ahead and agree to pay..
Firstly, all grandchildren should have a grandfather like you to help them out :rock:

Secondly, I believe that Rory is correct that even though you are not claiming from your granddaughter's insurance you still need to inform them of the "event". You should, however, make it very clear (in writing) that the matter is not the subject of a claim at this time. This means that if chummy suddenly decides he has suffered whiplash or whatever you can then hand over responsibility to the insurer who was notified of the incident in a timely manner.

BTW, the BMW driver sounds like a complete arrse acting as he has to scare your granddaughter. Shame on him.
 
Secondly, I believe that Rory is correct that even though you are not claiming from your granddaughter's insurance you still need to inform them of the "event". You should, however, make it very clear (in writing) that the matter is not the subject of a claim at this time.

well if she is with Admiral, Elephant or any of Admiral group's isnurance companies then prepare for a hike in premium next year. They tried to charge me £100 more for doing exactly that - they claimed it was because i was higher risk now i was in an accident, even if it wasnt my fault and i didnt make any claim via them.

I personally would tell them nothing. No damage to your GD's car - so no claim. Pay in person to fix the TP's BMW and job done.
 
I hope you get it sorted.

I very much doubt BMW will take the wing off and respray it then refit.

I bumped my own Z3 years ago and a tiny dint in the nose, local garge said they could fix it for £350 but the audi I bumped (you could see no damage) wanted the back bumper respraysd at Audi for £600 ? so with no claims protection it went through insurance and to BMW.

They went to town listing around 4 pages of parts needed to be replaced and the time to do each one. In the end a complete new bonnet was fitted (half the car on a Z3) and the cost was well over £2000


If I were you I would speak to the guy yourself, put yourself in his shoes, his cars dinted and he wants it fixed. I don't mean that in a bad way its just how it is.

I think your doing the right thing askking for a copy of the quote then confirm with the garage. I would also pay the garage direct not the bloke incase he as others have said just wants some beer money.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom