Tough moral question - opinions required....!

[W4E300]

Hi All,

Here's a moral teaser for you all & I'd appreciate some opinions. I live in a dead end street (estate agents would say 'Cul d'Sac') in West London, which means we all get pretty damn good at reversing. No garage, so on street parking only and the inevitable bashed wing mirror and parking wounds occur.

The other evening, I heard my alarm go off and went to see what/who had triggered it and found a small Renault wedged into the nearside of my beloved CLK. The driver was an 18 year old lad and he was obviously very distressed about the incident. Turned out he'd just passed his test and had never reversed further than in to a parking space in Tescos.... He also told me after he'd calmed down that his current insurance on his 09 Modus cost him over £4k a year.....(!!!!!!!)

Here's the question: Bodywork repair quote from MB Brentford is just shy of £3k (3 panels & new trim) and his premium is going to go stratospheric if he claims. Local 'OK' independent spray shop says £780.00 for cash (no vat or questions asked...) Obviously a risk of the finish not being 100%, but the kid gets to drive affordably for another year.

What would you do? Stick it to the kid - or take a chance on the local duster......?

Appreciate any thoughts - I'm torn between being a nice guy (I've got a 18 year old boy too) and being a Merc-ophile & thinking about resale values....!

Sent from my iPad using MBClub UK

 

[developer]

I would want my car fixed properly - everything else is secondary.

A less good job will affect your car's value, so helping his pocket may hit yours.

 

[Scott_F]

If you shop around you should be able to find another body shop in your area with a good reputation that may quote more than £780 but will still massively undercut the £3k quote from MB.

That's probably the best compromise.

 

[IanA2]

Anything to do with MB Brentford will be pricy, they have form. Do a bit of research, I'm sure you'll find a decent, and possibly even an "MB Approved" body shop that will do the job as well for a lot less.

 

[m2287]

What 18 year old has £750 layin about?! I'd go insurance, what if you take it to the body shop and he doesn't cough up when it's all done?

 

[IanA2]

What 18 year old has £750 layin about?! I'd go insurance, what if you take it to the body shop and he doesn't cough up when it's all done?

The one that has £4K for insurance? That said maybe a chat with his father....he sounds like a well brought up lad.

Edit: The car seems to be in the £4/5 K bracket. Doubt he bought it.

 

[W4E300]

The one that has £4K for insurance? That said maybe a chat with his father....he sounds like a well brought up lad.

He was a very honest and 'straight up' guy - he was out of the car asking neighbours about the incident and looking to find me to report. If he'd been a lippy 'yout" I wouldn't be bothered for a second....(!)

Sent from my iPad using MBClub UK

 

[W4E300]

What 18 year old has £750 layin about?! I'd go insurance, what if you take it to the body shop and he doesn't cough up when it's all done?

Thanks - I'd obviously look to get paid before I did anything 'outside' of the normal insurance route.

Sent from my iPad using MBClub UK

 

[Rayny]

A couple of thoughts :-
1) His insurance premium will not be affected until next renewal.
2) If he only has this one 'claim' during the year will his renewal premium increase by £780?

 

[Stratman]

Grimshaw and Wake in Hampton are used by many insurance companies, I've used them a couple of times and have been very pleased with their work. I think their bodywork rate is around £50 per hour.

 

[MrVix]

Unfortunately it is a tough old world out there, the sooner he realises that the better he will be set up for the future. Repair your car properly and put it through his insurance.

 

[renault12ts]

Do the decent thing, speak to him and his father...get a reasonable payment from them and get on with your life happy to have helped a youngster.

 

[MCFastybloke]

This is why he paid the premium,you need to ensure you are not disadvantaged.
Even a fully repaired car is disadvantaged at resale time.

Insurance co now ask "any accidents in the last year" and this includes the sorted for cash thankyou incidents.

Its a hard lesson

 

[Charles Morgan]

A good question. I'd certainly not go anywhere near MB Brentford, and having seen how dealers attempt to charge (my sister had a small ding in her new BMW in pearl white - BMW quoted £3500, then instantly dropped to £2500 when she went "What!!!!!???" and she had it done for £1000 by Tony Fowkes.

I can vouch for the work done by the above and it is very good - why not go to him or similar, get a quote for work that you know will be decent, and then suggest to the young man that he has the option of that or a claim.

I don't know the condition of your car, but if it is a CLK500, I somehow doubt there will be any meaningful difference in value should you come to sell it.

 

[Howard]

Not often I do , but I agree with Dev215

MB Brentford prices are nonsense though and just because it is a dealer doesn't mean their work will be any better than an Indy spray shop.

Get a quote from Andys Autobarn , an excellent paint shop , out near heathrow .

 

[IanA2]

I don't think anyone is suggeting that OP should be taking a hit, merely that the decent thing to do would be to find and use a good body shop and not simply hand it over to MB Brentford. The easy option, but not necessarily the decent option. Decency, not a lot of it around these days.

 

[meoldbangar]

So the Kid might have to walk now and then and you get the full resale value
I think the kid will gain a lot by the exercise

At A&E these days the first question they ask is "Are you active " eg do you exercise

 

[George Douglas]

I think it's nice to be nice if you can. If you are not out of pocket and the work is to the highest standards I would give the lad and possibly his dad the option of which way to go. Plus it gives the Indy and his chaps a welcome job.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Have you got a photo of the damage?

 

[grober]

Not telling you what to do but technically you are supposed to inform your insurance company of any incident involving your car on the public highway. Likewise the young lad has to inform his insurance company of what is otherwise termed "failure to disclose a material fact" In certain instances this could invalidate your policy in the event of any future claim. Just suppose your car was involved in another more serious accident [ heaven forbid] in say another 6 months and it emerged on examination by the insurance assessor your car had been damaged/repaired in the recent past and you had not declared it. The insurance company could technically refuse to pay out. Can you be 100% certain that this will not get back to either your own or the lads insurance? You should take this into account before deciding what to do. If you decide to declare it it will probably end up costing you both more at the next insurance renewal but technically you will be in the clear policy wise. Sorry.