Tough moral question - opinions required....!

[m1br]

These guys did my W204 when my Mrs went into a wall at home base and needed the whole front end doing. They where forced upon me by the Insurance company, so I went in with some trepidation.

I was very impressed with the work and the time they turned it around in. They do a great job. No idea on price as I didn't pay. Said they do a lot of work for main dealers, had quote a few Astons in there.

Continental Coachworks

No insurer can legally force you to use their 'approved' repairers.

You have every right to use a garage of your choice, it's a legal right.
They may ask for a couple of quotes to stop fraud (fair enough) and you may forfeit a hire car but that is all.

I have had two bad experiences with 'approved' garages - clearly run by 'approved school' panel beaters!
You got quite lucky there I would say.
They are not approved due to any technical expertise above the norm, just they have negotiated a contract price - often as low as £25p/h.
And that is the problem...

 

[nick mercedes]

Aren't they all dealers, not MBUK?

Some others have their own bodyshop, too.

MB Brentford is owned by MB Uk.

 

[SilverSaloon]

if the guy was trying to find the owner etc after the crash then thats pretty good (some would of legged it). With insurance premiums the way they are for younger drivers he needs all the help he can get. The fact he even had a car and prepared to pay that sort of insurance means it must be pretty important to him, and he wasnt hooning about, a genuine i assume parking miscalculation...?

I'd be inclined to cut him a break and try to find a bodyshop you are comfortable in using and offering the two quotes to them for them to decide.

IMHO a decent independent bodyshop is probably better than MB anyway.

Maybe they will just say Dad was driving?

 

[W4E300]

if the guy was trying to find the owner etc after the crash then thats pretty good (some would of legged it). With insurance premiums the way they are for younger drivers he needs all the help he can get. The fact he even had a car and prepared to pay that sort of insurance means it must be pretty important to him, and he wasnt hooning about, a genuine i assume parking miscalculation...?

I'd be inclined to cut him a break and try to find a bodyshop you are comfortable in using and offering the two quotes to them for them to decide.

IMHO a decent independent bodyshop is probably better than MB anyway.

Exactly what I'm aiming to do - just need to find that quality independent now.....(!)

Many thanks to all for the constructive feedback - we were all young drivers once and Gawd knows I had a few scrapes in my time.....

Sent from my iPad using MBClub UK

 

[m1br]

Exactly what I'm aiming to do - just need to find that quality independent now.....(!)

Many thanks to all for the constructive feedback - we were all young drivers once and Gawd knows I had a few scrapes in my time.....

Sent from my iPad using MBClub UK

Me too.
But I paid for every one in the proper manor, including a couple of write-offs and a repossession.
Only way to learn IMO.

You are on shaky ground failing to inform your insurers though.
Statistically you are more likely to be involved in a second accident within the next year, your fault or not.
That's why they will load you for a claim even if proven 100% non-fault.
They are never happy to find out you have 'cheated' them.

Sad but true.

 

[Scott_F]

Me too.
But I paid for every one in the proper manor.......

Who's manor where you on ?

 

[jotter22]

It's a tough one - but you need to think of number one in these situations, he may well be penalised but if he thinks his dad can pay off these instances then he is unlikely to learn any lessons from it as some people have already said.

I had a similar incident a few weeks ago when a young lad doored my CLK door, I was watching from my seat in McD's and went out to confront him, he was a worker there and admitted denting my door and offered me a free meal to compensate - I declined that offer and took his last £50 in the world (apparently) to get a dent repairer to pull it out, my wife said I am heartless and I did feel bad at the time but I bet he is more careful when he opens his car door these days!

demanding money with menaces! is that not against the law....and receiving unearned income!........who is the offender?

Tony.

 

[219]

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?

Regardless of what happens to his insurance , YOUR insurance will go up as a result of even a non fault claim , or just if you inform them of the incident ( as you are contractually supposed to ) .

The least financially painful way for both of you would be to sort it privately .

Perhaps there are members on here who can give positive feedback of body shops in your area ? If you have a local MB 'Indy' they might be able to recommend somewhere .

Finding a decent local place who will do a decent job without ripping you off sounds like the best option .

 

[219]

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

You are supposed to disclose any incidents for the next five years , potentially having your premium hiked for that long .

The other party won't want that any more than you do - especially given his age and it was his fault - so really if he is willing to pay up and both of you keep the matter between yourselves it is the best option all round , even if a bit naughty in the eyes of the insurance .

 

[219]

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.

If it was spotted that the car had recently been painted , it is not as though anyone would believe a Mercedes had needed remedial paintwork because of rust !!!!

 

[219]

Me too.
But I paid for every one in the proper manor, including a couple of write-offs and a repossession.
Only way to learn IMO.

You are on shaky ground failing to inform your insurers though.
Statistically you are more likely to be involved in a second accident within the next year, your fault or not.
That's why they will load you for a claim even if proven 100% non-fault.
They are never happy to find out you have 'cheated' them.

Sad but true.

If you are that worried about it you can inform them without claiming .

 

[grober]

And the OP knows for certain that he has actually passed his test? Wouldn't be the first young man to "jump the gun" in a quiet back street when no-ones looking?

 

[W4E300]

And the OP knows for certain that he has actually passed his test? Wouldn't be the first young man to "jump the gun" in a quiet back street when no-ones looking?

I did take the precaution of asking for - & photocopying - his full driving licence....!

Sent from my iPad using MBClub UK

 

[IanA2]

I did take the precaution of asking for - & photocopying - his full driving licence....!

 

[Dieselman]

I did take the precaution of asking for - & photocopying - his full driving licence....!

Well, someones...

 

[SLK32AMG]

I had a similar situation last year when a young girl hit me from behind, the only damage was the strip on the bumper that hides fixings, she was so worried about her insurance she rang me before id even got home offering to pay for repairs, bearing in mind she had no idea of the costs and damage incurred. I could have ripped her off or gone through the insurance that would have just put a whole new bumper and paint a 1k plus, however I rang MB got a price of Aprox £150 for the strip which was pre painted gave her the price and she transferred the cash plus £50 extra for me to have a drink and a nice thank you letter as well. It was nice to help someone out.

 

[John]

a young girl hit me from behind whilst doing a strip on the bumper

Half your luck.

 

[E55BOF]

"You are on shaky ground failing to inform your insurers though.
Statistically you are more likely to be involved in a second accident within the next year, your fault or not.
That's why they will load you for a claim even if proven 100% non-fault."

Ah, statistics; they come after lies and damned lies....

If somebody drives into your unoccupied parked car, so far as YOUR actions and responsibility are concerned how does this differ from somebody driving into your garden wall? But they don't load your premium for that, do they?

It's a rip-off. I would try not to involve insurers if possible.

E55BOF

 

[MOCAŠ]

I had a similar situation last year when a young girl hit me from behind, the only damage was the strip on the bumper that hides fixings, she was so worried about her insurance she rang me before id even got home offering to pay for repairs, bearing in mind she had no idea of the costs and damage incurred. I could have ripped her off or gone through the insurance that would have just put a whole new bumper and paint a 1k plus, however I rang MB got a price of Aprox £150 for the strip which was pre painted gave her the price and she transferred the cash plus £50 extra for me to have a drink and a nice thank you letter as well. It was nice to help someone out.

Almost the exact same thing happened to me when I had my R170, except it was a young guy who ran into the back of my car - we'd been stopped at traffic lights, I started to move off when they turned green but had to stop again when a car in the adjacent lane pushed-in in front of me. Chap behind hadn't expected me to stop and braked too late, hitting my rear bumper. As with yours, the only damage was to one of the bumper inserts, and I seem to recall at the time (about 10 years ago) that it cost around £90 including parts and labour to have a new one fitted. The guy was also more than happy to reimburse me rather than involve his insurance company - I'd imagine his losses would have been somewhat greater had he done so.

 

[C43AMG]

Why risk it, go to the proper bodyshop, and get £780 off the kid to pay for it.

Do a forum search on MB Brentford (they set fire to Peter's C43!) and save the kids bonus.

Yes if you search "C43 Sunroof Rust" you will come across this debacle.

What ever you do please don't go anywhere near Brentford.

It's a very long story and I can assure you they are rubbish in every department,

As suggested find a good indie and give the lad a break. Quite a few in your and my are which have been recommended.

You should be congratulated with your concern.