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Although I am obviously an STW Driving God, last night i scratched a car outside my house, just on his nearside rear corner. It was on the plastic bumper. I could see 2 scratches - a 1 inch scratch that was definitely me, and 4 inch scratch right at the bottom which might have been already there - it was dark and hard to see properly. The car was gone when I woke up.
I had left a note with my number.
How much is this going to cost me?
Clues:
it was a 12-plate Octavia estate
it needed a clean - i had to wipe some dirt off to see the extent of the scratches
it had a baby seat in the passenger seat
Tea and biscuits
£14.50
A bag of midget gems.
And a one-year subscription to Angling Times.
For a 1" scratch on a bumper I would really hope they just ignore it. I certainly would. It'll be cheaper and easier for both parties. Some people are stupidly precious over this sort of thing, though. Colour coded bumpers? Expect to pay for a full respray at inflated 'insurance job' prices
Nowt. Kiddie taxis are in a permanent state of scratch n'dent. If they are not fussed, maybe drop a bottle of wine over anyway.
Having said that, a car door incident cost me £80, but that was an old lady, not a kiddie taxi. Was it colour coded or just grey plastic? That might make a difference.
<stwbinarymode> YOU MUST TELL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY OR YOUR INSURANCE WILL BE INVALIDATED AND YOU WILL BE CAST INTO THE PIT OF SHAME! </stwbinarymode>
yeah it was colour coded!
I'm fairly sure I've seen the car around before, so it's probably local, but I don't know where it lives. But I quite like the bottle of wine idea.
Other clues -
there were quite a few chips on the bumper by where the door closes
BUT
the scratch was quite close to a parking sensor (ooh, posh). Are they easy to damage?
Last time I scratched car parking we left a note. Guy phoned back but only wanted me to settle in cash and not go through insurance, so we couldn't reach an agreement and left it. The car was pretty tatty, so I don't suppose it made any real difference to it's value. He didn't seem that bothered. I was driving the wife's company car...
You didn't do the "I'm writing this note on a bit of paper so any witnesses to what happened think I'm leaving my insurance details under the wiper" trick? 😉
Oh I'm torn between 'never hear from them' and 'It's going to a need a total body respray mate'
For a 1″ scratch on a bumper I would really hope they just ignore it. I certainly would. It’ll be cheaper and easier for both parties. Some people are stupidly precious over this sort of thing, though. Colour coded bumpers? Expect to pay for a full respray at inflated ‘insurance job’ prices
Not really your business how precious someone else is about their car though is it. Well done to the OP for leaving a note.
it was a 12-plate Octavia estate
it needed a clean
You've just increased the value by cleaning it, good job!!
If it had been my 11-plate Octavia I wouldn't have cared, it's got more dents and scratches then I've ever had in a car before. The only time I've been left a note it was an apology for bumping into the car but had no contact number so I guess they were worried people in the public car park might report them if it looked like they were leaving without leaving their details...
LUNCHTIME UPDATE
part 1: I looked again at the pic I took last night. It's clearly more than a 1" scratch. More like 2 or 3.
part 2:
reckon I'll just cough up. I came into £40 last week that I wasn't expecting anyway...
£45 and some hints on grammar and punctuation?
£50 cash seems a reasonable outcome. Free money for him (I'll bet he doesn't do anything, not that he is under any obligation to actually get the work done) and a cheap enough for you not to be an issue. Certainly cheaper than getting the insurance companies involved
Seems fair. Reasonable chance he won't bother getting it fixed and still take the money, but that's his business.
£50 seems more than reasonable. Don’t forget to tell the insurance company though; it’s in your terms and conditions! 😉
And Full and Final Settlement
well, if his car does live locally and I see that he hasn't resprayed it, i can always key it later. That'll show him 😉
Is the Skoda owned by a Nigerian Prince?
£45 and some hints on grammar and punctuation?
Reads as "English not as a first language" to me.
Looks like some school kids stole the note before the owner got back and fancy a quick £50.
Next contact will read..
Hellos ,I will sind mi verily onest sun to coalekt the munney on Widsnay nite @ ate'o'clog.
Chairs
🙂
Sounds like a win for you both. Two honest individuals, what’s happening?
Looks like some school kids stole the note before the owner got back and fancy a quick £50.
Next contact will read..
Hellos ,I will sind mi verily onest sun to coalekt the munney on Widsnay nite @ ate’o’clog.
Chairs
it did actually take place opposite a primary school! my god! 😆
Oh no it will be on the parents email chain soon!
TEATIME UPDATE
I offered to pay the £50.
Skoda man doesn't live locally, he works for a chain of fried chicken shops with a branch on the next street.
He's in a different branch today, so asked me to just drop the cash in to my local branch and he'll text them to expect it.
So in a bit I'll nip down to the local dirty fried chicken joint, hand over an envelope with cash in it, and wash my hands of the whole thing 😆
Not the best £50 i've ever spent, but a useful reminder to pay a bit more attention when parking....
If he goes by the name of Gus I’d be very careful if I was you.
I went down there and the girl behind the counter said she'd never heard of him! Ffs!
Did you leave the cash then? Or have you text back and just told him you've left it 😀
So...
'Magda' behind the counter said "Tom?" (for this was the name he had provided on the text). "Tom? There's no Tom here. I know everyone who works here and there's no Tom".
I tried to call Tom but got no response. I texted him and he said ah yes, he had only told 'Dave' who must have been at the back of the shop. He would now tell Magda to expect me and could I possibly go back again a bit later?
Fortunately the chicken shop is about 300 yards from my house so at about 10pm i went back down.
The shop was busy and Magda was somewhat exasperated, dealing with some discombobulated middle-aged junkies. After she'd finished, and told the shop customers to wait while she got her breath back because she couldn't stand the smell of 'dirty old whores', she turned to me and said "Yes, the letter? I don't know why he use the name Tom. Not his name. Some kind of code name. No Tom here."
I laughed and said whatever, handed over the letter, and went home to text Tom to tell him I'd given it to Magda.
God knows what the other customers in the shop must have been thinking after watching that little soap opera!
>God knows what the other customers in the shop must have been thinking after watching that little soap opera!
You've been set up! It's all on video. I'm guessing you'll get 5-10 years for drug dealing.....
Does seem a bit harsh for scratching Gus' car....
Walter?