Neighbour has dente...
 

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Neighbour has dented my van

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So my neighbour stopped in the middle of the road to check the front door of his house was locked

He was alongside my van when he opened the passenger door of his T6 and managed to bang it into the rear quarter of my T5 leaving a crease and paint damage just below the sliding door  area

Now he came straight round and apologised and has offered to get it fixed

He is talking of going through his insurance even though his excess is £500 and i think it would cost less than that to fix

Now if we go through his insurance is it likely to affect my renewal?

If we do go through his insurance then i guess ill have to inform mine and hope that it wont affect my renewal

 
Posted : 30/06/2023 9:51 pm
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Insurance is going up anyway, reality is, with a 500 quid excess i'd definitely be happy to go local, as it's quite a lot to shell out for a job that could be done locally at a lower price.

Funnily enough one of the main drivers all our insurance is going up is due to the cost of insurance claims going up so much, this type of bump is the main reason for this, small jobs that attract large invoices.

Last time someone hit my car i just ignored it, but i tend to keep cars until they get scrapped, and like you, worry that the knock on effect is another 100 quid on my insurance.

 
Posted : 30/06/2023 9:57 pm
 P20
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It may. When they ask if you have been involved in any accident in last year, then technically yes. Even if you don’t claim against their insurance. Although not your fault, the parking location could be a risk factor in their calculations?

 
Posted : 30/06/2023 10:00 pm
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Could put your premium up. At the very least you'll have to explain it at every renewal for the next few years. I'd find a local repair guy, let them know it's a cash job and not through insurance.

 
Posted : 30/06/2023 10:23 pm
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Look for a local dent removal company, Axident in Hertfordshire are very good of your near there

 
Posted : 30/06/2023 11:11 pm
 5lab
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Excess is normally only applied to claims to your own vehicle. 3rd party damage is normally excess free

 
Posted : 30/06/2023 11:18 pm
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There's a body shop near us in nw that sprays panels for 150 each, maybe 200 now.  If excess is 500 I d deffo go local and cash.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 6:22 am
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You could get quotes and if it's over his excess cost, offer to make up the difference if you think it's worth keeping the incident off the claims database.

But neighbour might have reasons to go the insurance route....have they chipped paint on the edge of the door or is there other minor damage that they might try and get tidied up on the same claim?

However, if the paint match is bad or crease doesn't come out well, I imagine it would be much easier to reject the work if you are just dealing with a faceless insurance company rather than rocking the boat with your neighbour.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 7:14 am
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Cheers for the replies

ill go to some good body shops nearby and get some quotes

Here is a pic of said dent

https://flic.kr/p/2oLJHU6

https://flic.kr/p/2oLJdBF

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 9:05 am
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It might pull out, hard to tell with the picture. With £500 excess I'd opt for getting it fixed yourself and get him to pay. Cheaper and quicker than insurance. Insurance claims are a pain in the arse, even when your not at fault.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 10:01 am
 Del
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Chipsaway.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 10:06 am
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If it's a T4, isn't it at least 9 years old anyway? Does it really matter? Some people will obsess about it, others won't even notice.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 10:40 am
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Don’t complicate or overthink it. Go through insurance, it’s what it’s for and you aren’t the one paying the excess.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 10:51 am
leffeboy and slackboy reacted
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For that, I'd be doing everything to keep it away from the insurance folk.

Get a quote and under 500 fix it, above, well consider how much his and your premiums will change plus teh declaration every year fro the next 5 yrs plus potential increase...

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 11:18 am
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Paintless dent removal company should get that out. Price will be a lot less than £500.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 11:41 am
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Is it just a dent though? Looks like paint damage to (and deep enough it won't just buff out).

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 2:06 pm
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Someone just bumped mine, only small and they were talking of paying cash, in the end its going insurance.

Now depending who you are covered with , mine gave me.

Free to me hire car.
Work fully inspected on completion.
Work fully guaranteed for three years.

Go the sort it yourself route you may miss out on some value add extras, took me all of 10 mins to complete the online claim and I don't have the hassle of dealing with it.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 2:21 pm
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Dent has damaged the paint

Spoke to a mate who owned the van before me and had the front end blown in when he changed the bumper, he gave me the number of the guy who did it, so popped along to his bodyshop and hes quoted £300 to repair and repaint the panel

Neighbour is happy to pay that rather than his £500 excess

Just go to wait a month as the body shop is very busy

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 4:57 pm
mattyfez and jp-t853 reacted
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Spoke to a mate who owned the van before me and had the front end blown in when he changed the bumper, he gave me the number of the guy who did it, so popped along to his bodyshop and hes quoted £300 to repair and repaint the panel

Neighbour is happy to pay that rather than his £500 excess

Just go to wait a month as the body shop is very busy

That sounds like the most ideal solution for both parties, keeps the insurance out of it as long as theres no shenanigans with the cost or the quality of the work.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 5:36 pm
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for reference I had an almost identical dent but without the paint damage. Chipsaway pulled it out for £60, neighbour paid as it was his door that did it.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 6:20 pm
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I hate to be "that guy" but technically this will need reporting at renewal time whether you involve the insurance or not.

 
Posted : 01/07/2023 6:34 pm
 myti
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Why you going to dob them in to their insurance companies?

 
Posted : 02/07/2023 8:28 am
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I hate to be “that guy”

Some rules are there to be broken, and this is definitely one!  It's a bit different if you don't know the other party incase they've already told their insurance company and then decided not to claim as it might go on the database, but if the neighbour hasn't reported it then it's pretty safe.

It didn't even cross my mind when my wife bent the beam axle on our car after clipping a huge gnarly tree root that had been exposed by HGVs cutting into a soft verge on a bend, I replaced the axle and it's none of the insurance companies business!

 
Posted : 02/07/2023 8:30 am
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I'm amazed how many people on this thread don't appear to know how insurance excesses work. They only apply if you're making a claim for damage to your own vehicle. 3rd party only claims don't occur any excess.

 
Posted : 02/07/2023 9:52 am
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I think there was only 1 or 2 comments suggesting the OP was liable for his excess.

 
Posted : 02/07/2023 10:02 am
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Some rules are there to be broken, and this is definitely one!

100% this.

That simple dent could escalate into £1000’s what with hire cars etc, and the inconvenience of the phone calls from the ambulance chasers for the following 2 years .

I had my van front wing dinged by a holidaying Italian in a hire car , so had no choice but to go through the insurance for something that could have been sorted for less than £500.
The bill came to over £2500 in the end ( and that was with me not even taking the offered hire vehicle during the 10 day period they had the van in to fix it)🙄.

At least I don’t need to declare it next year as the 5 years is up

 
Posted : 02/07/2023 11:47 am
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dob them in

Are you 11?

 
Posted : 02/07/2023 2:37 pm

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