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Hello, totally my fault, while reversing into a tight spot I misjudged and have scratched both drivers side doors of a neighbours car. The main damage is to the rub strips but also on the panels ( particularly the front door) I dont think it is bent. Its an 07 flat black (thankfully) vw golf. I have of course left a note!
Anyway, just wondering what my options are and what the costs are likely to be.
I'm guessing this could be 200 - 600 Quid's worth if I pay myself, depending if they need to spray 1 or both panels. does this sound about right?
I could claim on insurance, but have a 400 excess on my insurance which is ncb protected (18 Years no claims until now!) Thinking that insurance route would only save me a couple of 100 Max, so thinking paying myself will probably be best. Any thoughts? Or reasons not to pay it myself?
Don't touch the insurance as they are the devil reincarnation. Keep a clean record and only use insurance if it is absolutely necessary, otherwise you will always have a "black" spot that gives them the excuse to extort you whenever they like.
😯
or accept that you should declare it anyway and let the insurance sort it.
If you have 18 years ncb, change insurer. I have similar, and zero excess on both policies.
You may be able to get away with a smart repair if the panel is ok. Give Chips Away a call, but quality can vary.
I would suggest about 600 for both doors depending on how bad the damage is. (I have just paid £300 for my bonnet on the Audi to be re-sprayed (metallic paint) and that was at a local independant body shop)
Do as Mrs North did:
Saturday: shopping trolley caught by wind as she's strapping Miss North into car seat. Dings rear quarter of Audi A5. She leaves a note.
Sunday: Audi owner calls up. Thanks her for honesty and says he's got a mate who runs a bodyshop. Repair of dent will be 350 cash.
Monday lunchtime: Mrs North delivers 350 in used notes to Audi owner (works near her). He writes receipt.
Monday evening: Mrs North drives her Mini out of tight parking space at work. Catches rear offside wheel arch on concrete pillar. Tears off arch trim and scrapes/dents door and quarter panel. £250 to repair.
Tuesday: I go to London so loan her my car.
Friday: Come to drive to work on Friday and rear tyre flat and sidewall wrecked. Pair of tyres £250.
Saturday: Inspect damage to Mrs North's car. Then spot front tyres both on or over the legal limit. Pair of tyres £280.
That was an expensive week!
Sunday: Audi owner calls up. Thanks her for honesty and says he's got a mate who runs a bodyshop. Repair of dent will be 350 cash.
Hmmmm. Must have been some shopping trolley.
I thought you only normally pay the excess for repairs to your own vehicle, not 3rd party claims. If so, that surely makes it worth claiming for a £600 job when you have protected NCB.
Personally I'd avoid the insurance route if you can.
I have 9 years ncb protected and had a non fault accident last year. Claimed off the other parties insurance so it didn't cost me anything. However, a year on when I shopped around to reinsure, they ask whether you've had any claims in the past 5 years regardless of fault and my premium had rocketed.
Must have been some shopping trolley.
Car park has a sizeable slope. Very windy day. Trolley at the top, Audi A5 at the bottom....
Have a word with one of those chips-away type places. We returned to our car to find a nice door shaped crease in the o/s front wing. Cost £100 on the nose for crease removal and total wing respray, which I thought was very reasonable.
'Sunday: Audi owner calls up. Thanks her for honesty and says he's got a mate who runs a bodyshop. Repair of dent will be 350 cash.'
'Hmmmm. Must have been some shopping trolley.'
'Have a word with one of those chips-away type places'
350 doesnt buy you alot of time at a good body shop - trolleys have a habit of leaving dents with creases. If i had a nice audi that wasnt old as the hills and you suggested chips away id be ringing my insurance - id let the, hack at my old van but unfortunantly chips away quality is so variable i wouldnt trust them with anything nice.
With that big excess I would fix it out of your own pocket. You keep your clean No-Claims Bonus. Next time you renew your insurance I would talk to an advisor on the phone,I got my excess down from £400 (mistakenly thinking it would reduce premium),to £250 and it only added £8 to premium with the higher excess figure. 🙂
unfortunantly chips away quality is so variable i wouldnt trust them with anything nice.
Well the one in Broughtyferry/Dundee is excellent. Quality varies anywhere, from franchise minor bodywork repair garages to independent coachworks & spray shops, so it's a bit unfair to single out ChipsAway.
Plus, we're talking about some plastic trim and a scratch or two on a 7 year old golf, not a the crumpled front end of a Maserati.
You say that , but then perhaps i have somewhere i take my car that i know and trust when it needs body work as oppose to a stab in the yellow pages ..... And thats where i would request my car went - much as the omitns accident victim has done.
Fwiw - since your broughty/dundee .... When i was in arbroath the go to was east coast spray shop..
My parents had the whole side of their merc done after a bus sideswiped it and it was indistinguishable from new , a really good job and it lasted as a good job till they sold it a number of years later
Protected no claims is a load of bollox.
Just had a scrape done on a Volvo xc60. Bottom of 2 doors and a bit of the rear wheel arch, 2 scuff panels (£130)
£490.
Your No claims is protected but your renewal/annual premium will still go up. P
[quote=wrightyson ]Protected no claims is a load of bollox.
No it's not. Claimed on my policy, the premium went up ~10%. The NCB loss would have been 20% or more on top of that if it wasn't protected. People making that comment usually seem to miss the point that whilst premiums go up if you've had an accident even with protected NCB, they go up a lot less than if you lose your NCB. I should know, as when I was 23 I lost NCB following a claim when my car was stolen and it made a significant difference - I had full NCB at the time and the only reason I'd not protected it is that they wouldn't for under 25s.
Has the OP got back yet on whether he has to pay the excess on a 3rd party claim? I don't on my policy, and a quick google suggests you don't as standard with major companies. Have those people suggesting it's not worth claiming because of the excess checked their policies?
How much does it cost to protect your no claims and how many accidents do you cause?
Very little, and I had a spate of accidents when I was just over 30 which would have resulted in losing all of my NCB if I hadn't protected it and cost me lots of money. I'm still well ahead. Of course if you're sure you're not going to crash (or have your car stolen) it's a waste of money.
I recently moved my van insurance to Adrian Flux. I got protected NCD for no additional premium.
when I was 23 I lost NCB following a claim when my car was stolen and it made a significant difference - I had full NCB at the time
How did you get full NCB at 23 ?
scratched both drivers side doors
Isn't the approved answer - it'll buff out?
Got the same damage to our '61 Golf but maybe a bit worse. Doesn't look that much but it needs a new drivers door and repairs to the back door, respray, blend etc.
£850 + VAT and that was a private (not insurance quote) from a friend with a bodyshop.
It's not the paint damage but the denting to the curves on the door that is tricky to fix unless it's very minor.
I don't remember a rubbing strip on our '07 golf.
Not so long ago I reversed into a verticak RSJ. Well technically it jumped out at me. Car was a MKI Focus. Rear quarter vertical crumple. A chips away chap filled/sanded and sprayed for £150. Perfect.
[quote=nealglover ]How did you get full NCB at 23 ?
I avoided crashing into things which might want to claim from my insurance. Why, what makes you think it would be especially difficult?
its either 7 or 9 years TODAY but I seem to recall it was 5 back in the day[ early 90's and I was about the same age iirc
Filled and sanded - perfect for your focus ...
Id be miffed at. Filler sanding repair if my car had no filler in before 😉
Ok some repairs consist of a small skim but filling a crease or dent with filler is not a repair.
In a non fault claim the car should be returned as was.
Panel beaters even with todays thin body work can work absolute wonders, its a very undervalued skill imo.
I avoided crashing into things which might want to claim from my insurance. Why, what makes you think it would be especially difficult?
Because, as I imagine you realised, I thought full no claims was 9 years.
Pretty sure it has been as long as I've been driving.