Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

To wonder if he is having me on? (please read if you know about cars)

72 replies

Ouluckyduck · 08/02/2012 22:54

I drove into somebody at a roundabout. I had stopped to see if any cars were coming from the right and wrongly presumed the car in front of me had gone. As it was from standing I was not going very fast at all. Minimal damage in the other car - just the lights that illuminate the numbeplate. On my car - all you can see is a crack on the bumper. Dh wanted to know if there was anything else and the garage has quoted £2000 !! Including new bumper, bumper brackets, bumper support, grille, air conditioning condenser...plus labour, paint etc. Can a low impact crash realky cuse this much damage??

OP posts:

LilBlondePessimist · 09/02/2012 00:40

Garages are infamously economical with the truth if they think the will get away with it! Second opinion definitely!

Original poster

Ouluckyduck · 09/02/2012 09:26

So - took it to garage round the corner, guy there said if it was his car and there was so little damage on the bumper he wouldnt evn investigate further. Totally confused now!

OP posts:

randommoment · 09/02/2012 09:31

I think your first garage were trying to pull a fast one. Are they a main dealer? Main dealers have a lot of form for this sort of thing.

YankNCock · 09/02/2012 09:34

A guy did £1000 worth of damage to my car just by reversing into it on a garage forecourt. His insurance had to pay out as it was totally his fault. He contested it too, but lost. He was a complete git and had probably been drinking.

Original poster

Ouluckyduck · 09/02/2012 09:35

Yes it is a main dealer.

OP posts:

thisisyesterday · 09/02/2012 09:40

ouluckyduck... is this for your car or the car you hit??

Original poster

Ouluckyduck · 09/02/2012 09:42

This is my car.

OP posts:

thisisyesterday · 09/02/2012 09:43

i would go with the garage round the corner then!

in fact, if it's ust a crack in the bumper i would probably do nothing at all

Marvellous · 09/02/2012 09:45

Someone ran into the back of me at low speed last year. Though it looked as though the only damage was a cracked bumper, it was actually the case that the car had hit mine beneath the bumper, buckled the panel across the back of the car and that had caused the bumper to crack - so the visible damage was the least of the problems.

Poledra · 09/02/2012 10:01

I have to say, I did a lot of damage to my Vauxhall Astra by doing just what you did - assumed the car in front of me had pulled off and she hadn't. It cost nearly £2k to get my car repaired BUT it was obvious that it needed that much work. I'd cracked the radiator and condenser, steam was pouring out from under the bonnet and the car could not be driven . I had to be towed home. I was 6 months pg. Even though it was clearly my fault, the poor woman I ran into was horrified when I and my hugely pg belly got out of the car

Original poster

Ouluckyduck · 09/02/2012 11:07

Sounds like I might have to get a third opinion.

OP posts:

mrsbacchus · 09/02/2012 12:47

DD did a slow spin into a barrier, air bags didn't go off, she thought it was just a small bump. Initial damage looked like a cracked bumper and number plate, it actually was the same as the op and came to over £1000.

Boomerwang · 09/02/2012 13:02

Never go to the main dealer. I needed to get some work done on my Mini One after having it serviced and was quoted £900 by BMW. I went to the local garage and I got it done for £240, minus a job which they said didn't even need doing yet.

Look up reviews of whatever garage you pick, though, because you don't want to go the other way and end up with cowboys.

hiddenhome · 09/02/2012 13:20

Please ignore what the main dealer has quoted you. They're well known for taking the piss. Find a couple more places, then go with whoever you're comfortable with, but please don't go back to the main dealers. They're a total rip off.

21YrOldMan · 09/02/2012 13:48

I knocked the rear light out of a car once on my motorbike. No other damage.

Guess the cost.

...

£950

No chance of going private as it was a rental car. If it's done under insurance then it'll cost an arm and a leg. And, air conditioning repairs are VERY expensive. So, if you wanted the car back to 100% condition I could easily see £2000. If you want it driveable and legal, then it'll probably be significantly less.

Get a third, fourth and fifth opinion. Pick one of the quotes in the middle- the "don't look any further" feels too lax to me, and £2k too steep. I'd expect to be told something along the lines of "you have damaged something critical, it'll cost ... to get back to a safe and legal standard, plus xxx for the air con and replacement bumper" or "you haven't damaged something critical, so it'll be xxx for the non-critical bits that you don't have to do but should if you want air con"

and if you have damaged the air con condensor, then DO NOT use the air con. My mate had dodgy air con, used it, and ripped the generator belt* requiring £1500 worth of repairs.

*anyone who knows about cars, this is a simplification.

KirstyJC · 09/02/2012 13:52

I wrote my old car off by going into the back of another car at low speed in first gear - if you hit the wrong place everything goes.

Original poster

Ouluckyduck · 09/02/2012 17:03

Getting another opinion in the morning...

OP posts:

Amateurish · 09/02/2012 18:59

It is very possible that a low speed shunt can cause a significant amount of expensive damage. I've seen bigger bills for that kind of incident.

PS you may find that you are obliged to inform your insurer - check your policy wording. Plus, the person you drove into may well make a claim against you (did you swap details?)

Original poster

Ouluckyduck · 09/02/2012 19:25

OP posts:

Original poster

Ouluckyduck · 09/02/2012 19:27

Is that not a bit crap though that cars ar not built to withstand an impact like that intact? Btw th aircon still works.

OP posts:

workshy · 09/02/2012 19:47

it's so they don't kill people which is generally preferable to having a buggered car

Original poster

Ouluckyduck · 09/02/2012 19:51

Surely it is not between car breaking or people being killed? Why cant they be strong enough to stay intact and keep people safe at such a slow speed?

OP posts:

unitarian · 09/02/2012 19:52

If your car is still in warranty then you will lose your warranty if you have the repairs done any where but at the main dealer.

Glittertwins · 09/02/2012 19:54

Air con units are very flaky. Our Vauxhall one was replaced at the last service as it was hanging by a thread despite it not being in a crash, possibly caused by debris under car flying up.
Our Scoob had a lot more damage for a similar price 10 yrs ago but labour is expensive.
Bumpers are part of the crumple zone and can therefore bash into the engine bay before popping back out. I would go with the other advice to see what is essential as opposed to the "what the heck, insurance is paying" extras.

Thankgodforcaffeine · 09/02/2012 20:04

OP you should tell your insurance about it. It is illegal not to and could cause you all sorts of trouble further down the line.

If the person you drove into decides to claim for a fake whiplash (very common), or if you have insurance-approved repairs done for something else and they notiv

Flip

1 2 3