Is my neighbour a cf? what do I say?

[Pleaseleavemealone]

morning,
have slightly changed so as not to out..
yesterday I knocked into my neighbours car and slightly cosmetically damaged it. Was not on the body work but on a plastic part that can be taken off and easily put back on. Of course I immediately offered to replace this part, and neighbour says yes we'll look on the internet for a part. So ive looked on the internet and found a new part, about to order only to get a message from neighbour saying "this is the quote we've got, its X amount, hope that's ok we'll let you know when its finished".
They had already booked it in to be fixed in the garage at that point without saying anything to me, as I was under the impression that we were just going to get a part from the internet. Believe me when I say this is the easiest fix, a child could do it. Its literally screwing a bit of plastic on. Thing is, the garage they have gone to has charged extortionate prices (think 3.5x what I estimated), inflated money for the part and obviously charged for labour, which I'm not happy about as it's literally a ten minute easy job that can absolutely be done by yourself.
I don't even have this kind of money, it would have even been a stretch for me to pay the price I thought it would be.
I know it's ultimately their decision on how they get their car fixed, but I really feel my neighbour didn't have to take it to a top of the range garage and is being ridiculous expecting me to hand over that money without discussion.

Go through your insurance. They aren't cheeky. I wouldn't let my neighbours fix it unless they were mechanics!

what do I say?

You have two options:
"Absolutely. Please send me the bill"
or
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to put this through my insurance"

Of those two, it's your call. There is no other option I'm afraid.

Go through insurance. It may look like just a cracked bumper but there may be more damage.

I wouldn't accept your suggestion.

The only time I've allowed a non insurance repair was when the responsible party worked for a very highly regarded body shop and the work was done there officially but at no cost to us

I take my banger to dealership garage. If it was damaged then I'd expect it to be repaired at the garage

Go through insurance. It's not up to you to get the job done on the cheap.

I'm struggling to think of what plastic part on a car you can easily take on and off. Most parts are pretty well fixed on.

Is the part you've sourced a genuine part or a replica? I think if it was my car I'd want to know it was the correct part from the right manufacturer and fitted properly.

A long time ago someone hit the back of my car and left a small dent. They tried to persuade me to not get it fixed as it was "small" (it was about palm sized and I'd only had the car a month). They didn't want to loose their no claims so apparently my car should have just stayed damaged to accommodate that . I refused and went through my insurance.

My neighbour hit my car last week. Totally cosmetic only damage, their car actually came off worse. It needs either a respray of the whole back end (so that it can’t be seen it’s been repaired) or a whole new plastic part. The car is under warranty and is a lease, so anything other than a genuine manufacturer part would not be acceptable to me or the dealer it gets handed back to in a year.

I got 2 quotes, one from the garage my neighbour uses and one from a recommended local garage. Neighbour insisted we go with the local garage even though it was £30 more expensive because it was much more convenient for me.

That is how you deal with hitting a neighbours car. You don’t haggle over a possible DIY job!

I would have gone down the same route as you in this predicament,as in a small car job that can be done cheaply and quickly., without being ripped off by garage prices.. If as you say, its just a tiny job, and does not affect the mechanics of the car, and the driving of it. I have always seemed to have lived, where there are plenty of men neighbours, who can proficiently do great repair jobs on cars.

I agree with those calling this as a reverse - and their irritation with it!

“CF” would be your neighbour sourcing the part cheaply online then fitting it in 10 mins themselves, but asking you to pay the garage price for parts and labour 🤷🏻‍♀️

The neighbours aren't the CFs.

Tedious if this is a reverse

Not sure about them being CF, however you need to tell the neighbour that is higher price than what you thought, and to do it properly through the insurance if you aren't happy.

Was the part you found online genuine oem? Or just something from ebay?

As if my car was damage id want genuine parts from the manufacturer and not cheap replicas, I'd also want them installed by mechanics.

Either pay up or go through insurance.
Tbh I think you are the cf in this scenario

I agree with the majority, if someone did damage to my car, I'd be taking it to a garage to get it fixed. The cost is your problem, not your neighbours as you caused the damage.

@Melliphant

Well a thread that shows that it's not just men who are weird about cars. There are countless bits of car that can be repaired perfectly well, safely and and un-noticeably using bits ordered from the internet, and you're every bit as likely to do it properly as the apprentice in the garage who's earning £10 an hour but being charged out at £80.

However, as has been said, it's their car and their decision. Tell them you'll have to make an insurance claim and ask for their insurance details. At that point they'll probably change their minds and go DIY. Otherwise you'll have to make a claim, but it'll probably still cost less than just paying the garage bill.

I'm not being weird. I just understand what a crumple zone is. I'm not DIY bodging a bumper to keep a neighbour happy.

All the paranoia from some others about them getting other shit fixed at the same time is crap, as is the idea that they'll change their minds if OP suddenly decides to go through her insurance.

Both parties should have told their insurers anyway.

@SmellThis

I agree with others, it's their call to make, frustrating as it is Go through the insurance company if you are not happy but is it worth causing bad feeling over?

Depending on what car I had, it's possible I wouldn't want someone putting a cheap plastic ebay part on it. They have the right to get it done properly at a garage.

Pity there is no voting...

definitely you are the CF... i would also take my car to a garage to get it fixed

@SeasonFinale

It's not them it's you!

Yep totally agree

Insurance. I bu oed a neighbours car (hadnt met him before), he got a quote sonI decided to use the insurance. I have a protected no claim discount and my subsequent premium did not go up.

You have an obligation to tell your insurer that you had an accident, even if not making a claim. That duty is in law, and you might be refused cover if the neighbour does report it, or they find out some other way.

This exact thing happened recently to my Dad at the local park. Other parents there supervising their children saw it happen, and the cf driver originally didn't own up, having driven away. Eventually, they agreed on a private repair outside the insurance, but my Dad still reported the damage to his insurer. He had a lease car, which of course did not belong to him. His insurer confirmed that the other driver actually had no insurance at all.

...it's definitely you being a cf.

@Lindy2

I'm struggling to think of what plastic part on a car you can easily take on and off. Most parts are pretty well fixed on.

Is the part you've sourced a genuine part or a replica? I think if it was my car I'd want to know it was the correct part from the right manufacturer and fitted properly.

A long time ago someone hit the back of my car and left a small dent. They tried to persuade me to not get it fixed as it was "small" (it was about palm sized and I'd only had the car a month). They didn't want to loose their no claims so apparently my car should have just stayed damaged to accommodate that . I refused and went through my insurance.

Mug. You can fix small dents by pouring boiling water from the kettle on them.

I think you need to state what car it was, how old it was and what the damaged part was before people can comment really.

I wouldn’t accept a DIY job. You hit the car, you pay to have it professionally repaired. If you can’t afford it then you claim on your insurance. You’re being a CF by expecting them to settle for something you’ve ordered online and stuck on yourself!

Mug. You can fix small dents by pouring boiling water from the kettle on them
That might be fine if you sent your own car, but if someone hits my car and damages it I'm not going to pour boiling water from the kettle on it just to save you money!

Sent = dent!