Damaged car in carpark

cornersleeper · 2023-07-09T10:00:48+00:00

I damaged someone's car in the car park the other day. Damage is absolutely minimal - way less than my insurance premium would be. I could have left without leaving my number but I left my number and an apology. The person is saying they want to go down the route of insurance. Do I have to accept this as it was on private land?

BennyBlancofromtheBronx · 09/07/2023 11:02

Yes.

GoodChat · 09/07/2023 11:03

Yep you do. You should have reported it to your insurer at the time.

TheGoodEnoughWife · 09/07/2023 11:06

Yes. And there is always this slight confusion around cars and private land. Private land that is accessed by the public (such as a car park) is not the same as, say, someone's house and their massive grounds.

The person has every right to take this through the insurers.

And they don't need to be grateful you left your number. That is the basic minimum both morally and legally!

tweener · 09/07/2023 11:07

Yes, and you should be reporting it to your insurance as well, even if there was no chance of a claim.

Pringleface · 09/07/2023 11:08

Why do you think the fact you were on private lane might exonerate you from the person whose car you damaged claiming on your insurance?

If that was me, I’d absolutely go through my insurance. Too many chancers trying to wriggle out of owning responsibility.

5childrenand · 09/07/2023 11:12

Yes. Stop trying to minimise your error and actually sort it out for the poor person who did nothing and just wants their car fixed.

Original poster

cornersleeper · 09/07/2023 11:21

I just don't understand why they aren't happy for me to pay for the damage to be fixed. The cost of the repair is less than the excess and my insurance premium will go up. I asked her to do this but she is saying she wants to do insurance. I just don't get it

OP posts:

BungleandGeorge · 09/07/2023 11:26

It’s because people offer to pay privately then don’t pay when they realise car repairs are very expensive. And it’s hassle for them to arrange themself, would probably get courtesy car for repairs through insurance and not otherwise, the repair will be guaranteed. Lots of reasons it’s better for the injured party to go through insurance. The advantages of not are all yours? (Although if I was you I’d be careful as it’s possible for people to scam you)

BennyBlancofromtheBronx · 09/07/2023 11:26

Well they'll get their excess back and you will hopefully stop driving into stationary vehicles. You won't have to pay an excess if you don't claim for your vehicle damage.

whowhatwerewhy · 09/07/2023 11:26

They have every right to go through insurance, that's what it's for . The repair may seem minimal to you but they might need a curtesy car for the duration of the repair.

BungleandGeorge · 09/07/2023 11:28

You don’t pay any excess for their vehicle. Your premium will likely increases a little (possibly not as much as the repair cost if you have a good record of no accidents). You are under an obligation to report the accident whether you claim or not, which would likely increase your premium…

EliflurtleTripanInfinite · 09/07/2023 11:29

cornersleeper · 09/07/2023 11:21

I just don't understand why they aren't happy for me to pay for the damage to be fixed. The cost of the repair is less than the excess and my insurance premium will go up. I asked her to do this but she is saying she wants to do insurance. I just don't get it

You don't need to get it, it's her choice. We had to fork out our excess to fix a car I backed into, I hit the breaks and it barley touched, tiniest mark, I had to look really close to see it. Still my fault and their choice of remedy. I gave my details and informed my insurance company, let them know I was at fault and they dealt with it. Personally I wouldn't have even bothered taking it to a garage for that tiny bit of damage, but what I would do really isn't relevant. The person who's not at fault gets to chose the remedy.

GladAllOver · 09/07/2023 11:31

Regardless of the other person's claim, your own insurance requires you to report an accident.

Even a small one.

Glittertwins · 09/07/2023 11:38

You don't know what your idea of minimal damage may have done under the surface to the other car . I'd absolutely take it through insurance too.

transformandriseup · 09/07/2023 11:39

I just don't understand why they aren't happy for me to pay for the damage to be fixed. The cost of the repair is less than the excess and my insurance premium will go up. I asked her to do this but she is saying she wants to do insurance. I just don't get it

It's frustrating but understandable. My car was hit from behind and I was hoping for the other drivers sake it could be sorted for a low cost at a local garage but the garage found damage under the car I couldn't see and the car was written off.

DiscoDeborah · 09/07/2023 11:45

cornersleeper · 09/07/2023 11:21

I just don't understand why they aren't happy for me to pay for the damage to be fixed. The cost of the repair is less than the excess and my insurance premium will go up. I asked her to do this but she is saying she wants to do insurance. I just don't get it

It's hassle. I tried to agree a private repair when someone hit my car. They quibbled over the price, started denying fault, the husband started getting aggy and they wouldn't cover a courtesy car so I went through the insurance.
My car was in the body shop for 5 days so I needed a car.

Next time I won't bother at all and just claim.

Theraffarian · 09/07/2023 11:46

You have no way of knowing what damage you may have caused under a superficial bump and neither have they . Therefore completely sensible of them to go through their insurance company as you should for any accident. The car can be properly checked , fixed and they get a courtesy car while it’s done . No idea how much your excess is , mines £100 , definitely wouldn’t cover all that .

Lucyccfc68 · 09/07/2023 11:57

Another driver hit my car in a car park. She initially asked if she could pay for the repair without going through the insurance. I got a quote from a trusted garage and it was £480. However, they would have potentially needed my car for 3 days and I need a car for work. She offered me her (damaged) car for 3 days!

Her next request was ‘can I pay you back at £100 a month?’

Regardless of the damage, I always insist on going through the insurance. People who ask otherwise will usually mess you about.

Ep1cfail · 09/07/2023 12:00

It's always better to go through the insurance. Someone hit me in a car park. The visible damage was minimal. After inspection the damage cost £1400 plus replacing 2 car seats at £160 each. If I'd just taken a few hundred for the dent I would have had no idea of the invisible damage.

onefinemess · 09/07/2023 12:04

Because car repairs have a nasty habit of turning very expensive once the work has commenced.

Say you hit a another car, and both you and the other driver are happy to have a local mates rates garage do the work. The garage has even quoted for it. You agree to pay, for example, £300 to have a bumper re-sprayed.

Would you still be happy to pay if the garage phoned you up and said that all the parking sensors needed to be replaced as they found out that were broken once they took the bumper off, and the job was now going to cost £1200?

That's why she's going through insurance.

Louoby · 09/07/2023 12:06

Often people prefer to have a proper job through insurance. People have hire cars etc. she could be really put out if her car is in garage for 3 days without a replacement?

KnitMePurlMe · 09/07/2023 12:10

I wouldn’t trust you to pay and would absolutely go through insurance. Can you afford the cost of a courtesy car on top of the repairs? The costs will soon rack up and that’s when people’s initial willingness to pay disappears 🙄.

thefinaltwist · 09/07/2023 12:11

I was involved in a 4 car pile up last year when someone who was drunk and high as a kite ploughed into the back of us ( we were stationary at traffic lights ) at 70mph. My insurance renewal has just came in and very pleasantly surprised that its only gone up £5 a month and my no claim bonus of over 9 years plus was also safe

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 09/07/2023 12:12

cornersleeper · 09/07/2023 11:21

I just don't understand why they aren't happy for me to pay for the damage to be fixed. The cost of the repair is less than the excess and my insurance premium will go up. I asked her to do this but she is saying she wants to do insurance. I just don't get it

She doesn't know you from Adam. How does she know you'll even pay?

You won't need to pay anything if you don't claim for your own damage, by the way.

OdeToBarney · 09/07/2023 12:13

So entitled OP. I would always go through insurance because of the reasons already mentioned on this thread. You hit her car, you don't get to moan about her protecting herself by going through her insurance company!