Neighbour not happy with us and wants us to pay for car damage

[abitmorepls]

Not me, but my partner. We moved into our new house 3 months ago, and our driveway is right next to our neighbour’s, separated by a small picket fence. Yesterday, my partner decided to wash his car for the first time since we moved here. We didn’t think much of it until our neighbour knocked on our door this morning, saying there were dirt and stone chips on the side of her car, and she thinks it’s from my partner using the pressure washer. We obviously apologised and offered to pay for her to get her car professionally cleaned or suggested that my partner could do it, but she said there’s paint damage from the stone chips and that a clean wouldn’t really help. My partner thinks it’ll be fine after a wash, but she was upset, not aggressive, but very upset, and asked why we didn’t let her know so she could have moved her car. Honestly, we didn’t realise it would be a problem, he used to wash his car all the time at our old house, and nothing like this ever happened. So, what should we do now? I feel caught in the middle.

Very common among people I know

You (or rather your partner) pay to repair the damage and apologise and let her know before you wash the car with the pressure washer in future so she has the opportunity to move it. It's a given that a pressure washer will flick stones up and I would expect someone using one to know that and give me a heads up or move their own car and wash it away from the property/my vehicle to ensure no damage caused.

Why would you pressure wash a car right next to another car?! Of course it's kicked up dirt and little stones and no, he wouldn't have to go out of his way. You can get some nasty cuts on your shins if you're in shorts. A picket fence isnt going to help much. Is the damage only on the side that was next to your car? It should be quite obvious.

Pressure washers shoot water and debris everywhere. It's not rocket science. The neighbour was upset for good reason. Accept you made a mistake and pay for the damage.

Mud and crap is one thing but requesting money for paint damage is another and I wouldn’t be paying a penny before I’d checked it myself. I agree pressure washers flick up all sorts so if there is damage then they’ll have no choice but to pay for it. A bit of mud would piss me off but it’s not the end of the world.

Has he gone and looked at the damage?
He ahould go and look and see if he thinks it looks genuine that the pressure washer caused it ie on the side next to your car. And the extent of the damage
Then if yes he caused it then ask her to get a few quotes and also get your own view of the price.
If you think it was him that damaged her car then you should of course pay for the damage.

When pressure washers became affordable. Men love a pressure washer because its using pressure to wash!!! Some real bragging rights and accessories aplenty to purchase. Can clean algae from driveways, wash bikes and many other items. No doubt YouTube is full of pressure washer advice and disasters

Your car would lose its wing mirrorsif you damaged my car and then made me pay to sort it out. You could always contact your insurance and pay the excess, of course.

To be honest, pressure washers can throw a lot of crap about. When we're using ours to clean the drive, we always let the neighbours know in case they want to move their cars for half an hour.

Is she sure it’s the washer and not the general state of the roads, loads of new chipping around here from new potholes

dpends on how close the cars were, and if you have any loose stones etc

Many people wouldn't think about it but if either of your drives are gravelled, it is more than possible that the pressure washer kicked stones into her car. Check if the damage is only on the one side near your drive, in which case your DP is likely to be responsible. You may be living next door to this lady for years, it's probably worth paying for the repair for the sake of neighbour harmony.

I have never washed my car, the number plate gets a wipe down when it won’t be picked up anymore and that’s about it 😅

I live down a dirt track, there’s absolutely no point, but it’s interesting. Does the foam and the sealer actually help?

Good grief, does your partner not have a brain? Poor woman. Of course you should pay to get her car fixed, and for a courtesy car for her to have while the work is being done.

I don’t spend my life looking out my front windows. Someone could easily wash their car on the drive nextdoor without me seeing.

i agree, if your dp has damaged her car (and it sounds like he has) he needs to pay. Do you have house insurance, maybe you could claim on that?

I guess it needs looking g at. If the damage is equal both sides then it’s maybe from the roads. If it’s worse on one side it’s more likely to be from the washer.

It is indeed a common thing!! My ndn LOVES his, he can be seen and heard at least twice a month for 1.5hrs at a time playing with his 😔

What a thoughtless thing to do next to another car...it will definitely blast things onto the neighbouring car. A sincere apology would be necessary if just for the dirt let alone paintwork damage

Firstly take photos of the damage to her car. Get your DH to wash the area with a sponge to see the exact damage.

I would have thought that your household insurance would cover this, so ring them and find out. She needs to get a quote for the repair.

Your DH was careless, but it was not deliberate, so the sooner and nicer you deal with this, the better for ongoing relations with the neighbour.

Invite them round for a meal to apologise.

I’d ask the neighbour if you could inspect her car. If the chips are on the side nearest your property, i think you’ll have no choice but to remedy the damage either yourselves or via your insurer.

If she pursued a legal claim, she’d only have to show that you caused the damage on the balance of probabilities. If the damage is on one side, I think she’d win. The facts speak for themselves.

Your DH has been very foolish. Way to go to ruin the relationship with your new neighbours.

Id have to go and look at it. My car has some right chips in it from loose bits of stone just from driving so the pressure washer could have done the same. DH always moves his car off our shared drive when he washes it with his pressure washer. You could get some quotes from mobile repair people and go from there. But you need to see the damage. I had to really look at my car to see my paint chips. So if shes gone out and just been able to spot it then it sounds like a wash won’t cut it

Take photos of both sides of her car - if there are chips on your side but not the other, it's obviously your DH's fault.

Ask to clean it and use T-Cut to sort it out. If that doesn't work to her satisfaction, yes, your DH needs to pay for it to be remedied.

because presumably (as evidenced by many posters on this thread) she didn't realise a pressure washer could/would do that much damage, because nobody had ever been stupid enough to do it so close to her car before! If you've never used a pressure washer, which many people haven't, you don't know how much stronger they are than a normal hose.

Check the damage and if she is right, then pay to have it fixed. This is very straightforward!

His car insurance won't cover it, Third Oarty damage is restricted to when you cause damage to property/injury whistle actually using your car, not whilst washing it.
Personal liability cover on your home insurance may