Can I insist this lady gets more than one quote?

[itiswhatitiswhatitis]

I damage someone's car (minor dent and scratch but unfortunately across two doors) and she said she would get a quote for repairs and send it to me. (Could go through insurance but for some reason DH decided we shouldn't!5 get protected no claims )

Have just got the quote and it seems very high (£400) can I insist she seeks at least one other quote? She was very nice about the whole thing at the time and I would like to keep it all amicable but not willing to pay above the odds for it.

Yes you can - but she can also insist it goes through insurance instead.

TBH £400 for even slight damage across 2 doors seems reasonable to me, wouldn't have surprised me if you'd said a lot more. You don't seem to have to do much damage to a car for it to cost ££££

If I was her and you made things even slightly difficult I'd be insisting things were done properly through the insurance companies.

It was her suggestion to get a quote at the time rather than go through insurance company (I didn't know about the lack of protected no claims until today). I don't want to make things difficult at all but without a comparison I have no idea if this garages quote is reasonable or not.

Obviously she can insist on going through the insurance company so would it be reasonable to either ask her for a second quote or take the option of using insurance instead.

I'm not trying to make things difficult or avoid paying

No, I know you're not but in her position, she gets a quote (or two), gets the work done and then has to get the money from you. She's taking quite a risk that you'll be true to your word and pay up. I think anything that starts to make it seem like hard work would have me wondering if it might be better to go through official channels.

Of course you can ask.

If you have a photo of the damage then you could send it to a SMART repair place such as revive-uk and they'll do you a rough estimate based on the photo.

Yes I understand what you are saying and I don't want oh have her running around in her own time trying to get quotes to fix my mistake. At the risk of outing myself she lives locally to me so she 'knows' me in the sense that she knows where I live.

Gah! So annoyed at myself for such a stupid mistake and actually really annoyed with DH for scrimping on crap insurance with no protected no claims. Tbh I think I would prefer to go through insurance companies for this sort of thing. Bugger and arse.

I do have a photo Amy thanks that's a great idea thank you.

What happens if she gets a cheaper quote but prefers to use the dearer garage?

I don't always go for the cheapest quote, on the basis that you do usually get what you pay for.

My DH works in a repair shop doing this stuff, if you post a pic I can ask him if the quote seems reasonable if it would help?

If you go through insurance though don't they often tend to dictate where you get your repairs done?

But in truth I'm starting to agree with you PrivateJourney it seems like I caused the damage but all the hassle will fall on her (ironically my car came out of it relatively unscathed just needed a bit of t cut) my only other concern is because hers is an older car I'll hand over £400 and she may choose not to get it repaired. Can I insist on only paying the garage directly?

Ds2 rode his bike down our drive and the handlebar (no grip on) caught the rear door of DH's car. It didn't dent it but the paint work was damaged. Quote to get it sorted - £600.

I think you should go with the £400.

Thanks pumpkin will see if I can upload the pic

Yes the insurance company would probably tell her where the work had to be done but personally, if the garage was used by the insurance co I'd be more happy that they were reputable than if they were the cheapest quote I could find down dome back street. I'm sure its not always true but it would make me feel better!

If you're going to do it unofficially and agree that £400 is the way to go, I don't really see how you can expect to have control of the cash. You did £400 of damage to her car and will have compensated her for it. It's up to her how she spends it IMO.

If the car is very old, it might not actually be in her interests to go through the insurance. Their quote for the works is likely to be higher and if it's more than the car is judged to be worth they'll write it off.

Two doors affected - tbh the cost doesn't sound that bad at all. I've just paid over £200 for a scratch on a bumper - and was quoted up to £400 for that.

And to be honest, it will be more inconvenient for her not going through insurance, and she will be without her car, presumably for a couple of days as it's bodywork.

It's horrible when you look back though isn't it, and think if only I'd....... We've all done it OP!

All fair points. Thanks ladies for putting it in perspective. I think just seeing £400 on a bit of paper this morning was a bit of a and my knee jerk reaction was that's too much.

DH reckons about 600 so 400 sounds pretty good anyway. I would be worried though that if you don't go through insurance, what's to stop her pocketing the cash then claiming against you on the insurance as well? Not casting any aspersions on her character but that would niggle at me!

Thanks pumpkin couldn't get the photo to upload. I would keep a copy of the quote and pay her by cheque or bank transfer so I had evidence of payment.

Good idea, sounds like you are getting a good deal then, Hope it gets sorted out with no fuss.