Neighbour roof and new car

[Advicespls19]

Advice please I’m really stressing. Due to the bad weather last night the neighbours roof fell down and debris fell on our new car! Less than one month old car on PCP for 4 years. There is no real damage apart from a tiny dent in the passenger door. It’s very small and only can see up close.

what do I do? I spoke to neighbour and he said I don’t claim through him I claim on my home insurance or I should take it to a car garage that specialise in car dents. He’s a really lovely guy and I don’t want to fall out over this with him so I’m looking for advice on what to do. Can this be easily fixed? The dent is tiny probably half the size of a 5p coin

Report to your insurance! YES he is responsible and your insurance company will claim off his but you need to report to them. If you leave it and claim later then they WILL know that the damage isn’t new - they aren’t stupid!!

Yes, this happened to me years ago when parked up near our local shops. A tile came off a nearby roof and stoved the back door of my car in. It is deemed an 'act of god' and should be sorted by your insurance. You could only claim on theirs if you proved negligence eg neglect of roof repairs. At the time I was so shocked but i was just very relieved and thankful my little ones weren't in the car.

His insurance won't pay. My friend burned down his neighbours' fence and shed by careless disposal of a bbq. My friend desperately wanted to take responsibility and deal with everything but it had to go through the neighbour's insurance. Friend did reimburse them for the excess charge.

ETA in this case he absolutely was negligent, but it still had to go through the neighbour's insurance.

I think this is a case for Dent Doctor or Chips Away, they're franchises so there is bound to be one,or similar,near you.
Get a quote and go and see him again.
Most small dents are £100/150 to sort out.
(I suppose it may be a bit more expensive depending where you live,I'm East Midlands) Worth a look.
Yes that dent it would irritate me on a brand new car!

I just googled and as it’s a small it might be covered under the “wear and tear” guarantee of PCP especially as no paint work is damaged.

Just to point out our last car was 12 years old we got it brand new and it was pristine when we sold it as I suspected DH has OCD and possible Autism he keeps things pristine and there’s lots of rules with the cars such as no eating or drinking. With 3 kids the car was immaculate. I don’t think this car will have any further dents / scratches on the 4 years we have it. He’s very careful about where we park etc. hence his annoyance at me for not parking it in the spot I should have which is next to the garage.

Because in the next 3 years and 10 months I'd put £20 on the car sustaining at least one bigger dent or scratch! Anything could happen that means a dent half the size of a 5p isn't worth spending hundreds of pounds on fixing right now.

Respectfully I don't think this is worth your headspace. A 5p sized dent is nothing in the scheme of things and I'd probably call it wear and tear although I appreciate it's frustrating when you haven't had the car long.

My advice is to forget it and move on, they'll be more scratches and dings over the next 4 years and no need for you to worry over every one of them

Just seen your update about your DH and the car. Tbh that sounds awful, I'd hate for my kids to be paranoid about dirtying my car and not be allowed a drink in it. What would he do if one of them was carsick?? I guess everyone has different standards but even so, it's only a car.

How is your neighbour after having his house struck my lightening and losing part of his roof? Now that is stressful.

I have to agree with @Kingfisherfly

of course you’re entitled to enquire about the best way to deal with the dent. And it’s frustrating that your car is so new.

but your poor neighbour’s roof fell in during a storm and you’re hassling him a few hours later about a debt the size of a fingernail.

It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t do it. He’s not personally liable.

I imagine he’s likely a bit perplexed that you’re raising this today when he’s doubtless hit far bigger and more urgent issues to sort.

It will come under wear and tear.

We got a car from cinch - 2nd hand. Came with an undisclosed massive cut at the isofix - apparently that is classed as 'wear and tear' on a 5yr old car according to those rule and regs that govern PCP.

If the neighbours roof fell down in a new build thats not a good sign even if struck by lightning

Isn’t a lightening strike an act of God? In which case, no insurance cover

Wait until 6 months before the PCP is up. You can then set your precise DH to task and he can thoroughly valet the car. There will be a list of acceptable wear and tear in the paperwork they gave you. Normally scratches under a certain depth and length and dents under a certain size are classed as wear and tear. Worse case scenario, you then book it into a bodyshop and get the repairs done or return the car, they'll do the work and possibly charge you a bit more. Not worth worrying about.

Leave it. We’ve had PNP cars for over a decade. They don’t even look when they’re returned.

We had a car on a lease and they said small dents (less than £2) go under regular wear and tear and so do small scratches

It’s not his home that caused the damage. The proximate cause of the damage is the lighting strike that caused the damage. It may depend on whether neighbour has the right kind of cover if not you will need to claim on your car insurance

Because she could get a 5p sized dent in her door every month. And it would be an awful lot cheaper to get them all beaten and painted once instead of spending £300 every month to do it!

It seems anxiety is the issue more than anything here OP, do you have some support from the GP for this?

Important to remember that your neighbour has incurred damage to his home which was likely a huge shock to them and likely quite stress-inducing to sort, I hope that he/their family are ok and would be popping them round something nice/offering support and not mithering about a 5p dent at this time.

Your neighbour isn't personally responsible for this so I can't see any reason why you would need to fall out with him over it. Your options are to contact your own insurance to understand if this is covered, have it fixed privately at a small cost, or leave it until the car goes back.

The rules about keeping the car immaculate seem very restrictive, using a car and some minor wear and tear is a normal and expected part of life, not a moral failing.I don't think your DP has any right to be annoyed at you in these circumstances to be honest, he could have moved the vehicle if he felt that strongly about it. This is just one of those things, and life is full of them. It sounds as though you both need to find better coping strategies.

Really sorry you have this. How awkward that he hasn’t just offered to pay?! I had a similar thing where a neighbours kid scratched my brand new lease car. He left a note and paid but he did advise and I now see he was right - wait til the end of the lease as more damage is likely to happen and you can get them repaired together for less.

insurance won’t cover due to the low value - excess is likely the same cost.

I can see why he is saying to go through insurance but I can’t see why he isn’t offering you the money to fix it, I’d be putting a mark against his name.

It seems misplaced that the anxiety is about a tiny dent in the car and not that your neighbour’s house was struck by lightening.

Does your anxiety stem from ensuring you don’t upset your husband/ cause him stress? It feels like it’s his feelings that are making you anxious now. You need to consider whether your children are experiencing the same.

The bloke’s roof’s just collapsed! The last thing the poor bugger cares about is a tiny dent in someone else’s car.

If it was the only crisis I was dealing with, I'd probably offer to pay without any real thought about it.

The morning my house had been struck by lightening and the roof has fallen in, I'd probably struggle to be polite, while wondering why on earth the neighbour couldn't give me a break.

I promise you a car will pick up more scratches and dents over four years, however careful you are there is always some idiot.

You are being advised to leave it for now as it's much more cost-effective to just have everything tidied up at the same time before you give it back, especially if it needs any paint.

No, home insurance doesn't ever (I don't think) cover cars - either yours or someone else's. You need to claim on your own car insurance or just pay for it if it's a small job.

As you've leased the car you might have taken out an extra premium to cover small bumps and scrapes so they don't sting you at the end of the lease - did you do this?