Hi All

The collective wisdom of the STW community is requested to help resolve an issue I have following a recent accident when a car drove into the back of me.

Request for Advice
The three points I’d like you help on are:
1. Ahead of obtaining a 2nd repair quote to validate the first, do you think the repair prices listed below are over inflated?
2. Do you think I should instruct the driver to claim for this on their insurance policy if they do not wish pay out the validated repair costs in full?
3. what other relevant advice can you offer?

Background: The Crash
A couple of weeks ago, I was commuting back home on my Brompton. I had stopped at a roundabout waiting for a car on the roundabout to pass, when a lady drove into the back of me. Fortunately, I was not injured. When I asked the LBS to assess the accident damage, they said:

The rear swing arm is bent out of alignment, rear wheel collapsed, smashed front and rear mudguard and chain ring on the front is bent.

The estimate to repair the damage came in at around £500. Bill of materials for the repair:

Parts and work Required (Cost)
• Rear wheel – Brompton BWR 3spd (£152.25)
• Rear brake calliper (£32.00)
• Rear swing arm unit – Matt black (£125.50)
• Chain set (£50.50)
• Front and Rear mudguard set (£48.00)
• Crash report (£10.00)
• Brake cable inner (£3.99)
• Workshop Labour (£80.00)

The Problem: Her Counter-Proposal
The girl who was driving the car who hit me accepted liability. She wished to settle the claim without notifying or involving the insurance company. Out of goodwill, perhaps naively, I accepted. Having sent the drive the estimate from a LBS, they have declined to pay the full £500 on the grounds:

1. it would be cheaper to perform the repair with “unbranded parts”.
2. As a student, she has pleaded poverty and says claiming on her insurance policy would cause her to lose her no-claims discount and cause her further poverty.

Having spoken to her father, she proposed paying me off with £250. I have not responded to the counter-offer just yet, but needless to say, I won’t be accepting it.

Your bike should be returned to a safe working condition with OEM parts so if she can’t pay it then forward it on to the insurance.

Definitely get a second quote and even a third and send them all to the insurance company.

Making a simple thing hard ^

Tell them to pay the bill or you’ll be claiming through your and / or their insurance.

Making a simple thing made hard easy ^

Always claim off the insurance, thats what its there for, also any taxi fares to transport your broken bike around.

Try http://www.bikeline.co.uk or any cycling solictors company loads in most bike mags.

No deal for me. Parts should be replaced like for like. The whole reason for compulsory 3rd party insurance is so that those who weren’t at fault can be fully compensated, regardless of the state of the driver’s bank balance.

Ask for details of her insurer and make a claim against her. At the end of the day she’s liable and the costs need to be covered either by herself or her insurer.
If she can’t/won’t pay a fair price to repair the bike then stop communicating with her and deal with her insurance company. Her personal circumstances are irrelevant.

thanks for the advice, guys. Really appreciated.

nigel

Surely if she’s a student and has her own car then she can’t be that hard up? Most students I know can just about afford beer and baked beans, let alone a car.

Don’t waste your time with more quotes. She’s taking the p*** full stop, just go via her insurance if she doesn’t cough up in the next couple of days. She should count herself lucky that you were not injured.

Get a second quote because the impact described could be enough to have written the whole thing off.

Sounds reasonable to me. However – i’d just add if you think she’s going to play games get her to pay up front for the quote before you get it into the shop. Last thing you want is to get it done then have her back track and you’re then faced with being out of pocket and the insurance messing you about.

That or put it through her insurance – but if she’s got any sense she’ll just pay for it. Can’t see any claim costing less than £500 in excess and increased premiums these days. I’d say you had the ball well in your court.

Personally I would tell her to jog on. You bought your bike with those parts on it and if it wasn’t for her you would still be riding it. If she’s that impoversihed then maybe she should be more careful. Go to another Brampton dealer and get another quote. She can take the cheapest. If she has admitted liability then it’s a no brainer really. It does piss me off when people have no respect for other peoples property. She damaged your bike. Just because she doesn’t like the price of the repair doesn’t mean she is relieved of responsibility.

@toppers3933: my sentiments exactly.

All

thanks for your helpful comments. I now know how I will respond to the counter-offer. I’ll post an update on this thread as and when I have some news.

nigel

Jeez. Sounds like you’ve been reasonable. They probably thought push bike repairs would be cheap.

Their responses:

1) – ask them if they would be happy having their car repaired with ‘pattern’ or ‘unbranded’ parts?
2) – her poverty is not your concern. If she can’t afford to drive she shouldn’t be driving. She crashed into you. It was her fault. How did she not see you to stop in time?

You have been reasonable so far, but I’d tell her to stump up the cash or you’ll contact the insurance.
Did you have to pay for the damage assessment/repair quote? If so, I’d be explaining that another quote for costs will incur more costs to them, as the assessment it not free.

Your bike should be returned to its previous condition using original parts .You need to claim £80 labour,2 to 2 1/2 s hours ? sounds reasonable

As above if your bike is broken then your fuel ,bus fare ,tube fare is part of the claim as well.

Give her and her dad a choice

Pay up or supply their insurance details

That quote sounds reasonable to me. I’m guessing you have witnesses? If not, I predict they’ll suddenly decide the crash was all your fault as soon as you press your case…

I wish there were brompton riders in GTA.

• Rear wheel – Brompton BWR 3spd (£152.25)
• Rear brake calliper (£32.00)
• Rear swing arm unit – Matt black (£125.50)
• Chain set (£50.50)
• Front and Rear mudguard set (£48.00)
• Brake cable inner (£3.99)

Bloody hell (chainset/calliper), did she drive right over it ? (and what happened to the brake cable ?)

(Dirk – too blatant 😉 )

claim off the insurance.

There’s a reason it impacts her no claims bonus. Make it happen. People who can’t drive need to be financially impacted to either teach them a lesson about driving or to cost them off the roads.

Bloody hell (chainset/calliper), did she drive right over it

With Bromptons, given the design, and amount on proprietary parts, damage sound quite small, for the prices, they feel cheap, if not very cheap, a quick look at SJS cycles shows the rear wheel & brake caliper being more than the OP’s prices.

For the OP, as with others, claim of their insurance.

Tell them to pay the bill or you’ll be claiming through your and / or their insurance.
Making a simple thing made hard easy ^

Basically this.

You can read about my experiences in the thread below. I tried to be fair to the driver, but you don’t owe her any excessive niceness. If you don’t feel her counter offer is good enough, just go directly to her insurer. She has a duty to tell you who her insurer is – if she refuses, speak to the police (they can tell you her insurance details).

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/accident-car-driver-wants-to-take-my-bike-for-analysis