Problem is with her being a new driver she’s at much higher risk of crashing her car, hence high costs for insurance an insurance claim will put her premium through the roof.

FTFY 😉

It’s annoying, but, TBH unless you need to hand the car back to a finance company, I’d leave that ‘trick of the light’ as a constant reminder to pay attention more!

(We’ve jsut got a new car that’ll need to go back after 2 years. like new. I dread that as my wife is ‘always in a rush’ and I wonder when our first “what should my wife do” thread pops up)
DrP

an 09 car will be on its way to the breakers before long

U wot m8? 😉

I agree that it’s only cosmetic and therefore not an MOT failure iirc (no sharp edges).

Tbh, I’d just leave it. The claim excess and extra insurance premium over the next few years will probably cost more than the loss in value if she keeps the car for another few years and sells it in that state.

E.g. in 3 years, without the damage it might be worth £1000. If she’s got a £500 excess and claiming will add £150 to her policy for three years (£450) then she’s £950 worse off as a result of claiming. So if she can get £50 scrap for the car in it’s damaged state then just leave it as is, and don’t worry about any new scrapes.

Another vote for just leaving it. Re-paint enough to prevent any future rust issue. Get the panel knocked out a bit maybe.

Mrs IRC got a 3 yr old car in 2010. Within 3 months it got dented on the rear offside wing. Paint OK. Paid a body shop guy £50 to use suction cups and a rubber hammer to get it more or less back into shape. Still obviously had a dent.

7 yrs later still driving the car. She soon forgot it was there.

9 year old car? It isn’t worth the claims record. After all who’s to say that’s the only scrape the car will get while she gains experience. One claim will cost a fortune in insurance. Two claims?

When I changed my 10 year old car for a 1 year old car I missed never having to worry about parking in tight spaces at the supermarket etc. Perfect bodywork is just one more potential hassle.

I’d get it into an independent bodyshop for a quote at the very least; it’s not going to be cheap though seeing as the damage extends onto the door…..if the quote is too much, then it’s going to have to be an insurance job if she really wants it repaired.

It’s not clear from the image whether the door is just scraped, or actually dented as well. She might be lucky & it might just be the rear wing that needs sorting.

I really would consider not going down the insurance route if she’s a new driver with zero no-claims. You’d be taking a hefty whack on next year’s premium & probably for a couple of years after that – you have to tell them about any claims in the last 3 years….

Go on then…..how did she do it!?

Where are you based?

IF in Essex, PM me I have a guy

Re-paint enough to prevent any future rust issue.

You need to look closely at the scrapes to check whether any of it’s gouged down to the bare metal; it if has it’ll rot in quicksticks. if you’re going to leave it you should at least look to touching up the paint anywhere this has happened.

also, panel damage that bad may have popped any protection off the back of the panels as well as the bits you can see.

A talented amateur *can* achieve very good results with a bit of effort.

I was going to post the dildo video, looks like a decent result TBF.

As above, unless you can afford to fix yourself at an indie place just cover the bare metal and live with it. Not worth claiming on the insurance for.

As already said take it to a decent body shop for a quote.

We had a similar incident with our 500, a friend of the family sorted it for £250. So I’d expect maybe double that upwards.

I told her to get a £300 Ford Ka

Has she shown any interest in welding?

😀

+1 for not fixing it rather than claiming on insurance…

Just not worth it for an 8 year old car with a new driver.

I’ve come back several times to find various minor damage on my car such as scratches, scuffs, smashed rear window, even dented panel. Just not worth worrying about.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J79uO_H0kzo[/video]

As above, if it had been a front wing, then it would be easier, just get a new wing from scrappers, but the rear panel like that is really expensive due to the fact that it extends up the rear pillar to the roof, plus looking at the dent, i don’t think that can pulled easily without leaving a crease and using a hell of a lot of filler.

I’d take to good local independent, get a quote, then once you’ve got a ball-park figure you can decide whether to use them and pay or go via insurers?

Have a look at a scrap yard for a door in the right colour, i managed to find one on motor hog for a Focus and it cost £70 and it attaches with just a few bolts and then get a body shop to look at the rest of it.

Just leave it , if its out like Mrs Smith there are still 3 more corners to ding, with it always being someone else`s fault!!

Be aware that protected no claims doesn’t mean your insurance will stay the same as it was before, it means that you’ll get the same percent no claims that you had before but on the new inflated price cos you’ve made a claim..
So as an example if you had fifty percent no claim bonus on a £500 policy that ends up at £250 and after a bump the new price is £1500 you’ll get fifty percent off that so your paying £750,

+1 for getting a local bodyshop to quote. They’ll do the minimum to get it looking presentable rather than “the write off value minus a bit” they’d do for an insurance company.

Panel from a scrapyard is probably your cheapest option, might find a door as well.

Be aware that protected no claims doesn’t mean your insurance will stay the same as it was before, it means that you’ll get the same percent no claims that you had before but on the new inflated price cos you’ve made a claim..
So as an example if you had fifty percent no claim bonus on a £500 policy that ends up at £250 and after a bump the new price is £1500 you’ll get fifty percent off that so your paying £750,

+1, protected NCD is more like a protection racket, they price it in at the renewal assuming that everyone has it and it screws you if you haven’t paid it!

Black is a nightmare to colour match. As other have said, you best bet will be a local indie bodyshop, and you’re looking at a new rear quarter at least, that’s if the door can be tidied up and colour matched.

There’s no point wasting your time taking it to a body shop. It’ll be a four figure sum as she’s damaged the rear 3/4 and the door.

Best left and running the car into the ground over the next 3 years.

Agreed that it’ll be a lot of £££s to fix.

What’s the car worth (or rather, what was the car worth) ? I’d be weighing up if it’s easier to take a hit selling it as-is & buying another one.

Have a crack. What’s the worst that could happen?

Take off interior trim and kick / hammer the dent out. If you get it fixed properly she’ll only go and put a different dent in it..

She’s added character to it.

Get a local quote, um and ah over it.

Leave it a year.

Realise the dent is still there.

Is it a sticker?

At least it was self inflicted. You wouldn’t want anyone else smashing your Mrs’s back doors in.

PMSL! What a toppa!