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wife took my car to work today and it was parked up. Bloke in a massive merc managed to ding his car against my rear wheel arch. Luckily this was spotted and my wife managed to spot this as a collegue told her and stopped this guy driving off. She took pictures of the damage on mine and his car and his reg and got details but noted she had to stop the car to do this. His excuse "shouldn't have bought such a big car"
Now my car is a banger, bought a fair few years ago for less than my cheapest bike, the damage is not really noticable, a slight ding to a rear wheel arch and a bit of scraping of paint. His merc MASSIVE red scratch on front bumper.
If he had stopped and left a note then I would have just let it slide. But he tried to hit and run (or drive).
I feel as he had tried to drive off I should try to take him for the money to repair it and then just pocket it. He would want to avoid insurance claim, I can't be bothered to repair it.
What would the STW world do?
Pictures to be added later when got the wifes phone
Ring the insurance. Their problem. Next?
Yep, claim on his insurance. Might be a baby robin's face next time.
Sounds good to me. Buy yourself something nice with the proceeds. Depreciation tax, isn't it?
@couagr and underhill
Worst decision in my opinion.
Insurance makes it my problem, phone calls, paperwork, repairs, garages etc etc. No gain for me just hassle.
As I say there is damage but if the guy had been honest I would just let it slide.
IN that case, suggest an non-insurance settlement.
Couple of hundred plus a case of babysham for the wife.
Ask him for £50/£100 cash for repair or leave it, not worth the hassle. But its your decision, not ours 😀
when this happened to me, but i caught them, i went for swearing at them till I had calmed down ...do you have their number?
case of babysham for the wife.
Well that would be a deal breaker!
But its your decision, not ours
Just trying to decide if I am being petty as the only reason I would claim off him is coz he tried to drive off.
If I was being really petty I would do insurance co but just can't be bothered with that.
@ junkyard yep wife got phone number and pics and witnesses. Bang to rights he is!
Worst decision in my opinion.
Sorry, I thought you were soliciting other opinions.
Sorry, I thought you were soliciting other opinions.
I was, I was also giving my opinion back and the reasons why. All part of a discussion 😀
I could be wrong but is it not the case that a claim made to another driver's insurance will get both parties details on to the claims/accident database that all insurers share? So could affect your premium as it would be a no fault accident to declare next time you apply for a quote?
For minimal damage to a banger I would either ignore it or try a cash settlement. Not worth the hassle and possible accident record of an insurance claim.
Easy:
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How far away does he have to have got before you can report him for leaving the scene of an accident?
Our neighbours clipped our car in our last house whilst we were out. They left a note explaining what had happened, and offered to swap insurance details, but we said we'd be happy to do it outside of insurance, which was good for them as they're good friends with someone who owns a local reputable garage. All sorted, job's a good 'un.
Your chap, however, tried to do a runner. If I were you, I'd take it through insurance regardless of the time and hassle, as it'd push his premium up and also be a hassle for him. I should point out that I can be horribly, horribly vindictive against people who I feel have wronged me. It's not petty to bask in the warm glow of the suffering of your enemies....
If you're not worried about the damage then shrug it off. If its an old banger and not worth fixing then why go through the hassle. I would however say report the incident to the police just in case he tries to come back on you
It's not petty to bask in the warm glow of the suffering of your enemies....
Now that's what I needed to know! LOL!
So could affect your premium as it would be a no fault accident to declare next time you apply for a quote?
But this I also need to know? I am unlikely to go down this route but would be good to know.
Had a neighbor do similar a while ago with another banger I owned. He left a note so just let it slide. As he did when I reversed into his a year later. Karma at play!
Even if you don't claim you can still report him for the bump. (your supposed to inform insurance so they can asses the true risk a driver presents. If you do report him you will loose your no claims until its sorted. We have 2 no fault claims and it doesn't cause us any trouble.
What? One minute your slagging the guy off from not dropping, the next you want to take his money and spend it dishonestly. Talk about double standards...
Red merc you say...if it were me I'd just leave it. Cant be rsed wasting life time sorting this out to "teach him a lesson". He's got a wopping scratch to sort out anyway by the sound of it.
Now, if he were driving a RR Sport on the other hand... 😈
I wouldn't allow the fact he 'tried to do a runner' affect your decision. He could easily deny this and just say he was parking up so he could write a note. Even with a witness saying he was about to drive off, this wouldn't prove his intention. He didn't commit the offence of driving off as your wife stopped him.
A minor hijack...actually, I'll post this as a separate thread.
I wouldn't go through the insurance as the cost to repair your "banger" may be more than the car's worth and they may write it off. Ask him for some beer money and call it a day.
Not worth claiming on insurance as it may affect your premium.
He's unlikely to give you £50 but no harm asking and threatening to claim.
Life is short tho, I'd try latter but not take it any further and get on with your life.
I wouldn't go through the insurance as the cost to repair your "banger" may be more than the car's worth and they may write it off
Insurers are curious beasts. Someone pranged my wife's 500 quid fiesta and they paid 800 quid fixing it. Someone piled into me on the motorway in a 3K 306, and they wrote it off as it would cost more than 1.8k to fix
I think a report needs to be made just in case you find a claim against you for a big scratch to a nice big red merc. Course he might have knicked it and that explains why he was driving it that way.
Don't ring the insurance.
I once did over a car-park ding in my door. I saw who did it, got the reg number, phoned the insurance and then came to my senses and told them to forget it cos I'd sort it myself. Come renewal they put my premium up because of it. I spent about half an hour trying to get them to explain how someone else opening their car door onto mine and me paying to sort it out myself outwith the insurance company made me a higher insurance risk, but gave up and told them to stick it.
[i]I wouldn't go through the insurance as the cost to repair your "banger" may be more than the car's worth and they may write it off. Ask him for some beer money and call it a day. [/i]
Yep, trying insuring your Cat D next time...