bike accident – damage to car

A friend of mine (no seriously not me) knocked into a car in the car park at work. He's scratched the back of the boot. The owner has taken it to the main dealer (it's a bmw mini) and has a quote of £600.

He hasn't got insurance to cover it so where does he stand? Can he request to get a cheaper quote? Is there some sort of insurance cover for the company premises?

She has given him the quote verbally at the moment and he's asking me any advice. Obviously he's willing to pay for the damage but will have to put the lot on the credit card.

EDIT: sorry should have put it was his push bike (not a motorbike)

no he has to pay by law & i can believe the ccost is genuine aswell.

home insurance may cover it. Employers insurance may cover it (although might be cheeky to try and claim).

ask for 3 quotes.

yes i can understand the cost from a main dealer. the scratch is 10mm long.

I suppose it's best to pay the garage direct? personally I wouldn't want to pay the person direct.

Might be worth looking into home insurance etc. but I'd be suprised if he was covered.
I would definitely pay the garage direct, rather than the person involved as they may well get a 'chips away' job done once they have the cash.
Also get a written quote in advance, so he doesn't get a suprise bill for more than originally expected.

If the scratch is 10mm long most of us would get a mobile car scratch repair company to sort it. Unfortunately the mini owner is under no obligation to get the cheapest quote – I think quite justifiably they want a main dealer to do it. Put yourself in their shoes.

I think that the 3 quotes request is probably the best way forward, although you are probably testing the patience of the Mini owner.

Main dealer aren't called "stealers" for nothing! You have to pay for those flash Mini/BMW dealerships somehow.

If the scratch is 10mm long most of us would get a mobile car scratch repair company to sort it. Unfortunately the mini owner is under no obligation to get the cheapest quote – I think quite justifiably they want a main dealer to do it. Put yourself in their shoes.

I think that the 3 quotes request is probably the best way forward, although you are probably testing the patience of the Mini owner.

Main dealer aren't called "stealers" for nothing! You have to pay for those flash Mini/BMW dealerships somehow.

£600 to spray a bootlid is an insane price….I'm guessing that's a screen out job, which is probably bonded and needs breaking to get out?

Chips away sorted my keyed car.
Great job.

Check contents insurance for liability?

(I now glad I paid my CTC membership for 3rd party insurance.)

I hope you're pal does have some insurance. Keep the post updated!

yeah a just got a quote for my car after a similar accident and it was on a corsa and this things 10 years old and from vauxhall themselfs it was like £500 for the boot because they hade to take off the boot door and strip it down spray it a few times rebuild it and then fit it again WTF go to a car shop buy a can of spray paint and do it much easier

The rear screen can stay in place because they have a chrome trim at the bottom of the screen.
I would say £250 -£300 is a more realistic price.

Just say "sorry mate i didn't see you" and walk away. They seem to get away with it enough

If it goes back to BMW/Mini then they're likely to strip the panel back and paint from scratch – hence the cost of £600 sounds perfectly reasonable (albeit expensive when seen from your friend's perspective).

I'm sure he can ask for three quotes, but the owner has the right to choose.

get 3 quotes, as the owner dosnt have to get the cheapest , you as the paying person dont need to pay the most expensive, accidents happen we all know that.

I was quoted £600 to de-rust and respray both cabin doors, one sliding door and the body round the fuel cap on my van. £600 for one scratch is silly money.

Thing is, the owner has the right to expect the car to be restored exactly as it was, and a lot of damage repairs will still be visible- you accept that as a cheap chip repair but they probably won't.

How old is the MINI and does the MINI dealer chosen have their own bodyshop, or do they sub it out ?
In fact, which dealer is it?

Somebody hit the rear door on my van twice with a sharp object 2 small dents, thae following week MBUK, had free stickers,so just stuck them over the dents.

Easy. and you get a free mag to read.

Sorry for your mate's bother, I'd think that unless the car is fairly new then a chips away type repair (a blow in) is fine. Stuff happens.

Now my rant, people seem to treat cars like they're frickin concours object d'art, and need to be cossetted like a museum piece.
If they were so worried about the thing picking up a scratch why wasn't it helitaped? We all engage in this fantasy of possessing 2ton metal boxes with perfect paint finishes, that we throw around the countryside at 70mph, abandon in supermarket carparks or on the side of the road in all weathers, then we cry because we get a stone chip, or some hapless cyclist puts a 10mm scratch in the boot lid FFS.
WAKE UP to reality people…. it's just a car, in five years you'll be scrapping it, or selling it for 5% of what you paid. It's paint. Paint gets scratched. End of.

Most people will not be able to spot a decent mobile paint repair. Sure if you really know what you are looking at you can see it.

For her it is the simplest option, they will come to your car park at work and fix it, so no need to go the stealer and have to have a courtesy car for the day.

The trade price for a simple repaint is ~£100 a panel (assuming the dealer will sub it out), you are paying for the courtesy car and for the flashy dealership.

Don't forget they will probably need to get new mini badges which I bet aren't cheap, they'll want to strip and refit the number plate, plynth and rear screen trim. So when you add up the labour, parts and paint and materials that quote isn't that bad.

Bodyshops operate with tiny margins. Most are struggling to make anything at the mo.

Get pictures of it, Has he damaged it in any way or just scratched it & whereabouts on the bootlid is the scratch?

I'd be pissed if someone scratched mine TBH but i wouldnt have gone to main dealer bodyshop and if they contributed/ paid out for it i wouldn't mind.

Is your friend actually under any legal obligation to pay for the damage done? It may be cheaper for the mini owner to claim from her own insurance and him perhaps pay the excess as a goodwill gesture.

I have never had anyone who puts a supermarket ding in my car actually apologise for doing it, let alone pay for it! The best yet was when my wife and i were in the car and the person just swung their door into mine. they were not bothered.

In the last 6 months we've had 3 buses drive into our car – 2 dented wings (both sides) and a rolling scrape all along the offside from tail to front. Its annoying, however as none of them stopped or left details there's absolutely nothing we can do about it, and to be honest no point in getting worked up about it.
I'm just waiting for a bus to do the job properly and then we'll take them to the cleaners.

Just deny it &/or ask for proof the damage was done by him and wasn't there already…..

My home contants insurance coughed up when I rode into the back of a parked car and smashed the windscreen and spoiler. Cost £100 excess.

AP – Just report them for failing to stop after an accident if you are certain. The police should have to investigate, long shot them doing anything, but might scare the bus company into doing something. Usually a ban for failing to stop if theycan convict so the bus people may take it seriously. Any CCTV round your way? Check the front of buses for matching damage.

100 quid from chips away or your mate should see them in court. 600 FFS.

BMW minis must have bodywork/paint repaired at an approved bodyshop to ensure the anti corrosion warranty is intact. I know as i had mine repaired.

chopperT, how about someone damages your pride and joy that you work hard to pay for/afford and doesn't give a toss that your upset about it, or that you have to pay to fix it?

Regarding the damage, find out who the bodyshop is and talk to them direct. It can save you quite a few quid going direct.

ap you should claim my old discovery new at the time was hit by a bus in London it fecked off down the bus lane so I could follow, took details got a quote from Landrover for a wing repair/part bumper £580 quid and a few days later the bus company set a cheque through…..it cheaper for them than contesting it. Also it was on CCTV

I was covered by home insurance (many years ago) when I managed to write a car off riding a push bike into it. Knocked out most of my teeth too!

matthewlhome did you really say this? "Is your friend actually under any legal obligation to pay for the damage done?" Of course they are. "It may be cheaper for the mini owner to claim from her own insurance and him perhaps pay the excess as a goodwill gesture" it may be cheaper for the person doing the damage but not when the mini owner loses their excess and sees their premium go up. Put yourself in the Mini owners position. It's not their fault they should not be out of pocket. It's very fair for the bike rider to own up and crap that lots of people don't but the situation here is very clear.

Call chips away when the car is on the car park

then get it fixed and say "what damage?" or give the owner a couple of hundred quid cash to keep them happy!!

Cheers for the comments.. Found out he hasn't got contents insurance so it's a no go there.

I think she'll go mad if he suggests Chips away. It happened in a the car park and ppl were outside having a fag and saw it all (and know the woman)

Didn't know about the approved bodyshop. Well i'll tell him to see the written quote from the garage (or phone them up)

tonyg2003 – sorry, I wasn't trying to suggest that was the right thing to do, just that the comments made by others seemed very definite, with the first response suggests that he has to pay by law. I was simply contrasting this with the experience that thousands of people have when someone dings or scratches their car and just wanders off.

The OP doesn't mention how the damage was done either.

It does bring up an interesting and serious point about what any of us would be liable for if we had an accident. i.e. slipped on the icy roads and put a nice lock-on clamp scratch down the side of a car. How would any of u stand in that situation?

I think that it is right that the rider has owned up, but that the cost incurred / agreed should be as any insurance job would, 3 quotes and they go with the cheapest. Especially as it sounds as though the guy does not have the money to pay for the work.

The dealer will use chips away or the like, they certainly would not completely repaint a panel for a little scratch on a car they were selling – including new cars. It happens a lot more often than you would think especially repairs before they leave the factory.
All the second hand cars on the forecourt would have had small repairs like this.

1. As already suggested, get chipsaway round while she's parked up and fix it. hide behind the car when she leaves work and jump out shouting "supprise!!!".

2. buy a crappy 2nd hand car, drive into the back of her and bugger off.

for legal reasons my solicitor said I should point out that these are joke suggestions 🙂

WAKE UP to reality people…. it's just a car, in five years you'll be scrapping it, or selling it for 5% of what you paid. It's paint. Paint gets scratched. End of.

I won't bite fully, only nibble, but I can't even begin to understand how anyone can be quite so selfish and stupid.

Not everyone scraps cars after 5 years.
Not every car that's not just rolled off the showroom is an old heap not worth looking after, some people enjoy ownership of older cars too, more so than new ones (I certainly do) – who are you to judge what's worth looking after and what can be dented? Are you THAT self-absorbed?
Not everyone sells cars, especially not for 5% of value, but because some people have sod all respect for others property it often depreciates that fast due to the knocks and bangs it gets due to careless people in carparks.
Never thought I'd see an adult arguing for people paying *less* respect to others propery – sounds like it's coming right out of the mouth of a 14 year old TBH.

I'm all for accepting accidents happen, but it is only fair and right to expect to repair it to the condition it was before the accident. People need to accept responsibility for their actions, fortunately it seems the OP (his friend) is a decent human, not a idiot. I'm tired of repairing damage to my car because the stupid woman at the supermarket decided to park next to me despite the fact that I parked as far from the supermarket as possible to AVOID contact, then slammed her door into my car causing hundreds worth of damage and says "ooh, sorry" and drives off.

Feckless morons with no respect. This lack of respect is persistant throughout all levels of our modern society, and it's a damning trait.
In this case I'd get a few quotes but ultimately it's the owners choice.

Well. he's had a quote back from the approved dealer

1st day back into work for him. Think he's a bit shocked

That is utter revolting. Chips away is only guaranteed for 6months however a grand is ridiculous. Could you post this on pistonheads? Whats the link to the invoice image?

There has to be a better solution- 1k for a 10mm scratch on a noddy car?!