Vehicle repair after an accident!?!?

I could cry.

Heading off to the alps and finale for a 2 week jaunt. Supposed to be on the ferry a week on Tuesday.

Discovered a note on my windscreen half an hour ago apologising for destroying my passenger side front wing 🙁

Phoned the number on it, she admitted full liability. Apparently she was driving a removal van, made an arse of parking it, got stuck and had no choice but to drag it down the side of my van. It’s driveable but the front light is destroyed. Haven’t been able to speak to my insurance company yet as they’re closed, as is the company she rented the removal van from.

From the outside it’ll need a new wing, headlight and passenger door at least. Who knows if there’s been any damage to the suspension or A-pillar etc

Never had anything happen like this before, so what’s the chances of it getting repaired and back on the road by a week on Tuesday???

Never had anything happen like this before, so what’s the chances of it getting repaired and back on the road by a week on Tuesday???

Zero. Get into your insurer in the morning and get them on the case with pushing the other insurance company for a hire van use

Zero. Get into your insurer in the morning and get them on the case with pushing the other insurance company for a hire van use

It’s ironic that it’s a van hire company I’ll be claiming against

Yep no chance. However they should give you an equivalent vehicle. Make it clear to them that you need to take it out of the country.

Make it clear to them that you need to take it out of the country.

Yeah I can imagine that’s going to add to the complications!

What part of parking and getting ‘stuck’ explains that she had to tear the wing off your van?

had no choice but to drag it down the side of my van

!!!

Some people are mental

She should have had no choice but to sit there feeling like a lemon for however long it took for you to get back and let her out…

Edit: drnosh beat me to it 🙂

Nightmare mate, hope you get sorted with a van for next week.

What part of parking and getting ‘stuck’ explains that she had to tear the wing off your van?

The mind boggles

Some of her excuses were fantastic. Someone told her to park in front of my van, so it was the fault of the person that told her to park there

My neighbour reversed off her drive and smashed into the front of my parked van whilst I was loading it to go on holiday.  Had to tape it all back together and head for the ferry, sorted it out once I got back.

I would attempt to get the headlight replaced in the time available, gaffer tape the raw edges and drive it to France like that. If you phrase it correctly the third party’s insurance company should be happy for you to save them some hire money.

Holiday insurance – would that help in the event of things/your planned transport not being there?

If you rely on the insurance recommended repairer then you’ve no chance (your van just disappears into the system and comes back when it’s finished).  If you can find your own repairer then you may be able to get them to do it by the date you need it.  May depend on their relationship with your insurance company’s assessor / loss adjuster and how quickly they will visit to assess your van.

I would attempt to get the headlight replaced in the time available, gaffer tape the raw edges and drive it to France like that.

Yeah im thinking that’s the best option.

honestly, the driving standards nowadays are horrendous. In almost 25 years of driving I’ve never hit anything, caused an accident or had any speeding points.

honestly, the driving standards nowadays are horrendous. In almost 25 years of driving I’ve never hit anything, caused an accident or had any speeding points.

Not feeling lucky right now 😭

As long as the door opens OK I’d be travelling in that. Replace the light if its not working, could get a garage to check the suspension etc but as the wheelarch is intact and there is no visible damage I reckon its probably OK.  And tape up the wing neatly.

On the plus side she left a note.

Had the same thing last year 10 days before a holiday. Ours was a UK holiday though. I refused every car they offered to start with as mine was an estate with roof bars and roof box, all the stuff we needed to transport 4 of us,  dog and surfing gear to Cornwall. I explained that if they couldn’t sort something I would hire what I needed and bill them accordingly. Ended up with a Ford ranger for 4 weeks.

Stick to your guns be polite and patient.. You won’t get your van sorted in that time so expect to be in a hire vehicle of some sort.

Your main advantage is she’s accepted full liability.

Your insurers will likely get hers to agree near instant delivery of an equivalent hire vehicle as the very principle is that you need to be reinstated to the position you were in. Make it clear you need to take the hire vehicle out of the UK and the alternative is not only the repair bill but a full list holiday claim as well. Possibly worth reiterating this to the other driver too, to put the fear in her a bit in case she later tries wriggling or changing her story.

Your insurers will likely get hers to agree near instant delivery of an equivalent hire vehicle as the very principle is that you need to be reinstated to the position you were in. Make it clear you need to take the hire vehicle out of the UK and the alternative is not only the repair bill but a full list holiday claim as well. Possibly worth reiterating this to the other driver too, to put the fear in her a bit in case she later tries wriggling or changing her story

It’s not her insurance though. She was driving a rented van so I assume it’s the hire company’s insurer. She took the hump when I told her I’d be in touch if I needed anything else. Her opinion was she’s already paid the excess to the hire company and its nothing to do with her now.🙄

When my can was totalled in April (100% not my fault) a company called Accident Exchange provided me with a like for like replacement the same day.

My approach would be

1. Try to speak to the hire company insurance folk tomorrow after you have reported it to your own insurance- if she’s accepted liability then they should be keen to resolve it as quickly as possibly. I wouldn’t rule out getting it back this week.;

2. If you have no commitment from them, to progress it quickly, get on to Accident Exchange (or similar) to provide you with a like for like replacement and explain that you’ll be taking it abroad.

Hope you get it sorted.

Your insurers will likely get hers to agree near instant delivery of an equivalent hire vehicle

My my dad had commercial insurance for his van when somebody drove into it. They delivered a Ford Focus as an equivalent vehicle. Much arguing later and despite them recognising he was paying extra rate for a van used for business they told him basically the terms and conditions on his policy had been met and their hire company partners could not provide a van. If he rented himself as they had offered him what they considered an equivalent vehicle they would not reimburse.

Be prepared to push back if the vehicle is not suitable.

Do it without the insurers?

Hire company give you a van for your holibobs, and repair your van while you are away. They will have a bodyshop that they use all the time, hire vans get a hammering from people who can’t / aren’t used to driving a different vehicle.

Who needs insurance companies?

Do it without the insurers?

Too late. It happened at 8pm last night apparently, and I didn’t discover it until tonight. In the meantime she’s already contacted the police and got an incident number, told the van hire company as I assume there’s damage to that van and paid whatever excess was on her hire agreement. I hope it was a lot!

Too late. It happened at 8pm last night apparently, and I didn’t discover it until tonight. In the meantime she’s already contacted the police and got an incident number, told the van hire company

Perfect.  Then it’s between you and them.  Anything that they feel isn’t covered is between them and her but not you and her.  Make sure your insurance is aware of the situation and make sure they know you’re off on holiday (send reservation confirmations etc)

Regardless of who’s driving this or that the insurance company you need to deal with is the hire companies insurer. The best scenario is to deal with one and only one insurer. Either yours or theirs. They will have a claims handler. Personally as she’s accepted full liability I would deal direct with their insurers and let them handle the entire claim. Involve yours and theirs and it doubles the amount of communication required. As I say I was in this very situation a year ago, my insurers were happy for them to deal with everything, however when it first happened I nearly ended up with two hire cars because of not initially doing what I said above.

spoke to my insurer. They’re happy for me to take the van on holiday and get the repair done afterwards. Result!

Nice one! I would definitely be making sure you’ve got a headlight properly fitted though, the last thing you want is the Gendarmes having a look!

Think your best bet is to drive it as is and get it sorted on your return assuming it is legal and nothing significant damaged. On the upside in France a big scrape on your front wing will make you blend in nicely with the locals and if you do pick up any damage in France then you might be able to squeeze that in under the radar with the insurance claim.

Is that wing safe though? Surely you need the jagged edges covered or smooth out for pedestrian safety..

You’ll need to have the headlight sorted properly though, not just clear tape to keep it watertight.

If none of the headlight mounts have been damaged, it should just be a straight swap out for a new one. I’d see if you can get the insurance to sort the replacement headlight out before you go and sort the wing and door on your return. As it stands the vehicle is not roadworthy because of the headlight.

Cleaned up the rough edges with my grinder. Replaced the entire headlamp unit. Duct tape to cover it all up until I can get it repaired after my holiday

Can’t even tell it’s been in a crash….. 😉

that’s better than some repairs ive seen. 👍

I’m sure it’ll blend in well when I reach Italy 😂

That is some quality duct tape repair work. Proves you can fix most things with duct tape (or zip ties or a hammer)

Top Quality bodge !

That’s some quality tape engineering. Make sure the alignment is right as les flics know about our MoT regs and will do you for mis-alignment with an escorted visit to a cashpoint to top up their tea fund.

Sorry if this has already been considered, but consider claiming straight to the 3rd party insurance rather than your own..

As they already admitted fault, thier insurers might well get you out a replacement vehicle quick sharp, as it minimises thier costs.

I had a similar situation, my insurance was giving me the run around, so I called the third party insurance direct, and as the claim was uncontested, a brand new merc hire car turned up 24hrs later.

It’s easier for all that way, and better for the consumer, assuming the claim is uncontested.

^^ I tried to explain the very same thing earlier on but the gaffer tape got the nod

Btw who payed for the new light unit?