Car park bump (with note) - advice? Cheapy MX-5.

[sebhaque]

Left the office this evening to find a nice surprise waiting for me - someone's had a go at shunting my little MX-5, it seems. The driver left a note, which is nice.

Here's the damage:







Obviously the bodywork has taken the brunt of the impact. The front wing's been buckled, the passenger door doesn't open any more (it fouls on the raised bit of the dented wing) and the wheel's got two reasonable scuffs on it too. There are some small scratches on the wing mirror and the front bumper, but these aren't particularly bothersome.

I'm a little concerned as to how much force the wheel took, it was pushed inwards a little when I got out to the car, and now I've parked up at home it looks slightly out of alignment with the right-hand wheel. I turned the wheel a quarter-turn left and the wheels moved fine, a quarter-turn to the right moves the r/h wheel a touch but the l/h wheel still appears to face straight ahead. Hopefully this is just the tracking.

I've never had a bump before and would appreciate some advice. I've spoken to the other driver, who seems reasonable and offered to pay for the repairs if they were reasonable. I'm getting three quotes tomorrow to get a figure for myself, but she said that she'd already got a quote for my car from someone, who said it'd be £550+parts to fix the Mazda. I can't see it costing that much - a replacement front wing is £75 ( clicky), add £100 for paint and maybe £50 for fitting? Again, advice welcomed. I don't really want to go through insurance as they'll probably write the car off if it's costing £550+parts, and I love that little Mazda so I don't want to see it go.

Do I also need to inform my insurer? The car's only insured TPFT so it doesn't seem necessary to inform them if I don't have the ability to claim off them anyway.

Thanks in advance.

(edited since the original pics broke)

Edited by sebhaque on Monday 6th July 19:18

[sebhaque]

kiethton said:

I'd just get a few quotes as you are and put it to them, I've been very surprised by the cost of repairs before though!

Of your not too bothered (and it can be bent back to let the door open) if you don't mind the dents just offer £300 cash, hit it with a hammer and walk away...

I wouldn't bother with insurance...

The bodywork's rippled a bit and there are some nasty scuffs on it so I don't think it'll really bend back as such - and while I don't mind the odd scuff it's picked up over the years, this one is rather unsightly. A few friends have said I could just buy a front wing and fit it myself - it's tempting, but I'd like to get some proper quotes first just as a matter of cause.

TooMany2cvs said:

Piccies no worky.

Whoops - reupped them.

[sebhaque]

Perhaps I should clarify. The other driver said they'd been quoted £550+parts to fix the car, which would be an insurance job for her. We both agreed that a decent out-of-insurance job would be £300-£400. As I'm dwelling on it further tonight, I get the feeling that realistically I've lost my Mazda tonight. It drives okay - I took it out briefly earlier and, while it may be the placebo effect, it felt like it was hurting. It coughed on start up, the electric windows have stopped working, the pax mirror has obviously taken a knock and there's new wind noise coming from the n/s/r.

I've been using the car as an everyday car and I'm actually quite sad that it might have to come to an end. I have no doubt that if it's written off, which is highly likely, I'll be straight on the horn to the other driver's insurance company as I'm definitely getting another MX-5.

I assume the third-party insurance company will pay out for a similar car to mine to get me in the position that I was in? I don't want a million-mile 1.6 MX-5, I had a low-mileage 1.8 with a glass rear screen and electric windows - how much arguing do I have to do to get myself in a similar car? I want nothing better than what I had as it was pretty much perfect.

ETA - appreciate the input!

[sebhaque]

Thanks for the responses guys. I've been driving the car around today to get some estimate and, aside from a new rattle, which I think is just the loose indicator lens on the bent wing, the rest of the car seems fine. The windows not working is something new though, they were always a bit reluctant to go up and down but in all honesty if I need some fresh air I can drop the top. The start-up cough was presumably just due to the car getting a bump, the mirror will be readjusted when it's getting painted and I assume the wind noise is a result of the enlarged panel gap between the pax door and the arch. I was a bit downheartened last night at the thought of losing the Mazda but having slept on it I think I can keep the little fella.

I've had a quote from DingMaster of £490 + VAT which the other driver is prepared to pay for. I'm pretty happy with the quote although it doesn't include wheel alignment - I can get that done for about £30, which I'll probably do anyway for peace of mind.

I'll get the car up on jacks tonight and have a look at the n/s suspension, if it does look knackered then I'm back to square one, but I'm taking this little nugget of good news and running with it

Appreciate the help.