Wife Hit her Friends Car
Wife Hit her Friends Car
Author
Discussion

shotta287

Original Poster:

891 posts

116 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
Mrs is in a spot of bother. Couple of weeks ago she reversed at around 3/4mph into her friend's car which was stationary. Rear bumper to rear bumper impact.
I've inspected both cars and theres a small mark which has taken away the paint on my wife's car and her mates car seemingly has the faintest of marks which is quite long in length. No dents as far as I can see.
The thing is though, her mate's car is a 67 reg BMW on lease. She had it inspected at a manufacturer approved bodyshop who have said according to her 'there are ripples and a crease which is hard to see but nonetheless present and will require a new rear bumper'. At a cost of £2000.
Both parties aren't keen on going through insurance so we've told her to try and gather some quotes from different bodyshops.
Can anyone offer some advice? Thanks.

SimonTheSailor

12,834 posts

250 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
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Would the lease people see it ? Get it repaired at Chipsaway or similar.
Sounds like only the body shop can see the 'ripples'......

SmoothCriminal

5,756 posts

221 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
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Is it really that noticeable that a bumper is needed?

To be honest I'd be more tempted to just find out what bmw end of lease charges are like and offer to pay for it that way.

I know vw are really reasonable and it's often cheaper to let them get it done than faff about reparing it yourself.

spodrod

224 posts

172 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
Ive heard tales of dealerships going round returned leases with gauges to measure paint depth. If they detect a repair (even if its visually perfect) and it wasnt done by a manufacturer approved bodyshop, there can be penalties applied. Check the details on the lease agreement.

wack

2,103 posts

228 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
I'd just get it done by chips away and forget about it , they won't be using paint depth gauges on a plastic bumper

Sheepshanks

38,945 posts

141 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
spodrod said:
Ive heard tales of dealerships going round returned leases with gauges to measure paint depth.
I've never heard of a dealership handling lease returns. Normally the leasing finance company sends out an inspector.

shotta287

Original Poster:

891 posts

116 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
It's really not noticeable at all in fact all three of us had difficulty spotting the damage to the BMW.

DuraAce

4,272 posts

182 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
shotta287 said:
It's really not noticeable at all in fact all three of us had difficulty spotting the damage to the BMW.
No way on earth would I pay out 2k for something I couldn't even see!

Leave in until end of lease and see what they say. Chances are they won't notice it.

Levin

2,109 posts

146 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
Leave it until near the end of the lease period then try to find one being broken following a front-end smash? Replacement bumper, in the right colour, and most likely not £2000.

This assumes it’s a relatively common colour and there aren’t a variety of different bumpers.

HTP99

24,615 posts

162 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
Sheepshanks said:
spodrod said:
Ive heard tales of dealerships going round returned leases with gauges to measure paint depth.
I've never heard of a dealership handling lease returns. Normally the leasing finance company sends out an inspector.
Yep, a dealership doesn't get involved at all and I've never heard of an inspector using a depth gauge and who's to say the car that is being returned hadn't been damaged and repaired before being registered; it happens more often than people think!

Just get it smart repaired, it'll be fine.

shotta287

Original Poster:

891 posts

116 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
She obviously wants her pride and joy to be repaired in the best possible way and doesn't want to foot any potential bill that may arise when returning the car.
But a £2k bumper replacement is eye watering.

finlo

4,138 posts

225 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
A hair dryer is your friend.

Ahbefive

11,657 posts

194 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
quotequote all
I doubt She will want to drive around in a brand new leased car with a knackered bumper, it shouldn't be her problem to put up with.

I'd suggest getting a quote from another BMW approved bodyshop or going through insurance if it's too expensive.

I'd be pissed off if my mate drove into my brand new car and then offered some crappy smart repair rather than a proper job or suggested that I should put up with it for another 6months.

Edited by Ahbefive on Wednesday 9th May 21:03

hyphen

26,262 posts

112 months

Wednesday 9th May 2018
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As it is a friend, can you make an agreement with her? to leave the car as-is, and if the hard to see dent is actually picked up by the lease company when given back, you will cover it then?

With a bit of luck they won't notice/charge little/she will write it off long before then.

shotta287

Original Poster:

891 posts

116 months

Friday 11th May 2018
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So, she had her car washed and I managed to get a better look at the damage. There are a few small spots where the paint has chipped away and there are some very small microcracks. Also, there's some indentations which can just about be felt and only be seen by refraction of light shining onto them. If that makes sense.

She came back with another quote, this time £500. On one hand I'm tempted to tell the wife to just pay up but at the same time wait for her lease to end and see what BMW say..

Ahbefive

11,657 posts

194 months

Saturday 12th May 2018
quotequote all
Just pay the £500. Peoole don't want and shouldn't have to drive around in damaged brand new car becuse their "friend" was too tight to repair their mistake.

Dan_1981

17,929 posts

221 months

Saturday 12th May 2018
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Imagine how this thread would go if someone had posted the other way round?

My pride and joy was reversed into by my mate and they are suggesting I just leave the same for the rest of the lease.

Suck it up, pay for the repair and move on.

Butter Face

33,847 posts

182 months

Saturday 12th May 2018
quotequote all
Ahbefive said:
Just pay the £500. Peoole don't want and shouldn't have to drive around in damaged brand new car becuse their "friend" was too tight to repair their mistake.
Yeah this, surely the friendship alone is worh £500 just to not cause any bad blood!

Evolved

4,055 posts

209 months

Saturday 12th May 2018
quotequote all
Wife’s ‘friend’ sounds like a great friend! All agree you can hardly see it but she still wants to hit your wife for 2k.

Wow, glad I don’t have mates like that.

Ahbefive

11,657 posts

194 months

Saturday 12th May 2018
quotequote all
Evolved said:
Wife’s ‘friend’ sounds like a great friend! All agree you can hardly see it but she still wants to hit your wife for 2k.

Wow, glad I don’t have mates like that.
Try reading. £500.