"I think I clipped your car"

[magpie215]

I had been visiting relatives in the midlands this weekend.

Around 3 hours after I left I got a rather concerned phone call from my cousin saying that there neighbour from over the road had just been across to them and mentioned he may have "clipped the car parked outside earlier on"

I had left in darkness so only managed to look at the car the following morning.

panel gap closed between bonnet and OS wing
OS wing caved in
arch liner cracked
bumper distorted.


Yeah I think you clipped it mate.

now what top do.

car is a cheap barge so cosmetic damage usually does not bother me too much

should I just pull it out best I can or fix up using 2nd hand bits.
if I can obtain them should I make him pay a token amount for repairs as insurance would be no good or should I just let him off and say it is lucky it is a cheap car and that I am not too bothered about it???

what would the PH members suggest as the best course of action.

over to you.

[andy-xr]

Call him, agree and then shut up, see what he says

[Simon Brooks]

Photo of damage would help

[MoonMonkey]

Call him and get him to pay an agreed amount for the damage. Then you can repair it with 2nd hand bits or just leave it and pocket the money.

[Hysteria1983]

Go back there, show him the damage and see what he has to say. Any decent person would offer to contribute something towards the damage, even if you decline, I am sure just the offer would show he is a decent bloke.

[magpie215]

Simon Brooks said:

Photo of damage would help

there you go :-)

[GreigM]

Get him to pay for these:
http://www.frost.co.uk/automotive-bodywork/dent-pu...

and a rattle can....job done.

[Jasandjules]

Frankly, he admitted it and let you know, that's pretty damn decent before you start. So if you don't care about the car I'd speak to him and say "yup, you certainly clipped it" but I am not bothered about the car and thanks for fessing up.

[Brother D]

But what about your whiplash claim for you and the other 8 people in the car at the time of the incident?

It's good to know there are some decent people that do 'fess up when they have made a mistake.

It's also refreshing to see an article today regarding non-payment for a frivolous injury claim AND the court costs being passed to the (4 times previous) claimant

[Hysteria1983]

Jasandjules said:

Frankly, he admitted it and let you know, that's pretty damn decent before you start. So if you don't care about the car I'd speak to him and say "yup, you certainly clipped it" but I am not bothered about the car and thanks for fessing up.

Yep, fair enough. It's a shame whoever dud a similar job on my bumper couldn't be as kind.

[matthias73]

Brother D said:

But what about your whiplash claim for you and the other 8 people in the car at the time of the incident?

It's good to know there are some decent people that do 'fess up when they have made a mistake.

It's also refreshing to see an article today regarding non-payment for a frivolous injury claim AND the court costs being passed to the (4 times previous) claimant

I demand a link!

If I were you and you don't really care about the car, ask him for a lot of beer to make amends.

[ambuletz]

damage looks minor. Some chavs kicked one of the rear passenger doors on my 5door fiesta once. I used a sucktion cup from one of those cheap 12v car fans you plug into your cigarette lighter to pull it out. Pressed the suction cup onto the panel, then used pilers to pull the dent out and back to normal. Cost me nothing and took afew seconds.

[Fleckers]

i would try and push/pull it out in to line if you reall dont care that much

i would ring the bloke and see what he says, if he offers money then its up to you, perhaps tell him how much 2nd parts are

but if he has confessed and is decent, if you say its £200 to fix he may say bolx and do insurance....

[jjones]

going from the alloy it's the car mentioned in your profile. probably only worth scrap value when you are done with it, personally, having had cars in this situation, i would write it off as some character! a phone call to the guy and suggest he drops a bottle of wine off for your cousin and we will call it quits.

[Torquey]

Take the arch liner off to get your hand behind the dent.
I reckon it could be 95% normal with 5 minutes work.

If you say you don't care to much then that would be good enough for me and Hopefully someone will do the same for next time something like this happens

[magpie215]

jjones said:

going from the alloy it's the car mentioned in your profile. probably only worth scrap value when you are done with it, personally, having had cars in this situation, i would write it off as some character! a phone call to the guy and suggest he drops a bottle of wine off for your cousin and we will call it quits.

Was kind of what I was thinking :-)

[WeirdNeville]

If it's a proper beater, leave it as is and use the battle scar as a bit of extra persuasion to be let out of junctions.

If it holds any value to you whatsoever, get a wing for £30 from a scrappy/breaker and fit it, that will sort it out 90%.

Either way I don't think i'd bother taking money off the person - bask in the karma of live and let live being as they owned up.

[swifthobo]

in all fairness if you take the arch liner out or put your hand past it that would probably push out to some degree and it hasn't broken paint

[Pingman]

I'd be inclined to try and fix it best I could first, if you can't fully repair it, se if the guy will be willing to pay to get one of those dent-master people 'round to have a go at doing a better job than you

[gf15]

Guy has owned up, reward honesty with fair compensation claim, call it a couple of bottles of nice wine.
Having owned up to a similar bump, I was well chuffed as the victim said he spent an hour down the scrappie to source a fog light, his summary was "no wories" two bottles of nice wine later, I was well chuffed, as was he!