My Neighbour Hit My Shed

[Ben 89]

When I got home i found that my discovery had one of the rear panels and light torn away from the body. My neighbour had knocked on the door and said that his work truck had rolled off the drive and smashed into my car, when I went out to inspect the damage he came out and said sorry and say he would pay for the damage or claim on his insurance if it was too expensive. I was going to sell/scrap it in jan due to the mot runing out anyway but i think it will be worth less now

So what do you think is the fair/best way to deal with this?

Get a quote to fix it get the money and then patch it up and scrap it in jan?

Claim off his insurance and get a pay out when they write it off?

If I claim off his insurance can I do this without effecting mine?

Or does anyone have any better idea's

[Codswallop]

If you claim on his insurance, your insurance will go up as well. As will everyone else's insurance [Clarkson voice]in the world [Clarkson voice].

I'd be tempted to be a good neighbour and tell him to not worry about. Given you were thinking of scraping the car, it can't be worth much anyway, so why bother fixing it?

[hedgefinder]

if you were going to scrap it then why not just tell him to buy you a drink and forget about it.

[JulianHJ]

hedgefinder said:

if you were going to scrap it then why not just tell him to buy you a drink and forget about it.

This.

[750turbo]

hedgefinder said:

if you were going to scrap it then why not just tell him to buy you a drink and forget about it.

This, without a doubt.

[93Jay]

hedgefinder said:

if you were going to scrap it then why not just tell him to buy you a drink and forget about it.

+1 best way to go about it. not really worth all the hassle if you're getting rid anyway.

[greygoose]

hedgefinder said:

if you were going to scrap it then why not just tell him to buy you a drink and forget about it.

I'd go with this option too, perhaps he can get a light from a scrapyard to see you through for the next month or so and then scrap it. At least he was honest about it.

[falkster]

hedgefinder said:

if you were going to scrap it then why not just tell him to buy you a drink and forget about it.

Exactly! It's pointless trying to benefit from this when you had plans to scrap anyway.

[LuS1fer]

Everyone offers to pay but with Christmas round the corner, what a bloody good chap you'd be to slap him on the back and be the big man, Scrap value won't be affected by damage so if that's what you were going to do, don't profit at his expense and yes, your insurance will go up and you will be worse off. If you do lose out then just charge him the difference.

Honesty is the best policy (though Police won't accept this and seem to insist on insurance...)

[Willeh85]

If any of my current neighbours had done it I'd have said don't worry about it as we all get on very well.

If he is a bit of a knob I would get a quote to fix it, ask for the cash, then scrap it and keep the cash. However seeing as he was honest enough to tell you it was his fault I'd go with my first option.

It all depends basically how nice you want to be to your neighbour

[Dominicc01]

Ben 89 said:

So what do you think is the fair/best way to deal with this?

Get a quote to fix it get the money and then patch it up and scrap it in jan?

Claim off his insurance and get a pay out when they write it off?

If I claim off his insurance can I do this without effecting mine?

Or does anyone have any better idea's

Difficult one. If you claim on his insurance, then yes, you have a claim against your name (no fault). Does still affect your premiums I believe.

You were intending to scrap the car anyway - but there is less which is salvageable anyway. Presumably your decision was driven by more than "the MOT was about to run out" - you can get a new one you know!
However, you were hoping to get another month's driving out of it, which you now can't get (presuming that the broken light cluster makes it illegal to use on the road) - and in winter too, when a Disco is most valuable.

I would probably tell him the truth, and explain that if he can give you the cash for a light cluster from a scrappys and £20 for inconvenience, then it's sorted.

Unless he's a knobhead. Which neighbours always seem to be. In that case, get all damage fixed at his expense and it may pass its MOT in January.

[Welshbeef]

JulianHJ said:

hedgefinder said:

if you were going to scrap it then why not just tell him to buy you a drink and forget about it.

This.

Well not really as now the car is illegal due to lights not working. Fix it to legal again Job done.

[Ben 89]

Thanks for the replies

Pic's
[url]|http://thumbsnap.com/NKvOOrch[

When I said scraping it I meant as a last resort I think it would have sold for more before.

[ruff'n'smov]

JulianHJ said:

hedgefinder said:

if you were going to scrap it then why not just tell him to buy you a drink and forget about it.

This.

I'll second that. Never know when you might need a mate with a truck

[StottyZr]

Bend it back, tape a light in from the scrapyard (at his expense) carry on as you were until you scrap it.

Accidents happen I suppose. You could claim off his insurance and get a payout as they'd write it off, but you'll be paying increased premiums for the next 5yrs as well as him.

If hes a nice chap, do him a favour I say

[davepoth]

The light and panel together would be £50 from a scrappy if eBay is any guide. I can't really tell from the picture but it looks to be spot welded on? Do the prep work yourself and a competent welder should be able to get that tacked on in an hour, so you should be able to get it done for £100 or so all in. Definitely not worth bothering the insurance over.

[Stugots]

hedgefinder said:

if you were going to scrap it then why not just tell him to buy you a drink and forget about it.

And you want one night with his wife, or if she's a hog, his sister

[sparkyhx]

greygoose said:

I'd go with this option too, perhaps he can get a light from a scrapyard to see you through for the next month or so and then scrap it. At least he was honest about it.

reward his honesty, as Buddha says = what goes round comes round (maybe not those exact words)

[baileyconstruct]

Get some T cut on it

[Pig Skill]

Wont be cheap to fix that one.

I'd personally scrap it but take £100 from him for the potential reduced scrap value