Insurance job or just leave it?

[SamB95]

Hi everyone,

Long time reader, but first time poster here. I'm just looking for some advice.

I was parked in a local shopping centre and returned to find my car had been damaged rather significantly. Other car drove off without leaving any details. I was parked under a security camera.

Security footage can't make out the registration of the offending car or if it hit mine or not.

I'm not sure what to do as I can't claim off the other driver, repairing it will be very costly and I'm not in a position to be able to pay for it. If I claim through insurance would it be a write off? I'm assuming a hit and run claim would result in me losing my NCB too.

The car is a 2007 BMW 330i with just under 100k. Cars insured value is £6k

So my question is, would this be a write off if I go through insurance?
Or should I just leave it damaged? (I am expecting somewhere from £1000-£1500 if it was to be repaired. Is this a fair expectation?)

Please also bear in mind that I'm in my 20's have had 2 cars written off previously (both non-fault ) and a girlfriend as a named driver with a recent at fault claim so insurance is expensive enough as it is.

Thanks all

[The spinner of plates]

Personally I’d get the insurance to sort it.

Feel for you though.

[Brassblaster]

If the cars valued around £6k and the repair would cost £1-2k then they'll probably repair it.

Sometimes the additional costs of agreeing to repair will push their costs over the value of the car and they'll write it off anyway... Think of things like the cost of courtesy car hire - if there are parts required on long leadtimes and the car isn't usable in the meantime then it gets expensive very quickly.


I'd be absolutely fuming if I had to declare that as a fault claim though - unbelievable that people will just drive off!!!

It's worth reporting to the police as a hit and run regardless...
They may be able to access more CCTV and if the other driver has somehow had a moment of remorse and reported themselves (it's not necessarily an offense to not leave a note on the windscreen!) then the police may be able to put 2+2 together for you.

Another question regarding CCTV... How poor are the images?
Can, for example, your car be seen as undamaged before the other car parked next to it and damaged afterwards? If so, that might be seen as decent evidence of guilt - whether any other cameras would be better placed to give the reg is another question entirely.

[Flumpo]

If you are thinking you could live with it, I think you might be surprised how much that could be improved with a £100 machine polisher and some decent compound.

I’m not taking the piss, it’s obviously still going to be damaged, but I bet you could get it to look a hell of a lot better.

[CarCrazyDad]

SamB95 said:

Hi everyone,

Long time reader, but first time poster here. I'm just looking for some advice.

I was parked in a local shopping centre and returned to find my car had been damaged rather significantly. Other car drove off without leaving any details. I was parked under a security camera.

Security footage can't make out the registration of the offending car or if it hit mine or not.

I'm not sure what to do as I can't claim off the other driver, repairing it will be very costly and I'm not in a position to be able to pay for it. If I claim through insurance would it be a write off? I'm assuming a hit and run claim would result in me losing my NCB too.

The car is a 2007 BMW 330i with just under 100k. Cars insured value is £6k

So my question is, would this be a write off if I go through insurance?
Or should I just leave it damaged? (I am expecting somewhere from £1000-£1500 if it was to be repaired. Is this a fair expectation?)

Please also bear in mind that I'm in my 20's have had 2 cars written off previously (both non-fault ) and a girlfriend as a named driver with a recent at fault claim so insurance is expensive enough as it is.

Thanks all

That would be a write off if you go through insurance. You have no idea how much the markup is on insurance jobs. If you repaired it privately you may be able to have it repaired for closer to your estimations.

I'd think long and hard about what to do. It's a horrible situation that through no fault of your own you are now out of pocket.
Insurance claim will be just another jot against your already poor history.

They will write the car off (Cat N probably) - you may get market value (not insured value, they are different things) pay out with fighting, and be able to buy the car back for a nominal fee and then repair it yourself.

Or you could do nothing, continue to drive around in it and repair the doors in the future when you see some correct colour ones come up from owners sites or online auctions etc.

[SamB95]

Brassblaster said:

If the cars valued around £6k and the repair would cost £1-2k then they'll probably repair it.

Sometimes the additional costs of agreeing to repair will push their costs over the value of the car and they'll write it off anyway... Think of things like the cost of courtesy car hire - if there are parts required on long leadtimes and the car isn't usable in the meantime then it gets expensive very quickly.


I'd be absolutely fuming if I had to declare that as a fault claim though - unbelievable that people will just drive off!!!

It's worth reporting to the police as a hit and run regardless...
They may be able to access more CCTV and if the other driver has somehow had a moment of remorse and reported themselves (it's not necessarily an offense to not leave a note on the windscreen!) then the police may be able to put 2+2 together for you.

Another question regarding CCTV... How poor are the images?
Can, for example, your car be seen as undamaged before the other car parked next to it and damaged afterwards? If so, that might be seen as decent evidence of guilt - whether any other cameras would be better placed to give the reg is another question entirely.

It has been reported to the police who have reviewed the footage. However they say that because of the lights (not sure if they mean the lights on the roof or the other cars headlights), the image isn't clear and hence can't get a number plate. There is a second camera at the entrance/exit of the car park so at least one camera should have picked it up (or so I thought). I have contacted the officer dealing with the case, but there is no answer to her phone/email or texts. I can't get in touch with her to even ask if she has checked both cameras or not. (May call down to the police station after work and hope she's in). Last I spoke to her she basically said to just get it repaired myself

The accident was last weekend it just took a while to get the footage, but noone has owned up yet.

Due to the camera position you cannot see if it was damaged beforehand or not. However I was in town at 3.43pm (I have a time stamped photo on my phone with my location) showing the side of the vehicle with no damage. (I only have a photo because I got a parking ticket 🙃 )
After I took the photo I drove straight to the shopping centre and parked up

Then at 5.31pm there's a time and location stamped photo of my car in the shopping centre with the damage.

I was only in the shopping centre for approx one hour. My car was 100% damaged in the car park, its just trying to prove it is my issue.

[SamB95]

CarCrazyDad said:

That would be a write off if you go through insurance. You have no idea how much the markup is on insurance jobs. If you repaired it privately you may be able to have it repaired for closer to your estimations.

I'd think long and hard about what to do. It's a horrible situation that through no fault of your own you are now out of pocket.
Insurance claim will be just another jot against your already poor history.

They will write the car off (Cat N probably) - you may get market value (not insured value, they are different things) pay out with fighting, and be able to buy the car back for a nominal fee and then repair it yourself.

Or you could do nothing, continue to drive around in it and repair the doors in the future when you see some correct colour ones come up from owners sites or online auctions etc.

I think I'll just get a few quotes and see what it would actually cost to repair.

And maybe see how much t cut or a buff would take out.

I don't mind them writing the car off, I just don't like the idea of driving round in a categorised car. I'd feel like it's tainted. If it's going through insurance I'd rather they just kept the car and give me whatever value for it or don't go through insurance at all if that makes sense :/

[MarkwG]

I'd also let the local PDR guy have a look at it, once you've cleaned off the scuffs.

[Mr Tidy]

Firstly as a fellow E90 330i owner you have my sympathy - such a shame some tw*t has caused that much damage and just driven away.

I suspect the £6K value you mention is just your estimate of the value. Your insurer will probably work to their interpretation of "market value" which is likely to be less than that sadly.

I'd start by trying to find a good bodyshop (ideally with recommendations) to give a quote to get a starting point before contacting your insurer.

Hope you get a decent outcome anyway.

[Mr-B]

I have suffered similar, blue BMW too. In the end I just left it as it was and decided to keep the car until it died. I made the dents the best I could and just carried on until the car died this year, took 12 years mind Yes I had to run around in a badly scuffed car but no-one really gives a st and people will tend to give you a wide berth in car parks so it's unlikely to happen again. Embrace the new no fks given approach, it's quite liberating. Just my 2p.

[swisstoni]

MarkwG said:

I'd also let the local PDR guy have a look at it, once you've cleaned off the scuffs.

I agree. The car’s 15 years old but still useable so just tidy it up and get some more use out of it.

Not worth touching the insurance imho.

[LuS1fer]

It's particularly annoying that some people can be this dishonest.

That said, so can repairers. I self-inflicted a dent in my car, in an awkward place so went off to get quotes and they came back as £450 and £550.

A friend introduced me to a guy, locally, on an industrial estate. Told him my quotes and he rubbed his chin and said "Nah, £120". He did the job and you'd never know. It's definitely who you know.

[eliot]

For once "that will buff out" applies here. Once you have given it a good clean and polish it wont look too bad and I personally would just live with it given the age of the car, value of the car and age of the driver.

[Rich1973]

Pair of doors in the right colour from a breakers would be another option. Price it up vs smart repair and see which one is cheaper.

[Blue Oval84]

As others have said, I'd probably learn to machine polish with a strong compound, that will massively improve things I'd imagine. Then probably live with it rather than go through the expense of a claim.

If you do claim and they write it off, then certainly see if you can buy back the salvage, it will likely be very cheap.

Commiserations by the way, really annoying when stuff like that happens.

[Mr-B]

Rich1973 said:

Pair of doors in the right colour from a breakers would be another option. Price it up vs smart repair and see which one is cheaper.

Pair of doors of ANY colour from the breakers inbetweeners style

[Earthdweller]

I feel for you

I had someone reverse into the front of my X3 and punch a hole in the front with their towbar before driving off

The insurance quotes were four figures, but I had a fella in a shed behind a farm recommended to me who sorted it for £400 using genuine BMW parts and repairing the bits he could

Other than a slight scuff visible on close inspection you’d never know

Which when you take into account the £200 excess id have had to pay plus it being the loss of one of my “insurance lives” despite having protected NCD

So it’s definitely worth putting the word out locally and maybe through owner forums

[blue_haddock]

Rich1973 said:

Pair of doors in the right colour from a breakers would be another option. Price it up vs smart repair and see which one is cheaper.

That was my idea as well.

[Chubbyross]

Blue Oval84 said:

As others have said, I'd probably learn to machine polish with a strong compound, that will massively improve things I'd imagine. Then probably live with it rather than go through the expense of a claim.

If you do claim and they write it off, then certainly see if you can buy back the salvage, it will likely be very cheap.

Commiserations by the way, really annoying when stuff like that happens.

Yep, I agree with this. Try machine polishing first to really tidy up the whole area. You might be surprised at what comes off. Then I’d contact a local trusted bodyshop to see what they can do. I don’t think I’d go through insurance. Having just had an accident for the first time (no-fault) and experiencing the bureaucratic nightmare that is car insurance I would avoid claiming in future, unless it involves an expensive write-off. As another poster has said, your valuation will probably be quite far off that of your insurer and your car would probably be written off.

[snotrag]

Scrapyard. 2x doors. Afternoons work.

Get some searches up and running on all the breaker yard sites.