Should I bother claiming?

[JohnDoe123]

Hello, wife recently scraped another car, we left details and the guy is claiming on our insurance. My car (Bmw e90 325, 92k miles, flawless service history, manual, couldn't find another like it if I tried) has a scraped up front bumper.

Given my excess is probably gone, do I claim for a bumper or bumper repair to my car? I checked my premium including the claim and it didn't seem to rise. An old BMW could easily get written off for a small claim as it probably only worth £3k, so I suppose I could buy it back off the insurance co. Would it being written off cause a significant rise in my premiums?

Alternatively I just get a paint repair without claiming. The bumper has a tiny crease to it, but it has popped back into shape. I wonder if a paint guy could get the crease out with some sandpaper. Is this the best course of action?

[parabolica]

Having been through similar I wish I hadn't bothered with claiming on my insurance and would just sort it myself. My insurance wrote-off my '03 Z4 for similar damage; I took the 'lower pay-out and keep the car' option and fixed it myself for a few hundred quid. Luckily my no claims is protected so no impact on my premiums and the car is as good as new. But now if I ever sell the car it'll be a bit harder with it being Cat N.

If it is just surface damage (i.e. no major structural damage underneath) I reckon most of that damage in your pics would at least buff out, or be fixed for not too much via a local body shop. Looks like you got away without any damage to headlights, wheels and the headlight washer covers, which are known to go walk about after something like this.

[axel1990chp]

Id take it to a reputable body shop and ask them the same question, more often then note small scrapes they're fairy good with, and fairly cheap when its a personal sale. They definitely take the P* when its an insurance claim, and as you've stated, they're more likely to write the thing off as a generic old BMW without giving it much thought.

I had an insurance claim on my Leon a few years back and the damage was minor, but through insurance the bill was upwards of £1800. Was nothing more than a respray of the front bumper

[Byker28i]

Thats quite a scrape, what did she do to the other car? Was it swinging in or out of a parking space?

Cheap car, get it sorted yourself, if you think it's worth it, or just t-cut the other cars paint off and see how it looks then?

Plus of course bank that to remind the wife at a suitable time... you know she would

[Cold]

Worth noting that your excess won't be affected by a third party claiming off your (your wife's) insurance policy.

[JohnDoe123]

Byker28i said:

Thats quite a scrape, what did she do to the other car? Was it swinging in or out of a parking space?

Cheap car, get it sorted yourself, if you think it's worth it, or just t-cut the other cars paint off and see how it looks then?

Plus of course bank that to remind the wife at a suitable time... you know she would

Second photo (the Audi) is the other car. Intrigued to see how big the claim is for that...

[rallycross]

Ask your local small bodyshop for a quote that's just around £200 to repair or £250-£300 if they paint all the bumper not just blend in the corner.

[Chubbyross]

Personally I wouldn’t claim for anything under a grand. For the amount of time in admin, along with potential premium hikes I just don’t think it’s worth it.

[Lester H]

rallycross said:

Ask your local small bodyshop for a quote that's just around £200 to repair or £250-£300 if they paint all the bumper not just blend in the corner.

Correct. Go to a local small body shop, preferably known ( or recommended) stress that you want ‘ to take the eye away’ from the rather nasty scrape - too severe for the majority. of d.I.y. types.Cash is usually much appreciated and it’s amazing, if my chap is anything to go by, how the bill is always £200, 250, or 300!

[Red9zero]

Byker28i said:

Thats quite a scrape, what did she do to the other car? Was it swinging in or out of a parking space?

Cheap car, get it sorted yourself, if you think it's worth it, or just t-cut the other cars paint off and see how it looks then?

Plus of course bank that to remind the wife at a suitable time... you know she would

As above, try some T-Cut (or similar) on it first. You`d be surprised how much difference it will make. At least your wife looks to have stopped when the scraping started though. My wife caught a wooden post, and rather than stop to see what the damage was, she carried on the full length of the car before stopping. That was past T-Cut

[Blue Oval84]

As has been said above, you will only pay your excess on your own damage, not the other guy's claim. So bear that in mind when choosing whether to claim for your own damage. I'd be inclined to get it done myself as I figure there's a good chance that will get written off.

[garypotter]

if the tp are going to claim for damages then it will be on your history you may find the reairs to your car may write off your car so advise you speak to a bodyshop first. Get an estimate against the current value of the car. if repairable then you may as well claim as your policy will be effected by the tp claim

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Cold said:

Worth noting that your excess won't be affected by a third party claiming off your (your wife's) insurance policy.

Yup, no excess on tp claims against you, just own damage claims.