Inside city rear end kissing

[legendracer]

Need suggestions for the accident of a friend's car.

Bumper kissing in city. Happens when following too closely and taking eyes for a moment.

Car 1 (friend)- Mercedes Benz 1.8 (2010) clc rear ended car 2 ( Audi A1 )
Impact at around 15 mph.

Both of them leave after exchanging details. Photos taken with faces. More damage is on car 1 since it braked and hit from behind. Car 2 showed only bumper scratches and maybe inside clip damage.
Initial inspection on car 1 shows damage to bonnet, bumper, grill, inside plastic frame of bumper, bonnet not opening, pull release not working.

It's his mistake anyway. Car 2 driver left after saying he just needs repair cost for rear bumper and also said he isn't bothered to claim insurance or report since it is minor and would cause more premium for car 1 driver.

Maybe car 2 driver is understanding or maybe he isn't a named driver in that car.

So car 1 driver is not interested to increase the insurance premium and have a bad mark in insurance.

What are the options and what would be the repair costs for this Benz since it requires new bonnet, bumper with painting.
Is write off a sensible thing Since the car cost in auto trader is around £6000. But then to write off insurance premium would also go up. What to do .... Please help.... Thanks.

[Starfighter]

I would not be at all surprised to find the Audi to have hidden rear damage. Bumper mounts, the structural bar it hit at all sideways and possibly the rear of the actual body. Even at that speed the safety cage would be doing its job of deforming.

[Cold]

What happens when a personal injury claim from the Audi driver lands on the doorstep?

[drmike37]

Cold said:

What happens when a personal injury claim from the Audi driver lands on the doorstep?

This. Never mind the cars, any mention of neck pain is a straight 1k, possibly more. Unless you fancy paying this, just tell your insurance! The Audi driver will, when they get their car inspected and find that a crumple zone has gone.

[Andeh1]

Wife went into the back of someone who hit the brakes filtering into a motorway rather then accelerating into a gap, as wife intended to. Impact at good speed, prob 30-40mph, but no airbags.

£9k worth of damage to her car, hire car for 3 weeks (no accident management company) and it was a newish E class she hit. Chap couldn't drive it away. Prob £25k cost all in? (what we declare it as)

Insurance job, dead easy, no stress... Made maybe +20% increase to her premium, which works out not far off cost of an extra tank of fuel per year (ie £90 premium increase).

I don't see the fuss of saving £500 over 5 years for the £600 (repaired bumper, sprayed & fitted) + sorting other car out.... cost, stress, agro & worry all "to avoid insurance".

Its there for a reason, consider it!


Edit: though for 15mph I doubt there is anything other then superficial damage. They are called "bumpers" for a reason, and are very much designed to take an impact without taking damage. Likely needs some superficial rework, a spray over, new clips & refit... worst case £300 per car IMO.

Edited by Andeh1 on Saturday 11th July 20:15

[OddCat]

From the thread title I thought this was going to be about career progress strategies in Canary Wharf

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Andeh1 said:

Wife went into the back of someone

£9k worth of damage to her car, hire car for 3 weeks (no accident management company) and it was a newish E class she hit. Chap couldn't drive it away. Prob £25k cost all in? (what we declare it as)

Insurance job, dead easy, no stress... Made maybe +20% increase to her premium, which works out not far off cost of an extra tank of fuel per year (ie £90 premium increase).

So all those people who come on PH saying insurance is a scam, when you make a claim they get their money back off you in extra premiums anyway, how does that work in this case? £25K claim, £90 extra in year one, probably less in years 2-5. They'll probably get £300 extra in total for a £25K claim.

[legendracer]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

So all those people who come on PH saying insurance is a scam, when you make a claim they get their money back off you in extra premiums anyway, how does that work in this case? £25K claim, £90 extra in year one, probably less in years 2-5. They'll probably get £300 extra in total for a £25K claim.

Sorry. It's not about scam that I'm interested in discussion.
Car 1 driver who is at fault has an excess of £1000 and already has a costly insurance above £900 per annum.
Some body shop said that, bumper, bonnet, inside plastic fender, parking sensor including painting can be sorted under £1000 and car 2 rear bumper painting at £200.
Why to go through insurance and pay excess £1000 and get a write off at £3000, then add extra premium on insurance from next year.
Car 2 driver only wants it to be repaired and as of now he has no intention of any complain though he has car 1 driver details with him.

so is it like he can claim injury after few weeks? Would a gentleman do that after having got his car repaired?

Hopefully it requires only painting... Or worse case a new bumper.

[A205GTI]

I would be wary of little or no damage at that impact

This caused 25k worth of damage to my Merc causing the car to be written off, Small bump at roundabout,

I would never not go through my insurance, especially if it a non fault.

[MOBB]

Misleading and disappointing thread title :-(

[croyde]

A205GTI said:

I would be wary of little or no damage at that impact

This caused 25k worth of damage to my Merc causing the car to be written off, Small bump at roundabout,

I would never not go through my insurance, especially if it a non fault.

They really don't build them like they used to.

(I know they fall apart like that to protect the occupants)

I was a van courier in the 80s and we would have countless collisions. Just kick the bent bits into line and carry on. Mind you we did have proper bumpers back then.

[PorkInsider]

legendracer said:

Sorry. It's not about scam that I'm interested in discussion.
Car 1 driver who is at fault has an excess of £1000 and already has a costly insurance above £900 per annum.
Some body shop said that, bumper, bonnet, inside plastic fender, parking sensor including painting can be sorted under £1000 and car 2 rear bumper painting at £200.
Why to go through insurance and pay excess £1000 and get a write off at £3000, then add extra premium on insurance from next year.
Car 2 driver only wants it to be repaired and as of now he has no intention of any complain though he has car 1 driver details with him.

so is it like he can claim injury after few weeks? Would a gentleman do that after having got his car repaired?

Hopefully it requires only painting... Or worse case a new bumper.

Because a) the 3rd party will probably find the car needs more than a £200 paint job.
And b) because 'your friend' will still not know whether a claim is going to be submitted at some point in the future - maybe not next week or even next month.

So 'your friend' might pay out £1200 for his own and 3rd party's repairs now, and then still end up with a claim against him anyway.

What's the point?

[Roger Irrelevant]

It never ceases to amaze me the lengths people will go, the hassle they're willing to put up with, and the risks they're willing to expose themselves to, just to to avoid what will probably be a small increase in insurance premiums. Insurers generally aren't going to see a single minor rear-end shunt in a city as being indicative of a suicidally reckless maniac. And in any event, come renewal time won't they ask whether you (sorry, your friend), have been involved in any accidents? So to swerve an increase in premiums you'd have to commit fraud too? The £1000 excess is a pain but, as per the above, it's a fraction of what any potential claim could be, and you (sorry, your friend), don't know the other party from Adam so I wouldn't put much stock in them being a 'gentleman'.

[legendracer]

Roger Irrelevant said:

It never ceases to amaze me the lengths people will go, the hassle they're willing to put up with, and the risks they're willing to expose themselves to, just to to avoid what will probably be a small increase in insurance premiums. Insurers generally aren't going to see a single minor rear-end shunt in a city as being indicative of a suicidally reckless maniac. And in any event, come renewal time won't they ask whether you (sorry, your friend), have been involved in any accidents? So to swerve an increase in premiums you'd have to commit fraud too? The £1000 excess is a pain but, as per the above, it's a fraction of what any potential claim could be, and you (sorry, your friend), don't know the other party from Adam so I wouldn't put much stock in them being a 'gentleman'.

But what about the car being written off and getting a category N on car and depreciation in used market later.

[PorkInsider]

legendracer said:

But what about the car being written off and getting a category N on car and depreciation in used market later.

If the car was deemed a write-off, and If 'your friend' really wanted to keep the car, they would be able to keep it and take a reduced payout.

So, 'your friend' thinks car is worth £6k. Insurance co' say it's a write-off and it's worth £3k, so here's your £3k.

'Your friend' gives the insurance co' £500 back and keeps the car, so now has written-off car and £2,500 to play with.

£1,000 to repair it, £1,000 to account for reduced value due to Cat N status, and £500 to cover premium increases, or whatever.

Remember 'your friend' owns their car, not the insurance co', so it's their decision whether the car is written off. It can't be written off unless your friend takes the insurance co's payout. Your friend is in control. They can just walk away and say they don't want to claim once they know what the insurer is offering to do, if they really wanted to, so no different to the current position they're in.

[NGee]

legendracer said:

But what about the car being written off and getting a category N on car and depreciation in used market later.

If the car is written off it then belongs to the insurance company, not your problem what 'category' it is - unless you choose to buy it back.

Where do you get the £3000 insurance figure from if you say the car has a market value of £6000?
How do you know the car will even be an insurance write off?


The above post, (posted while I was still typing) explains every thing better than my post!!

Edited by NGee on Sunday 12th July 09:45

[legendracer]

NGee said:

If the car is written off it then belongs to the insurance company, not your problem what 'category' it is - unless you choose to buy it back.

Where do you get the £3000 insurance figure from if you say the car has a market value of £6000?
How do you know the car will even be an insurance write off?

When the insurance value for this old car is 3000-4000 and the repair costs are 2000 ( through insurance) shouldn't it be write off? I have heard cars being written off with just headlight and bumper damage. I mean when they are more than 10 years old.
Thinking which is financially cheaper in long run. He might even be able to sell the car at 5000 and he can say bonnet and bumper repainted and no write off tag either.

If claim amount from insurance is not accepted then too premium would anyway go up without any help from insurance but only for peace of mind. Isn't.

[NGee]

legendracer said:

When the insurance value for this old car is 3000-4000 .......

Where do you get these figures from? You said earlier the car was worth £6000.
Or has it been under insured to try to get the insurance cheaper?

[donkmeister]

In an age when even a wing mirror can be over £1k once it's painted and screwed to the car, and when cars are only designed to withstand a "kiss" up to 4mph, there's no way the OPs friend stands to gain anything from footing the bill for repairs Vs going through insurance after a 15mph smack (it's not "a kiss").
Suspect other driver doesn't want to involve insurance for some reason, could be legitimate if he has a no fault claim already so I feel his pain but as others have said he is an unknown quantity to your friend. The risk is huge.

[QBee]

Also do remember that when you renew your insurance, you have to declare any accidents, your fault or not, in the past 5 years.
Not doing so is fraud, whether you claim or not. It will also render your policy invalid.
As said enough times above, not worth the risk.