Hit by new driver - worth claiming for this damage?

[TonyRPH]

My car is a '51 A4

The o/h was hit by a new driver who was going way too fast for the icy conditions. (the new driver passed his test on 21st March)

Fortunately, he just caught the front fender wing, and the headlamp has completely broken away from it's mounting brackets.

There is also a deep score in the paint on the door.

Is this worth pursuing through insurance, or should I just suck it up and pay myself?

Needless to say, the other driver is maintaining his innocence, but we have witnesses who will testify to the contrary.

Fender wing: (I managed to pull this away from the wheel - so at least the car is still drivable)



Door: (just a buff and repaint I think - no dent)



ETA: Corrected my Americanism to keep the pedants happy. Move along now, nothing to see here.

Edited by TonyRPH on Saturday 6th April 15:10

[premio]

Of course you should claim, why should you pay?? That's what insurance is for!

[MX7]

premio said:

Of course you should claim, why should you pay??

+1

[ohtari]

They have to pay for the damages, but I'd offer to settle it without going through insurance.

As someone who had an accident before I passed the test (not at fault), the insurance increase was ridiculous on top of already high premiums.

Give them the choice

[Backtobasics]

Insurance or the new driver pays cash for the repair. Down to them, no way would I pay out of my own pocket.

[Mafioso]

He's claiming his innocence? Typical young tt in a Corsa. Make the fker pay.

ETA: We call them bumpers, not fenders.

[SonicShadow]

Mafioso said:

He's claiming his innocence? Typical young tt in a Corsa. Make the fker pay.

ETA: We call them bumpers, not fenders.

You call the front wings bumpers? You're alone on that one.

[premio]

It looks like it could be a fairly costly repair if done properly, could even be a grand or more, do you think a young kid has hat sort of money spare immediately? I would just stick to doing this through insurance, it could drag on otherwise.

Are you absolutely sure it was the other drivers fault though, he crossed on to her side of the road etc? Do you have protected no claims in case it goes 50/50? If you have the witnesses then nothing to worry about.

[premio]

SonicShadow said:

You call the front wings bumpers? You're alone on that one.

From the pic you can see it hit the side of the front bumper too.

[jas xjr]

fender ? you have guitars on your car ? cool

[StottyZr]

If I was running a car until MOT then scrapping or it was very low value I'd do the guy a favor and leave it be.

If the person who crashed into me claimed innocence I'd be more inclined to claim against them purely because they're being a .

[oobster]

If i was in a similar position I would definitely 100% make a claim. I can't understand why you would consider NOT claiming?

Fender is an Americanism, we use the term Wing in the UK.

[TonyRPH]

lol @ all the fender / Americanism jokes.

To my mind, a wing is what you find on an aircraft or a bird

I was only pondering going through insurance, as:

a) I didn't want my premiums to rise and
b) I wasn't quite sure how I would pursue this guy for the money

He was adamant it wasn't his fault, so I suspect this is something I would have to drag through a small claims court.

I'm not familiar with insurance claims - the last accident I had was nearly 25 years ago, and it was my o/h that was involved in this one (her first ever I think).

ETA: and wasn't sure how much repairs to this would cost...

[g3org3y]

Backtobasics said:

Insurance or the new driver pays cash for the repair. Down to them, no way would I pay out of my own pocket.

[CAPP0]

I certainly wouldn't be sucking it up just because it's a new driver. If nothing else it may teach him/her that they are not only responsible for their actions, but also that they are not invincible and need to drive according to the conditions and perhaps slow down a little (like us old gits know!). Next time it could be a lot more serious. There's a young girl near me who drives like an idiot and I'm not sure what it will take to slow her down.

The only alternative to the above is if there is some mitigation where the 3P may not have been at fault.

[oobster]

You MAY find that if you do proceed with an insurance claim for your 51-plate A4 the car will be deemed to beyond economical repair - i.e. the extent of the repair along with the cost of a hire car while your car is being repaired means it would work out cheaper to declare the car a total loss.

That's using proper Audi parts and a proper paint job. You could go down the insurance route, have the car declared a Category D write-off, buy the car back from your insurance co, slap a wing and a headlight on it from ebay or your local scrappy and end up with a few quid spare in your pocket.

[A900ss]

Unless I have missed something, what were the circumstances of the accident? Why are you sure the other driver was negligent?

Best to clear this stage up first before proceeding I think.

If you were not at fault, I would claim but you need to be sure (or at least quite confident)

Please let us know what happened.

[fat freddie]

TonyRPH said:

He was adamant it wasn't his fault

So he's not only an inexperienced kid in a Corsa, he's an arrogant, know-it-all little f***er to boot.
Get on the blower to your insurers, give them his details and email them the photos you've taken, let them sort it out.

With any luck it'll put the little c*ck's insurance up so much he'll be on the bus for a while.

[McSam]

StottyZr said:

If the person who crashed into me claimed innocence I'd be more inclined to claim against them purely because they're being a .

This. He loses all right to the "aww but his premiums will rise poor dear" line because of trying to pretend he didn't screw up, so yes, through insurance you go.

As you have witnesses saying he was at fault, it should go as 100% non-fault for you, which means you can also persue him for the uninsured losses you incur - namely your increased premiums for the next three years. He's made his bed by lying and trying to wriggle out of it, now he can suffer the consequences..

[TonyRPH]

A900ss said:

Unless I have missed something, what were the circumstances of the accident? Why are you sure the other driver was negligent?

Best to clear this stage up first before proceeding I think.

If you were not at fault, I would claim but you need to be sure (or at least quite confident)

Please let us know what happened.

The accident happened as per below:

The bend was very icy (as can be seen in the pics) he approached way too fast, my o/h was approaching the bend with care - as it is essentially blind - you cannot see what's coming from either direction.

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