Car Damaged.

[James]

 

  We went to the car boot sale at Guehebert on Sunday in our new toyota corolla and had a great time looking round and came back out and someone had scraped our car on the rear side and had scratched it and put a dent in it. some marks are fifteen inches long and some about 4 to 8 inches long.

   There was no card left or contact number given. We will be phoning our insurance agent tomorrow to see how we get it repaired. Will the insurance agent want a crime number from the police? What has been your experience of getting your car repaired after someone had damaged it? 

   Nobody never went in to our 1986 volvo 740 but when you get a new car then it happens.

   It looks like a green Vehicle did the damage.          Many thanks James.

[Dog]

I know the feeling... my new Toyota Verso had the entire rear bumper deeply gouged along the entire length probably by a truck in a car park and since then it has been keyed and door smashed afew times - I give up and shall leave it until I sell it to get the damage repaired. Makes you spit doesn't it!

[cooperlola]

I'd have a good look at my policy before making a claim.  You may find that the penalties involved will outweigh the costs, bearing in mind any excess you would have to pay.  Maybe get an estimate from a local garagiste - it may not cost you as much as you imagine.

[Ford Anglia]

As Cooperlola says, check your excess, add a bit for the Ins co upping your premiums next year, even if you have protected ncd, then check the cost of a self-funded repair.

My lad had this in the local tech college car-park, here in the UK, ended up paying for it himself. Some kind soul having left him £400 damage[:@]

His excess is £400, (young driver less than 21) and he would have lost ncd, so it was a no-brainer.

[James]

Hi,

  Thanks for your replies. It sounds as if your corolla verso has come out far worse than ours. What is it with some people, cant they just leave things alone with this mindless vandalism and also own up to scraping/ damaging someones car!!  It makes sense to drive a older car that you are less worried about but then with a older car you are paying out for repairs etc. When you buy a new car you end up paying for other peoples damage also. You can't win either way.   I do like the toyota as the economy from the diesel engine is very good.

  We will be phoning the insurance company tomorrow to see what the excess is and if our no claims are protected. If the excess is high we will end up paying for the repair ourselves. Some of the scrape marks from the other persons black bumper look as if they will rub out but it still leaves a dent in the metal and scratches to the base colour of the bumper.                 James.                    

[Benjamin]

Depending how deep your dents are it may be possible for them to be repaired other than using traditional body repair methods.

Go and see your dealer as there are now some specialist companies that dealers use to effect such repairs and it's amazing what they can achieve.

Best of luck.

[James]

Hi Benjamin.

   Thanks for your post. We will see the dealer and see what he says, as I would prefer Toyota to repair it or to recommend a place to get it fixed. Thats if the insurance company says we can use them. The dent is on the wheelarch where the plastic bumper meets the metal wheelarch and is dented by about 4mm deep and has chipped the paint off.  James.

[SC]

You may find that if you make a complaint at the Gendarmerie your insurance company will will pay and you may not lose your bonus. Ask them. That is what happened to us (with GAN). Your excess is a different matter, we didn't have one. Good luck.

Steve