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car accident - any advice...

cougarboy

Registered User
Hi all, been a while, but wondering if I can pick the collective wisdom(?) here.

Some numb nuts ran into the back of my car today at a junction. Nobody injured but my car will need expensive repairs.

Turns out the guy driving was from a Vauxhall car dealership (a nationwide dealership chain), and they've phoned me up and said they will put my car through their workshop and sort the repairs, without having to go through insurance.

My initial reaction was no, I want somebody covering my back on this one and to put it through insurance. But the way insurers work these days, I'll probably still end up with my premiums going up and being seen as having had an accident claim.

I'm considering asking the dealership to write a letter of guarantee that the car will be returned to full factory spec condition and having them get an independent assessment of the damage before they start the work (it wasn't a hard impact but I'm still worried about potential crumple zone impact).

What do you think the best course of action is? And how long would I have before I have to tell my insurers about it, if I go down that route?

Any thoughts much appreciated...
 

Quiney

Registered User
First thing - did you get a witness to the accident?
From experience, unless you have a witness then if you go through your insurance, they will probably put it down to a 50:50 accident, your word against the other.
 

GP1

Registered User
Been down this road and i would tell your insurance about the accident, if they find out at a later date your insurance could be void, the person has admitted liability by offering to do the repair, your insurance company should not want to get involved as long as the repair is being paid for by the third party and it shouldn't affect your no claims, this is what i done with Adrian Flex @tu*
 

cougarboy

Registered User
Very helpful, thanks gents.

No witnesses at all, sadly.

But I'll contact my insurers in the morning and let them know. Glad I asked here. Thanks again.
 

andyBeaker

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
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I would suggest you post in the Legal bit in the Help section for best advice.

Personally i would go through the insurance. I stand to be corrected on this but I think the other party usually shoulders the 'blame' as you were hit from behind. Unfortunately this will still hit your premium at renewal.
 

Stevebrooke

Knee up, wheel down
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In my experience you need to declare the accident but as you're not to blame then you shouldn't suffer any disadvantage at renewal time.

Let the dealership arrange the repair, chances are they use an authorised repairer. It's highly unlikely it will be done on their own premises. I work at a local Merc dealership and we use a large insurance-approved place in Leeds, and if a customer wants a small repair - mirror or scuffed bumper for example - we get a reputable local bodyshop to come and give them a quote.

Just remember - it's possible fraud if you don't declare an incident to your insurers, and could invalidate your policy if you have another incident.

Here's a cautionary tale. A bloke I worked with got his brand new Audi TT nicked. He claimed on his insurance and they refused to pay. The reason was his wife, a named driver on his policy, had a no-fault accident in her own car on her own policy a couple of months previously and he didn't tell his insurers straight away. Like most of us he intended to declare it at the next renewal. He took it to the Insurance Ombudsman and thankfully they found in his favour, but it does show the pitfalls of not declaring straight away.
 

Quiney

Registered User
I would suggest you post in the Legal bit in the Help section for best advice.

Personally i would go through the insurance. I stand to be corrected on this but I think the other party usually shoulders the 'blame' as you were hit from behind. Unfortunately this will still hit your premium at renewal.

I was rear ended whilst at a standstill. Went through the insurance. The other party, whilst holding up their hands at the scene, came up with a story of me changing lane,blah blah blah
As I failed to get a witness the claim went 50:50. Didn't affect my premium as I had it protected. (premium actually went down ?4 at renewal) but it took over a year for the final paperwork to be sorted

If you go through your insurance,you will have to up-front any excess before any work is done. This would be refunded if found in your favour (or half of it in my case)
 

cougarboy

Registered User
Thanks again everybody for the really helpful advice. It's aways a massive help hearing first hand experience and looks like I need to contact the insurers asap.


And sorry for not posting in the legal section!
 

Pow-Lo

Make civil the mind, make savage the body.
Club Sponsor
If you go through your insurance,you will have to up-front any excess before any work is done. This would be refunded if found in your favour (or half of it in my case)

I think you might be missing his point. The other guy's dealership has offered to put his car through their workshop so he won't need to pay his excess.

I had some stupid bitch drive into the side of me a couple of years back and she wanted to pay for the damage herself. I notified my insurance company in case she did a runner. It went down on my record as a non-fault accident but didn't affect my no claims (which was protected anyway).

If I were you, I would notify your insurance and let them know the other party will complete all repairs at their own body shop and at their own expense. That way you've covered your arse.

Unless you car is a prestige motor, then let the Vauxhall franchise fix it. One at home did a good job on my Volvo after some twat scuffed it in a car park. Another one did a bloody good job on the back end of my Skoda after the 'authorised' repair centre did a complete fuck-up of rebuilding my back end after some stupid cow ploughed into the back of me.

Accident repairs are typically guaranteed for five years so be sure to get it in writing from these guys that your repair job will be covered under a similar warranty.
 

Jaws

Corporal CockUp
Staff member
Moderator
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Copied thread to legal section for you :)
 

T.C

Been there, and had one
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Currently sat in front of my Brother in laws old steam driven desk top system in Austria (they have a strange way of connecting to the internet out here, but thats another story) and just picked up on this.

When you get rear ended, it is called strict liability. In other words, the person that runs into you is deemed to be 100% liable for the cause of the crash, unless in can be proven on the balance of probability that you did something that contributed to the cause of the crash.

Given that you were at a junction, balance of probability also kick in that it is reasonable that the rear ending driver did not brake in time, so rules of strict liability apply and you should have no issues.

You are also allowed to use whatever garage you wish or you feel most comfortable will complete the repairs to your satisfaction.

Many insurers will ask you to use their garages as it keeps their costs down, but you are not obliged to accept their offer, as for example you may only have one dealer that you fully trust to do the job and the insurers and third party must accept this.

Hope that helps.
 

andyBeaker

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
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I do agree with the view that your ncb will not be affected if you are not at fault but personal experience when I was knocked off my Fazer where the other driver admitted liability (after me pointing out that he went across a dual carriageway against a 'no right turn' sign) was that the insurers viewed it as a claim so they increased the renewal premium. I voted with my feet
 

Pow-Lo

Make civil the mind, make savage the body.
Club Sponsor
You are also allowed to use whatever garage you wish or you feel most comfortable will complete the repairs to your satisfaction.

Tony, one of the reasons I insure my car with Mercedes own insurance is that they guarantee (insist, more like! Your car vil be fixed to our standards, or else!) that it will be sent to a Mercedes body shop in the event of a mishap. They guarantee Mercedes OE parts etc and not pattern stuff. To me at least, it's worth the slight hike in price; they also cover other stuff such as key loss without (allegedly) affecting NCB etc.

Now, one insurer I obtained a quote from said that I "must" use their approved bodyshop in the event of a prang. On the basis that I did insure elsewhere and something unfortunate happened, what's the worst that the insurance company could do if I ignored their authorised facility and took my car to Mercedes for repair?
 
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