Car rear-ended

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Coldwarrior

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My car was rear-ended earlier today at a junction, minor scratches to back bumper and a small crack on the underside of the bumper near the exhaust, along with cracked reg plate holder. The woman who bumped into me admitted she was at fault and wants to avoid going through insurance. I've no problem with this, wondering though if I should go to main dealer or some car repair place for a quote? Car is 2.5 years old still under warranty and in excellent condition, I want to be fair to the woman but also don't want to be out of pocket myself. Is there anything else I should do to protect myself? Guards weren't called as it was so minor and I was due at a hospital appointment at the time so couldn't wait around for them.
 
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What did you get as proof that the other person has taken responsibility for the rear-ending? That's just for starters, the result of that question will possibly determine where you go or what you do next.
 
ColdWarrior - just call into the guards and ask them to take note of the incident. Give them all the details that you have - date, time, what happened, your and the other parties details.

In relation to the main dealers - they usually only farm out the work to the crash repairs shops and charge you for the privilege. Ideally, call into a couple of crash repair shops and ask them to quote for the repairs. Once you have the quotes, then just ring the other party and give her the details.

Hopefully, you won't have a "that's too much for the repair" discussion with her and that she'll pay for the repair - don't forget to factor in car hire if your car will be needed in the shop for a couple of days.

If there is a push back from her, then just take it through her insurance... you did get her insurance details?
 
noproblem said:
What did you get as proof that the other person has taken responsibility for the rear-ending? That's just for starters, the result of that question will possibly determine where you go or what you do next.
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Witnessed by my wife who was in the car at the time. Thinking back now I should have recorded her saying it.
 
Jazz01 said:
ColdWarrior - just call into the guards and ask them to take note of the incident. Give them all the details that you have - date, time, what happened, your and the other parties details.

In relation to the main dealers - they usually only farm out the work to the crash repairs shops and charge you for the privilege. Ideally, call into a couple of crash repair shops and ask them to quote for the repairs. Once you have the quotes, then just ring the other party and give her the details.

Hopefully, you won't have a "that's too much for the repair" discussion with her and that she'll pay for the repair - don't forget to factor in car hire if your car will be needed in the shop for a couple of days.

If there is a push back from her, then just take it through her insurance... you did get her insurance details?
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Thanks for the info, yes I have her insurance details. Is going to the guards needed? I've no problem doing so but don't want to make a big deal of what was a very minor incident with minor damage ( though may need new bumper). Do I need to notify my own insurance company even though I don't plan going the insurance route, unless as you say she pushes back about repair cost.
 
the guards will just take note of the incident - you are not making a big deal out of it, but if there is a fallout with this, then you are on record with them - it will help your case. I don't want to scare you, but you need to make sure you are covered.

In relation to your own insurance company, I would say yes, you should ring them. It's part of the T&Cs - BUT explain to them that you are NOT making a claim against your own insurance. The offending party will be be covering costs. Again, just on record.
 
Jazz01 said:
In relation to your own insurance company, I would say yes, you should ring them. It's part of the T&Cs - BUT explain to them that you are NOT making a claim against your own insurance. The offending party will be be covering costs. Again, just on record.
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Thanks again for the info, just on telling my insurance company, is this something I'd then have to disclose in all future quotes and would it result in my premium going up, even though I'm not at fault?
 
Coldwarrior said:
though may need new bumper
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You may not need a new one - crash repairs have come a long way, they'll pop that off, repair it, repaint and pop it on again.. :) job done (fingers crossed)...

Best of luck with it all - hoping it's hassle free - even though it's a pain in the rear end driving around getting quotes...
 
Coldwarrior said:
is this something I'd then have to disclose in all future quotes and would it result in my premium going up, even though I'm not at fault?
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Something similar to you, happened to me a couple of years back - it didn't affect any quotes I got for future car insurance ( I was very worried that it would). Each of the insurers said that it would only have impacted the insurance quote if I made the claim on my own insurance.
 
Jazz01 said:
I haven't heard of places charging for quotes, but if they do, then that cost gets added to the price that she has to pay for the repair. What part of the country are you in?
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Dublin. I remember my wife being charged for a quote a few years back when her car broke down, but I suppose there's more time involved in diagnosing the problem with mechanical issues than visual body damage. Hopefully I won't be charged for quotes.
 
Call your insurance company,
Explain the circumstances, and that you are not making a claim
Ask them who their recommended repairer is in your area.
Get a quote from them at no cost, using your insurers rates, as they are the appointed repairer, and confirm their repair guarantee will be a written one.
This is your repair estimate.

If the lady thinks its too much, you can still present this estimate to her insurance company, and it will be honored.
 
Contacting your insurance is taking a chance with your premium (maybe) going up next year. I had the same problem as the OP a few years ago but luckily the other person DID actually pay the bill, it was €900. Yes, like others on here have said, I was told my insurance wouldn't increase, as long as I didn't make a claim, but it did. When it came to renewing the following year I had to answer if I was involved in any accidents and I answered yes, even though I had no claim. I argued this with the co but they were having none of it. I WAS LATER INFORMED THAT MY INSURANCE WENT UP BECAUSE I HAD REPORTED IT TO THE GUARDS and because of this it was on record.
 
The reason for repairers charging for quotes is they get (relatively) little follow-on business. Most decent places will discount the cost of the quote from the eventual repair.
 
noproblem said:
Contacting your insurance is taking a chance with your premium (maybe) going up next year.
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The main problem with not declaring it is if the other party decide not to cooperate and pay up in a few days. At that stage your insurance company, and theirs are entitled to refuse the claim.

noproblem said:
When it came to renewing the following year I had to answer if I was involved in any accidents and I answered yes, even though I had no claim. I argued this with the co but they were having none of it. I WAS LATER INFORMED THAT MY INSURANCE WENT UP BECAUSE I HAD REPORTED IT TO THE GUARDS and because of this it was on record.
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You should have shopped around. While your current insurer will often ask if there are any potential outstanding claims, the spectre of such a claim wouldn't apply to other insurers as the event took place prior to their taking over cover. The others will just ask if you have had any claims in the previous X years. Insurers don't have access to Garda accident reports, so this was just a flag on your file that you had a potentially unresolved claim.
 
I did indeed shop around, but I couldn't get insurance much cheaper than what I was quoted by the insurance co I had been with. One wonders how these companies compile their prices and what information they pass on to each other, or not, as the case may be. Insurers may not have access to Garda reports, etc, but with everything that's going on in this lovely saintly country of hours, nothing would surprise me about what's done and not done. In any case i'm happy enough with what we're paying at the moment and am very careful what I report and to whom, am also very alert when forms need filling in along with shopping around every year for health, house, car and all insurance, as well as electricity, etc. Very seldom a year passes that money can't be saved by doing this.
 
Pick where you want to get the car repaired, and get a quote from them. Then give her the quote and see how it goes. If she gives you any hassle, just get on to her insurers and claim.
 
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