Small Claims or accept 50% offer

Just looking for some opinions on the below.
Car broke down. Was towed by private company and stored with them overnight. They then dropped car to garage for the repair work.
I go to pick car up from garage post repair and see damage to bodywork. Bring this to attention of garage and they immediately show me documentation of body check they do on receipt of all cars with this new damage noted.
I then go to tow company. They request quote for repair (€600) and then refuse liability. They have no such documentation as garage but as damage not consistent with being towed will not accept liability.
Investigation into this was shabby to say the least. Guy came out, took 2 photos of car. Promised to check CCTV at depot. As of yesterday this wasn't done and now recordings are wiped.
We had taken couple of photos of car on tow truck, not with the intention of using them as part of claim. Not great photos but I feel they show car damage-free if compared with similar photo taken after. Tow company refuse this as evidence.
As of yesterday they offered €300 as goodwill gesture, no admittance of liability.
The issue is we are ready to trade car in. The opportunity has just come up and we'd be foolish to miss out. If I do trade car in would it be possible to pursue this through Small Claims Court even though we won't own the car? We'll be trading in without doing the repair but have a quote. Or should we take the €300 and save ourselves the hassle of Small Claims (fee and day's holiday)?

It is only 20 or 30 euro to go to the small claims court. It would probably be worth your while taking the chance with the court case. You have proof through the photos of the way the car was taken away when under the care of the tow company. I would hope though that the photo's would be easily able to identify the before and after results.

If going to court - and looking for the money - you would need to show proof that you paid for the car to be fixed - or that your car was devalued when sold by 600 euro due to the repair work not being done. You basically need to show that you are out of pocket due to this situation. I personally would not chase it through the small claims court if you were no longer in possession of the car.

Why don't you go back to the tow company and tell them that you are putting in a claim and that you have the evidence to win your case. See if they can give a better offer. Maybe 400 instead of the 300.

If it was me I would take the 300 , sell and run !

Small claims court costs €5 and has served me well when I had to use it as the mere threat of the court to the company made them pay up.

I doubt you could take the claim after you get rid of the car so maybe bung in the claim now and mention it to the garage see what happens - usually takes a few weeks only for a result

is the dealership taking your car aware of the damage, it may reduce the value you are getting for the car.

€300 is a alot of "goodwill" to be offering, Id say they hoping you'll accept this. No harm using the threat of the small claims court...send a formal letter immediately with deadline and wait for their answer.

Small Claims Court is, in my experience, an utter waste of time. Even if you win your case, there is no guarantee that the business will ever pay you the sum awarded. Enforcement of small sum judgments is a lottery.

Take the €300 and run.

Tow company have seen the photos and have dismissed them. We never took them with the idea that we'd need to use them in a court case so they are general photos of car on tow truck. Not the specific area that ended up damaged.
The car is being traded in as seen, so garage aware of any scuffs to bodywork etc.
I'm beginning to think I shouldn't look a gifthorse in the mouth.

Thanks for the replies.

alexandra123 said:

If it was me I would take the 300 , sell and run !

Click to expand...

Me too.