Should i make him pay?

[MattHirst]

Right, i'll give you a bit of info on what happened first. At work the carpark is on a slight hill and we all park facing accross the hill. As someone stole my normal parking space, i parked next to one of the apprentices.

Well every lunchtime he sits in his car to listen to radio etc as he always does but when he opened his door it swung open (because of the hill) and twatted into my drivers side door.

At first we thought it was just a scratch so didn't really bother about it (although he said he would pay), was going to try and t-cut it (well autoglym paint renovator stuff) but upon closer inspection, it has gone down to the undercoat.

Went down to halfrauds today to pick up some more car shampoo mcshizzle and just asked about the scratch remover service they have, he had a look at said it was creased aswell. Your thinking the same as i was 'he is trying to pull a fast one so he can make some brass'. But now he pointed it out to me (looking down the length of the scratch rather than directly at it from the side) it is extremely obvious especially if the light catches it.

The dent/crease thingy runs about 2-2 1/2" perpendicular to the scratch.

Halfrauds man quoted me £60 just for painting (metallic silver is apparently hard to replicate so it needs the full door spraying) or £110 for the crease filling in and then repainting. He reccomended i went down to the bodyshop down the road, went down there and got quoted £40 for the dent guy to try and sucker the dent/crease out and touch up the scratch, or £140 for it doing properly (filling, sanding etc)

I can imagine the bodyshop doing a far better job than the halfrauds man so i'd pay the extra £30 to go there. Even though the lad at work said he would pay, he has only just gone into his 2nd year of his apprenticeship (and 2nd year wages are appauling from what i remember lol)

So should i make him use about 2/3rds of his weeks wage and get a bodyshop to do a proper job of it or just make do with the scratch being touched up?

The car was brand new at the start of august so obviously i want it right, but then i feel tight making him fork out £110-£140 (he doesn't know the prices yet, only just got a few quotes this afternoon)
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It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's bloody hilarious!!!

[jack_zxr400]

Talk to him about it and tell him it needs putting right and see what he says
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[ClaireBear]

Hmm I would approach the subject again with him. Maybe, if he is short on money, he may go half with you or something.

Be a shame to have such a scratch or a botched job on a new car, so it will be worth getting it done properly.

Hope you get it sorted

[MattHirst]

Thanks, he isn't 'short of money' (drives a clio 182 at 18 ) or maybe his mum is just rich. Anyway, as soon as it happened he came and told me and said he'd pay but i just feel tight taking £110+ off him.

I'll speak to him monday and see what he says, at the time we both thought it was just a scratch. He's a decent lad so i don't expect him to try and wriggle out of it
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It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's bloody hilarious!!!

[Kwaks]

Bit tight asking him to pay it all if his wages are as bad as you say.

Why not tell him the cost and ask for a percentage, maybe £40 quid or so
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[AC]

instead of taking all of it off him in one go, why not draw up an agreement - witnessed in front of other - where he pays you a token amount each week, £30 per week will have it paid in less than two months. just a thought but something to consider.

[Ste]

[MattHirst]

[Phoenix]

I think Ste is on the right tracks, whoever mentioned working out how much to blame he was has clearly not read the post at all, he flung his door open on a hill and dented a car, not many other people to blame except the god of gravity.

I don't know what a Clio 182 is, I'd assume that because it's a Clio it's worth about £10, but because you've implied the 182 is significant it's worth maybe £15. If his parents bought it for him or helped him afford it then they can help him afford the dent he put in your car. You're not a bank or a charity, he's not your best friend, invoice him for the damage and see what he says, take the logical course from there, but they all involve getting the full amount off him sooner or later.

[Clanger]

Well you are the lucky one having the perpetrator identified.

My car got hit three times in one day last week, at the back of my work, and the two people who park next to me flatly denied it was them, so I am left to sort out a minor dent and two scratches myself. I only got the car in April, and so am a bit hacked off with this (to say the least).
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[ZRX61]

[Jamie.]

I would look at it this way..

If you done it to someone else's car, You would probably accept it was your fault and pay for the repairs without a second thought.

Why shouldn't he?
Just because he might earn less doesn't give him the right to damage your vehicle which you worked hard to get.

He may know someone in the business who could repair it at a reduced price (I would let him do the running)
Everyones a winner.

[MattHirst]

[iooi]

Hat's off to the lad for finding and telling you what had happened.

Watched a woman in supermarket open her door straight onto another and put a very large dent in the door. She got out looked at the dent and seemed more concerned that she had scuffed the paint on the edge of her door. From the way she was rubbing it.....

She then just walked off.

I walked overand left a note on the dented cars windscreen saying what had happened. Lucky when i returned the dented car owner was just loading up so i told her what had happened and walked away.

Maybe she returned the favor i don't know... Nor want too
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[Annabella]

It's good of you to be considering his position - I felt bad when a girl at work scratched the rear panel of my GTV (I'd had the car a week) because she told me straight away and works in the post room so would be on near enough minimum wage.

I got a few quotes from different places for a respray, asked her to pay the amount the cheapest quote came in at. I wanted to take my car to an alfa specialist which was a little bit more expensive so I paid the difference.
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[Tonka]

Personally, I think Annabella's idea is the 'fairest' and how the chap decides to pay (all or in stages) can be discussed. Accidents happen and we all make careless mistakes every now and again and the fact he was honest counts for a lot.

I think the reason people tend not to leave details and walk away seems to be all the possible 'extra' damage that may be added if there were no witnesses.

I was sat in my car when a new Lexus was parked next to me and the driver just flung her door open into mine - I yelled 'excuse me' at her and she just shrugged her shoulders, so I was left with no other option than to put my point of view across in fairly strong terms. I really get quite cross when people have no respect for the belongings of others. What it costs or how old it is has no bearing - it's my car, I look after it and expect others to do the same.
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[msgander]

I would make him pay! but in installments, maybe he wont fling open his door so quickly again and do it to someone elses car..... Bugbear of mine door flingers...they need to learn YOUNG!
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[Mac_Black]

[chris-red]

If it is a massive wack of his wages what about letting him pay over a few weeks? It is the least you could do half the people wouldn't have said a thing.
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[MattHirst]

Yeah i think that is the best option. He may have loads of brass and turn round and say 'just send me the bill and i'll pay'.

He was at college monday, i was there yesterday and got an appointment today so will see him this afternoon.

Not that it really affects you but i will let you know what he says

Thanks, karma is on its way
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It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's bloody hilarious!!!

[Barry_M2]

Why not just get his insurance details and do it that way?

If someone else has damaged your car, then they pay for the repairs, simple. It's not your problem he cant afford it.
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[Kickstart]

[Barry_M2]

[Kickstart]

[Barry_M2]

I know what you are saying Keith and used to think the same way until I had someone completely take the piss with an insurance claim when I hit them.

£20 to fix the damage to my bike. I 'clipped' the back of a BMW, putting a 3mm scratch on the bumper and cracking his rear light. His final claim was £6719. My loss of NCB and with that claim against me put my insurance up £30 for the following year. So it was infact cheaper for me to go through insurance too as even a rear light and to touch the bumper up (which is all it needed) would have cost more than that.

In the past if anyone was to damage any of my cars or bikes I would have settled on the spot. Not any more, I'll always take it through insurance now, regardless.


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