[alwayshappy]

I had a lady back into me at an intersection a couple of weeks ago. Her towbar put a hole in my bumper. I've just received quotes to have it repaired and it's about $700 worth of damage. She does not have insurance. Our car is not worth much, however, the hole in the bumper certainly makes it worth less money in terms of its aesthetics.

I don't want to put this lady in financial difficulty, however, I know I am entitled to have the bumper repaired. She has now asked if her husband can do the repair job himself, to save them money. My husband was already thinking that we may not even have the bumper repaired but just take the money for the cost of the repairs, to offset the loss of value on the vehicle as a result of the damage.

Are we entitled to insist it is repaired by accredited motor repairers?

Are we entitled to take the cash value of the repairs instead of having the vehicle repaired, given the minimal value of our car (probably only worth $2-3K)?

Just wondering where we stand.

This post has been edited by alwayshappy: 21/11/2012, 09:26 PM

[DarylDixonismyhe...]

I thought your insurance company chased the other person, regardless of whether the other party had insurance?

[jules095]

If you want it repaired privately, then don't put in a claim.

If you put in a claim, then you can't take the money & run.

[epl0822]

If you want to be considerate of the lady's finances I think it would be nice to give them a couple of options. If you want it repaired then you could either agree to the husband fixing it or insist on accredited motor repairs, or you could say "I'm also willing to accept a lesser payment of $X which will be less than the amount it would cost to fix."

[Mousky]

I was under the impression that if you went through your own insurance when the other party were uninsured, you had to pay the excess. I could be wrong though.

[rosiebird]

I agree with Jules. It's not free money, it's a free repair job.

[Phascogale]

Unless her husband is a panel beater I'd be reluctant to let anyone repair my car. It may be a matter of simply replacing the bumper but the bumper will need to be sprayed to match the colour of your car and this is where some of the costs are involved. What was the husband going to do to fix it? Was it a patch job on the bumper or a replacement? I'd want a replacement because the structural integrity of the bumper will probably have been compromised (but I can't really say as I can't see the damage). He might do a crap job if you let him repair the car and it will be worth even less.

There's probably no easy way out for the lady. If you claim on insurance then they will chase her for the cost anyway so it would have to be a private agreement.

But if the cost is going to be $700 to repair, she's probably still not going to be happy if you suggest $500 as a lesser price instead of the full cost. I would imagine she will be hoping that her husband will be able to repair it for less than $100 or $200 so unless you are prepared to accept this sort of amount it's not going to work.

So basically, yes you are entitled to get your car repaired by accredited repairers but you may need to go through your insurance for this to happen. Going through insurance will be the easiest way for the problem to go away because they will be the ones chasing the woman for payment and not you.

[Back2Insanity]

I had a lady back into me at an intersection a couple of weeks ago. Her towbar put a hole in my bumper. I've just received quotes to have it repaired and it's about $700 worth of damage. She does not have insurance. Our car is not worth much, however, the hole in the bumper certainly makes it worth less money in terms of its aesthetics.

I don't want to put this lady in financial difficulty, however, I know I am entitled to have the bumper repaired. She has now asked if her husband can do the repair job himself, to save them money. My husband was already thinking that we may not even have the bumper repaired but just take the money for the cost of the repairs, to offset the loss of value on the vehicle as a result of the damage.

Are we entitled to insist it is repaired by accredited motor repairers?

Are we entitled to take the cash value of the repairs instead of having the vehicle repaired, given the minimal value of our car (probably only worth $2-3K)?

Just wondering where we stand.

If she is so worried about financial difficulty then she shouldn't be driving around an un-insured car. What if she hit a BMW?

This post has been edited by Back2Insanity: 21/11/2012, 04:55 PM

[missy78]

I'd be really hesitant to have them repair it, even if the woman's husband is an accredited repair person. I personally would have insurance take care of it and make sure everything is above board.

[JaneDoe2010]

I think it all sounds pretty dodgy (especially your thought of requesting just cash and no repair) and I'd go through insurance.