My daughter has just phoned to let us know her 3 month old E 208 has been hit. Her husband was using it today and had left it on the work car park reversed in to a bay per the employer's policy. The accident happened when a car parked alongside turned too soon exiting forwards and clipped the front Vallance and DRL. Her car was not occupied at the time.
The 'culprit' has sought out Jonathan, apologised and has left details. He thinks the car is OK to drive home - it's only across the Wirral from Birkenhead to Flintshire.
I've suggested that as it's nearly new and under warranty she should try to get it sorted at a Peugeot or Peugeot approved facility. Also cautioned her about Accident Management companies and car hire. FWIW insurer is Hastings Direct.
Would greatly appreciate any other advice or useful observations.
Husband is checking if there's CCTV on the car park.
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Inform your insurance BUT do not claim
If the 3rd party admits liability you should hear from his/her insurer within a hour or so
Tell them where you want the car fixed, tell them you want a car hire & for them to cover the cost + insurance and the excess required by the rental company.
3rd Party insurer should bend over backwards to see you are well looked after - going through 3rd party Accident Management can have a lot of heartaches & delays as they stretch out the high day rate rental!
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She's the "victim" and should insist that an approved Peugeot garage is used.
I was always advised to use your own insurance and get them to go after the other party for the excess and costs. They may have their own policy re what garages are used. Saying that FB's advice sounds "sound" to me also.
Re accident management companies. I have arranged finance packages on a few of them - and turned a few down for being outright ******!
Simple rules to follow:
1. The other party is 100% to blame and is traceable.
2. You need transport (not would like transport) / have no other means of transport like a second car etc.
3. You don't have any savings that you could use to hire a car at normal rates.
A reputable accident management co will ask you to honestly confirm the above points. Re point 1. most reputable accident management companies will not pursue a claim where the other party is not to blame after court, if the "victim" was 100% honest in believing they were.
Re point 3. The reason asked is that the claimant needs to show that they kept costs to a minimum. A supermini hire car from Enterprise might be £200 a week. An accident management company could charge >£1,000 a week. They do this because it can take over a year to be paid.
On a more personal note, whilst it's undoubtedly upsetting that a new car is dinged, I am glad it was only plastic and metal damaged and not your loved ones!
Last edited by: zippy on Mon 14 Jun 21 at 14:02
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>>I was always advised to use your own insurance and get them to go after the other party for the excess and costs
That works when it works, even though they are uninsured losses. But if they try and don't recover them, and they really won't try very hard, then that'll be the NCB in the toilet.
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>>Simple rules to follow:
1. The other party is 100% to blame and is traceable.
2. You need transport (not would like transport) / have no other means of transport like a second car etc.
3. You don't have any savings that you could use to hire a car at normal rates.
Excellent advice. People often miss the need for number 2).
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Does the "culprit" want to go through insurance or pay separately.
If wanting to pay separately then you need to get something in writing - even if just an email exchange confirming his responsibility for the incident and intention to pay. CCTV is worthwhile if available.
Get quote from decent repairer - no point with a new car going for cheap - you want the job done properly. Let the "culprit" know the cost and they can either pay up immediately or choose to go the insurance route.
If insurance - let them sort it out - I assume they should provide hire vehicle during repairs.
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Do manufacturers have “approved “ repair facilities?
I can understand being careful if there are lots of electronics and the like to be sorted out but what you described seems to be plain old bodywork damage which will be bread and butter stuff to most bodyshops.
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And do insurance companies not just pass you on to accident management companies anyway? Admiral certainly did when the missus had a no fault claim.
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>>I can understand being careful if there are lots of electronics and the like to be sorted out but what you described seems to be plain old bodywork damage
The problem is not so much the initial repair.
1) the repair isn't perfect or to your satisfaction. This isn't that unusual even for an approved repairer, but the difficulty in getting it fixed varies dramatically.
2) Something goes wrong in the same area of the car. The repairer says it's nothing to do with him, and the supplier says it's a faulty repair or as a result of the accident etc. etc. Very easy to get stuck between a rock and a hard place.
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>>Does the "culprit" want to go through insurance or pay separately.
Be *really* careful of the whole paying separately thing, it can go very badly wrong. It's more than they expect, much arguing ensues, accusations fly, by the time a brick wall is hit the insurance companies won't touch it becaus ehteir position is prejudiced or too much time has passed.
Personally I wouldn't even consider it on a new car. I might on an old POS where I might not even get it repaired, buit not on something I cared about or that was worth money.
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I think the first bit of advice is to avoid trying to be clever, to beat the system, or to campaign.
The path of least resistance is always the best.
When you say "details" does she also have the "culprit's" policy number? If so then she should call them and ask what they want to do. And then give them 24 hours to do it.
She should report it to her insurance company no matter what. If you're confident*, then make it very clear that no claim is being made and get confirmation that no action will be taken.
If not confident then let it be a claim and follow her insurer's suggested path. At all steps get names and keep notes.
*that'll depend on her opinion of the "culprit" and the reaction of his insurer.
Be careful with car hire. Mostly insurance companies don't fight it, but if they do she may be called upon to justify her need of the car. Since she has a duty to minimise her losses that essentially means taking a bus if it is practical. Best to be careful.
I have never known an insurer to turn down additional expenses when they are reasonable - i.e. buses, trains, even taxis. It's the prices they get charged for rental cars they don't like. Keep receipts and notes. Include a sum for general stuff - phone calls, lifts, etc.
She should absolutely insist on it being done by a Peugeot facility. Not simply for the repair itself, but also to avoid any arguments in the future if anything goes wrong around that area of the car and getting into a bun fight between supplier and repairer.
A claim management company is something she should use if she desperately needs a car, can't afford rental fees and is getting dicked around. Otherwise not.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Mon 14 Jun 21 at 17:38
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>>I think the first bit of advice is to avoid trying to be clever, to beat the system, or to campaign.
I've just realised that sounds insulting and it absolutely wasn't meant to be, sorry if it was perceived as such.
What I meant was that typically people who try to do anything other than follow the logical, formal and easiest path often come a cropper. There are many annoying things about the way these things work, but it is simply better to rise above it and ignore it, not try to fight a one man campaign to fix it.
I was not meaning to fling bricks at Bromp or anybody else.
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>> I've just realised that sounds insulting and it absolutely wasn't meant to be, sorry if
>> it was perceived as such.
I read it in the business like sense in which it was intended.
In the end they've taken the line of least resistance and let the insurer, Hastings, deal with it. The supplying dealer has assured her that as long as Peugeot parts are used there's no warranty implication. Minor todo over car hire; she had to play the pregnancy card to get Enterprise to deliver the car.
She's had a previous issue with Enterprise when using them for work. The delivery driver was caught speeding by a camera c22:00 on the day before the hire actually commenced. When the S172 arrived the hire company named her as the driver!!
She had remembered the chronology of the evening including hearing the car arrive and the keys dropping through the door and responded to the Heddlu accordingly. The employers contract people also sent a robust message to the hire company.
Never heard anything more.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 15 Jun 21 at 15:00
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>>Husband is checking if there's CCTV on the car park.
No harm in checking, but don't sweat it, it's rarely of any practical use. But if you do find it, grab a couple of stills if they'll let you, even by using a phone to photograph the screen. Get whoever gives them to you to confirm date/time etc.
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Not knowing the extent of the damage, bent/cracked plastic and damaged lights are fairly easy to repair replace at fairly moderate costs. New bumpers can be obtained and painted alongside the cars continued usage and a swap at a mutually convenient time. Often falling within the cash resolution zone.
Bent metal on the other hand will be significantly more expensive and have to be repaired to manufacturers standards.
Last edited by: Fullchat on Mon 14 Jun 21 at 18:34
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Just as a late aside on this one, my daughter's car was damaged while stationery (though she was in it at the time). She told her insurer and was contacted soon afterwards by an accident management company. Maybe a bit naively she went along with it, and they supplied a courtesy car and kept her up to date when there was some delay (I forget all the details now but I remember it involved extending the courtesy car and I told her to be ultra careful about that).
Anyway, it all worked out absolutely fine, and for very little effort or inconvenience on her part, and I had to eat my words. They apparently aren't all bad!
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>> Just as a late aside on this one, my daughter's car was damaged while stationery...
...noted!...
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Advice After and Accident - Falkirk Bairn
