Hi all , just want your thoughts on this really , at the w.end a m8 of mine was at a motocross practise day , he had parked up & was unloading his trailer etc as it was hot he decided to set up his gazebo to give some shade from the sun, whilst doing this the wind suddenly picked up an with his back turned lifted the gazebo up into the air traveling over to the nearest car that was parked some 10-15 meters away , it crashed down on the car (08 reg bmw) leaveing dents / scratches on the roof-boot and rear quarter & doors an amazing amount of damage really, he imediatley dismantled the gazebo & went an found the owner explaining what had happend & that he was extremley sorry etc and in the heat of the moment offered to pay for the damage out of his own pocket... Any how after sleeping on it an thinking of ways to raise the cash it looks like he would have to sell his two mx bikes & trailer to pay for it which is a real shame as he has been ridding since he was 15 & now 40 & still loves the sport...

Does anyone know what the law staights ref accidental damage to others property? does he legally have to shell out from his own pocket?? i said he should tell them to claim through there own car insurance & for him to offer to pay there ins excess ?

 

why should they? he should of put the gazebo away and said nowt rather than offering to pay and back out look at it from an unbiased point of view if it was your car would it still be a shame he had to sell his bikes to fix your car? oh and your insurance to go upcause you had to make the claim and declare it for the next 5 year

 

Now that he's admitted liability and they know who he is, I think if he refuses to pay they'll just take him to court, in which he'll lose and have to pay anyway.

How much is it going to cost? Does he not have public liability insurance for his MX activities?

Chris

 

he's screwed!!

He damaged, he should pay really. Shouldve put out the guy ropes really.

Live and learn.

 

just one of them things, but he has to pay for it, its the right thing to do, simples.

 

He estimated the damage at 4-5k as they had apparently said it would need to be done at a bmw dealer , i havent seen it myself so cant really comment, The gazebo would have been properly secured but unfortunatley the wind got a hold of it before he got to that stage... it sounds like by what you guys are saying even though its an accident if it went to court he would end up paying up....

 

4-5K!!! did the gazebo have an elephant strapped to side of it?????? tell them he's happy to pay but not main dealer prices, as long as its to the same quality it was originally it shouldn't be a problem, if they argue thats when i'd say take me to court.

 

Person in the wrong - "i didnt mean to fall asleep at the wheel and kill someone judge it was an accident"

Judge - "you still have to go to prison and pay for your crime"


he's in the wrong and although it was an accident as they ALL are he should pay!

he should really have some sort of insurance i would have thought. I know its a different sport but when i used to go air rifle target shooting i joined clubs and got insurance incase anything should happen...like killing the farmers live stock or something.

 

Do you not think he should?

 

Why would they want to lose their ncb, because of something that wasn't their fault ? (unless they had protected ncb)

Better idea would have been for them to claim off HIS car insurance - gotta be easier than him trying to find 4 - 5k (which seems stupidly high btw) and less hassle as the insurance co's do all the work then !

 

Would his mate be able to claim of his car insurance as his car wasn't involved

 

he could have claimed that the trailer caused the damage - trailers are covered third party only normally, unless specified on the policy. ? (so i'm led to believe)

i think i'd rather bend the truth a little to the insurance bitches than try and pull 5k out of fresh air !

 

I'd love to see your claim form how your trailer damaged the roof

 

like i said... bend the truth.. or the roof one of the two

 

Im not saying that , just trying to come up with the best plan of action for both partys hes not what you would call well off other wise it wouldnt be such a big deal..

He doesnt have any liability insurance for mx etc , the bike hadnt even made it out of the trailer at that stage anyhow lol ....

The damage is to random to have been done by the trailer so i dont think thats an option (going through his ins)

 

WTF???


he damaged it. he should pay!

 

ok, what i meant was something like this..

letter / quote from bodyshop to insurance company.

Repair and respray rear 1/4 panel..

I know of a few body shops that will quite happily write whatever you want them to on a quote / letter if it means they'll get the custom out of it !

but anywho.. that's my 2p's worth and good luck to the fella with trying to find the dollar.

 

That's all well and good if the other guy is OK with telling porkies... Most aren't I imagine.

Benni.

 

i know if it was my car (the mk2 escort, not the rusty beemer) i'd be wanting it to be totally sorted with no chance of the insurance coming and bummin me in court for telling porkies so the other lad could save cash, is a loan out of the question?? gets to keep his bikes then.

 

yes he should definately pay but shouldn't roll over and just accept what they say it will cost or that it needs to go to a bmw dealer. you'd probably find a independent body shop do a cheaper and far better job if you shop around.

 

If someone damaged my car, I would expect them to pay and I would expect them to pay for a good job to be completed on it too.

If they didn't want to pay I'd inform my insurance and hope that they could chase the individual on my behalf.

I'd also be very miffed at someone giving their word then changing their mind just because they had to sell their little gay bikes, what a selfish cunt he is, thinking of himself.

 

As already said i was just trying to see if anyone had any other ideas to suit both partys its alot of money at the end of the day , someone may have come up with a feasible answer, if it comes down to it he will sell up his bikes & possibly his car too if they dont raise enough capital , He isnt taking this lightly...

 

i's suggets he just talk to them about it going elsewhere. 5k of damage seems pretty massive unless they are talking replacing panels, roof skin etc? are all the panels that bad? will none of it come out with a get dent specialist? just thinking if there's even just 1 panel that a dent man can bring back rather than a body shop he'll probably save a few quid that way....

 

Either you read my post wrong mate or i never worded it well. I totally agree he should pay. I meant if he was gonna try get out of paying he shouldn't of went admitting liability. Plus asking them to claim there insurance is a no no imo

 

Will any of the dents come out using paintless dent removal? That could be a start to try and knock the bill down and it's better for your car than filling it with filler and having panels painted. I know a very good dent guy and he did my old Focus & Cosworth. Has he got any photos of the damage? Where does the guy with the BMW live? I reckon my man could certainly help out here if he is local to me.

 

Why should the others lose out or tell lies? Its his fault. If it was that windy he shouldve known better at age 40 sadly. Time to stump up/get a loan etc. Also the other party are well within their rights to say it has to go to a bmw dealer. I'd be livid.

 

Thats an idea i hadnt thought of , ive not seen the car myself as i wasnt there so dont know but ill mention it to him may help keep his costs down , Unfortunatley the cars abit of a way off (other side of camberidge) other wise id have gone an had a look see myself to make sure there not taking the mick, he is from the philippines (my m8) an although he speaks english fairly well doesnt grasp certain things which makes it a little harder for him.. He didnt think to take any photos unfortunatley...

 

There are companies nationwide that specialise in paintless dent removal and at a fraction of the cost of a bodyshop Well worth looking in to.

 

Ideally i would look for a way to have your insurance cover it - roof storage box falling off or contents falling out??

failing that I would...

Speak to the guy and say that the very best he can do is give him 2k cash in his pocket and let him claim off his insurance, this will cover the excess, the increase in premium and still leave him a grand I would think.

You mate has been good enought to seek the guy out and try and sort it, but the guy with th ebeemer needs to have an incentive to work with your mate to a quick simple solution.

If they guy in the beemer takes an arse, it may be worth your mate reminding him that 90% of people would have driven off and to cut him some slack for a genuine accident.

Bit of give and take.

 

Why dosent he offer to pay their excess AND a nice little lumper on top.their full of shit taking it to a bm dealer and costing 4-5 k,your mate could,if he wanted to just fuck them off. and before anyone starts,it's not what i'd do or your mate but it's happenned many times to people over the years,I know this as we get them in weekly.s.point out to them if it's through insurance they could get it all repaired as they want it.I run a bodyshop and yes you can certainly add on to cover for other repairs but you can't take the piss as insurance companies are getting wise to this.if it was you,wouldn't you want something out of it rather than just having your car repaired?not knowing their details I can't say as too how much insurance will increase by but I'd guess no more than £100 or so .if his excess is £250 (average),100 insurance excess I'd offer him a grand and I'm sure he'll be ok with it all,nice £650 in his pocket and car repaired at main dealer,can't be bad!!

 

Good suggestion.

I can see why people say "he damaged it, he should pay in full", but it sounds like this guy's not got much money, so 4-5K could be a LOT of money to him.

A friend had a similar situation when his 4 year old decided to draw on a guy's new Toyota Rav4 at a campsite... with a stone... on all the panels on both sides!!! He was originally quoted 6K+ for a full respray, but thankfully the Rav4 owner had kids and sympathised, and found someone who managed to mop most of the scratches out.

 

Exactly,not everyones cunts in the world!!mate had an escos years ago and rammed the arse of a standard escort.guy got out,mate apologised etc.guy said if the boot floors not bent then you'll never hear from me again,guy never contacted my mate which I thought was honest. Personally I'd rather have cash and my car repaired than just my car repaired.they won't be even considering changing roofskins on that car,pop out,panel beat and fill,fuck all else!!!

 

I don't know what model of BMW this was but I'd want a main dealer repair on a fairly new high-end car too - otherwise the resale value will be affected.

And if it is a leased car, and the repair is spotted, you can guarantee the guy or his employer will get a refurb charge at least as much as a main-dealer quote.

 

in germany there is an insurance policy that most people take out called 'haftpflicht' that costs about €15 / year and covers you against all sorts of incidents like this, or if you bicycle into someone etc. not sure if there is an equivalent policy over here, if not, there should be. or maybe home insurance might cover it?