# Lady drove into my Golf today



## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

Elderly lady drove straight into the near side rear wheel arch of my Golf today. She has admitted liability so an insurance job.

Damaged metal, bumper, paint and inner wheel arch felt compressed. Shunted bumper over slightly.

Going to book it into inchcape bodyshop, hopefully they won't use any filler?

Any recommendations welcome.









Scott.


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

I'm willing to bet you could get that 'seamlessly' repaired privately for about £200 (without filler ;-))

But claim through insurance and get it repaired at a dealership - £1000 (min)
And cos you put a claim in (whether it was your fault or not) your premiums will go up.
And the old girls premiums will go up.

The only winner will be the insurance companies (yours and hers will make out of it!)

But it's your choice to put a claim in ..... obviously ;-)


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

The arch looks like a good PDR guy could get out.


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## robdcfc (Sep 17, 2012)

Jem said:


> The arch looks like a good PDR guy could get out.


Won't happen, there are at least 3 layers of steel there.

Rob


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

robdcfc said:


> Won't happen, there are at least 3 layers of steel there.
> 
> Rob


Maybe I was wrong with my estimate. I bow to your knowledge Rob :thumb:


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## the_pope (Oct 20, 2012)

robdcfc said:


> Won't happen, there are at least 3 layers of steel there.
> 
> Rob


Glue pulling doesn't balk at steel layers :thumb:


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

It's a tricky one. Volkswagen quoted £1293 to fix this and I am not entirely sure I would be happy. 2 dent men both said they couldn't get it out. So still pondering what to do. Car is 8 years old and mint apart from this owned from new by me. Maybe time for a change and sell it as it is?


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

squiggs said:


> I'm willing to bet you could get that 'seamlessly' repaired privately for about £200 (without filler ;-))
> 
> But claim through insurance and get it repaired at a dealership - £1000 (min)
> And cos you put a claim in (whether it was your fault or not) your premiums will go up.
> ...


Is that right if I claim off her insurance it could put my premiums up too?


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## MJT (Feb 24, 2009)

thats mad,i came back to my golf yesterday and someone hit mine in the same place...and drove off


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## piston_warrior (Jul 25, 2012)

j3ggo said:


> Is that right if I claim off her insurance it could put my premiums up too?


Yes a non fault claim could affect your premium as you have proved you're more likely to get crashed into. Insurance is backwards sometimes.


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## Strongey (Apr 16, 2013)

I put a non fault claim on my insurance this year and my premiums still went down


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

I got hit up the back late last year and it's cost me a slight rise in premium on my cars despite it being classed 'non fault', apparantly I'm at a higher risk of being hit by some knobhead because I use the car !?!?!


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## GH1 (May 6, 2013)

j3ggo said:


> It's a tricky one. Volkswagen quoted £1293 to fix this and I am not entirely sure I would be happy. 2 dent men both said they couldn't get it out. So still pondering what to do. Car is 8 years old and mint apart from this owned from new by me. Maybe time for a change and sell it as it is?


From another dent man, that is a very difficult repair double skinned ( 3 layers ) on the edge. Glue may work further into the panel but the panel edge has been deformed. Most dent men would pass on that mate sorry!


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

MJT said:


> thats mad,i came back to my golf yesterday and someone hit mine in the same place...and drove off


At least I'm not the only one. Very annoying.


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## craigeh123 (Dec 26, 2011)

Rundie said:


> I got hit up the back late last year and it's cost me a slight rise in premium on my cars despite it being classed 'non fault', apparantly I'm at a higher risk of being hit by some knobhead because I use the car !?!?!


I cant believe you are prepared to drive the car you pay to insure !


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

craigeh123 said:


> I cant believe you are prepared to drive the car you pay to insure !


The funny thing is that I own 3 cars at the moment, all insured in their own right, that means that 2 of them are being insured and not driven most of the time anyway and they still loaded them :lol:


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

What's the the consensus on what I should do?


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## Porkypig (Jun 20, 2012)

PDR wise, it's difficult but doable. The biggest problem is that glue pulling it is not the best option as there is a lump of paint missing from the main dent and gluing could help remove more. PDR won't fix the bumper though and it would still need painting. 

I have PDR'd similar dents to this on rear archs, they take quite a bit of time to get right and as they are bonded in this area can sometimes cause issues. 

Where abouts in the country are you?


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

Porkypig said:


> PDR wise, it's difficult but doable. The biggest problem is that glue pulling it is not the best option as there is a lump of paint missing from the main dent and gluing could help remove more. PDR won't fix the bumper though and it would still need painting.
> 
> I have PDR'd similar dents to this on rear archs, they take quite a bit of time to get right and as they are bonded in this area can sometimes cause issues.
> 
> Where abouts in the country are you?


I am in Shropshire, market drayton to be precise. Any help would be appreciated to avoid paint on the panel. I understand the bumper needs paint but thankfully it's just plastic.


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

I'd get some personal recommendations of some good local independent bodyshops. Get a couple of quotes in (which are bound to be lower than the VW quote) - and then sit back - then ask again.

(I doubt that you'll get away without painting at least some of the panel!)


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## Porkypig (Jun 20, 2012)

j3ggo said:


> I am in Shropshire, market drayton to be precise. Any help would be appreciated to avoid paint on the panel. I understand the bumper needs paint but thankfully it's just plastic.


Bu66er, thats a fair old slog from me dude, I'm in Hampshire. I f I was away closer.... If you have had dent men turning it down, you either havn't found the right one or they are looking at it from a 'perfect' repair point of view as oppose to what we call a 'push to paint' repair. We do take pride in getting a glass smooth finish to a repair and so when we see someting that obviously needs paint etc then it is easier sometimes to just go to the next job as the repair may be short of the customers expectations. As I said it is a tricky one and you are right with regards it's double / triple skin but a sturdy bar with the right tip using the tyre as aleverage point and working along the rim of the arch, I can see that straitehing up quite nicely.

Going by what I can see from your pics, I can see how I would go about getting it prepped for painting so maybe contact a dent man and tell them that is what you want or take it to a bodyshop and disucss how they would go about repairing it. That arch line will lift and straighten, plus some tapping down of the crowns and it would be in a postion to require very little filler at all. :thumb:


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## rich1880 (May 26, 2010)

I've just been doing my insurance renewal and made up a non fault claim to see if it does make a difference, it didnt increase the premium one bit. Id go through her insurance and take it to a VW garage.


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

rich1880 said:


> I've just been doing my insurance renewal and made up a non fault claim to see if it does make a difference, it didnt increase the premium one bit. Id go through her insurance and take it to a VW garage.


That's because you've made a ficticious claim :wall: .... in the same vein you could renew making out that you've crashed 100 cars to see if that made a difference.
What really counts at the point of renewal is your real and current claims history - and you haven't made a claim to any insurance company so there's no history of you making a claim and so it won't show up on any data base.
If you really had made a past claim (even a non fault) it would then register on the data base. 
Then it could (and probably would) make difference.


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

Porkypig said:


> Bu66er, thats a fair old slog from me dude, I'm in Hampshire. I f I was away closer.... If you have had dent men turning it down, you either havn't found the right one or they are looking at it from a 'perfect' repair point of view as oppose to what we call a 'push to paint' repair. We do take pride in getting a glass smooth finish to a repair and so when we see someting that obviously needs paint etc then it is easier sometimes to just go to the next job as the repair may be short of the customers expectations. As I said it is a tricky one and you are right with regards it's double / triple skin but a sturdy bar with the right tip using the tyre as aleverage point and working along the rim of the arch, I can see that straitehing up quite nicely.
> 
> Going by what I can see from your pics, I can see how I would go about getting it prepped for painting so maybe contact a dent man and tell them that is what you want or take it to a bodyshop and disucss how they would go about repairing it. That arch line will lift and straighten, plus some tapping down of the crowns and it would be in a postion to require very little filler at all. :thumb:


Thanks for your help, I like the push to paint quote. A dent man tried to lever against the tyre but he said its solid and wouldn't move much as as it was pulling at the crowns and I guess could have caused more damage. Oh yes I wish you were closer.

Also the paint has cracked on the inside and is starting to flake. I shall photo the current condition so you can see it is slightly better than before.

To be honest I don't want to take it to a vw bodyshop as I would rather use a local bodyshop. I would be happy with a 95% fix with no paint.


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

Why are you so against getting it painted?


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

squiggs said:


> Why are you so against getting it painted?


Just because the car is original and no filler. That's how I like it. I was not keen on any prep that might remove the galv on the metal and hence reduce the corrosion protection.

How much do you think it would add to my premium if I were to claim. I have asked the lady for cash instead but she doesn't seem keen. Not sure why?


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## brettblade (Jul 23, 2012)

j3ggo said:


> Just because the car is original and no filler. That's how I like it. I was not keen on any prep that might remove the galv on the metal and hence reduce the corrosion protection.
> 
> How much do you think it would add to my premium if I were to claim. I have asked the lady for cash instead but she doesn't seem keen. Not sure why?


Because her excess is probably £0, and her premiums will be dirt cheap anyway.

Meanwhile... I pay a fortune as a 21 year old male with 4 years NCB!


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## robdcfc (Sep 17, 2012)

j3ggo said:


> Just because the car is original and no filler. That's how I like it. I was not keen on any prep that might remove the galv on the metal and hence reduce the corrosion protection.
> 
> How much do you think it would add to my premium if I were to claim. I have asked the lady for cash instead but she doesn't seem keen. Not sure why?


You can keep the Galv intact on that if you just don't bother having it repaired, in the modern times like now that will always have a small skim of filler no matter how good a beater you are.

Why are people so obsessed with no filler? There are more cars out there that have been filled and painted that people don't know about than do!


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

robdcfc said:


> You can keep the Galv intact on that if you just don't bother having it repaired, in the modern times like now that will always have a small skim of filler no matter how good a beater you are.
> 
> Why are people so obsessed with no filler? There are more cars out there that have been filled and painted that people don't know about than do!


You know I was actually thinking about not having it repaired on her insurance and paying myself so I don't make a non fault claim and compromise my premiums. How wrong is that!


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## robdcfc (Sep 17, 2012)

j3ggo said:


> You know I was actually thinking about not having it repaired on her insurance and paying myself so I don't make a non fault claim and compromise my premiums. How wrong is that!


You still need to declare the incident to your insurer


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

robdcfc said:


> You still need to declare the incident to your insurer


Why would I need to do that?


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## Rundie (Oct 2, 2007)

j3ggo said:


> Why would I need to do that?


Maybe because they ask 'any *accidents*, claims or convictions' and the fact you've put your experience on the net ?


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## robdcfc (Sep 17, 2012)

j3ggo said:


> Why would I need to do that?


Read your terms and conditions!


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## CleanCar99 (Dec 30, 2011)

Yeah you do need to tell them regardless. Just stick in the claim and be done with it.
Your premium may rise by an admin fee but thats all. How can you be a higher risk if it wasnt your fault?


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

j3ggo said:


> Just because the car is original and no filler. That's how I like it. I was not keen on any prep that might remove the galv on the metal and hence reduce the corrosion protection.
> 
> How much do you think it would add to my premium if I were to claim. I have asked the lady for cash instead but she doesn't seem keen. Not sure why?


Even if you took it to an approved bodyshop if they couldn't pull/push it out to perfect then they're going to use filler and then paint rather than replace a whole panel.

Earlier on you mentioned getting rid of the car cos of the damage - but now you're talking about the corrosion protection ..... How long are you thinking of keeping the car - are you going to run it into the ground, keep it till the corrosion warranties run out or sell it on before it gets scratched?

Why not get it repaired privately* at a local bodyshop and at the first sign of any corrosion (if it happens) then get rid of. 
If the repair is carried out correctly nobody is going to know it's been repaired, the chances of corrosion will be minimal and if you sell it on nobody will know it's been repaired and any warranties will still be valid as far the buyer is concerned.
And as already pointed out there are vast numbers of repaired cars carrying filled repairs - and nobody knows .... You'd be shocked as to how many new cars are damaged, filled and sprayed before they reach their first owner, many sold with bodywork warranties - yours may even be one of them 

*Have another chat with the other party, see if you can find out what their excess is. You maybe able to come to an 'arrangement' if you do go down the privately repaired route


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## CleanCar99 (Dec 30, 2011)

When the insurance co repair a car the repair is suposed to be as if it never happened so if your bodyshop uses filler and there was no filler before id seriously think about complaining.


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## robdcfc (Sep 17, 2012)

kybert said:


> When the insurance co repair a car the repair is suposed to be as if it never happened so if your bodyshop uses filler and there was no filler before id seriously think about complaining.


My unlearned friend you do talketh some ****e!!

How do you think we repair dented panels??


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

kybert said:


> When the insurance co repair a car the repair is suposed to be as if it never happened so if your bodyshop uses filler and there was no filler before id seriously think about complaining.


:lol::lol::lol::lol: You're living in fantasy land there mate.

In the real world insurance companies pay body repair shops to repair.
In the real world insurance companies won't pay body repair shops to replace when a bit of filler could have repaired it.
In the real world they're called body repair shops rather than body replacement shops for a very simple reason.


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## Porkypig (Jun 20, 2012)

robdcfc said:


> You can keep the Galv intact on that if you just don't bother having it repaired, in the modern times like now that will always have a small skim of filler no matter how good a beater you are.
> 
> Why are people so obsessed with no filler? There are more cars out there that have been filled and painted that people don't know about than do!


This is a very fair point, I see them every day, new and old. I get cars left with me and do condition reports for the owner to sign, people are shocked when you have to point out that this panel or that section are not original or have been repaired before.:doublesho


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## bigbadjay (May 29, 2012)

Go through an accident management company. 3000x more 'beneficial'


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

bigbadjay said:


> Go through an accident management company. 3000x more 'beneficial'


+1

My insurance company doesn't need to know, or put up my policy due to someone hitting me.

I'm not more of a risk because I park a car up and some idiot hit's it while trying to get into a space...

Some people really need to waken up and stop just doing what companies what them to do in order to get more revenue...  :wall:

:thumb:


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

bigbadjay said:


> Go through an accident management company. 3000x more 'beneficial'


What does this mean? I guess more financially beneficial to the companies?


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## j3ggo (Dec 7, 2011)

squiggs said:


> Even if you took it to an approved bodyshop if they couldn't pull/push it out to perfect then they're going to use filler and then paint rather than replace a whole panel.
> 
> Earlier on you mentioned getting rid of the car cos of the damage - but now you're talking about the corrosion protection ..... How long are you thinking of keeping the car - are you going to run it into the ground, keep it till the corrosion warranties run out or sell it on before it gets scratched?
> 
> ...


Thanks again, yes wanting to go down the private route but other party wants to go insurance route so there is no comeback whatever that was supposed to mean. For lowish cost of repair I am sure it's not worth claiming.

I Amin a quandary as I want to sell the car but don't want to part with the cash. I seem to beat a point where I need to decide what to do.


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