Car damaged by hit and run – what should I do? | Ask Honest John

Car damaged by hit and run – what should I do?

A young driver recently hit the back of my Mazda MX-5. Not a lot of damage was done but the lady in question drove off without stopping. Fortunately I have a willing witness who wrote down her registration and basic details. The matter has been reported to the police.

I am now stuck with the best way of pursuing this matter. The most sensible way forward would have been for the offending driver to have stopped and offered to pay for the damage. It won’t be a large sum and we could both have avoided being penalised by our insurance companies. Obviously I don’t have any contact details to enable me to discuss this option.

The obvious alternative is to report the accident to my insurers and leave it up to them. However, I resent having my premiums increased because they now think I am a higher risk. What should I do?

Asked on 10 July 2013 by David Surrey

Answered by Honest John

You still have to disclose it to your insurer. But you qualify to pay the DVLA to disclose the keeper details and can pursue her via the small claims track of the county court. As soon as you threaten this she or her father or boyfriend or husband will probably cough up anyway.

Tags: owning

Similar questions

I don't use my Mazda MX5 very much - is the lack of use enough to flatten the battery?

I have a Mazda MX5 1.8 which has done 21,000 miles since I bought it new in 2005. Last week its third battery (27 months old) was completely flat. I had driven it on country roads for about 30 miles, seven...

Scoured disc surface - why?

At the recent MOT of my 2007, MX5 with 23k miles on clock, (not franchised dealer) I was advised the front brake disks were scoured on the inside faces. The external (visible faces) are perfectly smooth,...

Should I do what Mazda say?

Reading my Mazda MX-5 handbook and it says that if I am involved in an accident, I should NOT ring my insurance company but ring Mazda instead. Is this a good idea? Surely it would be my responsibility...

Related models