Hello forum members - first time posting on HJ, and not exactly the way I would have liked to have joined the conversation, so please be 'gentle' with me! Here goes...

My son has just got his provisional license and has bought himself a Mini First 1.4 on a '10 plate, with his own money which he's worked hard and saved for (no bank of mum and dad used here!).

He has fully comprehensive insurance with a reputable provider and we have started going out for short drives.

On Monday of this week he drove around our local area and ended up at the local train station, where he entered the car park and turned round.

On exiting the car park he had to reverse and bumped a 'new' Mercedes GLE (on a '71 plate) which was parked on double yellow lines with the driver present waiting to pick her other half up off the train from London.

The impact occurred at less than 5 mph. The driver of the Mercedes did not read when my son bumped her car and I had to knock on her window to make her aware of the fact that we had even hit her vehicle.

We took photos of the 'damage' and all her car appears to have sustained is a light scuff to the paint on the rear bumper and it looks like the the black plastic lower part of the bumper needs clipping back in place in one very small section. There were no obvious cracks or bends.

My son's car sustained very light scratches to the nearside plastic wheel arch, as it rubbed against her car when reversing, but other than that no damage whatsover.

Now... here's where it gets interesting:

As this is my son's first car, and he's a learner on a provisional licence, and has literally only just started driving on Saturday, we suggested to the driver of the Mercedes that we would be open to not going through insurance given that the damage appears to be so minor.

I (and my son) are worried that a claim on his learner insurance could seriously impact his premium on future policies, especially when he passes his test.

The owner of the Mercedes was open to this, but (understandably) wanted to get a quote from a Mercedes approved repairer (in this case Fast Lane in Guildford).

I have just received the quote for repairs relating to this incident and (wait for it) have been informed by Fast Lane (in a 3 page breakdown) that they estimate it to be over £5,000!!

Their estimate includes some line items which simply don't make any sense: remember, this impact was under 5mph and was a scuff across the rear lower bumper, they have suggested that the lower A pillar and roof panel will need spraying along with radar re-calibration and the wheels realigning!

Naturally, my son is really upset and we're distressed about this. The cost is 2.5x what he paid for hi little car, which needs no repair work other than some back to black and elbow grease on the plastic arch trim!

I fully understand and respect the owner wanting to use a Mercedes approved repairer, but the assessment they have made is beyond comprehension. I have spoken with Mercedes specialists local to us and explained the circumstances regarding speed, the nature of the incident, the visible damage to the other vehicle and what the owner had quoted and they were gobsmacked.

So... what I wanted to ask forum member's advice on is:

What do we do next? I have contacted the other driver and explained how distressed we are by this initial quote and have asked that she seeks another quote, which she is amendable to do doing.

If we get a similar quote back I'm guessing we'll have no choice but to go through insurance. However, my son is really worried that this will impact his driving record and jack up his premium so much that when he comes to get insurance after passing his test he won't be able to afford it.

If we do have to go through insurance has anyone got a similar experience - claiming on a learner driver policy - and what was the impact on premium further down the line?

And, if we do have to claim on insurance can we call the other driver out for being parked illegally (and in effect causing an obstruction), and could this go in my son's favour?

Obviously, we will provide our insurance company with all the details about incident including speed, pictures of the other vehicle, the other driver's lack of awareness that there even was an impact, the position of her vehicle on double yellow lines etc.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This has knocked us for six TBH.