Parked my car in a gym car park yesterday. Always put it well out of the way. Nothing for tens of yards either side when I left it and when I came back.
But some kindly soul with a red car had put some sizeable scrapes on the rear bumper in the meantime. Looks like they must have swung into mine when getting into or out of the next bay.
Metal isn't bent but I guess I'm looking at £250 to put it through a BMW paint shop.
No note, of course.
Would it be worth anything to ask for access to the car park CCTV system?
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Why not claim on your insurance? Incidents like this is why you pay the premium.
Edited by L'escargot on 10/10/2008 at 06:16
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I'd be worse off making a claim, taking into account impact on no claims bonus and excess.
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>>Would it be worth anything to ask for access to the car park CCTV system? >>
Worth asking
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I'd be worse off making a claim, taking into account impact on no claims bonus and excess.
I thinkmyou might find £250 is on the conservative side if you put it through a BMW paint shop. I would get a quote before you decide not to make a claim on your Insurance.
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Metal isn't bent but I guess I'm looking at £250 to put it through a BMW paint shop.
Similar thing happened to me - bumper OK but paint defoliated from plastic - got "chips away" - £100
8 years later - still got the car it is 100% and unless you saw the damaged side you would never guess which side was swiped.
Older car?
If the paint is still there may be some T-cut/elbow grease/polish will get rid of most of the red paint.
My son's car was swiped and the white paint on the red was really bad - looked 95% after spending 1 hour rubbing and polishing. The car was about to traded-in. The garage never noticed 2/3 weeks later.
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Would it be worth anything to ask for access to the car park CCTV system?
Probably the first thing to do. You should have a reasonable chance of finding out who did it. Ask as soon as you can.
An acquaintance found the side of her car pushed in. A security camera filmed the culprit - a middle-aged man had reversed into her car, looked out of his window at the damage, got out, inspected further, got back in, and driven off. When she called the "security" mob about it, they sent someone to look at the damage. As she was standing next to the car, explaining why she wanted the footage, guess what! Old Baldy walked past, looking at them, and continued on his way! This was all captured on the same camera.
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Apropos carpark damage, the way to limit it is to have a bright coloured car. It's all very well having (say) a trendy metallic silver but it does tend to be less visible than bright colours.
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This is absolutely the sort of damage that an insurance policy is NOT designed for. Insurance is for events that one cannot afford; not for events that one can afford. Claim for this sort of thing, and you can guarantee that insurance premiums will rise.
The point that always intrigues me, is whether this is an incident that is notifiable to the insurance co. If it were my car I might not even notice it, and I certainly wouldn't spend any money on repair (save for maybe a tin of T-cut).
And if you think the answer is "yes", should you notify them of the scratch you left on the roof when you put your keys down. Or the permanent-ink stain on the carpet? Or the splatted mosquito that left a blood stain on the headlining?
Edited by Mapmaker on 10/10/2008 at 12:23
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This is not a scrape on the bodywork (which might cause rust), or on the windscreen (which might weaken it or reduce visibility).
It's a scrape on a bumper, which is supposed to be a sacrificial layer attached to the front and back of the car with the precise purpose of absorbing bumps on a robust material. Why on earth have we tolerated manufacturers making our lives more complicated by applying paint to the most vulnerable part of a vehicle? It serves no practical purpose other than to generate income for those who respray or touch up this regularly-scraped paint.
Twenty years ago, most cars had unpainted plastic bumpers which could cope with scratches and scrapes without any need for repainting. Turning them onto fashion items has just made an unnecessary further thing to worry about.
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