Just been hit in the car park!

[101vrs]

Morning all,

I've just had an old fella in a yellow Fabia reverse into my Octavia in the local shop car park. Not happy!

Fortuneately he was going dead slow & only touched the back of the car, around the rear passenger side wheel arch/bumper. I can't see any visible damage or marks, however it's raining so i'll need to check again when it stops.

Is there anything else i need to look at, i was thinking about the wheel alignment possibly, any other suggestions?

Possibly the worst thing about it is the fools car has rear parking sensors fitted!!!

[FUBAR]

Did you do the normal exchange details get any independent witness details and report to police so the other party cant turn around in the event of damage and say "I don't know what your talking about"

id doubt that if there so far is no initial sign of even a light scratch that wheel alignment could be effected but can normally get a free check done at the big garages!

[alkip]

Woah, sorry to hear this 101vrs.

As FUBAR says your car's almost certainly not going to have any major issues but it does need to be checked out properly and do make sure to keep hold of the guys details and any witness details. However, I think that there is bound to be some surface damage even if it's simply a slight marring of the paintwork. If so get yourself over to Clean Your Car, ask about it, get some pics up and there's folk that can give you great advice on rectifying it, even if there's a slight dent these dent removal operatives are superb at getting them out.

One time we'd just parked my wifes car in a supermarket car park when an old guy, reversing out of the space next to her, put too much lock on too soon and gouged all down the side of her car. 30 minutes later after ringing the insurance we were informed by them that he was not accepting responsibility despite him having told us both at the scene that it was totally his fault :wonder:

When visiting my mum the other week I had to go out and get a can of paint so that I could touch up the bumper after she just touched a concrete post when reversing and this was despite the fact that her parking sensors were giving a continuous tone

[PumpeDuse]

internal damage that you cannot see, ie cracking of the galv.

[Guest]

If he's not hit you hard enough to cause a scuff, scratch or dent then I think you can safely assume everything else will be fine!

In my last vRS I had a idiot on a moped hit my front passenger side wing at 30mph head on causing £2,500 damage and my wheel alignment was fine, so I really wouldn't worry.

[m0bov]

Make sure you report it to your insurance, police and have the car checked at a bodyshop just in case.

[Guest]

Why report it to the insurance? No damage so what's the point, other than the hassle of having a no claim accident on you insurance record.

[Guest]

And why have it checked at a bodyshop? If there's no visible damage its a waste of his time and theirs and they'll probably think he's mad.

[m0bov]

Why report it to the insurance? No damage so what's the point, other than the hassle of having a no claim accident on you insurance record.

its part of ur t&c of policy.

[m0bov]

And why have it checked at a bodyshop? If there's no visible damage its a waste of his time and theirs and they'll probably think he's mad.

not always.

[devonutopia]

I say forget it. Not worth the hassle of going through any checks when clearly nothing is wrong. It was a "touch" - A "kiss" - It's hardly a major RTA now is it?! :wonder:

[Guest]

its part of ur t&c of policy.

Maybe, but they're never going to know so why bother?

[Guest]

not always.

Maybe, but I would risk the chance in a million, although you probably wouldn't as you strike me as very risk averse

[Guest]

I say forget it. Not worth the hassle of going through any checks when clearly nothing is wrong. It was a "touch" - A "kiss" - It's hardly a major RTA now is it?! :wonder:

My thoughts entirely

[Delacroix]

Make sure you report it to your insurance, police and have the car checked at a bodyshop just in case.

Crazy advice - this is a wind up right? Never report anything to the insurance you don't have to - its a sure fire way of getting a higher quote the following year, and the police? Jeez, I think they would be tempted to arrest you for wasting their time...

Six months ago I had a Chinese student scrape/dent my wing when he was too lazy (or didn't know how) to parallel reverse into the space in front of me, went in front first and got the angles all wrong. Luckily I caught him in the act, and luckily he also had his credit card on him, so straight down to the local bodyshop and I persuaded him to pay for a repair in advance (£300 all in - as the garage guy said if I went via insurance he would have charged 3 times that much, and my premiums would have been screwed for years - but I wasn't convinced the student was insured anyway). In the event the bodyshop did a cracking job and you would never know it had been pranged plus I kept my no claims...

[nick74]

Can anyone honestly say that they can be 100% sure their car hasn't been knocked at some point when left unattended in a public car park? If there aren't any visible marks how would you ever know? Perhaps we should notify our insurance companies once a week just on the off chance our cars may have suffered invisible damage when we weren't looking

If it has left no marks why worry. Life is too short surely?

[101vrs]

Thanks for all the input!!

When the weather cleared up I had another look & theres a tiny dent in the rear wheel arch :( I'm going to take it to get looked at & hopefully it won't cost much to sort out & keep it out off the hands of the insurance company

[Guest]

Assuming no paint damage try one of those mobile dent removal companies, they can't always do it as it depends how they can get access to it from behind but they will certainly be cheaper than a body shop.

[PhilP1903]

I am under the impression that a car park is private land and not part of the "Queens Highway" and therefore the police do not need to be informed regardless of the extent of the damage.

I also think that if everybody reported every slight knock to the police and insurance the police would be pig sick and the insurance co's would just have yet another excuse to increase already excessive insurance quotes.

[m0bov]

There's reporting and claiming, two differant things. If the old boy gets home and contacts his insurance to either report it or claim, and you have'nt it would be marked up. Thus possibly voiding your insurance, its in the Policy Contract, so its up to you anbd its your risk.

I think everyone is starting to go off on the wrong track, if you've had an accident and exchanged details, then you should always make your insurance aware of it.

[m0bov]

Maybe, but they're never going to know so why bother?

The National Insurance Database

[Guest]

The National Insurance Database

You have plausible deniability, your word against someone elses. Chances are in the example above the other party won't notify their insurance company.

[m0bov]

Yer very true. But for me its piece of mind.

[FUBAR]

In a truck stop going back to the cab after a break some bloke waiting saying you reversed into my car ........ (car shouldn't be in truck stop of services anyway) but on inspecting car NOT a scratch ..... truck NOT a scratch plus DROVE into space didn't reverse as accused guy insisted that there could be underlying damage to his car.......... had to inform police straight away as this chancer was at it obviously police took details on phone and then went back to eating doughnuts etc he went via his insurance with an "independent witness" and claimed the lorry reversed OVER the bonnet of his car crushing the front. Oh and whip lash etc etc ... Insurance companies now go into battle with each other over it as no one can prove whos lying company goes mental "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE HOW BAD IS WAGON" etc etc

in progress ......... for speed and lower costs insurance company may decide just to pay him .. their time is money and its not an overly big claim.

LYING SCAMMING MOTHER TRUCKERS OUT THERE ive met a few!! Decide not to report these things at the earliest opportunity at the peril of your own creditability later on when someone who may have hit you turns round and says it was you who hit them!!!!!!!! In any event if its a normal bump bump person sorts it with their insurance you still have to tell yours even if they have nothing to do and it prob will hit your premium having "been involved in an accident in last 5 years" but the national insurance database will highlight that YOU were paid out to in relation to the accident in the event of you making a big claim in the future...... they will not bother to look for such things until then and don't expect them to pay more likely to turn around and accuse you of obtaining policy fraudulently and then not being insured conviction by police etc etc before any 3rd party liabilities like someone you may have injured getting nothing at all.

poor system but thats how it is

rules are rules interpretation of them is either someone who can read and is honest or is retarded and thick as pig swill

[andyvee]

That is why the best invention ever is the mobile phone with a camera on it - if you are ever in a bump of any sort take pictures of all damage, positions of vehicles at impact, road markings, road signs and even the driver of the other vehicle.

I once had an old Polish guy hit me at 30mph when I was stationary at traffic lights, put it all through the insurance then all of a sudden he wasn't driving, it was his son who wasn't insured etc.

Reported it to the police who were not interested as no one was injured.

In the end my insurance company sent the bailiffs round and everything in his house belonged to his son apparently! I got paid out after about 9 months from the fund that pays out when the other party is uninsured. The police were no use whatsoever and didn't want to know about either insurance fraud or someone driving without insurance as there were no casualties or damage to other property. Their take on it was to let my insurance company chase it as it was a waste of their time. This was 20 years ago though, I believe the police take a much dimmer view of uninsured drivers and crash for cash incidents nowadays.