Earlier stopped at a corner shop to collect a parcel today with the wife. The wife was driving and while she ran into the shop to sign for the parcel the lady who was parked

in front of us decide too reverse into our front bumper. I couldn't do anything as I was in the passenger seat I honked the horn just before the impact but it was too late.

Its damage the Facelift VRS bumper. Its scratched the mid section below the number plate snapped some of the black honey-comb and underneath some of the small vertical fins

that connect the Splitter to the main part of the bumper have snapped off. The damage is purely cosmetic and at a glance you probably wouldn't notice but because i'm a bit of a stickler

for detail I know its going to bother me especially when waxing the car etc. I don't want to be another statistic of a botched repair by an insurance approved accident repair centre so I would like to stipulate that I get a brand new front bumper fitted by my chosen main dealer (Horton's Lincoln). Firstly am I within my rights to insist this? (I think I am) and secondly will the bumper come painted

or will it require painting. If so how do I ensure its done to the same quality as the original bumper? I can see even Horton's which I trust having to get this painted by a third party of which I'm not sure will be competent enough to ensure a show room level finish. The bumper up until today didn't have a single stone chip or mark on it, we are very careful. I know in the big picture that no one was injured and the lady just made a simple mistake not checking her mirrors but i am very apprehensive of the repair based on previous horrible experiences on my other cars.

You'll have to get it to Hortons for assessment and then pass the quote onto the other insurer, there is no need to get your insurers involved at this point

Depends on what the other party says , they may want you to use their repairers but I don't think you are obliged to , you may be required to get multiple quotes though

Thanks, do you know if the bumper comes painted or if it needs painting by a third party?

Thanks, do you know if the bumper comes painted or if it needs painting by a third party?

Normally arrives at dealer in just primer

Bumper will be supplied unpainted and require painting.

Bumper will be supplied unpainted and require painting.

 

Am I right to be worried then that the colour might not be a good match, and might they start blending in the bonnet and wings to try and match the bumper? Also how do I ensure they put the same number of coats on and that the durability of the paint will be the same as from the factory? Its ok if it looks fine when I collect the car but 2 years down the line if the paint starts flaking off or discolours in the sun light etc do I have any recourse of action?

 

I only ask this because I have been stung by shoddy resprays in the past. The pot guns these small firms use seam to never be as good as the robots in the factory.

 

One last question can I keep the old damaged bumper or do the repair centre keep it?

Race blue is pretty easy to match you shouldnt have an issue however it wont be the same number of coats etc as the factory

 

if its not a good match or are unhappy with the repair then reject it and most work is warrantied 

 

If its Skoda approved then you should be fine

 

You wont get to keep the bumper i wouldnt think

Race blue is pretty easy to match you shouldnt have an issue however it wont be the same number of coats etc as the factory

 

 

This is my main concern if its not a factory applied Paint system will It be as durable. The front bumper takes the lions share of stones and

wear and tear. I don't want it to have white patches all over it after a while and I doubt the dealer would take responsibility for it they

would just say its normal wear when in fact a factory finish would be more resilient to the daily barrage of loose road surface etc.

Just ask about for a decent local body shop and let them sort it all out. Ask to see their work too. There's not reason why pain should flake or chip easier than stock paint just because it's done somewhere other than a factory. Find a decent place and it'll be unnoticeable. To be honest it just sounds like you were unfortunate last time. 

You'll have to get it to Hortons for assessment and then pass the quote onto the other insurer, there is no need to get your insurers involved at this point

Depends on what the other party says , they may want you to use their repairers but I don't think you are obliged to , you may be required to get multiple quotes though

Some insurers have it in their terms you must notify them within 24/48/72 hours of an incident regardless of claiming (check your policy)

As soon as it hits MID your insurance will get loaded and you'll need to declare it. Going through your insurer is better than being held at the mercy of theirs. Especially if they suddenly refuse to pay for any reason

Yes you should inform them but not involve them in the repair the other party will appreciate the costs being kept to a minimum meaning you are more likely to get your choice of repairers, once your own company get involved the cost will just go up and keeping the costs to a minimum is in both your interests

Make the arrangement through their insurer. It'll make life much easier than trying to recover an excess.

 

Find a good repair shop yourself, insurers guys are all lowest bidders.

 

Paint on the new bumper will be much thicker than the original. Humans just can't spray to the thinness that the factory robots can. So it may even be tougher than the original.

 

you will need to inform your insurer and declare a no-faultclaim when you do renewals. One shouldn't affect your premium.

One shouldn't affect your premium.

If only that was true.

 

OP is now a higher risk because someone hit him while he was stationary. Apparently.

If only that was true.

OP is now a higher risk because someone hit him while he was stationary. Apparently.

Exactly.

It won't affect your NCB, but your premium may go up :(

Didn't affect mine anyway. The real PITA was dealing with it as an At-Fault accident until my insurer claimed my excess back, hence the advice to go through their insurer. That took 6 months to sort out.

 

That and the shocking job done by their repair shop which also took months to fix.

Didn't affect mine anyway. The real PITA was dealing with it as an At-Fault accident until my insurer claimed my excess back, hence the advice to go through their insurer. That took 6 months to sort out.

 

That and the shocking job done by their repair shop which also took months to fix.

 

Car is due to be collected from the Repair centre on Wednesday after a closer inspection it had actually pushed the bonnet in slightly so had to have a new bonnet aswell as new front bumper adding to my frustration but to really tip me over the edge the stupid woman who reversed into us is ignoring our insurances request to even acknowledge the accident happened, let alone that she was at fault. Because of this it now looks like I will have to pay excess and claim it back. Thing is I have this woman's phone number so have text her to ask her to get in touch with her insurance but she is ignoring it. I know its the correct phone number because her whatsap photo shows up in my contacts list (clever). I also know where she lives (just down the road from me) and im tempted to pay her a visit. However I can see things getting bad tempered and escalating. Im generally quite polite & mild mannered and have a good anger threshold, but once this is breached and im triggered I tend to go hulk mode, full tilt crazy so I think its best I stay away. Whats your opinion? visit her or leave it to the legal team.

Stay clear.

 

You don't want to be subject to any accusation of harassment.

You're a bloke she's a woman you'll get the blame. She may well also have family to back up any story she comes up with.

 

You could pass her details to your insurer who will be keen to get their money back.

This happened with my Rapid about 2 years ago - it's was a week old and a woman rolled into me on a hill in traffic whilst drinking a mug of coffee and reading a paper!

Photos are key! Email pictures from the day including the woman's bumper/number plate and yours. Insurance uses this against her and you won't end up paying if the damage is consistent with hers.

Another ace you have is her contact details and email etc.

Your insurance will pursue her for fault regardless if she contacts them or not.

I don't think the assessor will allow a new bumper and bonnet even if you insist.

This happened with my Rapid about 2 years ago - it's was a week old and a woman rolled into me on a hill in traffic whilst drinking a mug of coffee and reading a paper!

Photos are key! Email pictures from the day including the woman's bumper/number plate and yours. Insurance uses this against her and you won't end up paying if the damage is consistent with hers.

Another ace you have is her contact details and email etc.

Your insurance will pursue her for fault regardless if she contacts them or not.

I don't think the assessor will allow a new bumper and bonnet even if you insist.

 

The new bumper and bonnet are already done and sprayed etc. Picking it up on Wednesday that's not the problem its the fact that this b1tch is trying to avoid being contacted head in the sand job and hope it will go away. Which is pointless and unnecessary having to make us pay our excess. We will have to claim this back which will mean legal action against her. This is the sort of thing that pushes everyone's cost of insurance up which could be just easily settled amicably not requiring legal.

Send her reg number and a covering letter to you insurer, thats what they get paid for.

 

I'll also ring the Police and tell them she is trying to wriggle out of the incident, see if they will go pay her a visit

Send her reg number and a covering letter to you insurer, thats what they get paid for.

 

I'll also ring the Police and tell them she is trying to wriggle out of the incident, see if they will go pay her a visit

 

I Was thinking this, normally the police wont give a toss but If I say im on my way round they might be more likely to

send someone to avoid things escalating. I've done this before when I have called to complain about someone the police

soon turn up if you say your a gun owner and the accused are trespassing on your property.

Surprised to hear you got a new bumper and bonnet - did you ask to see the old ones?

My dad was shunted in his old octavia and a new boot was allowed - the repairer rolled and filled the old one to make money and it ended up getting re done!

Surprised to hear you got a new bumper and bonnet - did you ask to see the old ones?

My dad was shunted in his old octavia and a new boot was allowed - the repairer rolled and filled the old one to make money and it ended up getting re done!

 

 

I have asked to keep the old bumper and they said I can. Didn't want the bonnet although there was no way to repair It there was a crease line across it and buckled the edges. Easier to swap.

Lucky! Must have been a good assessor and bodyshop!

Send her reg number and a covering letter to you insurer, thats what they get paid for.

I'll also ring the Police and tell them she is trying to wriggle out of the incident, see if they will go pay her a visit

Trouble is pretty much every insurer has in their terms and conditions about notifying them in event of an accident regardless of making a claim.

You may get a hostile response if you try to get them to take it on - even more so as the repair has already taken place.