Hit and run whilst parked - Weekend Ruined!

[almas09]

Hi all,


So, my weekend hasn't been the best. Saturday evening noticed my Cupra had been hit on the rear bumper. Checked through CCTV and it was Corsa D that had hit it and drove away . Luckily the damage is only cosmetic, paint chipped plus some light scratches. Unfortunately, the footage recovered isn't that great as I can't see the number plate with rain not helping.

Now going through insurance would pretty much be the worst option here as I would have to pay excess + have a non-fault claim on my record for a while. However I've been quoted £160 to respray the area and it's a one-day job. Since this is a lease, worth getting VWFS to bill me or just get it done myself?

What're your thoughts?

 

[Robinm]

Hi all,


So, my weekend hasn't been the best. Saturday evening noticed my Cupra had been hit on the rear bumper. Checked through CCTV and it was Corsa D that had hit it and drove away . Luckily the damage is only cosmetic, paint chipped plus some light scratches. Unfortunately, the footage recovered isn't that great as I can't see the number plate with rain not helping.

Now going through insurance would pretty much be the worst option here as I would have to pay excess + have a non-fault claim on my record for a while. However I've been quoted £160 to respray the area and it's a one-day job. Since this is a lease, worth getting VWFS to bill me or just get it done myself?

What're your thoughts?

I had something similar happen to my Nevada White Cupra ST. I had a smart repair done for £140 and the job was pretty much perfect. Mine is a lease vehicle with VWFS and I am pretty sure they would have charged more. In any case I am pretty anal about any marks on my cars so I would rather have it looking good


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[Sisqo_uk]

I’d prob just fork out rather than through insurance. I mean if they did would they even record it as an insurance claim?
I’m pretty anal about driving cat registered cars. Plus it sounds well cheaper to do it yourself.


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[Legojon]

Wouldn't £160 be less than your excess? So you'd end up paying for the whole thing yourself, losing some of your no claims bonus and increased premium for 5 years.

 

[SRGTD]

@almas09; it’s so annoying when this happens - I had someone plant a nice ding in my rear wheel arch in a public car park a couple of years ago, and there are many dishonest people out there who wouldn’t leave a note or wait until you return to your car to own up to what they’d done.

I think I’d go for a SMART repair; as @Legojon has said, it’s certainly not worth going through your insurance - it’ll end up costing you much more than the cost of a SMART repair.

 

[JonnyG]

If you have a fair length of time left on your lease I think I'd just get it resprayed for the quoted £160 (as long as they have good rep), then you are back to A1 condition and can just forget about it.

I was charged £140 by VWFS at the end of a 2 year Golf lease for a scrape on the rear bumper (worse than yours), so if you are near the end of lease I guess you could just leave it.

 

[ChrisM75]

As said, not worth a claim, and looking at it much of the scratching will buff out. Smart repair should take care of it.

 

[almas09]

Thanks for the responses guys.
I will certainly avoid going through insurance.

How do I go about a SMART repair? I have never done it before.

 

[Carbonara]

If you can live with it for now, I'd be tempted to leave the SMART repair until before you return the car. Perhaps take a few more photos and if necessary try a ChipEx kit and then something like https://autoglassbodyrepair.co.uk/mobile-repairs/what-we-can-repair before the VWFS inspection as you may have more work (wheel scuffs, stone chips on side panels etc.) to return to BVRLA Fair Wear & Tear standards.

 

[KXL]

I reversed into a rising bollard (it wasn't there when I came in) and had damage probably worse than that. I used a place next to Hendon station Whoops Wheel fix it (London), and they charged me just under £100. I did a quote, by sending them the pic of the damage etc. It was a half day job, and it was flawless, and they even managed to mix the Alor blue correctly. I thoroughly recommend them to get these things (and especially rims), they managed to fix my diamond cut rims without needing to re-cut.

 

[Legojon]

(it wasn't there when I came in)

Used that a few times. Or "a dog ran out"...

 

[LouG]

I hate those basterds. It cost us a grand off the sale price on our GT86 due to parking dings.

 

[black_sheep]

I used Chips-Away for my mystery blue leon with similar damage to the rear bumper (25mm x 3-4 mm scrape to the plastic - my fault, no other cars involved!) - quoted a similar price as the OP for the smart repair vs £800 at the Seat approved bodyshop. Really pleased with the repair - you would not know that it was damaged previously.

I had a metallic black volvo that someone bumped and drove off previously; repaired approx 7 years ago by a different Chips-Away franchise, where the clear-coat dulled after approx 9 months - I mentioned this when repaired this time, and was informed that if this happened on my current vehicle then they would repair FOC.

I have invested in a DA polishing machine, pads and decent cutting compound so would be more than confident of removing the scratches, swirls, dulled clear-coat myself.

 

[black_sheep]

I hate those basterds. It cost us a grand off the sale price on our GT86 due to parking dings.

Do you not have smart repairs and paintless dent removal services in NZ?

When our cars were hit by 'giant' hail whilst living in germany, there were loads of guys that had been shipped over from the southern hemisphere by the insurance companies to ping out the dents on c.50,000 damaged cars in the town. My wife's Golf MkV had approx 300 dents removed.

 

[almas09]

I have submitted a free estimate on Chips Away, let's see what they say.
Car is being returned next March, so no rush but certainly better than paying £250 excess fee.

My last car was a Corsa E VXR, which was also a lease. Returned it back with a broken rear diffuser, surprisingly I didn't get charged for it.

 

[Deleted member 103408]

I came out of our local tip last week in my Transit Van and hit the wing mirror on a van that was for sale on the road.

Went into the building and gave them my details, bloke called me and gave me a very reasonable figure to fix the broken mirror on his van.

When I went in to pay him he got up and shook my hand, apparently people don't do the right thing very often any more.

 

[Yern]

My daughter had something similar happen on her Suzuki Swift looking at the pics. The scrapes buffed off with a light polishing and the paint missing on the bumper crease lines was easy to touch in with a thin brush...barely noticeable afterwards.

 

[silles]

oh man, my worst nightmare, I always park the most remote furthest from entrance spot in any public carpark ( lazy people don't care about their car)

Would a smart repair work on bird p**p damage? Looks like some birds had a party on my roof yesterday, when I got home it was too late, sun was hot and already baked into.

 

[SRGTD]

oh man, my worst nightmare, I always park the most remote furthest from entrance spot in any public carpark ( lazy people don't care about their car)

Would a smart repair work on bird p**p damage? Looks like some birds had a party on my roof yesterday, when I got home it was too late, sun was hot and already baked into.

It may be possible to remove the etching left from bird poo by machine polishing the damaged area. A few years ago, a bird with a serious bowel problem left a calling card the size of an elephant’s turd on the C pillar of my (then) car. It was a hot, sunny day and although the poo was on the car no more than 30-45 minutes, the etching damage to the clear coat was quite bad.

Using an appropriate combination of pad and polish, I was able to polish out the etch marks completely with my DA polisher. So if you know someone who’s into car detailing who has a machine polisher, they can probably correct it for you. Alternatively, check out the local professional detailers in your area and seek their advice on whether or not they’re able to rectify the damage.

 

[silles]

It may be possible to remove the etching left from bird poo by machine polishing the damaged area. A few years ago, a bird with a serious bowel problem left a calling card the size of an elephant’s turd on the C pillar of my (then) car. It was a hot, sunny day and although the poo was on the car no more than 30-45 minutes, the etching damage to the clear coat was quite bad.

Using an appropriate combination of pad and polish, I was able to polish out the etch marks completely with my DA polisher. So if you know someone who’s into car detailing who has a machine polisher, they can probably correct it for you. Alternatively, check out the local professional detailers in your area and seek their advice on whether or not they’re able to rectify the damage.

right now thinking about getting a car cover, anyone used any?
I know it might cause some scratches, but that's easier to deal with than bird p**p