Bump in car park

[sherrardk]

At school this morning my husband and one of the mums reversed into each other. Obviously they were going slowly so the impact was minimal. The other car, a Mondeo, suffered some damage to the bumper and we got some damage to our boot. My husband asked the woman to get an estimate (before he decided whether or not to go through the insurance). She rang later and said it was going to be £500+ (and this was after telling my husband that her husband fixed cars for a living). I saw the car this afternoon and there didn't seem to be anything much wrong with it (I expected the bumper to be dragging on the floor for that much money). Could it really cost this much to fix or is she trying to scam us?

[Count-A-Strong]

A new bumper for my 3 series BMW cost £800. They will probably be replacing it rather than repairing it. Ask them for a breakdown if you're not happy.

[sherrardk]

Thanks count - we've told them to go through the insurance now but it just seemed a bit expensive for a ratty old Mondeo.

[welshlibranr]

Hi Sherrardk, I think I'd ask for three estimates from independant repairers before I agreed to pay up!..............But I do know that a £500 bodywork repair bill doesn't cover5 much these days!............you may be surprised, as I was recently!..........

[cazzz1975]

he could try and find a spare bumper via the scrap yard, it will still cost but fitting should be relatively easy

[sherrardk]

Hi cazzz - just got the feeling the woman is trying to scam us somehow (you now when you just get a 'feeling'?) but never mind, the insurance can sort it out now.

[Answerprancer]

I was in a similar situation some years back, it was a tiny little shunt and I could see virtually no damage to his car, though he claimed I knocked the bumper out of line.
The guy started talking about insurance companies, I started thinking about loss of no-claims bonus and he settled for fifty quid from the cash machine, we shook hands and departed - end of story !

[Answerprancer]

..all the better reason for trying to settle it away from the insurance companies IMO

[joko]

i would request to get your own valuation done independantly... if her hubby is in the industry he could easily get enough paperwork to justify their claims, so i wouldnt trust them