Hi all, I had an incident a few days ago whereby I found my car had been damaged and I also noticed potentially the car that had caused the damage.

The person who owns the other vehicle verbally admitted it initially but now is wanting a "second opinion" as he doesn't want to pay the £300+vat to have the damage repaired and I think they may well be hesitant in handing over insurance details as they have text me about possibly this going to court...

I believe the following pictures almost categorically show that the blue car (theirs) caused damage to the silver car (mine) as the blue car has a fair amount of silver paint on it from my car. The reason mine has no blue on it is because I took my car to the jet wash and seemingly washed it off hence why on one picture my car seems wet, that pic was taken at the jet wash.

What does everybody else think?

And if it did go further, what are the chances of me being successful in court/legal proceedings?

Also note damage to my alloy wheel and the lower back of their car

As I say, my car had moved before I took the pictures hence why the scratches on the alloy wheel are not lining up but if the wheel was where I left it I believe it would match perfectly. I didn’t notice the damage while I was outside the flats I live at because it was the opposite side on which I get into the car. I don’t routinely do laps of my car checking for damage… I perhaps should in future so that I can photograph it in situ.

Cheers

Pics:
















[Higher resolution shots (16mpx) available if you PM me your email address]

Looks like the marks on the 2 cars are at different heights.

Perhaps some measurements would help show the facts. Heights can be very deceptive . I know a while back I had to prove that I hadnt whacked the wing of a car I parked next to in the supermarket. The woman swore she saw me swing round into it - but I hadnt heard any noise during the swing , and thought I cleared it by inches. Used a plastic carrier bag, the only thing on hand , to measure some heights at various touch points ( I already had graunches on my car wing which convinced her it was me ) The measurements showed it couldnt possibly have been me.

So maybe if you measured , it could strengthen your case if you find they correspond . Hope you get it sorted.

Did you take the blue car to the car wash too, as it also is wet in one picture and dry in others?

I think it rained between photo shoots

And our car park is on a slant so the heights do match up he'D have come down onto me. Also the jet wash didn't wash all the paint off mine there's still a but left on mine that's definitely that colour or other car the same colour...

Less than a month old Astra too! Not that its age makes any difference, but you would just think with a brand spanker people would have a bit more care.

Perhaps it would be best to inform your insurance company? They already admitted it once. You have blue paint on your car, they have matching silver paint on theirs. Don't insurance companies do the leg work for this stuff?

It is a PITA though, our car was less than a month old before someone decided to dent the boot corner, then a month later someone who obviously couldn't park decided it best if I had a tram line gouge in the passenger side front and rear doors, and the rear quarter panel, 2 nice long parallel scratches, creasing the bodywork for good measure.

Added the 'nature factor' of hitting; 1 large dog, 2 pigeons, 1 squirrel and 1 pheasant, all within the first 6 months of car ownership. It kind of makes you despair a little

We live in a world where you cannot have nice things. The only things people care about are their own, some don't even care about their own.

hence the reason my cars are not left anywhere apart from where i can see them.

in supermarkets they are parked away on their own so no "scammers" like the oppurtunist venice had (that was a scammer venice) can make anything up.

my astra is 22 years old, i have had it 4 years and it doesnt have a single mark due to how i park it.

you say he admitted it?

He owes you but to be honest that would cost a lot more than £300 to sort if it went through insurance so he is best coughing up the money now.

i can't believe you are so calm about it.

I am not convinced! Yours is a contact dent no paint missing. The other is a scrape. No paint is missing from your car as far as I can see on your pictures.The cars would have to be boot to boot. You will find the light colour on the other car is silver-ish dip undercoat.Check your paint warranty before going outside a dealership to have it repaired. Sorry for being brutally honest, but why should a possibly innocent person pick up the tab.

If they had already admitted it before it kind of makes the 'possibly innocent' bit moot surely?

Ha! You sound like my OH Ste -- when he drives me in his car to the EP outlet village I have to take sarnies and a flask to reach the shop I want from where he parks! However, it pays off because like you , he aways has blemishfree cars even after years.

What is allegedly said is irrelevant.What is the point of the post if it is so cut and dry.A one sided argument is somebody talking to themselves in my book.Guess, who is always the winner?.I take your point but having sat in a court listening to bare faced lies being told, sitting next to the proof of the lies but unable to use it, I try to be a bit more objective.The real proof is in the car wash allegedly.

i see your point, but you do know cars have more than one layer of paint on right? you can scrape along a car and paint transfer would be evident even though there's still paint on your car.

yesterday i took photo's with a measuring tape (due to demand above) and guess what, the heights do in fact match!!! my car is damaged between 27-28 inches high and his car is damaged at exactly the same height.

i know his unrecorded verbal acceptance of blame is null and void and it's word vs word but in relation to your claim about bumper to bumper. it could've happened while i was facing toward the building and he wanted to reverse park. that way both back-lefts of each vehicle could easily come into contact.

i believe this is what happened it's just proving it: i parked facing inwards and he came back later on and wanted to reverse park and managed to hit my car through whatever reason, misjudgement, alcohol, 'blow-out' and in hitting my car he realised he wasn't going to be able to make the parking space with the wheel lock he had and so pulled out, and then drove in front facing, leaving his damage on the oppositte side of the car. and when i came out i wasn't expecting damage and didn't look for any damage because of it and got in my car to head to the car wash, washed car and upon going round the car with the jet-wash discovered the damage. and by the time i took the pic in the car wash the paint had either already been washed off my car OR it wasn't there in the first place if he used his sleeve or whatever to get rid of any blue paint on my car. that does leave the question why did he clean my car and not his and i have no idea i'm just working on theory.

i live just opposite the children's nursery on warren drive, at CH45 0JW and i use the car wash at the petrol station on king street over the road from the snooker hall. i had no issues with traffic or any car crashes between my place and the car wash and nothing else the previous day so the damage HAD to be caused while my car was parked in my car park.

the offending vehicle is a motability car and i believe belongs to somebody else, the driver who hit me may just be on the insurance and that may be why they aren't holding their hands up as it's not their car.

i did try and say this to him but he wanted a second opinion and to seek legal advice as soon as i mentioned it


i'm calm because i unfortunately realise there's not much i can do about it. i either hope he coughs up the money or i phone my insurance provider and give them the details and potentially lose my no claims.

Have you tried getting an estimate but not on insurance.Mine was worse than that but had it repaired private and the job was spot on.

Yeh all places say plus vat and some places said if it's cash money then they'll ignore the vat

That car did not do the damage to your car. The heights of impact are different.

mate, did you even bother reading my last couple of posts

i've measured it up, it DID cause the damage categorically 100%

the driver even f**king admitted it but weirdly retracted his statement when he realised it was more than he could afford to fix it.

please read the full posts before commenting in future.

Good luck ! I really do hope you get it sorted. I have seen a few damaged cars in my 33 years at Vauxhall Motors 30 of them on rectification.Invest in the small claims court if push comes to shove, and you have a cast iron case.

thank you

update for those interested: i've gave him until thursday to find quotes cheaper than what i've got for panel work (good luck to him though) otherwise i've asked for his insurance details and i'll let them sort it out.

you're not the first and i doubt you'll be the last to say my case is cast-iron but me being a realist i'll just wait and see what happens. expecting to have to fund it myself sadly but hoping for the best.