JimmyJam75 Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 Hi all, I'd be really grateful for any help and advice please, after an incident this afternoon. (I'm trying to stay calm here!) I was out for a photo shoot nr Reading with a couple of friends and their work colleagues to get some nice shots of my 350z and all of their cars too. After a few hours we moved to another area for some stills. Whilst my car was parked in a gravel carpark, one of the party (not a friend of mine), for some completely idiotic reason, decided to 'donut' in the gravel. Right next to my car. The entire passenger side was completely pebble dashed from a couple of meters away; so much so that I honestly thought the window was going to smash. The car was covered with stones, dust and gravel. I could see some damage immediately. Somehow, I stayed calm enough not to hit him. Anyway, I've since come home and carefully washed and dried the whole car, and I think I've 'escaped' with 5 or 6 six chips down the to bodywork, and another 30-40 smaller chips, probably (hopefully) just taking a layer of laquer off. It spans the whole side of the car, 3 or 4 panels.. I've contacted Chips Away requesting a quote, as I'm sending this guy the bill. So, I'm really after any advice you can give me; I have so many questions buzzing around my head, and I'm still in shock of seeing what this complete idiot has done.. 1. Are Chips Away any good? 2. Is this something I should pay for initially and then send this guy the bill, or should go through insurance? 3. Should I protect the chips immediately before any work is done? 4. Roughly (obviously) how much is this going to cost (him!)? Hundreds, Thousands? I really have no idea. Like I said, any help / advice would be great, and thanks for taking the time to read my post. Cheers, James Quote
clarkie34 Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 If it's as many as you say,I would have the whole panel resprayed. Quote
Cragus Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 Depending on the work needing done the cost will vary but I imagine a couple of hundred pounds to clean the paint up well. I would be getting this guy to cough the cash up - was it only you car he hit or will he be getting several bills? Quote
Will370z Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 Omg I would have killed the guy, bet you are fuming. I've no experience of chips away but I hope you get you car fixed soon. Ouch. Quote
Ricey Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 Holy Christ ............well done for not pummeling him to death! 1. Are Chips Away any good? Stick chipsaway in google and the results are not good - however even if they are good on 1 chip 30-40!!.....thats going to look like a 13 year olds face 2. Is this something I should pay for initially and then send this guy the bill, or should go through insurance? Depends if you trust the cocksmuggler who did it - from the sounds of it he's not personally known to you - I'd get the money of out him upfront. In fact I'd just go through the insurance and have all 3 panels resprayed properly 3. Should I protect the chips immediately before any work is done?Deffo - you don't want any rust starting. I would imagine a decent wax is enough to do this temporarily 4. Roughly (obviously) how much is this going to cost (him!)? Hundreds, Thousands? I really have no idea.Body shop via insurance x 3 panels could be anywhere from £600 to £1000. Chips away I think are franchises so each to their own - £60 seems to be the word on the street........x 30/40 Quote
iain10101 Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 If hit at that close range i would expect that there will be some dentage too? Im afraid if it was i, the chap responsible would have gone home in an ambulance. If the idiot responsible has said he would pay i would get a decent bodyshop to do it properly! Acne comes to mind with that amount of damage! Good Luck fella Quote
JimmyJam75 Posted March 27, 2011 Author Posted March 27, 2011 Thanks all for your replies so far... yeah Acne just about sums up the damage. The guy did apologise eventually but said nothing about paying for any damage. Luckily he's a friend of a friend so I can find out all the detais I need about him for insurance... It may be the only option.. I'm so mad... Quote
Cragus Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 Thanks all for your replies so far... yeah Acne just about sums up the damage. The guy did apologise eventually but said nothing about paying for any damage. Luckily he's a friend of a friend so I can find out all the detais I need about him for insurance... It may be the only option.. I'm so mad... Did you not broach the subject of him paying to have it fixed as it happened? Being stupid enough to do what he did makes me think he is the kind of person who will not step up and pay! Was anybodys car affected other than yours? I think insurance could be a tricky one - if a car flicks up a stone on the motorway and cracks your windscreen, its your job to fix it. Given than he was acting inappropiately on public roads you might be able to play that in your favour given you have witnesses! Quote
JimmyJam75 Posted March 27, 2011 Author Posted March 27, 2011 Well, he never mentioned paying.. but I certainly did.. I told him that I'd get quotes and at least it wouldnt be my money paying for the work..! I'll get a quote from Chips Away, bearing in mind they might just suggest resprays straight off, and go from there. Any recommendations for local-ish body shops? (Bracknell / Wokingham / Reading area), or would Nissan dealer recommend any? Quote
djrm Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 Wow, so sorry to hear this!! I get mad enough when a grit lorry sprays my car when driving let alone some bellend acting like that.... I would have knocked his head off!! I would get it resprayed, don't mess about with chips away... And besides, he has to pay so go for the best option for the car, which is a respray! AND there may be slight dents that need to be flattened out... As for the money side. Get a written wrote from a good repair place, go with the common mate that you both have to his house and give him the bill. Tell him that as is his fault he really should pay. If he doesn't, go to the police... It's vandalism at the end of the day!! Good luck mate, hope you sort it! Quote
Keyser Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 I haven't used chips away personally but they were recommended to me by a mate who had some work done recently - Problem is they are a franchise so it depends who you get. May be an issue with insurance if it was not a public place - Had a problems with that on a petrol station forecourt. I'd have a word with him first through your mutual friend if that's a better approach and see if he is going to do the decent thing! Good luck with that and I'm amazed you kept your cool, not sure I would have!! Quote
UNABASHED Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 chips away wont do that amount of work, they would just get it resprayed so might as well go to somewhere a bit more professional. If the guy hasn't said he will pay up for the damage to be repaid then I wouldn't start to get it sorted until you speak to him, otherwise you will be out of pocket. If you are going through the insurance and charging it to him then do you not need to log it with the police as criminal damage? Quote
Sarnie Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 1) Forget Chipsaway. They do small individual blemishes. You will want all three panels resprayed, in the correct conditions, not on your drive 2) Try to speak to others that were there to find out if their cars were damaged, or at least get them to agree that they thought he was being a bellend. 3) It seems like you have been (don't take this the wrong way) a bit of a pussy. It sounds like you have been far too civil. Before turning up on his doorstep, I would phone him and tell him your intentions of getting a quote from a bodyshop which will be at his expense. If it was me, the guy would have left, knowing that in no uncertain terms, that he was going to be paying to repair my car. 4) Turn up at his house with your mutual friend and deliver the quote. If he refuses to pay, get a solicitor to send him a stern letter, it's amazing what affect these can have! Quote
cmck13 Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 Chips away have the wrong name, I spoke to them many years ago when they started up business and and they do not do "chips away", they should be done under the trades description act. I learnt then that if the chip or scratch fails in the nail test it needs a respray, if you want an invisible job doing, i.e. if you can feel it running your nail over the chip or scratch it needs a professional respray. Quote
ioneabee Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 If you have his details and a witness statement - straight to your insurance, get the work done properly in a body shop and your insurance will sort out the rest. Why bother with the hastle of confrontation. Your premiums won't be affected as it will be a no fault claim Quote
Rob_Quads Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 . Your premiums won't be affected as it will be a no fault claim You would like to think so but this just is not the case. Know quite a few who have had quotes increased when they mention they did have an acident but it was a not fault accident Quote
ioneabee Posted March 27, 2011 Posted March 27, 2011 . Your premiums won't be affected as it will be a no fault claim You would like to think so but this just is not the case. Know quite a few who have had quotes increased when they mention they did have an acident but it was a not fault accident unluckily - I've had 2 no fault claims and my premiums have been unaffected Quote
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