Car Parts and Accessories

If you want to recover the cost of repairing your damaged vehicle from another driver, the first step is to secure an undertaking that he will meet the costs. Ask two or three garages to give written estimates of the cost of repair.

Next, write to the other driver or, preferably, his insurer, with a copy of the estimates and details of other claims to be made. In any correspondence on the matter, make it quite clear that the other driver is being held responsible for the accident, and be sure to ask for confirmation that the claim will be met. Keep a copy of all correspondence. If negotiations break down later, this will be useful to your own insurer.

The other driver or his insurer may offer to settle your claim immediately by paying the estimated cost of repairs. If the garage chosen to do the job has given a `firm’ price, it will be safe to accept the offer. This may prevent you from claiming for incidental expenses while the repairs are being done, but these are unlikely to be substantial.

Paying First and Claiming Later

The garage may refuse to commit itself to a firm quotation or, more likely, the insurer may demand a final account of repairs before it settles.

If this happens, you may have to instruct the garage to do the repairs before your claim will be considered by the other driver’s insurer, and without any assurance that the latter will pay the account. Unless credit has been granted, the garage can keep your car until it is paid. And if the estimated repairs are costly, the garage may refuse to start unless the insurer confirms that a settlement will be made.

In these situations, put your claim in the hands of your own insurer, or seek the help of an attorney or the legal department of your motoring organisation.

Sometimes an assessor from the other driver’s insurer will be sent to inspect the damage. If he thinks the estimates are too high, he may ask you to obtain more competitive quotes from other garages. The lowest is the one most likely to be accepted by the insurer.

Before you agree to settle, ensure that the garage chosen to do the work does not supply low quotations because of its reputation for inferior workmanship.

What can be Claimed

If the other driver’s insurer accepts an estimate for repairing your car, you should write to that insurer setting out the final details of your claim. Only an attorney can tell what you may claim, but usually the claim will include some or all of the following:

• The cost of repairing your car;
• The cost of towing it to a garage;
• The cost of hiring alternative transport, or the cost of fares on public transport while the car is being repaired.

In submitting such a claim, you do not have to prove that you need a car. You may not include the costs of petrol or oil used in the hired car, and the insurer will probably reduce claims for fares by the amount which would have been spent on petrol and oil while driving the car which is being repaired.

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