ROON Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Sitting in the car waiting for my daughter to decide which shade of eye-shadow to wear to match her blouse, the twentieth blouse and tenth shade of shadow, three 'sweet, little boys' playing on the field opposite the parked cars threw a stone high up in the air towards my car. It landed with a thud on my bonnet. >:-( I gave chase but couldn't keep up as I had flip-flops on (nothing to do with age difference). The car is on the market as I desperately need to sell it to keep my motorhome on the road. It is only 12 months old and I had received offers from garages based on 'showroom condition'. There is now an area about the size of an orange which is all scratched (and grey because I used T-cut on metallic black :'( ) but it is sooooooo obvious. I have been told it needs the whole bonnet re-spraying it is so bad. I can't afford to do that just to sell it.. I have found out the first names of two of the VANDALS and I will trace them because I am so angry I will scour the streets. Where do I stand legally when I find them. a) Can I string them up by their toes and leave them there for good? b) Failing that, where do I stand with regard to their parents paying up for the damage that their wonderful offspring have done? One very irate Joy :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Joy, You stand no where if the parents say prove it you now have to take them to court . Part of lifes rich tapestry . Will your insurance pay probably is it worth ? thats another thing . Sorry to hear little sods I know what i would like to do . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Aww - poor you, Joy :-( Unfortunately, in this day and age, there would appear to be little you can do. Even if you find out who did it, do you have independent witnesses who could identify them too? If you do, chances are the police will be ambivalent to say the least. Private prosecution? Costly with no guarantees, perhaps. Horrid world, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Joy, report it to police they will give you a crime number now you can report to insurance ...Thats it kiddo otherwise chance your arm and tell the parents nicely that this is what their kids done .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Going down the insurance route might be more costly if you lose your no-claims bonus. Even if the NCB is protected, there is usually a limit to the number of claims within a certain period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 A similar thing happened to us some years ago. We had bought a new Shogun and had it for 3 days, a small boy on a bike scraped down the side of it. Luckily we knew who he was and his parents claimed on their House Insurance for the damage. We didn't know the parents but we thought it was worth a try and it worked. It is something to do with Public Liability. If you know who the rascals are I would approach the parents calmly and politely and see what happens, they can only say no but may say yes, they will claim. Give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Black metallic paint should have a good coat of clear lacquer on it. So unless you were really vicious with the T.Cut you shouldn't go through it. How much have you been quoted for the re-spray?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROON Posted May 16, 2008 Author Share Posted May 16, 2008 Randonneur, I started to read your reply and thought you said 'We bought a new SHOTGUN' 8-) I was dreading what you were going to say next. !!!!!! Phew.... as soon as I trace them I am definitely going to see their parents; I think I have now found out which school they go to. Thanks for the info on house insurance. I don't want to use my no- claims if poss. Joy Peter, I have only had a telephone estimate based on my description and I have to take it into the garage on Monday for a definite quote .... he said he thinks he will have to do the complete bonnet (which isn't a HUGE one) and if so will be around the £150. It's not much I know but it is to me. I think the prob is the fact that the dent is pretty deep too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob b Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Try Dentmaster. They visit the house and do the job there. Apparently they are a franchise outfit and the results are very good. I imagine they have a web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROON Posted May 17, 2008 Author Share Posted May 17, 2008 Thanks Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 Agree with Bob above. Unless you have gone down to the metal !! - DentDoctor will probably be able to sort it out. Suggest you do not do a DIY job as you need to have a bit of experience to overspray a dull patch with an aerosol lacquer. Ignore the garage who said you need a respray of the bonnet. They are having a laugh. Another option if DentDoctor are unable to help, is to contact a breakers yard and purchase a good s/h bonnet in the same colour. We did this on my sons Cavalier when someone ran into the back of him in a car park and dented the tailgate. It took a bit of tracking down and assurances that it was undamaged, but we swapped it over in a few hours ( a bonnet would be easier still) and saved ourselves huge amount. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 have you checked with the dealers you have had the offers off. the chances are they would already need chips away or dent master to replace any miner stone chips anyway. maybe what you will lose on the original offer wont be as much as you paying for the repair. any reasonable person/parent would pay for the damage their brats have caused regardless of the law, but I cant speak for others you cannot reason with an unreasonable person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROON Posted May 17, 2008 Author Share Posted May 17, 2008 Thanks again everybody. I will try Dentaway as the rest of the car is in perfect condition. I have hardly ever used it. Will also check the local merchant for s/h to see if I strike lucky if it then comes to that. Thank you all again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 As you are selling the car and may well not be replacing it as you are using only your 'van as transport would the loss of NCD matter if you claimed on your car insurance? However the excess probably would stop that from being a worth while exercise - and if you do have a decent NCD you might want to use it again in the future as most insurers will hold it for you for up to three years - well they used to but I have not checked recently? Another option is to get a written quote from a well respected local body shop and agree with any prospective buyer to either reduce the price by the same amount or to have the work done when a sale is agreed and a deposit paid. That way if you pay for the work by credit card the bill should arrive well after the car is sold and you have been paid in full? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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