sticky situation - like a bad dream :(

[kaka]

hey guys..
i kno this isnt really to do with ibiza specifically, but i just had an incident with my ibiza that i wouldnt mind some advice on - in terms of insurance, etc.

the story:

took my car to the garage to get water pipe fixed... the guy took the car in for me and then sorted it out.. then as he was filling the tank with water/antifreeze he told me to switch on the engine... thru the enidow i turned the key and zooomf... jumped forward cos HE HAD left it in gear (i never leave it in gear!)... took us by surprise and couldnt switch engine off before it had hit a car parked at the end of the garage a few yards away. the even worse thing is that the car it his was a 1972 alfa romeo convertible... an antique basically... front panel damaged and bth bumpers also.. my car got away with nothing but a tiny scratch u cant even see without looking hard.

my situation: im almost 22 and i have 3rd party insurance, with currently 1 yr no claim....

the guy at the garage sed that his garage insurance doesnt cover accidents between cars, and that normally hed have to fix the damage himself... in this situation he accepted that his lad had left the car in gear, but said i shud have checked before turning key... so he reckons we can do it 50/50 blame. if i go via insurance i dont think itll be covered, and ill prob be to blame since i started the car (?) and ill lose my no claims...

if we decide just to fix it at 50/50 then it might cost me about 500 pounds.. cos the parts for the car are rare and he reckons in total maybe around 1k to fix

what to do?

is there any law which would make the blame totally his for putting it in gear.. after all its his garage... he says that he always tells his lads never to leave it in gear but obviously he did this time to my misfortune!

anyone know how i can save some money!?

karem

 

[m0rk]

Hang on - he's asking you to pay for the damage to his car?

tell him to do one - private land, and he's talking rubbish about his insurance

 

[kaka]

sorry i didnt make it clear.. its not his car.. its another guy's car...

not sure about the otehr guys insurance, but id prefer not to go thru my insurance anyway

gonna meet the 3 of us tomoro hopefully to see what well do..

 

[Fez boy]

If it was me I would tell him to go and jump

Your car was in HIS garage and he should have some insurance to cover this?

Why is he getting you in the car when he is working on it?

Tell him to

DO NOT TELL YOUR INSURANCE ANYTHING YET

 

[m0rk]

I think that it's up to the alfa owner & the garage owner

Just because the garage claims his cover doesn't allow for vehicle to vehicle claims doesn't mean you should pay.

Technically - I think you've learnt to check about it being in gear - but you should have checked. Did the garage owner tell you to remove / check the car was in gear, or just to start the car

you were acting under his instruction, as an untrained member of the public.

 

[kaka]

i wont tell my insurance anyway cos itll be a claim and screw me up for the future!

i dont know what to do

at least he admitted that there was some fault in leaving it in gear!

 

[kaka]

he told me "start the car" and i did so thru the window...

thing is im off to egypt for 2 weeks on fri morning so i gotta sort something out before i leave (ie. during tomoro)..

might do some sort of 50/50 deal, then try to sort something out to do with blame after i come back??

 

[m0rk]

what if you just don't go.....

 

[mrcoyote]

He should have insurance to cover things like this despite his claims. Check his public liabilty insurance for starters as it should cover whatever happens on his property. Admittedly you should have checked whether the car was in gear or not, but I doubt you're liable for any damages.

 

[kaka]

i dont think that would solve anything!

 

[kaka]

according to him, the public liability insurance goes thru my insurance or something...

 

[andycupra]

hes lucky you didnt hurt yourself, if the car took off with you in the window...

say ok 50/50.

he pays for the alpha, you pay for your car and medical bills...

 

[m0rk]

Sounds like he's avoiding using his own insurance.

what would have happened if he'd have turned the keys? Still asked you to pay for half?

 

[mrcoyote]

according to him, the public liability insurance goes thru my insurance or something...

No it doesn't. He's trying it on.

I don't have my policy handy atm, but any claims go directly through them and will have nothing to do with your insurance.

 

[kaka]

No it doesn't. He's trying it on.

I don't have my policy handy atm, but any claims go directly through them and will have nothing to do with your insurance.

does anyone have precise details of what these kind of insurance policies are like?

 

[kaka]

Sounds like he's avoiding using his own insurance.

what would have happened if he'd have turned the keys? Still asked you to pay for half?

no i think then he would have had to pay all... thats the unfortunate part of it for me

 

[mrcoyote]

does anyone have precise details of what these kind of insurance policies are like?

I'm not sure what you mean...

The terms are generally different from between different companies, but the fact remains that you shouldn't be liable. Come to think of it, his insurance company may refuse to pay out as you're effectively an untrained member of the public working on his premises as stated previously, which could explain why he doesn't want to go through them.

I'd still advise you not to notify your insurance company at all as the damage was caused under his or his staff's instruction to an untrained person.

 

[andycupra]

no i think then he would have had to pay all... thats the unfortunate part of it for me

ok another way to look at it then.
if you were not there, then the mechanic would have started it.
the fact you were there just made it easier for him to get you to do it rather than him have to move 2-3 metres.

Be polite, but assertive. tell him to claim on his insurance for the alpha and that hes lucky you wont claim for your car to.

 

[kaka]

worst thing is that im going abroad fri morning!!!

does anyone have any legal info about untrained ppl working on the premises?

 

[kaka]

ok another way to look at it then.
if you were not there, then the mechanic would have started it.
the fact you were there just made it easier for him to get you to do it rather than him have to move 2-3 metres.

Be polite, but assertive. tell him to claim on his insurance for the alpha and that hes lucky you wont claim for your car to.

my cars not damaged