Prang (well, only a little one)

Hi guys,

Somebody got my day off to a great start this morning by driving into me Luckily not much damage but there are hairline cracks on the right hand side faring (looks like the sticky-out bit took some of the impact and caused the cracks). What's my best option for sorting this? Where can I buy new panels (I have black and grey 07 SD)? Or would a bodywork person be able to rectify this? Not going to bother claiming on insurance as premium will go up even though it was her fault.

Unlucky man. Sorry to hear it. Glad you're ok.

If it was her fault, her insurance should pay for the damage. You aren't claiming so there should be no impact on your policy.

Cheers bud...I've had worse! She was in pieces...ended up feeling quite sorry for her! I was under the impression that, even if I don't "claim" from my insurance it can still affect my policies in future? Definitely not the case?

I've never had to claim, or go through that (touch wood), so I wouldn't take my word. But I'm pretty sure both insurers will do an investigation as to who was at fault and then apportion the costs accordingly. And if you definitely had nothing to with causing the accident (including how you were riding leading up to the that moment), then there's no way they could argue that you're more of a risk now.

But I'm sure you can find that out with a bit of research (or someone will come along shortly to correct me).

Are you in the uk? Where did it happen?

I got knocked off in October 2013 and bizarrely enough it put my car insurance up and my bike a little too...if you claim it will show on your record for 5 years and you HAVE to declare it when you're getting a quote otherwise it won't let you get a quote as all the accident records are shared. The prick that knocked me off said he'd pay up then changed his mind so I had to claim...it took 16 months to get resolved...ideally you should avoid claiming if it's very minor and she's defo gonna cough up...

Yeah UK. And to give some more info; she was stationary in the middle of main road indicating right (to turn into side road) I slowed down (honestly!) and started to pass her on the left (perfectly legal if someone is indicating to turn right and there is enough room) she then decided she was going to park in a space on the left, didn't change her indicator and just took off left leaving me nowhere to go. I applied brakes and started to veer into the curb to try and avoid her but couldn't stop in time and hit her rear, left wing/passenger door quite hard!

Stupid bitch.

Well there you have it. Not worth claiming.

I take it you have her details. Be nice, and negotiate a cash settlement... or some other acceptable means of tender.