Shunted from behind, bumper chip

[BlinGTIes]

Hi guys,

Need some advice. Never been in an accident before but had my first one yesterday on the exit of the M1 junction 1. For those of you who know it it’s the round about when you get to the end of the M1. I was queuing up at the round about with my gran and mum in the car then felt a shunt from behind. A middle aged woman in a Prius went into the back of my 5 month old GTI mk7.5. She said her foot slipped.

The damage is minimal but she chipped some paint off my rear bumper so that now you can see the black plastic underneath. I took all her contact details but she didn’t have her insurance details.  She seemed nice enough and had two two kids in the back. She was very apologetic and admitted fault however she’s keen not to claim insurance and just settle the bill. My car is a lease so wondering what I should do? I will be charged for the chip when I give it back at the end of the contract. Should I report to the leasing company? I have a maintenance plan so should I call them up or just go to a VW dealer to get it sorted?

And advice would be very much appreciated!

[wantmygti]

I’d get a smart repair quote and ask her to fund it. I would imagine from what you have described £150-200 would cover it and that’s a pretty good price for her to avoid an insurance claim. If she has insurance.

[Guzzle]

Under the terms of your lease any repair work should be done by a VW approved repairer.

By all means use someone else, but if there's a problem you'll have more recourse if they're VW approved. It's also worth having it checked over to ensure there's no other damage you can't see, I.E. behind the bumper, parking sensors need recalibrating etc.

[Watts]

Get it checked over by a professional. The beam behind the plastic could have been damaged too. If so it won't absorb a second accident as well resulting in more damage. As for the bumper itself, I had a similar incident and the bumper was split but not all the way to the outside so it really wasn't obvious but it required a new one so do get it checked properly before agreeing to anything or you may regret it.

[BlinGTIes]

Thanks guys, so general concensus is get checked out by an approved dealer. Unfortunately I had a terrible experience with my local one in Milton Keynes so will have to go a bit further afield.

Good tips on the structure and parking sensors. You never know I guess.

How much is it roughly to change a bumper? There’s no reason why she shouldn’t pay, it was her fault, I have witnesses and I’m sure there’s CCTV footage. Just thinking if the costs start to add up the more likely she will want to go down the insurance route - which I’m not sure if it’s more hassle for me. Of course I want it fixed regardless of cost as one way or another she will pay.

[Guzzle]

You don't need to go to a dealer, you need an approved repairer. Either ring VWFS or have a look at

https://www.insurewithvolkswagen.co.uk/claims#paint-and-body-locator

[Watts]

My accident was broadly similar to yours ie hit from behind with no wriggle room out for the perpetrator and my insurer authorised repairs the day after my car was examined by the repairer. They assumed it was not my fault so I didn't have to pay out for the excess and just a few weeks later I got a letter confirming all sorted. Easy. A new bumper, painted and possibly a new beam might be £500 which is why you really need it looking at professionally.

On the other hand, if you have an incident with a foreign registered lorry unless it's serious then don't waste your time pursuing it

[BlinGTIes]

Thanks for the link Guzzle. Very useful.

Watts - where did you have yours checked out? A VW dealer?

[2007GTI]

+1, when I had my accident, I just found a VW approved bodyshop nearby. Don't bother going to a dealer, they just subcontract it out anyway.

I found my local VW approved bodyshop through that link and couldn't be happier.

[Brenbo]

If the bumper is chipped it will most likely need a full spray.  I had a small chip of paint come off my rear bumper, it was no bigger than a small finger nail and I was informed by several parties the only way to repair was for a full respray.  Hopefully your chip is small enough for a smart repair?