Dog knocked down - damage to car

You sound very considerate agwa and a decent person - but what a surprise, someone is taking advantage.

Throw them the 300 and they can count themselves lucky as far as I'm concerned. They have some neck. If it were me TBH, I'd give them absolutely nothing just for being so cheeky about it.

Realistically, what are they going to do if you don't agree to their demands? Do you reckon these loolahs pose a threat maybe?
 

why dont u tell them as there seems to be n happy medium that you will ring the guards to ask them for their opinion on the matter, bet that will shut them up
 
Did the driver take reasonable care to avoid hitting the dog ? If no one was behind her she should have been able to stop the car & avoid dog.

I was always led to believe that unless there was traffic behind you or oncoming, a driver should make an evasive move to avoid hitting the dog/cat/fox.
And definitely in a built up area, the driver should be anticipating the unexpected..... small children, dogs balls etc

If they are expecting you to cough up for the bumper the least you can do is ask for them to cover the vets fees ( which in general seems to be exorbitant - our dog had a 2 night stay after a suspected hit & run & the vets bill was €360+ after xrays etc were factored in)

Offer it up as a trade off. You'll cover vets fee, they can cover car fee
 
It was very hard for me to see as I was still in the driveway. There are high walls blocking the view to the main road. It was also very hard to gauge how fast she was going from my viewpoint.
In fairness to her she got a fright herself and she said she doesn't know how the person behind her didn't plough into her. It's all gone a bit pear-shaped once the husband got involved. He's saying they trade up every 2 years and this will reduce the value of the car.


caveat - it's difficult to know if they're a threat. I doubt it - I know where they live too!
 
They trade up evry 2 years, so why are they still in a 2004 car? if they trade up to buy a second hand car, the second hand car itself will not be perfect & without scratches dents etc

In this current climate, car salesman would be all to delighted to make a sale & will over look small superficial damage. Couldn't see them knocking €900 or €200 off the trade in value of car due to small scrape to bumper.
hese people need to get real.

Offer them €200 cash or allow you take the car to your mechanic of choice to get repaired.
I have heard of people handing over money to get crash repairs done. The other person takes the money, but never bothers with the repairs and sells it on with the cash in thier pocket.

This guy saw you coming once you admitted liability
 
agwa said:
all gone a bit pear-shaped once the husband got involved. He's saying they trade up every 2 years and this will reduce the value of the car!
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And she was driving a 2004 car? So they left this particular car for four years....
Sounds like he is out for all he can get, and has waded into to the situation to maximise his return. At this stage, I would be quite candid, that you were trying to be reasonable and accept some of the responsibility, but that due to the obvious attempts to extricate the max possible from you, you will withdraw your offer to compensate. Suggest that they go through their insurance.

I would also call a garda helpline and actually check out what they advise in such a situation, so that you cannot be bullied into a payment.

I hate seeing decent people being taken advantage of just because they are being decent. A taste of his own medicine and he won't be long regretting his aggressive tactics

Best of luck
 
Offer to get their bumper repaired. Pay the cost of that minus the vet fees for the dog. If they argue that then put the 'excessive speed, stopping distances in a built up area etc to them'

For the dog to be seriously injured from a collision with the bumber alone, then the speed was excessive. To crack one of those plastic bumbers takes quite a hit. Ask the vet if they could estimate the force of impact. They deal with that type of injury all the time and could probably tell you if the car was travelling fast.

Otherwise, go the legal route, albeit expensive.
 
I hate to point out the obvious but you are liable so you contacting the gardai etc is not going to get you anywhere as the dog should not have been out on the road. You say there are high walls in the drive. How was the driver supposed to see the dog if he ran out from behind there?
I agree that the quote seems high but at the end of the day it was your fault for letting the dog out. This woman is entitled to have her car repaired. If her hsband is being abusive I would tell her you wish to deal with her and not him as he intimidate your girlfriend.
All the suggestions above (relating to give her €300 or tell her you will cver the vets fees and she will cover the car etc) should be ignored as the law is very clear as far as animals loose on the road go.
And while it is her duty to drive with due care etc the "what if it was a child" argument is not valid as it was not a child.
And if a child walks runs ut in front of a car from a place where they could not have been seen (e.g. from between parked cars) it is not the drivers fault and it is highly unlikely they would be prosecuted for dangerous driving. She managed to stop the car and she didn't do much damage to the dog which would indicate she wasn't going that fast.
So I would source another reputable garage (preferably suzuki) to replace her bumper (personally I would be happy to have it fixed but she is entitled to a new one) at hopefully a lesser quote than she has obtained. i would then offer to pay the lower fee. If she is insistent then you don't have a lot of choice but to cough up or go down the solicitor route in order to force her to take the lower quote.
I would also ask for a receipt for the €50 quote before I would pay it.
And next time, keep the dog on a lead.


Also "The gate is at an entrance to a main road right at a large-ish roundabout so maybe the driver should have been driving a bit slower". Main road speed limit is 50km/hr. Can you prove she was speeding. The car behind her didn't hit her. You can't prove she was speeding.

I wouldn't push this too far as you are totally responsible for the repairs to her car. There is no court in the land who will find in favour of you. I would offer to pay to have the crack fixed but the man is right about the depreciation. He would have to declare the bumper had been mended and it would affect resale.
 
Yeah - I assumed he meant they "trade up" to a nearly-new car.

I want to stand my ground and just pay for the crack to be fixed. I'm actually going to ring home now...
 
Ailbhe - The dog ran out in front of her not behind her. I'm admitting responsibility. The main thrust of my argument is that I want to get it fixed not replaced.
You say she is entitled to a replacement - is this something you know or is it an opinion?

I think if it were any other type of car the dog would be dead - the plasticy bumper absorbed most of the impact.
 
Hi Agwa,
She in entitled to a new bumper, and i know this for a fact but don't be afraid to ask her to get 3 quotes done - You'll find that the cost to repair a crappy car is nearly as expensive as a premium car. If you admitted responsibility you should account for your actions and pay her. If I was in her situation I would like to dictate how my property was repaired and net you.
 
Stephenkelly said:
She in entitled to a new bumper
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No , she is only entitled to be put back in the position she was in before the accident (ie. a 2004 bumper).....


Offer 500 as a final settlement for the matter.... if the refuse invite them to take you to court....
 
"she is only entitled to be put back in the position she was in before the accident (ie. a 2004 bumper)....."

Your termonology is correct but under that clause she can demand a new bumber
 
Personally, I believe you are on your own in relation to one part of your post, as OP has already conceded that the accident was the dog's / dog owner's / dog releaser's fault.

A dog in a public place must be kept on a lead. If the dog is not on a lead, then any accident or incident involving the dog is the responsibility of the owner.

What if the out-of-control dog had knocked a kid off his or her bike and s/he had been injured, would that be the child's fault as s/he was guilty of cycling and "should have been doing so at a speed that would allow avoidance of a dog" and would you now be encouraging OP to threaten them with charges for reckless cycling?

Thankfully no human or dog was injured and the only matter for discussion is how much less than 900 euro the repair bill should be.
 
A dog ran out in front of my car back when I could barely afford to put petrol in it. There was absolutely no chance for me to do anything about it and I was shattered by the experience. The dog ran off - I never found out who owned him and got no compensation for the significant damage to my car. Had I found out who owned the dog I would have claimed.

My main point is that I can easily imagine a situation where the driver was absolutely in the right - so it just comes down to what is a fair price for the repair (and be glad she's not claiming for whiplash, nervous shock etc).
 
Look I absolutely agree with the previous two posts - but the OP has been extremely fair, held his hands up and is now being screwed as a result
In my book, if you play fair, the other side should. If they then turn around and try to screw you, then, not to put too fine a point on it, screw them!

The OP should be able to get quotes from dealers for "repair/replacement of Suzuki Liana front bumper". I think if he submits the best of these quotes to the claimant, then that is the max he should pay.
 
Whatever you do don't give them the money.

If you evenually decided to pay the E900, and I hope you don't, get them to have the repair carried out where they stated, and then you inspect it, and then you pay the garage for it.

At least they won't make anything out of you. I hate paying money to main dealers but I hate giving it to chancers like this even more.

I also wouldn't be too surprised if they don't accept E300 in cash. As another poster has said, they have no intention of getting the work done and they won't lose anything like E300 for a small carck when they do decide to trade the car in.

Plus they will have to do without the car while the work is being carried out, or at least have the inconvienience of leaving the car in and picking it up again.



Murt
 
Murt10 said:
...
Plus they will have to do without the car while the work is being carried out, or at least have the inconvienience of leaving the car in and picking it up again...
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Murt, you make a good point. The car doesn't need to be off the road for the repair to be carried out.

Leave the damaged one on the car, the body-shop prepares the replacement, Mrs. / Ms.2004 Suzuki Liana calls to body-shop when replacement is ready and leaves at most half an hour later with the replacement fitted, the job is Oxo.

As regards cost, its only a bleedin' plastic bumper and I'm sure Jeremy Clarkson has acres of them in his back-yard as this was the car featured for a while in the "Stars Who Mostly Can't Drive in a Cheap and Nasty Car" slot or whatever it was called. They broke enough of them to have dozens of plastic bumpers to give away.
 
I have young kids and I see it as my responsibility to make sure they do not go out in front of traffic, even in an estate where people are supposed to go slowly, so I don't see how all the comparison's with dogs and kids are fair. In fact I'm terrified of all cars no matter how slow they are travelling, it's amazing how quickly a child can run out and cannot be seen due to their small size. That is the parent's responsibility and I would blame myself if anything were to happen. A dog is even quicker and smaller. If you don't want to pay 900 then you tell the driver to sue you but bear in mind that could cost more than 900 particularly as you don't seem to have insurance. Your girlfriend needs to get her dog insured in my opinion in case this happens again.
As an aside I was on a motorway and a fox ran out and I swerved, my hubby told me it was better if I hit the animal (and killed it if necessary) rather than taking the risk of running into other cars and injuring another human being.
 
agwa said:
They don't have contents insurance
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It doesn't come under the contents - AFAIK, it's Public Liability and probably comes packaged with the building insurance.

If you still want to DIY, get an estimate from a reputable repair shop and and offer them this amount, as take it or leave it. Their choice is then to take you to court and prove negligence, or take the money. You appear to be taking a reasonable and responsible approach, while they do not appear to be making any effort to minimise the claim, as evidenced by the €50 charge for the quote.

The €50 is definitely unwarranted. Over the years my family & friends have had their fair share of 'fender benders' and have NEVER been charged for a quote.

The Suzuki dealer quote is also unwarranted. NO main dealer does repairs these days. The car will be subbed out to a body shop and the dealer will charge a mark-up, with labour (they have to bring 2 cars [the repair one and another to return in] and 2 men to the body shop) and more VAT on the mark-up. By ringing around locally - it is going to be relatively local, you may even be able to find out which body shop the Suzuki dealer uses.
 
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