What are our rights? Repairing damage to car

[Nosha123]

Hi All
My husband is a builder. and one of the recent jobs he was working on - had a delivery of materials to the site. The chaps that work for him needed to move a vehicle that was in the way to allow the delivery of the materials from a crane onto the plot.
They picked up a car and moved it out of the way (using their muscle!)
The car is a small peugeot and old.. probably only worth about £500-£1000.
Anyhow - someone somehow made a small dent in the rear wing with their hand as the car was being moved.
We have no issue with blame - and are happy to repair it. But the owner is being a bit difficult (as she is obviously peed off!).
She wants ONLY peugeot to repair it and wants the whole rear wing and bumper replaced. Now I know a really good 'chips away' spray paint man who does all our fleet cars (BMWs and Audis etc) and he will do it for a lot less than a garage will.
Does she have the right to demand WHO repairs it - or can we get it done by anyone as long as they are good quality? A freelance individual is obviously gonna be cheaper than a garage - he has already seen the damage and agreed its a really small amount of work required...
We accept the blame - but dont want to then be ripped off trying to put it right!
THANKS

[Nosha123]

Can anyone advise or help?

[didoatwork]

I don't know where you stand legally, but if it happened to my car I would want to choose who fixed it. Sorry, good luck.

[Nosha123]

surely we have the right to repair it and put it right and not be ripped off by a garage
The car is only worth a small amount and is covered in dents and scratches already!

[didoatwork]

Like I said, I don't know where you stand legally.

[Nosha123]

could we request 3 quotes for the repair? To ensure a fair price is being achieved?

[yogi-bear]

Be patient Nosha....someone with law experience in these matters will hopefully come on and give you an answer you need, but i would tend to agree with dido, if it was my car.

You say they picked the car up and moved it.........could the owner not be contacted to move it away hence not causing any problem on delivery of the items or maybe dropped off near it, so that it did'nt have to be moved?.

I hope it works out and good luck to you. :0)

[didoatwork]

That's a good idea.

[didoatwork]

Sorry that answer was to the OP

[ladybirder]

If it were my car, being a reasonable person, and bearing in mind the age of the car, I would say OK go ahead and get it repaired your way on the understanding that if I am not happy with the result then it goes to a garage of my choice.

[yogi-bear]

That sounds fair to me too.........hope you can in the eyes of the law, as main dealer garages DO rip you off.....the labour and parts costs are unbelievable......that is never in doubt.

Like i said, good luck :0)

[jackthehat]

You could call her bluff........
Tell her to put it through her insurers and give her your PL insurers details.
Or get your 'chips away' man to give you an estimate and then offer her the cash equivalent for her to get it fixed at the garage of her choice.

I bet the dent remains and she gets something 'nice' for herself.

[whiskeryron]

ooh jth you are being cynical lol.

W Ron.

[Nosha123]

Our chips away man has already quoted £150 and I think her peugeot garage is double that amount... She is being a bit of a cow to be honest and doesnt seem to want us to repair it our way...
If it was a new car - of immaculate I could understand it.. but its covered in scratches and dents!

[Nosha123]

To answer Yogi - she was out at work and so couldnt move the car for them.. they had no choice really.. and took as much care as they could... but accidents happen

[chelle7272]

I would have thought if you can get ithe repair cheaper and same quality she shouldn't have an issue with it. Getting a couple more quotes is a good idea. Hope someone with more knowledge about this can help you soon.

[yogi-bear]

Thanks for the reply, nosha......and yes, they most certainly do, my lovely.

[Nosha123]

crikey she is being a pain!
She has emailed the chips away man and bcc'd us asking him...
1 The year of your incorporation and the date for the start of your business activity

2 What qualifications the person carrying out the work has?

3 Is your registered address the one on the web-site as it is not detailed?

4 The cost of work to my vehicle?

5 How long with the work take and how long before I can use the vehicle after repairs?

6 You site mentions that spraying of a whole area is not necessary if the new paint is not visible – whoes judgement is this ?

7 Level of indemnity?

[Nosha123]

dont really want to give her a copy of our public liability insurance... do you think I have to? The value of the repairs is going to be way higher than the actual repair work!

[joko]

will your man fix the dent too, or just the paintwork?

whatever the 2 prices you can get are i would offer her that in cash to get it fixed or you will go through insurance... i also think the dent will remain....if the car is old and already damaged i doubt she will waste it on spraying etc.
i suspect she is being this obstinate just to get you to make her a cash offer.

i suspect she has a pal in the industry and is looking to get a few extra quid for herself by going through him if he bumps the price up...but cash in her hand could sway her.

she may just be angry at the nerve of you to move her car that way...where did you move her car from and where to?