Carpark Car Door Dent Excessive Claim for Car Hire While Repairing?

Weisman on 18/02/2025 - 09:28
Last edited 18/02/2025 - 16:44

My 4 year old opened a door onto a car (skoda standard red) in a carpark and it left a single dot paint chip (about 2-3mm circumference). His insurance company (RACV) have sent an invoice for $870 for the repair and 8 days hire car cost. I have comprehensive but our excess is $700. I'm not disputing paying for the repair but 8 days in a body shop seems excessive for a tiny dot. I've got photos of the damage do I try and get some quotes for repair cost including time off the road from a couple of RACV approved repairers and dispute the invoice? I'm yet to follow up with my insurer for advice but I can't see them bothering to drive the cost below my deductible.

Update: I contacted RACV and they agreed to reduce the rental car by 3 days bringing the total cost down to $650. Can't say it's perfect but I save the no claim on my comprehensive and can move on. Thought this outcome would be worth sharing here in case someone gets in a similar situation, appreciate the posts below.

Automotive

Comments

  • Duckie2hh on 18/02/2025 - 09:29
    +4

    Why does it matter if its 1 day or 8 days in the shop? You only have to pay for the excess.

    • Brick Tamland on 18/02/2025 - 09:40
      +1

      probably car hire representing the majority of the cost. If fixed in one day it might cost significantly less out of insurance

      • plmko on 18/02/2025 - 09:44

        It won't cost significantly less because shops invoice prices differently when dealing with insurance. There is a cost to dealing with more parties.

      • Weisman on 18/02/2025 - 11:18

        yeah it's this exactly - 8 days car hire is about 60% of the claim cost

        • hmac on 18/02/2025 - 12:20

          Had the same thing happen to me, took the shop 1.5 weeks to fix a tiny paint chip

  • MS Paint on 18/02/2025 - 09:33
    +20

    Just pay the $700 and move on. Pick your battles. Tell your 4yo there's no new iPad for their 5th birthday in order to offset their stupidity in the carpark.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 18/02/2025 - 10:17
      +6

      me: ok kid no ipad 5th birthday

      kid: i understand. commence meltdown in 5…4..3..

      me: OK I GIVE IN

    • skillet on 20/02/2025 - 09:18

      4yo… Kids at this age needs reminder from time to time. Often, they are ruled by emotions and don't remember what they should do. They are still learning how to deal with everything and the world.

      So it's wise to use the child door lock and open the door by yourself to avoid things like this from happening. Your child also may not be holding the door if there's a strong gust of wind. This will also make a dent. Next thing you know, a cyclist just crashed into your car door.

  • Fredfloresjr on 18/02/2025 - 09:41
    +2

    Bro car body shop is a first come first serve basis. It is not an Emergency Department where they triage who comes in. Unfortunately, the 8 days care hire will hurt you.

    • apple2016 on 18/02/2025 - 11:36
      +8

      Op can just drive the car with a dent until the body shop is ready to work on the car!

      • TilacVIP on 20/02/2025 - 00:46

        100% this, what rort this insurance industry has become

  • Dollar General on 18/02/2025 - 09:44

    You could fight the car hire costs and get that down I reckon. Just because the repairer is busy doesn’t mean it’s your problem. Make them an offer of 50% of car hire costs

  • pegaxs on 18/02/2025 - 09:48
    +3

    $870 for repair AND car hire for 8 days? Just pay it and move on…

    $870 for the repair and the 8 day car hire is separate… Pay the excess and move on.

  • soan papdi on 18/02/2025 - 09:49
    +2

    I'm always yelling at my much older kids to be careful when opening doors, each time we park. From now on don't let your 4 year old open doors on their own. Pay the excess and move on.

    • Jaduqimon on 18/02/2025 - 09:56
      +5

      the benefits of a minivan… tarago/oddysey/carnival… sliding doors haha

    • pjbargain15 on 19/02/2025 - 11:16

      Exactly. "Child lock" on a car door until at least 5 yrs of age seems reasonable. I did it with my kid till that age and she is now 9, and always careful when opening doors in the carpark. I once suggested using the child lock on car door to a parent whose kid dinged my door and he looked at me like I was asking the kid to be locked in a dungeon and throw away the key! It's a bloody car door, not a jail cell!

  • Porker on 18/02/2025 - 09:50
    -6

    I didn't think car hire cost was a recoverable item. My experience, and it has been a long while since a crash, was that parties pay the repair bills, not the inconvenience bills.

    Reminds me of a shopper that bought a chicken from supermarket and for whatever reason it was not edible. The customer couldn't return it before store close so 'had' to buy pizza for dinner instead. The next day they returned the chicken and demanded a refund plus extra to cover the pizza. The store offered only a replacement or refund of the chicken, not extra. Ended up in the news or ACA or something like that.

    • seanfoite on 18/02/2025 - 09:55
      +2

      Reasonable transport costs are definitely recoverable from the at fault party.

    • Jaduqimon on 18/02/2025 - 10:01
      +1

      that doesnt make sense?

      if he got refunded the chicken then the refund amount would cover the pizza.

      i.e. if he spent $10 on chicken,
      then spent another $10 on pizza,
      gets $10 refund on chicken.
      he would be out of pocket $10 but ate the pizza.

      if he never bought chicken in the first place, he would have bought the pizza,
      out of pocket $10, and ate the pizza.

      so both scenarios he is equal.

      this analogy doesnt apply in this case… because the victim party needs to be put in a position as if the accident never happened. which is, have the car repaired while having access to another vehicle to go about his daily business.

      • Protractor on 18/02/2025 - 10:13
        +1

        What if in the process of securing the pizza an egg crossed the road?

      • Porker on 18/02/2025 - 10:21
        -1

        In the chicken-pizza situation, I believe their pizza costs were significantly more than $10 as they could only find a 'wood fired' store. So it a wasn't like for like.

        I agree that it's nice to have everything paid for if one is inconvenienced by another, but there are many other examples of damages-related situations where the 'inconvenience' is not paid-for or covered, at least not as default which appears the case for car crashes.

        In any event, I'm not going to dispute whatever today's acceptance of the situation is. It's been a long time since I've been in a car crash.

        • Jaduqimon on 18/02/2025 - 10:23
          +1

          yes, the other party shouldnt be reimbursed if he is hiring a lambo but if the hire car is same tier as his own car then i dont see an issue.

    • JimmyF on 18/02/2025 - 12:32

      I didn't think car hire cost was a recoverable item

      So if someone hits your car and it takes 2 weeks to repair, you'll be totally ok to not have a replacement hire car? Oh you wouldn't?

      So who do you think should pay for that?

      You?
      Your insurance? (its not their fault)

      or the party that caused the damage?

      • Porker on 18/02/2025 - 13:46
        -1

        Admittedly, it's been about 20 years since my last crash. At that time, the notion of recovering car hire wasn't an item. It was an inconvenience that was just managed.

        It seems the hire cost recovery is more acceptable these days, and that's that. The point / perspective you're trying to convey is moot.

        • JimmyF on 18/02/2025 - 14:06

          It seems the hire cost recovery is more acceptable these days, and that's that. The point / perspective you're trying to convey is moot.

          No, your point / perspective you're trying to convey is moot. Hire car while your car is damaged is a thing, its even an option when you take out insurance. The at fault party pays.

          So the OP needs to pay for causing the damage.

          • Porker on 18/02/2025 - 14:21

            @JimmyF: Within my earlier replies I have acknowledged the inclusion of rental fee costs recovery.

            Is there something else you'd like for me to understand?

            • jackary on 18/02/2025 - 18:07

              @Porker: I think he wants you to say “sorry, I was wrong”.

        • md333 on 18/02/2025 - 14:09
          +1

          I suspect this hire recovery is a big factor in insurance costs rising recently.

  • Jaduqimon on 18/02/2025 - 09:52
    +2

    congratulations on having comp insurance.

    pay the $700, sit back and relax.

  • EFC94 on 18/02/2025 - 10:05
    +3

    Ignoring the fact they could just pay the excess and be done with it, I'm siding with OP on this one.

    If damage is as said by the OP, thats max 1 day worth of work for the shop. Nobody here drops their car for a service a week early, why should a panel beater for a minor spray paint repair be any different.

    • Jaduqimon on 18/02/2025 - 10:20
      -5

      why should the INNOCENT party wait for the panel beater to be available to fix this tiny dot and take time out of his day to drop off his car which could be an inconvenient time/day rather than dropping the car off at his best convenience and take a hire car and then picking up the fixed car at his convenience?

      • EFC94 on 18/02/2025 - 10:44
        +4

        Your logic is entirely flawed. If the car gets fixed on day 1 or day 8 they still have a perfectly working car, its not like the entire front end is smashed to pieces. And again, at some point the innocent party is going to be inconvenienced from either picking up or dropping off their own car or the hire car. As for unsuitable days, just pick a day the panel beater is available that is also suitable to themselves, it's literally no different to finding a day to get your car serviced.

        • Jaduqimon on 18/02/2025 - 10:46
          -1

          why would i do that if i am the innocent party and have comp insurance myself?

          • EFC94 on 18/02/2025 - 11:01
            +3

            @Jaduqimon: Because if you want your car fixed you need to do it regardless? If OP has been truthful, it is a literal paint chip, a mobile paint repair guy could fix it in a couple of hours if need be. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but if your car is drivable they're going to ask you to bring it to whatever repairer they/you have chosen. They're not going to send a tow truck each way and then have a hire car personally delivered and picked up from you in the most convenient location of your choosing. Yes I agree with you that it is an inconvenience, but that's just how things work in life sometimes.

            • Jaduqimon on 18/02/2025 - 11:05

              @EFC94: i concede there will be inconvenience but the inconvenience should be minimised for the innocent party.

              Clearly the arrangement has already been agreed to by the innocent party, which appears to be dropping their car off at their convenience and getting a hire car for the duration. $800 seems very reasonable.

    • Protractor on 18/02/2025 - 11:02
      -3

      "Nobody here drops their car for a service a week early, why should a panel beater for a minor spray paint repair be any different."

      If ever you need to get your car repaired make sure you tell them lazy buggers what you said above and you name how long THEY have to fix it to the highest standards. Good luck with that.
      You're making it pretty obvious you have little idea how body repair workshops operate, especially at a time where decent trades ppl are thin on the ground and car accidents (due to the human plague) happen every few minutes.

      • EFC94 on 18/02/2025 - 11:06
        +2

        Any repair shop that can't set aside a few hours to repair a paint chip 1-2 weeks in advance has much bigger problems in their business. It would be different if it was a major smash repair. If I (and argue the majority of the population) called a smash repair shop and said "Hey, I've got a 2-3mm circumference chip that I need fixed" and they couldn't give me a single time in the next month to get it fixed then I'd just move onto the next place.

        • Protractor on 18/02/2025 - 11:21

          Like I said, you have little idea of how the actual proper process works.
          You don't own the damaged car. Quick flip might be your ethos, but ethical operators have a system that keeps the jobs flowing, and turns out end results that are fit for purpose,to a standard and warrantied. We all know what happens when that process is rushed,short cutted or cheaped out.
          There's plenty of desperate cowboys who will drop everything for your 3mm stone chip. We read about the outcomes here quite often.
          In the fantasy land of auto repair they must have 100 trades ppl, 15 spray booths and a workshop like the MCG?
          BTW most insurance companies don't shop around, even if you do.

          • EFC94 on 18/02/2025 - 12:31
            +1

            @Protractor: You’ve just proven my exact point. An ethical operator will have a system that keeps jobs flowing and won’t have a car sitting at a workshop for 8 days for a stone chip that will take no more than a single day to repair. I’m well aware of labor shortages and similar, but at the end of the day a business should be slightly more organised than taking a car for 8 days for a 1 day job.

            • Protractor on 18/02/2025 - 12:36

              @EFC94: It won't be sitting doing nothing for 8 days.There's multiple processes,and if a drying booth is required it waits until it gets a gap.Do you really think paint,etch, primer and filler are all instant dry, fully hardened in a day?
              You keep stressing you have insider info?
              Where are you getting it's a one day job from?

  • Boioioioi on 18/02/2025 - 10:10
    +1

    I'd pay the $870 rather than your excess. If you make an insurance claim your premiums will go up more than the $170 difference.

    • Weisman on 18/02/2025 - 11:23

      yeah this is my concern.

      • Boioioioi on 18/02/2025 - 12:07

        8 days sounds reasonable. Thats not how long it took to fix the car, its how long the other person did not have their car. They maybe dropped car off at bodyshop, bodyshop had other work to do before they got around to fixing it.

  • Bruceflix on 18/02/2025 - 10:11

    The tiny dot is irrelevant. The whole panel/door needs to be considered. That said, 8 days?! 2-3 tops if painting the whole door and drying time. Still, ~$800 is cheap for an insurance job.

  • Protractor on 18/02/2025 - 10:12

    Repairing 'a tiny dot' is not like doing an oil change . That's an ignorant assumption.
    Panel beaters don't drop everything and work on one job from start to finish. Your car is not special. It cycles through processes and in a busy workshop 8 days is not over the top at all. If every minor job was pushed out in a day, this forum would be littered with sob stories of shit repair standards.Bottom line is you're joining a queue and no business is going to have instant results.
    It's an expensive lesson, sure, but teach the kids at this point that other peoples property matters.Walk the talk.

  • djsweet on 18/02/2025 - 10:18

    seems surprisingly reasonable for the repair and 8 days car hire. Unclear why 8 days car hire was necessary though. Surely they could have just taken the car in on the day it was to be repaired. Its not like it was in non-drivable condition.

    • Jaduqimon on 18/02/2025 - 10:26
      -1

      what if the innocent victim is only available on saturdays to drop the car off and needs a car during the week?

  • JIMB0 on 18/02/2025 - 11:12

    Tell them to send the letter of demand to your 4 year old.

  • apple2016 on 18/02/2025 - 11:34

    $870 for the repair and 8 days hire car cost

    The hire car is only needed for the days the car is in the body shop. this could just be 2-3 days max.

    • Protractor on 18/02/2025 - 12:37

      could just be 2-3 days max.

      Until we know, we'll never know.

      It might even be cheaper to hire a car for a full week, than for 3 days.

  • Weisman on 18/02/2025 - 16:49
    +2

    Update: I contacted RACV and they agreed to reduce the rental car by 3 days bringing the total cost down to $650. Can't say it's perfect but I save the no claim on my comprehensive and can move on. Thought this outcome would be worth sharing here in case someone gets in a similar situation, appreciate all the posts.

  • Muppet Detector on 18/02/2025 - 20:23
    -1

    Sometimes I get little paint chips on my car and my dad just polishes it out. It sort of takes the paint that is still there and gently wipes it over the affected area in a circular motion.

  • Darayus on 19/02/2025 - 11:23
    +1

    Hi,

    Just invest on this
    https://www.temu.com/ul/kuiper/un9.html?subj=goods-un-v2&_bg…

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/403823251031?_trkparms=amclksrc%…

    this will ensure you don't hit it again next time.

    It may look little off but worth saving for future expensive repairs to someone car or even to your door if your friends or relatives open door wide and hit the wall or pillar in the car park to exit.

    • pjbargain15 on 19/02/2025 - 21:11

      If everyone installs them, then yes it may protect some cars to some extent… but if I install on my car, it won't protect it from other jerks from dinging it

      • Darayus on 20/02/2025 - 08:24

        Yes, indeed it will protect you from paying damage to the other party door, the same it happens with the OP in discussion.

        Also our kids and overseas visiting guest has Zero respect to protect anyone property and they keep swinging door fast and high.

  • SYLTB on 19/02/2025 - 17:21

    That's all labour cost. When Ali Express ship-fix-return service commences in the near future, to ship that door to Chayna -fix-return to the sender would cost less than $250 delivered. Those days not far away!

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