Am I an idiot?

£260 for a clear conscience is very reasonable.

OK you didn't want to spend the money, but karma being what it is you will somehow get that money back or at the very least someone decent to hand when you need them.

Car repairs are pricey so I don't think she is having you on, check your insurance you may have gone for the not losing your no claims bonus in the event of a claim, which would mean that you could go that route and lose nothing if your excess is 200 and her claim 260.

Doing the right thing is seldom cheap, which is why so few people other but wouldn't it be nicer if we all did?

No, you are not an idiot and as everyone has said, you did the right thing.

I am wondering if you perhaps use a local garage, i.e. not a main dealer, or know of one with a good reputation? As you will be paying the bill, I think it would be reasonable for you to request the lady concerned takes her car to the garage you have selected, for another quotation. It may be lower.........

It's that stomach churning feeling when you have a bang in your car.

I was taking DS to college on his last day, of all days, and they have a turning circle but it has great big stone boulders around the inside circle. I caught one of the stones, a crunching sound, oh no, my beautiful new car! Disability car too. I was as sick as a dog when I got home. I phoned the disability number and reported it but was told if it was only cosmetic to leave it alone and not repair it. It would go against me on my insurance for further cars if I claimed, which I obviously do not want. It was the day before my birthday too. I sat and beat myself up about it for a few days but now I have bought an "Ouch" sticker to put over the dent/scratches. Not funny really, but if I can't do anything about it but try to be more careful, I might as well have a sense of humour about it, like Phoenix, no one was hurt which is the main thing.

Oh dear, hope things are not too bad now and that next week is better and brings some

I do wish I had been able to take a photo of her car.

Deep down I don't think she is trying it on, but then I do usually try to think the best of people, and of course I'm putting my hand up, but could really do with minimum expense currently.

Oh well, it has been a bloody crap week, so can only hope next week is better!

At least you are honest phoenix even if it will cost you

Someone left a little note on my car once, it said that they had seen someone bump my car when trying to park in a parking space, then go and park at the other end of the car park! They wrote down the car number, but I never got anywhere as it belonged to a large firm and was one of their fleet cars and they just would not do anything about it despite me trying.
It was a notch out of the side of the bumper, not too bad but very annoying.

I had a similar shunt in a supermarket car park when my car was still reasonably new, Both cars backing out and we ' kissed" bumpers. Anyway, being a good sort I agreed to exchange details. My car could hardly be seen to have any damage, apart from a scuff, hers was an old banger with many and varied war wounds. The insurance decided it was 50/50, but I was so cross as I definitely think she was trying it on. Unfortunately I didn't have a phone camera back then.

I was cleaning out the car (an annual job!) and accidently opened the door into my neighbours car. No damage to mine and a teeny dent in her door. She came round with a quote for £90 to fix it. That was a year ago and she still hasn't got round to getting it done. I suppose I'll get a bill one day.

We scraped our car driving into the garage and DH dented the same area falling of a ladder (don't ask). It cost us £500 in a small repair place. Would have been £1000 in the main dealers. These sums aren't worth claiming on the insurance.

One dark and stormy night while builders were in next door with many vans, DH reversed out of our drive into the back of a black van which he just didn't see-it was a foul night! It seemed to be just the light broken but, oh no, paintwork too!
anyway that cost us £250-gulp!
I agree you just have to honest and Hoover it up as they say.
My dear sister got into her car at the supermarket when she heard a noise at the back of her car so got out to be approached by a woman from her car nearby-she got the impression that she jolly well knew she'd hit sister's car with her trolley and was just going to drive off. They both checked car and found a bump. The other lady said she hadn't done it, it could have been done any time. Dear sister said well doesn't look like we're going to agree at which point other lady hopped smartly into her car and drove off!

If it's a respray of a side panel it is probably about right, and somewhere else could be even more expensive.

I 'bumped into someone' in the car park when I had just started a new job; because I was new I didn't argue that we had both been going for the same space at the same time, me going in forwards and him reversing very fast indeed.
He decided it was definitely my fault! and said it was probably only his number plate that needed replacing, then came back and said I had done £250 worth of damage. I meekly paid up to save any hassle.

All in all, you did the right thing and she is probably not taking advantage of you.

No, you're not an idiot, you're an honest person with nothing to feel bad about

I don't think the other driver is trying to make a fool of you. Our car was scraped recently and we had it repaired at a garage we trust. The bill was around £300, the same as our excess, and both facts came as a shock to me We didn't have a note under our windscreen, so had to pay up ourselves. And that's the last time I ever let DH sort out the car insurance renewal...

Phoenix She might not be trying it on. My neighbour ran into the side of my car while reversing down his drive. He had little damage but my car needed £500 of repairs. It depends on what part of the car hits what. More than one panel needed to be repaired. Like you he owned up immediately.
On another occasion a lady hit my car in sainsbury's carpark and waited for me to come out to exhange details. She paid for the repairs. Again I would not have noticed the damage, a scrape in this instance, and would not have known how or where it happened by the time I did.
These examples of doing the right thing have really humbled me. If I am ever in the same situation I will do as you did and take the cost on the chin.

I think you were absolutely right to do what you did - I expect a lot of people have got back to their cars to find damaged paintwork, or worse. It is very upsetting and more so because you know that someone has deliberately evaded owning up and paying. Well done to you for being honest.

I suppose it's possible that the lady in question has got a genuine estimate - having paintwork sorted out can be very expensive.

Most insurance companies give you a hire car for the duration of the repair, two weeks when I wrote my Astra off a couple of years ago.

Try ChipsAway for a second quote: www.chipsaway.co.uk/ They tend to be a bit cheaper.

A lady did this to me when I was parking at a hospital - I watched her do it - she just took the turn a bit too wide. I could not have stopped her. She had loads on her mind as her OH was very ill. It turned out her son was a ChipsAway guy, so it all got sorted. Poor lady.

You did of course do the right thing in fessing up. But it is chilling to think that insurance company funded repairs get a higher quote. No wonder premiums are so high.

shit things happen. Don't blame yourself. No one was hurt that's the main thing. The Monday after I had my horrible news I pranged my car in the works car park, I did the same thing in the same place the next day! I've been parking there for years. I think our spatial awareness goes array when we're upset. What ever your bad news was I hope it's not too awful and sympathy

Thanks again, she did mention something about that quote was if I was paying, it would be different if it went through the insurance don't quite get that?

Anyway, as the excess on my insurance is £200, then we won't be going down that route!

The company may have included the cost of a loan car, most do.
I'm sorry for you, but if it's your fault, not a lot you can say.

Thank you all for the responses, I do try to adopt the "do as you would be done by" thing, however it goes completely out of the window over certain things, like who should have the left over cold sausage, which I might just casually eat whilst clearing up!

She probably thinks you'll claim on your insurance so isn't bothered about getting a lower quote. You did the right thing though!

You might want to suggest that the garage sends you the bill when the work is done, phoenix That way you'll know the woman is not pocketing the money and doing a quick touch up job herself.

I guess, if she had someone repair it with T-cut or the like, it could lower the value of her car. She would want to have it done properly.

Ah. You've seen the estimate. It's a bugger, but you will have to pay up.