Damage report

J sent the car in to PML (Performance Motors Limited, the BMW/Mini dealer in Singapore) at Alexandra today for a damage inspection and repair quote. Diagnosis: bonnet dented, bonnet stripe dented, black moulding dented and scratched. I was shocked when I heard that the repair works would come up to in excess of $900!

The other driver (let's call him KC) was equally shocked by the amount when I called him. KC was busy with a client at the time, so he said he'd call back in the evening to discuss.

Here's a pic of the visible damage, colour levels adjusted for details:



The orange oval on the right shows the bonnet out of alignment with the bumper. In the oval on the left, you can see where the dent distorts the generally smooth reflection of the floor tiles.

During a chat with my insurance people, they advised that outside settlement would be the best recourse for both parties. Via the insurance claim route, KC's insurance company would probably raise his premiums for the next couple of years, and we would have to go through a lengthy investigation/resolution process to settle the whole thing.

Because of the way our motor insurance companies operate, I'm fairly worried that it won't be a quick settlement at all. My car is just over half a year old, and still under warranty from PML. In order to keep that warranty, all body works during the warranty period must be carried out by PML. Now, my insurance policy will cover repairs performed by PML, but I'll need to claim against my own insurance.

Which is silly, because for $900+ of claims for an accident where my car was stationary, my own insurance premiums will go up.

Now, if I were to claim against KC's insurance, his insurer will insist that I get the repairs done at any of their own authorised workshops. Meaning a cheaper workshop (definitely not PML's) which will end up trying to repair rather than replace damaged parts, whether feasible or no. Which will void my warranty with PML, and leave me with a non-guaranteed, less-than-perfect repair job.

Very yuan wang (loosely translated from Chinese: wronged the innocent bystander), as VW likes to say.

Any way I look at it, I stand to lose. Wonderful.