Minor Rtc Advice Needed

[Brigante]

I've not had a good day today...

Because of the bank holiday, today was the earliest opportunity I had to go and get my rear springs replaced by my mechanic after they broke last week..

So I'm driving down the A42 from Nottingham heading towards Birmingham/Reditch and I pull back into the inside lane when about a 100yards maybe ahead I see something kicked up off the road surface and come flying at me at speed and hit me with a loud bang while I was traveling at 70mph.

No time to swerve or attempt to avoid it as it happened very quickly. Thought what the #### and pulled into the closest safe place being a lay-by a 100yards or so up.

Got out of the car to have a look at the front end to see this

My fog housing hanging out and a nasty big gash in my bumper

Also in the lay-by was a young couple in an MX5 or similar and they called me over.

Turns out they had narrowly avoided an accident with the same flying object and said it appeared to be a long plank or 2x4 wood or similar.

They told me how they had just about managed to swerve it while it was on the road surface and quickly pulled in the lay-by to phone the authorities/relevant party to tell them there's some debris dangerously in the lane and needs to be retrieved as it's going to cause an accident..

Unfortunately for me a lorry appeared to have went over it and kicked it up in the air so that it came flying at me.

I can't help but think if it had hit me a foot higher, at the speed and force it came at me it would have been straight through my windscreen and I wouldn't be here typing this post.

Also if it had of hit the MX5 they would definitely be brown bread as it is a lot lower down than my mondeo so it would of hit them smack in the windscreen and to make it worse they had the convertible top down.

The young chap who phoned it in gave me his name and phone number in case I need him to be a witness in any claim I need to make and he gave me some sort of reference number 282 that he was given when he phoned up. 282 doesn't sound much of a reference number though and I'm not sure what it means?

He also advised I phone the police to report it and get a number for my incident

After phoning 101, getting bounced to the switchboard, then to Warwickshire police then to Leicester and having to explain what happened 4 times, I was in the end told nothing could be done over the phone as no one was hurt and it was only an accident and not a crime or anything.

I was advised to walk into my local station to give a statement and get a log number that way, I intend to do that tomorrow.

My issue now is I have a gaping big hole the front bumper of my new car that I've only had 4 months, my warranty ran out last month (not that I could claim on it anyway) and I some how need to repair it.

My options are;

-Phone insurance up, which will most likely rape my premium and kill my 3 years NCB (annoyingly my policy is up for renewal in the next 6 days and I've just had a good quote)

-Don't tell insurance, get the bumper repaired some how, plastic welding and filler? as well as resprayed and stump up the cash myself

-Source a used bumper on eBay which will most likely be a standard mk4 bumper so I'll have to transfer over my x sport grills/fogs and glue on the front lip too, again stumping up the cash myself

Thing is I could really do without paying for this myself as I'm being messed about by work and not had any in the last two months so it's an expense I could do without. But then I could do without my insurance going up also and I don't see it fair I should have my premium hiked up when I'm not at fault.

Do I have any grounds at all for putting in a claim against someone? If so, who and how?

I know if I'd of hit a nasty pothole and received damage that way I'd be able to claim, but this was a plank of wood left dumped in the road that had most likely fell of the back of a flat bed or similar and hadn't been strapped down properly by some careless eejit.

I do not see why I should have to pay out for receiving damage out of someone else's carelessness but I fear that's exactly what I may have to do.

Long post I know but I am pretty stressed out right now and any advice on what to do now will be muchly appreciated

Thanks in advance

[Ianb]

In order to claim against someone I believe you'd have to find out who owned that piece of wood... which could be extremely difficult; if not impossible.

I'd definitely not consider the insurance company.

It really leaves you with 3 options... patch it or buy a new bumper, or....leave it...for now... temporarily fix it, it'll be ugly as anything and it'll make you irritated everytime you see it, but it might be your best move until you get a few more pennies free to spend.

Glad there were no injuries though!

[Brigante]

Yup I believe going through insurance is not an option as I have a 250quid excess anyway so I'd pretty much have to pay for it either way, insurer might toss me a couple quid towards it n take my NCB for the privilege and add a few ton to my next policy for good measure

Been reading comments on random forums off of google where basically the same thing has happened to other people and the general consensus is they was screwed n had to pay out

One comment stood out though, and that was that if flying debris hit you and damaged your vehicle your outa luck, but if someone else reported it and the highways agency failed to come and remove it and it then went on to damage a vehicle, then the damaged party Would have a chance of a claim .

Which in my case I know it was reported and have the contact details for the witness who reported it. Does this give me any hope of a claim or am I still outa luck?

[JC600]

I had this a few years ago with a tyre carcass from a wagon. 4x4 drove straight over it and it went straight into the front of my Type R damaging the bumper. Rang highways agency and reported it, as there were cameras on the road. A week later they got back to me saying after checking the cameras, no wagons or other vehicles had a tyre blow out, so ended up paying for it myself.

[pragmatix]

Also had a failed claim on a pothole as nobody had reported it, there was no one to blame cost me the thick end of £600 for wheel and suspension

[Brigante]

Why is there nothing in place to cover the costs of things like this?

Why should we have to pay out for damage to our vehicles because some careless idiot has left the road surface in a dangerous condition

[JackR]

I had to waste £100 getting mine sorted because some halfwit shoved a trolley into it.

It's frustrating that we have to pay for some other idiot's mistake

[MONDEO TXS 2.2]

Life's a beach sometimes . . .

[Brigante]

Crudely patched it up for now with gaffa tape :(

Can anyone recommend the most cost effective way/easiest way of repairing it back to its former beauty?

I think my options are;

-Repair current bumper and respray it

-Purchase a new aftermarket bumper and spray it and transfer over grills, fogs and front lip, these two seem to be the best contenders

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-MONDEO-2007-2011-Front-Bumper-Primed-With-Headlight-Lamp-Wash-With-PDC-/400692217658?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d4b1e073a

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAND-NEW-FORD-MONDEO-FRONT-BUMPER-2007-2010-MK4-/291150595076?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&fits=Car+Make%3AFord|Model%3AMondeo&hash=item43c9ed8404

-Purchased a used bumper and transfer bits over, this one is ready in right colour and already has the front lip attached but it will still need some sort of respray

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-MONDEO-MK4-FRONT-BUMPER-TITANIUM-X-SKIRT-GENUINE-FORD-PART-3-/121545400390?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c4caba046

Whichever road I go down it looks certain the bumper will need a respray, so bearing that in mind, which will be the most cost effective route?

Also need to bear in mind that if I get the current bumper repaired I'll most likely have to leave the car at a body shop for a day or two as I wont be able to drive it while the bumper is off.

So unless I know I'll be able to go without the car for a few days I'll potentially have to hire a car at an extra cost

[JackR]

Whatever bumper you respray, you're looking at about £150.

Personally, I'd get a quote for how much a repair would cost and compare it to how much buying, shipping and spraying new parts would cost.

[jeebowhite]

I would report it ad technically an offence had been committed where someone has travelled with an unsecured loan. As such you could claim repairs and coats from them, so if you repair it yourself, keep all receipts.

Sorry to hear of it though fella, I would have been gutted if that was me.

My opinion, buy a close match colour and I'd needs be get it blended, but just replace the front wing. Repairing a bumper is not the answer with damage like that. It won't look the same again and it's forever going to haunt you seeing what had happened.

Follow it up with police and highways mate, someone might call in they saw a bad load on a delivery Van. If the company was hauling two by fours ad can't prove every one arrived safe they could be held accountable.

[MartynS]

someone has travelled with an unsecured loan. As such you could claim repairs and coats from them,

So if you go out for a drive while having an unsecured loan you may have to give someone your coat? Got to love autocorrect!

[jeebowhite]

Damn autocorrect indeed. I'm sure you have all worked out I meant load, it if you hadn't, I will clarify this after court hearing.... I was caught driving with an unsecured loan....

[Brigante]

The chances of finding out what moron dropped the wood are extremely slim to none exisitant so making a claim against them is next to impossible.

I'm gonna have to try n walk into my local cop shop later today n report it

[Brigante]

I think my best option is probably gonna be purchase a new none genuine front bumper in primer n get it sprayed then transfer the bits over.

I will have to heat off the x sport lip and glue it onto the new bumper

What I'm tempted to also do is remove the grills n fog surrounds to take to the spray shop too n have them sprayed as I planned to take them off at some point anyway to have them stealthified.

Just means I will have to drive round with the mondeo looking even more minging for a few dayw with the lower grill missing and the front fogs missing

[Ianb]

I think it's just one of those things... The police can catch and fine someone with an unsecured load, but it's much like speeding, unless they see it, there isn't much they can do....

Stone chips get me!! No one to blame just another part of motoring :(

[Brigante]

Stone chips are bladi horrible too.

Had a bad one hit me when I had the focus n had to have it repaired n the mondeo already has one from previous owner thats right in middle of drivers view n its been previously repaired. Also few days into owning mondeo big one pinged off front bumper taking some paint with it.

A beam of wood at least a metre in length flying through the air at you at a high rate of knotts while your doing 70 towards it is a bit more severe though

Is repairing the bumper definitely not a good option? I thought these days bodyshops could work magic with plastic welding and make the damage disapear

[jeebowhite]

They can but the cost of doing the full job can be much higher and given its the focal point of air resistance, its got to be done right, and if it's not...

You can drive around without a bumper though

You must ensure that there's no protruding or sharp points of the crossbar which can cause injury to others, taping them up or as I did previously, taping tea towels over them stops the risk and you can drive the vehicle.

[Brigante]

My insurance policy includes legal cover in the form of 'uninsured loss recovery'

Would this be usable in claiming back costs incurred in repairing the damage caused in this incident or am I still out of luck because there is no one to claim against as the twonk you didn't secure his load won't be found?

[jeebowhite]

Probably wouldn't work mate, best thing to do is call and ask

[Brigante]

Is it worth buying a none oem new front bumper in primer? Seller assures me its proper plastic like the oem bumper just doesnt have ford stamped on it. Is it likely to be of proper quality?

None oem is 70quid where as oem talking over 200.

Option B is a used bumper for about 100quid but the only suitable one i can find right now with no damage is silver so I wouldnt want any silver potentially showing through the spray job later on

[jeebowhite]

For the price and his assurances, go for the non oem if you don't want to be wasting money. The other silver would need to be sanded down to plastic then primed, then painted. Silver showing through wouldn't be a problem. But it would be more cost

[Meercat]

My Daughter had a similar instance with a fox, the fox won. She went online and got the exact bumper and same colour for £120 delivered, there are quite a few outlets that have bumpers for our cars without having to go down the supply from Ford route

[jeebowhite]

Even the likes of euro car parts do bodywork and we get a discount

[Brigante]

Going to a dealer was never going to be an option due to silly high prices

Euro car parts is also out as even with a tiny club discount I'm talking over 150quid

I think my best option will be the silver used bumper as the seller says theres no damage to it, it'll be genuine, it has the mounting brackets intact so it will save transferring my current ones over and it also comes with a lower grill

So when it comes to getting it resprayed, I'll put my sports grill on it to get it sprayed at the same time and put the standard grill temporarily on the mondy just so I dont have to drive round with a gaping hole in the front for a few days

Then when I've finally got the new bumper back n fitted I'll have a spare grill to sell on to recoup a couple quid