If you borrow a mates vehicle and damage it

[surrey jim]

Knob his Mum, sharpish.


He'll soon forget about the car.

You pay for the damage, thread closed.

This is most definatly the correct thing to do

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Very similar incident actually happened to me about 30 years ago.
At the time, I used to race motorbikes but didn't have a car license.
Used to put the bike on a trailer and my best mate drove me all over the country to the circuits - I paid the petrol.

Well, one weekend, I was down to race at Brands Hatch and my best mate was away.
So a fellow racer, who was not racing that weekend offered me use of his van.
Another mate who I worked with, offered to drive - sorted !

Anyway, as we were driving out of the circuit [down Scratchers Lane in Kingsdown for those who know it] a car pulled out of a side road and crashed into the van.
No one injured and fella jumped out of his car all very apologetic, sorry mate didn't see you, my mistake, here's my insurance details.
Trouble was, it wrote the van off [another story how we all got home and up to Snetterton for the next day]

So, mates van, not me driving, completly not my fault .... but I did feel obliged.
No way I could afford to replace the van
Insurance all paid up eventually but I never spoke to the van owner again.

I learned a valuable lesson that day ...
Never a lender nor a borower be - so true.

 

[father_and_son]

If you crashed it, it should be your NCB that's stuffed........

Offer to let him claim against your insurance and do the decent thing.

He can't claim on your insurance. Unless you have a motor trade policy, you're only covered comprehensive for the car named on your certificate. If you have "Driving Other Cars" on your policy it will only cover Third Party liabilities (what you hit + your passengers) not Accidental Damage (the car you were driving and yourself).

Frankly this is a no-brainer... you damaged the car... you pay. If you didn't then you should be taken into a alley and have your knee caps removed. If he lets you off then he's a top mate, but you have to offer!

 

[binky]

You bend it... you mend it.
It doesn't matter how it gets mended, except that it be as good or better than when borrowed, and the owner is not inconvenienced or out of pocket in any way.
This is the unwritten law.
If people don't understand this, then perhaps it really should be written down somewhere.

 

[upthealbion1970]

You bend it... you mend it.
It doesn't matter how it gets mended, except that it be as good or better than when borrowed, and the owner is not inconvenienced or out of pocket in any way.
This is the unwritten law.
If people don't understand this, then perhaps it really should be written down somewhere.

It's about how you treat your friends

 

[W.C.]

I'm glad you're not my mate. The fact you're even asking shows you're a shit mate.

I'm guessing the OP has had his car pranged by a 'mate'.

either way, I'd pay. No question.

 

[sully]

It was a any driver policy so he was insured to drive it and he asked to borrow it to save him self hiring a van

Just out of interest, why is it insured for any driver if there isn't the intention to use the insurance if it's needed?

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

He can't claim on your insurance. Unless you have a motor trade policy, you're only covered comprehensive for the car named on your certificate. If you have "Driving Other Cars" on your policy it will only cover Third Party liabilities (what you hit + your passengers) not Accidental Damage (the car you were driving and yourself).

Frankly this is a no-brainer... you damaged the car... you pay. If you didn't then you should be taken into a alley and have your knee caps removed. If he lets you off then he's a top mate, but you have to offer!

I might be sounding a bit thick here but why are the insurance companies allowed to get away with this, and how the hell does a driving instructor cover all his students ?

If the car is dual controlled, he has the means to avoid an accident, but what if someone uninsured crashes into him, and what if the student, sitting in the passenger seat, decides to slam on one of the pedals?

 

[Arthritic Toe]

I dont think this is quite so clear cut actually. If the insurance covers it, use it, but make sure the mate isnt out of pocket in any way. i.e pay the excess + any lost no-claims discount over the next 5 years.

At 700 quid - it may be simpler to just pay up, but what if it were 50 grand? Surely you'd use the insurance.

 

[countryman]

Don't borrow the car if you don't want to pay for any damages you make to it. You did it. You pay for it.

 

[SeagullSongs]

The poll is pretty damning.
If it's your car, get him to pay up.
It it's not your car, pay up.

 

[Triggaaar]

Wow, 68 vs 0. Not even any idiots taking the piss.

 

[father_and_son]

I might be sounding a bit thick here but why are the insurance companies allowed to get away with this, and how the hell does a driving instructor cover all his students ?

If the car is dual controlled, he has the means to avoid an accident, but what if someone uninsured crashes into him, and what if the student, sitting in the passenger seat, decides to slam on one of the pedals?

Its not so much a case of insurance companies "getting away it", more a case of some companies not moving with the times. Many have already stopped giving the cover completely!
If you let someone drive your car, it is YOUR responsibility to be sure they have insurance cover (IN14 - aiding and abetting driving with no insurance is pretty much the same offence as doing it yourself). You take the calculated risk if their cover is minimum legal or fully comprehensive or somewhere inbetween and they have an accident and you need repairs or pay an excess. With 24hr call centres and self-service websites, its fairly easy to get a driver added to your own either permanently or temporarily for [normall] just the admin charges and a small risk premium.

To answer your questions:
A driving instructor has "Any Driver" cover on a special policy, so that anyone, with permission, can drive in relation to his/her business as a driving instructor. These are specialist contracts and not the same as yours or my cover - and dual controls will be taken into account in the policy.

The police HATE "any driver" and "DoC" [Driving other cars] because it means that they have to do more paperwork when dealing with a routine stop. They have been trying for years to stop insurance companies offering these covers and have done a pretty good job of doing away with them amongst the "new" comapnies but lots of the old guard still want to offer the benefit.

The insurance companies won't offer fully comp cover on a DoC because its so open to abuse. For example, lets assume I own a Mini, a Porsche, a Ferrari and a high spec Range Rover... I transfer all but the Mini into someone else's name (my wife say) and then just insure the Mini (at a really low premium) on a contract with DoC. The insurance company don't want to be exposed to the risk of having to repair my [wife's] Porsche, Ferrari and Range Rover if I crash them, when I've only paid a couple of hundred to insure a Mini. But if I cause an accident and damage someone else's car then it doesn't really make much difference what I was driving because the costs are all about what I hit. I can only drive one car at a time so there's no extra risk if I'm in a different one to my insurance is for.
Therefore I can have my third party liability covers (what makes it legal for me to drive) if its someone else's car but not the extra benefits of comprehensive without any real cost to the insurance company (ie all the other policy holders).

If I was a Motor Trader then I can get a special policy which will cover me to drive ANY car with all the benefits of comprehensive, but, like the driving instructor cover, this is a specialist contract and not the same as yours or mine.

 

[worthingseagull123]

Everyone would offer to pay.

Decent fans we are all.

 

[34064 Fighter Command]

Its not so much a case of insurance companies "getting away it", more a case of some companies not moving with the times. Many have already stopped giving the cover completely!
If you let someone drive your car, it is YOUR responsibility to be sure they have insurance cover (IN14 - aiding and abetting driving with no insurance is pretty much the same offence as doing it yourself). You take the calculated risk if their cover is minimum legal or fully comprehensive or somewhere inbetween and they have an accident and you need repairs or pay an excess. With 24hr call centres and self-service websites, its fairly easy to get a driver added to your own either permanently or temporarily for [normall] just the admin charges and a small risk premium.

To answer your questions:
A driving instructor has "Any Driver" cover on a special policy, so that anyone, with permission, can drive in relation to his/her business as a driving instructor. These are specialist contracts and not the same as yours or my cover - and dual controls will be taken into account in the policy.

The police HATE "any driver" and "DoC" [Driving other cars] because it means that they have to do more paperwork when dealing with a routine stop. They have been trying for years to stop insurance companies offering these covers and have done a pretty good job of doing away with them amongst the "new" comapnies but lots of the old guard still want to offer the benefit.

The insurance companies won't offer fully comp cover on a DoC because its so open to abuse. For example, lets assume I own a Mini, a Porsche, a Ferrari and a high spec Range Rover... I transfer all but the Mini into someone else's name (my wife say) and then just insure the Mini (at a really low premium) on a contract with DoC. The insurance company don't want to be exposed to the risk of having to repair my [wife's] Porsche, Ferrari and Range Rover if I crash them, when I've only paid a couple of hundred to insure a Mini. But if I cause an accident and damage someone else's car then it doesn't really make much difference what I was driving because the costs are all about what I hit. I can only drive one car at a time so there's no extra risk if I'm in a different one to my insurance is for.
Therefore I can have my third party liability covers (what makes it legal for me to drive) if its someone else's car but not the extra benefits of comprehensive without any real cost to the insurance company (ie all the other policy holders).

If I was a Motor Trader then I can get a special policy which will cover me to drive ANY car with all the benefits of comprehensive, but, like the driving instructor cover, this is a specialist contract and not the same as yours or mine.

Thanks for that as it also explains why I have to pay a further insurance premium to drive a hire car rather than my own ( ok I admit don't actually own a car so I've never had to deal with the technicalities of who gets covered for what ).