Firework Landed on My Car and Dented Roof
Discussion
What would you do, if anything.
A house opposite let off four large fireworks for New Year. I was in the driveway unloading some luggage from my car. I watched the rocket go up, and debris fell all around. A large piece of debris from one of the fireworks landed on the roof of my car and has left a noticeable dent. Do I just suck it up and move on? I can’t see that anything can be done but it’s pretty frustrating.
A house opposite let off four large fireworks for New Year. I was in the driveway unloading some luggage from my car. I watched the rocket go up, and debris fell all around. A large piece of debris from one of the fireworks landed on the roof of my car and has left a noticeable dent. Do I just suck it up and move on? I can’t see that anything can be done but it’s pretty frustrating.
Geertsen said:
What would you do, if anything.
A house opposite let off four large fireworks for New Year. I was in the driveway unloading some luggage from my car. I watched the rocket go up, and debris fell all around. A large piece of debris from one of the fireworks landed on the roof of my car and has left a noticeable dent. Do I just suck it up and move on? I can t see that anything can be done but it s pretty frustrating.
How bad's the dent? How well do you know your neighbours? What's the relationship like? All questions that need exploring.A house opposite let off four large fireworks for New Year. I was in the driveway unloading some luggage from my car. I watched the rocket go up, and debris fell all around. A large piece of debris from one of the fireworks landed on the roof of my car and has left a noticeable dent. Do I just suck it up and move on? I can t see that anything can be done but it s pretty frustrating.
If it can be pushed out from inside or is a negligible cost, I'd probably do that. If it needs claiming on insurance, maybe start considering some options. It might be worth sensitively bringing it up with them and seeing if they offer to foot the cost - how reasonable are they?
I think this is one of those “this is what insurance is for” scenarios. You have the mechanism to get the damage fixed. The question is simply whether you can live with the dent or not. I cannot see anyway the neighbour is on the hook, unless he was setting off commercial grade fireworks with a specified safe zone. I doubt letting off domestic fireworks in the scenario you describe could be considered wilfully negligent.
But I would be incredibly pissed off if I were in your position. I f
king despise domestic fireworks.
But I would be incredibly pissed off if I were in your position. I f
king despise domestic fireworks. It’s going to be extremely difficult to prove that it was your neighbours fireworks, even though you know for sure. Personally I would have a quiet word with them and see how they react. I would not want to increase my premium for something that was not of my doing. Failing that I would be calling the local dent removal company.
I had similar, the neighbours 3 doors up let off some fireworks, went out the front yesterday morning and saw the stick of a rocket behind my M3. The roof and boot lid were covered in a red powder as was OHs Clubman, washed it all off and hopefully no harm done.
In your case, as said depends what your neighbour is like, knuckle dragger or reasonable? If the former, he’ll probably deny it all , if the latter, see what he says, maybe offer to go 50/50 on any repair?
It’s now been two days since the incident, so you can’t leave it too much longer if you are going to approach him.
In your case, as said depends what your neighbour is like, knuckle dragger or reasonable? If the former, he’ll probably deny it all , if the latter, see what he says, maybe offer to go 50/50 on any repair?
It’s now been two days since the incident, so you can’t leave it too much longer if you are going to approach him.
Robertb said:
It you can prove that it was the fireworks debris then definitely tell them and look to them for payment.
Why should you lose your excess, NCB and get your premium loaded in future?
A PDR guy might be able to improve it for minimum £
He can't prove it. And even if he could, I can't see that the neighbour was negligent. You can ask the neighbour for a voluntary contribution to the costs. The reason he should lose his excess, NCB and get a loaded premium in the future will be because he's claiming for damage to his car that there's no one else to hold responsible for. Just like vandalism, storm damage, hit whilst parked by an unknown tp etc.etc. Why should you lose your excess, NCB and get your premium loaded in future?
A PDR guy might be able to improve it for minimum £
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Robertb said:
It you can prove that it was the fireworks debris then definitely tell them and look to them for payment.
Why should you lose your excess, NCB and get your premium loaded in future?
A PDR guy might be able to improve it for minimum £
He can't prove it. And even if he could, I can't see that the neighbour was negligent. You can ask the neighbour for a voluntary contribution to the costs. The reason he should lose his excess, NCB and get a loaded premium in the future will be because he's claiming for damage to his car that there's no one else to hold responsible for. Just like vandalism, storm damage, hit whilst parked by an unknown tp etc.etc. Why should you lose your excess, NCB and get your premium loaded in future?
A PDR guy might be able to improve it for minimum £
The OP will have one hell of a job
A. Proving that it was from the neighbour and
B. Proving negligence.
Claim on insurance, pay out of pocket for dent removal, or live with it, unfortunately appear to be their options.
Thank you all for the replies.
To answer some questions, I have never met or even seen the neighbour because we haven’t lived here very long. The dent in the roof is similar to a parking door ding so not a crater but is clearly visible when you approach the car. Somehow I would be surprised if the fireworks were domestic grade as I have never experienced this kind of debris. You could hear the pieces showering down on the street (hitting roof tiles, cars, pavement, etc) with each firework, it was pretty odd.
The mention that it’s been three days now is a very good point and is something that I am conscious of and the delay is down to me ‘trying to get over it’ but it’s still bugging the hell out of me. Also struggling to see how it can be rectified due to the dent location.
It it a massive job accessing the roof panel for a paintless dent removal technician due to the roof lining?
To answer some questions, I have never met or even seen the neighbour because we haven’t lived here very long. The dent in the roof is similar to a parking door ding so not a crater but is clearly visible when you approach the car. Somehow I would be surprised if the fireworks were domestic grade as I have never experienced this kind of debris. You could hear the pieces showering down on the street (hitting roof tiles, cars, pavement, etc) with each firework, it was pretty odd.
The mention that it’s been three days now is a very good point and is something that I am conscious of and the delay is down to me ‘trying to get over it’ but it’s still bugging the hell out of me. Also struggling to see how it can be rectified due to the dent location.
It it a massive job accessing the roof panel for a paintless dent removal technician due to the roof lining?
Geertsen said:
Thank you all for the replies.
To answer some questions, I have never met or even seen the neighbour because we haven t lived here very long. The dent in the roof is similar to a parking door ding so not a crater but is clearly visible when you approach the car. Somehow I would be surprised if the fireworks were domestic grade as I have never experienced this kind of debris. You could hear the pieces showering down on the street (hitting roof tiles, cars, pavement, etc) with each firework, it was pretty odd.
The mention that it s been three days now is a very good point and is something that I am conscious of and the delay is down to me trying to get over it but it s still bugging the hell out of me. Also struggling to see how it can be rectified due to the dent location.
It it a massive job accessing the roof panel for a paintless dent removal technician due to the roof lining?
PDR people don't always need to get inside the panel to effect a repair. If they do, they are very creative and you have access via things like the interior lights. I've had dents in car roofs removed several times.To answer some questions, I have never met or even seen the neighbour because we haven t lived here very long. The dent in the roof is similar to a parking door ding so not a crater but is clearly visible when you approach the car. Somehow I would be surprised if the fireworks were domestic grade as I have never experienced this kind of debris. You could hear the pieces showering down on the street (hitting roof tiles, cars, pavement, etc) with each firework, it was pretty odd.
The mention that it s been three days now is a very good point and is something that I am conscious of and the delay is down to me trying to get over it but it s still bugging the hell out of me. Also struggling to see how it can be rectified due to the dent location.
It it a massive job accessing the roof panel for a paintless dent removal technician due to the roof lining?
Just photograph it and send it to one of them and they'll quote/or won't.
Unreal said:
PDR people don't always need to get inside the panel to effect a repair. If they do, they are very creative and you have access via things like the interior lights. I've had dents in car roofs removed several times.
Just photograph it and send it to one of them and they'll quote/or won't.
Interesting, I’ll do that. Thank you.Just photograph it and send it to one of them and they'll quote/or won't.
Geertsen said:
That was meant to be:
Is it a massive job accessing the roof panel for a paintless dent removal technician due to the roof lining?
Might be possible for an expert to use glue sticks to pull out or indeed access via the door pillar rubbers and by using a long rod like device. Is it a massive job accessing the roof panel for a paintless dent removal technician due to the roof lining?
Either way worth a call / photo to your nearest one.
I’ve used them twice for small dents on brand new cars and each time the repair took less than 30 minutes and was impossible to tell afterwards.
One was on the curve of a wheel arch.
These guys are like magicians !
DanL said:
Indeed - wheee there s blame there s a claim, as they used to say. Blame = negligence, and as mentioned earlier in the thread unless the fireworks had some sort of needs X amount of clear space to use type warning on them then I can t see how the neighbour has been negligent
The OP will have one hell of a job
A. Proving that it was from the neighbour and
B. Proving negligence.
Claim on insurance, pay out of pocket for dent removal, or live with it, unfortunately appear to be their options.
I am pretty sure that fireworks have some sort of instruction as to their careful use. Whether you can apportion blame or not, the neighbour needs to know that domestic fireworks come with risks.The OP will have one hell of a job
A. Proving that it was from the neighbour and
B. Proving negligence.
Claim on insurance, pay out of pocket for dent removal, or live with it, unfortunately appear to be their options.
Provided the OP could prove what happened (which as we've established isn't straightforward), I'm really not sure about it being difficult to establish that the neighbour was negligent. I seems to me that there's a pretty strong argument that the four elements of negligence - existence of a duty of care, breach of that duty, causation and resulting damage - are all met. In fact the only one where I can see wriggle room is breach of a duty of care - and the argument there seems to be 'well lots of people set off fireworks in built up areas and get away with it so it's alright'. But I'm not sure it is; if you were to walk down the street indiscriminately chucking sticks around and one hit and damaged somebody's car then that would be clear-cut negligence, no doubt about it. I struggle to see how firing sticks into the air with the aid of gunpowder and not giving a toss where they fall down is any different.
One problem is connecting the firework to the damage and the firework to the neighbour.
IF you broach it with the neighbour, they won't know that it was their firework (if it was a firework), and it'd be quite a magnanimous gesture to pay for damage you think they caused and they have no idea of.
You could just bring the event up in conversation with them and see how they react, but otherwise just deal with it yourself unfortunately.
I agree with Twig, upthread.
IF you broach it with the neighbour, they won't know that it was their firework (if it was a firework), and it'd be quite a magnanimous gesture to pay for damage you think they caused and they have no idea of.
You could just bring the event up in conversation with them and see how they react, but otherwise just deal with it yourself unfortunately.
I agree with Twig, upthread.
It wasn't me
What fireworks?
You do realise loads of people were setting them off in a wide radius and it could have fallen from height and trajectory.
Prove it. Go on.
A decent van dent puller will be able to pull it. It'll be £100 no doubt. The only issue is what if they are people who celebrate key dates with fireworks?
What fireworks?
You do realise loads of people were setting them off in a wide radius and it could have fallen from height and trajectory.
Prove it. Go on.
A decent van dent puller will be able to pull it. It'll be £100 no doubt. The only issue is what if they are people who celebrate key dates with fireworks?
You sadly cant prove it was them.
Asking them for any money is not going to work and potentially lead to falling out with your neighbours.
Take it on the chin, much as you dont want to. At least if you commission the repairer you have some control over getting someone decent to do it and not some cheapest of the cheap insurance "approved" one
When it gets near Nov5 or NYE in future get some large foam pads, put them on the roof, bonnet, boot etc then cover the car with a decent cover and it should stop it happening again. AS you dont appear to have a garage
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264125917402
That sort of thing
Asking them for any money is not going to work and potentially lead to falling out with your neighbours.
Take it on the chin, much as you dont want to. At least if you commission the repairer you have some control over getting someone decent to do it and not some cheapest of the cheap insurance "approved" one
When it gets near Nov5 or NYE in future get some large foam pads, put them on the roof, bonnet, boot etc then cover the car with a decent cover and it should stop it happening again. AS you dont appear to have a garage
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264125917402
That sort of thing
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