DCM Ran Into My Garage Door

[mrsp'slilpeeps]

She pulled into my driveway and forgot to put her van in park, turned around to talk to DCB and took her foot off the brake and blam right into the door. Now it wont stay closed.

Hubby called a garage door company in town and said it will cost $800 to replace the 2 bent panels or $1500 to just replace the whole door.

My husband wants the whole door replaced. Im not sure how to tell her this. She said she would pay to have it fixed, im not sure she will for a new door.

WWYD?

[Luna]

I would call a couple more places and see if they have a better price. If hubby wants it replaced you could let DCM pay the cost of repairs and pay the difference yourself.

[itlw8]

depending on how old the door is they may not be able to match it. Also it may have faded. If it it can be fixed nicely I would do that but it it does not exactly match I would want a new door.

Dh did that and replaced the panel himself . It was not hard to bo and matched nicely. But was still expensive.

[itlw8]

I would call a couple more places and see if they have a better price. If hubby wants it replaced you could let DCM pay the cost of repairs and pay the difference yourself.

It has to be the same brand to match unless it is replaced. Will her auto ins pay for it?

[Lucy]

Check with your homeowners insurance and see how much you can get there. I really wouldn't charge her more than the $800. Any upgrade to that is your call. What a bummer, though. It's an awkward situation, I'm sure!

[MissAnn]

She pulled into my driveway and forgot to put her van in park, turned around to talk to DCB and took her foot off the brake and blam right into the door. Now it wont stay closed.

Hubby called a garage door company in town and said it will cost $800 to replace the 2 bent panels or $1500 to just replace the whole door.

My husband wants the whole door replaced. Im not sure how to tell her this. She said she would pay to have it fixed, im not sure she will for a new door.

WWYD?

My DH is a garage door installer.....too bad you live so far away. Won't your insurance pay? Didn't DCM offer to pay? I would!

[Lucy]

It has to be the same brand to match unless it is replaced. Will her auto ins pay for it?

Oh yes, that too. I had thought of your homeowners, but maybe her car ins might be better to check with first. It should be under her "property damage" coverage.

[Blackcat31]

I would either have the DCM claim it on her auto insurance or have her pay your home owners deductible.

I do not think it's right though to have her pay for an entire door replacement if only part of it requires repairing.

If it's not possible to repair and you HAVE to replace, that is different but I don't think you should be able to just decide to get a new door and charge her for it all.

[dalman]

I wouldn't submit it to my homeowners insurance, because any kind of a claim, unless an act of God, is going to affect your insurance rates. DCM did it, she needs to handle the payment for it, not your insurance. I would only charge her what it would cost to get it back in its condition before she hit it. It DH wants a new door, that's fine, but you should pay the difference. It might not be a bad idea, cause half of the cost will be covered by DCM. Just my opinion.

[MissAnn]

If you know of a garage door installer, he might be able to do side work to help with the cost. Also, many have spare sections from doors taken down. My husband has helped people this way. We have a shed with some spare parts stored in it.

[Heidi]

Personally, I would call your insurance agent and let them handle it. They will most likely go after mom's insurance, but that's their job to deal with. Mom should then cover any deductible out of pocket.

[MissAnn]

What do you mean by.....it won't stay closed? Is it a problem with the electic eye that may be out of alignment?

[Blackcat31]

I wouldn't submit it to my homeowners insurance, because any kind of a claim, unless an act of God, is going to affect your insurance rates. DCM did it, she needs to handle the payment for it, not your insurance. I would only charge her what it would cost to get it back in its condition before she hit it. It DH wants a new door, that's fine, but you should pay the difference. It might not be a bad idea, cause half of the cost will be covered by DCM. Just my opinion.

That depends on your insurance company.

I filed a claim for some thing similar that happened at my daycare because of a daycare parent and my rates never changed.

We also had a water leak a while back that we filed a claim on too (so that's two claims in 18 months) and my rates have not changed.

[daycarediva]

I would call a couple more places and see if they have a better price. If hubby wants it replaced you could let DCM pay the cost of repairs and pay the difference yourself.

This is a great solution!

I would either have the DCM claim it on her auto insurance or have her pay your home owners deductible.

I do not think it's right though to have her pay for an entire door replacement if only part of it requires repairing.

If it's not possible to repair and you HAVE to replace, that is different but I don't think you should be able to just decide to get a new door and charge her for it all.

This is what I would do, get Mom to claim it on her ins, if that's not possible or they won't cover it, I would have her pay my deductible.

[MarinaVanessa]

She pulled into my driveway and forgot to put her van in park, turned around to talk to DCB and took her foot off the brake and blam right into the door. Now it wont stay closed.

Hubby called a garage door company in town and said it will cost $800 to replace the 2 bent panels or $1500 to just replace the whole door.

My husband wants the whole door replaced. Im not sure how to tell her this. She said she would pay to have it fixed, im not sure she will for a new door.

WWYD?

Getting your whole garage door replaced is a decision that you and your DH can make however if repairing the garage door means that only two panels need to be changed out then have DCP pay the $800 for the panels and you and DH can pay the remaining balance to have the rest of the door replaced for the new one.

DCP didn't damage the entire door, just two panels and I don't feel it's right to have them pay for a brand new garage door. I do think that you should be compensated for her damages but the rest I think that you should be responsible for.

If by hitting your garage door she not only wrecked the two panels but scratched up and dinged other panels and any part of the mechanical parts of the door then make sure that these are also factored in to what they owe.

A good way to think about it is ... if you had to take her to court what would the court likely give you? Would they award you the amount for a brand new door or would they award you the cost of getting your garage door back to where it was before and making you whole?