I was backing the car in and out of our drive and at a pinch point managed to catch the nearside on a bracket screwed to the wall. I had been meaning to remove it for a long time and have now paid the price for my apathy.

The rear door has a couple of small dents and a horizontal indentation about 40 cms long just below the window by the horizontal body line, the front door has just been caught on the trailing edge. Having dropped off the load I called by a friend in the village when I saw his workshop light on, he is a classic car restorer and body specialist. he reckoned about £550-750 but it would take some skill to sort out the damage. Many shops would just put a new door or skin on and that could up the cost quite a bit. I also sent photos to another chum who reckoned the best bet was a new door as unless it was perfect a slight ripple would always be evident. He suggested about £600 plus another door from the scrapper in the right colour.

Having never had an at fault claim in 49 years i am unsure as to how to pursue this. I could pay for it myself and maintain my blemish free record and lowish insurance premium (I am with LV). Looking at the numbers and they way they might stack up I am thinking that with a £150 excess and a premium in the order of £250, it could be worth taking the hit and making a claim. The additional benefit being that it is sorted swiftly and with less hassle on my part.

I have no experience in this area and before progressing any further I would welcome any thoughts as to the best next steps. I have already booked my Specsavers appointment.

Thanks