Hi, I am new to the forum and quite new to driving, having only had my car for 3 months! Hoping to get some advice on potential damage and how to proceed.
So I live on quite a busy hill, several bus routes pass through here and lot of traffic (20 MPH zone). I parked my car on the side of the road and very stupidly left the wheels turned outwards.
Today I came to drive the car and found it no longer seems to drive straight! On closer inspection the hubcap has a massive hole in it and behind that, there is a dent in the wheel rim. It appears to me that somehow somebody has hit the wheel, I assume one of the passing buses or lorries that seem to whizz by every 2 minutes with little regard for anything.
So my questions I guess are:
Do I inform the police, as it appears someone has not stopped at the scene of an accident?
I'm fully comp but want to keep my NCB, I have a motorbike too and am worried about higher costs all round. Should I inform the insurance straight away, or can I take it to a garage first to try and assess the damage / cost of repair.
Also, can a dented wheel cause the steering to go out of whack? Or is that generally indicative of something more major? Trying to gauge opinions on how much something like this might cost to fix!
Thanks for reading, I'd really appreciate any help from you more experienced drivers, and sorry for joining up and posting loads of questions straight away!
So I live on quite a busy hill, several bus routes pass through here and lot of traffic (20 MPH zone). I parked my car on the side of the road and very stupidly left the wheels turned outwards.
Today I came to drive the car and found it no longer seems to drive straight! On closer inspection the hubcap has a massive hole in it and behind that, there is a dent in the wheel rim. It appears to me that somehow somebody has hit the wheel, I assume one of the passing buses or lorries that seem to whizz by every 2 minutes with little regard for anything.
So my questions I guess are:
Do I inform the police, as it appears someone has not stopped at the scene of an accident?
I'm fully comp but want to keep my NCB, I have a motorbike too and am worried about higher costs all round. Should I inform the insurance straight away, or can I take it to a garage first to try and assess the damage / cost of repair.
Also, can a dented wheel cause the steering to go out of whack? Or is that generally indicative of something more major? Trying to gauge opinions on how much something like this might cost to fix!
Thanks for reading, I'd really appreciate any help from you more experienced drivers, and sorry for joining up and posting loads of questions straight away!