Ok, so im driving home from work yesterday, and as I'm waiting for the light to turn green, I feel someone bump me. So I get off, to see the damage, It was not much damage but there are some scratches at the bottom of the bumper, you cant' really tell.

So I look at the driver, and Its a 18 year old, driving a Mercedes Benz (older model a 1997). She tells ask's me, Were those already there?, and I tell her and those black marks on your white car also there. She just looked at me with a puzzled look.

Long story short, I get all her information, then they (she is with her boyfriend) ask me not to send it to the insurance, that she will pay for the damages. I told her I that I have all her information, and I will get a estimate, and we will go from there.

What would you do? Would you report it, or have her pay?

 

get a estimate ASAP and go from there :

 

get a estimate and ask her to pay for it. if she is nice and willing to pay then i think u should just let it go. if you send it to her insurance, won't her insurance contact your insurance as well and that'll leave you with a minor accident record which might increase your own insurance rate, right??
just my opinion. hope this helps and good luck with ur tsx

 

 

Always get an estimate!!!

Also, carry a cheap disposable camera with a flash in your glove box or trunk. You never know when you need to take pictures of the damage to the other car, the other driver, the passenger(s), time of day, weather conditions, intersection, damage to your car, license plates of other witnesses, etc... The 10-24 pictures of the accident could guarantee settlement when it comes down to your word against hers.

You can get a cheap Kodak for $7 at Wal-Mart.

 

Report it to insurance = Carfax report showing an accident
Taking care of it on the side= Clean Carfax

This shouldn't be the only thing you use to make a decision, but if you go to trade your car in or sell it, a clean Carfax helps.

 

I would get an estimate, give it to her and she ought to shell out the money. Then I'd hold onto the money and wait for something worse to happen to the front bumper before repairing it (i.e. nasty rock chips or another tard in a benz). In either case, she better cough up some cash or you will need to report it to her insurance company.

 

btw...isn't there a 10-day rule to reporting an accident before it becomes invalid? If I'm right, then you better clear everything up within 10 days or else you're screwed

 

You should have called the cops....

 

For some insurance companies, they want you to report it ASAP (within 24 hours of the incident).

 

this happened to a friend of mine (the friend the being the teenager who rearended sumone)

the other guy saw that it was a college kid and just let him slide, tehn again the guy he rearended was driving a s550 so i dont he hast to worry about the cost of fixigin a few scratches

 

I did take pictures, but only of my rear bumper, and her front bumper, I always carry my digital camera with me. I dont know how to post pictures here though.



The cops won't come unless there are injuries.

I had a previous accident, and I was not at fault, It was reported to insurance company, and my rates did not increase. (that was before I had my TSX).

The estimate came out to be $726.00. I have called her and she said she would talk to her mom. I told her that I need an answer by tommorow.

 

Happened to me when my neighbor ran into the car. As long as you get it fixed and don't have to pay, I think thats all that matters. I got an estimate and when it came out above $500, the neighbor was fine reporting it to insurance. Ended up getting $1200 from the insurance and holding on to it as I was still in school and knew there'd be more scratches probably coming.

Oh, and I don't know about the carfax thing, but theres no way your rates can go up as long as her insurance is paying.

 

Here is a nice tutorial from the audio/video forum. I found iamge shack to be very easy to use.

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/how-post-pictures-335891/

Sorry to hear about your car. I hope her mother is agreeable and you get this out of the way.

 

I think at your age, it won't really matter if you keep it on or off insurance so I think you are safe either way. But $727 seems a lot for the damage you described.

 

What is the her and mother say "NO"?

 

have some and try that again.

 

Thanks for the link.

Here are the pictures I took of the damage to my car.

[img]http://picasaweb.google.com/Roci53/TSX02/photo#5080792150674099426[img]

[img]http://picasaweb.google.com/Roci53/TSX02/photo#5080792167853968626[img]

well I tried did not work.

 

try [/img] in the end





i tried to do it for you, but the pics arent loading

 

Roci - your rates will not go up for accidents that are paid for by someone else (il.e., someone else's fault). If she's at fault, her insurance pays - none of which reflects on you or your rates. You need to be at-fault first. Then, based on your record, your rates may or may not change.

I just had someone scrape my bumper and leave a 1" gouge out of the paint. It was a hit and run. My estimate to repair the scratch was $300, so it sounds like your quote is about right for your damage.

Definitely go after them first, but give them a timeline. Give the quote and the pictures - if a check is not in-hand by X day go to their insurance - let them know that's how it will go.

 

Well I took my car to a shop of there choice yesterday, and he looked at the car and said that he was going to give the estimate to them (The girl who hit me, and her mother), and they will let me know what they want to do.

If anyone is around the Los Angeles, area and has ever gone to a shop called World Auto Body, it is on La Brea and 12th Steet. How is it? Can I trust them? Would you let them repair your car? Should I just call the insurance company?

 

I might suggest to just let them have their shop estimate it and see what they say. If the $ is agreeable to you, just accept their money and go get it fixed at a shop of your choosing. If you have the written estimate from the place you like in hand, you can also compare and challenge them if there's a big difference. They should not dictate to you where you get it fixed. Remember, you hold the trump card by washing your hands to it and going to their insurance. You're doing them the favor by letting them work this outside insurance.

 

Amazing! The EXACT same thing happened to me last week!! She was a teenager with her boyfriend but she was driving a 4runner. hit me while i was at a red light. had the SAME puzzeled look on her face and asked me not to report it to her insurance (which i still did). my car is in the shop right now getting a new bumper and i'm driving a damn Toyota Matrix rent car.

 

this happened to me last year. She bumped my car and put some scratches on the paint...we agreed to handle outside of the insurance companies but i gave her a timeline. I took it to Western Auto Body in Gardena CA (Excellent work...i always use them) and they gave me a quote. I gave her a copy of it, she went there and paid the amount on her credit card. The owner of the shop called me, I dropped the car off, and had it fixed.

i agree with 1Louder. You're doing THEM a favor. Do not let them dictate what shop you go to...or anyone dictate where you fix your car for that matter (insurance companies love to get you to an "authorized" shop where they screw you by giving you aftermarket parts as opposed to OEM) Take it to someone you trust. if the girl doesn' t like it, call your insurance company.

Also, one more thing, make sure that the person who hits ur car takes care of paying for a rental while your car is being fixed...you shouldnt be out of pocket at all for this and it'll take a day or two without your car for the paint and all that to dry.

 

Well after a week, dealing with this incompetent 18 year old (not bashing on 18 year olds’ just this one), and her parents’, I offered them to settle for $750.00, they offered me $600.00, (yet there body shop's estimate was for $650.00) I told them no because I want it done at the place were I took it.

I offered to settle for $ 750.00, because to repair at there shop was $650.00, plus $100.00 worth of rental fees. Then I will take that money and repair it at a shop of my choice.

I reported the claim; they should be going to my house soon to look at the damage.

 

nice!

 

If they're giving you $750, why did you report it to your insurance?

 

I don't think they wanted to give him $750.

Good call though. Its their fault, if they're not willing to deal with the consequences (750 sounds quite reasonable), they better be ready to deal with the insurance.

 

I wanted $750 to settle, he wanted to give me $600 ($600 is not enogh to repair it at the shop of my choice.)

 

There, fixed it.


Don't worry about your insurance going up as I had two accidents go on my record within a week of each other and my insurance didn't go up (it actually went down when I renewed it. I love USAA). The reason why is because they were not my fault (one my car was parked with me in it, the other I was at a red light).

I'm glad you went through the insurance company. They wanted to be cheap and now they'll get an insurance increase.

I had someone back into my car (the TSX) a week ago in a parking garage and they were nice enough to leave me a note. I called the guy, worked it out, and his insurance is fixing my car next Monday. It's only scratches on the front bumper from his rear bumper, but I still want it fixed so my baby is back to new. I don't care if it shows up on Carfax, that's easy to explain.

 

Damn, these aren't very intelligent people that your dealing with. By not paying the $150 difference between what they offered you and what you wanted they will end up paying a lot more in next years insurance cost.

Good luck in dealing with the morons.