Okay, basically I was turning into the street that goes to a
theatre, and for some brilliant reason I decided I didn't decide
to look to my left. The ironic part is that normally I'm super
paranoid about turning, and today for some reason I just went
brain dead.

So I start driving and then I see a car drive RIGHT past, and I think oh, CRAP and then I hear this 'thunk' sound.

So we both pull over, and I'm walking up to her car, and there
is a BIG chunk of my bumper sticking out of her tire! We're talking like a foot long piece of bumper sticking out. It was totally bizarre. Somehow it got jammed in between the rim and the tire. It was stuck in there pretty tight, although I was reluctant to pull on it too hard.

All in all, I consider myself VERY fortunate. Nobody is hurt in the
slightest, and my car appears to just need a new front bumper.
Her car has some cosmetic damage, a crack
on the right side, a cracked hubcap. I'm sure it needs a new tire.
Right front 1/4 panel is pushed in slightly, and there's a small dent above the wheel.

If I had pulled out half a second later, it would have been MUCH worse. So although I drive faster and all, I get an accident where you hear they happen the most - a parking lot!

Okay, so what happens now? I don't have any ticket, just a field report with a complaint number.

The damage to her car isn't major, and I'm thinking if it isn't too high I won't claim it. How should I go about doing that?
Cashier check sentcertified with a letter saying that cashing the check releases me of any financial/legal obligation?

We were both very polite with each other, and she said she would call me with the estimate for repairs so I could decide how to get it paid for. We actually talked for a while because the damage to my car was a bit strange, so I don't feel she was untrustworthy. And she told the cop many times that nobody was hurt in the slightest, so I don't fear any weird stuff later.

What do you think? Sorry for the long post, it is my first accident. Oh, and given the damage to the cars, it is
obviously my fault, I'm not going to weasel out of that.

 

sorry, bud. Just do what I said. Hope it'll work out for you.

 

Oh yeah, I filled out an accident report, where I basically said it was my fault. So is my insurance going to go up whether or not I make claims? The cop said it wouldn't go up if I didn't make claims? is that true?

 

damn sorry 2 say that....

but like u said... claim insurance if the estimate comes out way more than ur deductable...

 

Sorry to hear about your trouble. Your first accident is pretty tramatic. Sucks that it was your fault. But remember it is just a car (what am I saying!) and can be fixed. Find a good body shop and you will be good as new.

 

Get at least two repair quotes from her. If you can afford it, take the cheapest one out of your pocket. If not, hand it off to the insurance agency. If you can only afford her repairs and not your new bumper, only report your half. Keep in mind your deductable(s). Really, though, if there's enough damage to her car AND your car, that's what insurance if for. Your rate may go up, but normally only enough for them to recoup the cost over four years or more. You may even be able to ask your agent. Mine would tell me if it was beneficial to claim the accident or not. And yes, insurance only goes up if they have to pay money, so only if you make the claim.

Around here, cops won't even stop to talk to you at a non-injury accident in a parking lot. That helped her out more than you, because she now has a witness that it wasn't both people's fault. Without the cop, both parties could have been responsible for their own damage.

Of course, this is only information from experience. I have no idea what your insurance is like, or what the laws are about accidents in parking lots in your state.

 

yea no claim no raise

 

Maybe after the whole taken care of, you can add your experience in the FAQ so we know what to do if the same situation would happen to us.

trying to cheer you up. involved in accident sucks. I had so I know how you're feeling.

 

i pulled out whne some teen ager girl had her blinker on...s treet thats hard enough to get onto at times..well turns out she was just driving with her blinker on...my car -500$ ...her car newer but it was a deawoo crumpled hood new front bumper doubfull...she had existing heart condition her passenger 16 two months pregnant...this was less than 15 mph at impact ...my insuance paid over 3000$ and my rates didnt go up at all plus no deductable...

 

Its a shame your car was hit and run like that.
File another police report.

 

who hit and run???

 

speaking from my personal experience, don't go through insurance if at all possible...
it will cost you more in the long run, to claim it...

 

Yeah, sorry to hear about your accident. Cheer up, like you said, it could have been worse. I haven't been in an injury accident either, you can only image if someone got hurt. Property damage is just that, damage to property, and can be fully alleviated by monetary compensation. After paying up, you should consider yourself fully redeemed.

BTW, glad you didn't try to avoid responsibility like a few, few others on the board would have you attempt to do (i.e. don't admit to nothing..., don't sign nothing....) You did the right thing.