I just got rear-ended, about 2 1/2 hours ago(10:30 AM), on my way home from work. I wasn't feeling good so I decided to take the rest of the day off. Just before I got on the freeway(22 fwy) some idiot in a lifted Ford F550 rolls into me. Luckily he wasnt' going fast at all, less than 5 MPH. We were stopped due to construction around the freeway and the guy didn't realize he let off the brake.

So we pull over to exchange info and the wants me to follow him to his body shop. He says he will fix it for me and make it as good as new. I asked for his info and he gave his business card. I then told him I needed his drivers license. As I'm writing down his info he keeps going on about how he can fix it and that he works on Porsches and other high end cars. He again tells me to follow him to his shop so I agreed. After all I already has his info.

At the shop the guy starts giving me some sob story about how he just got the truck and a new MB for his wife and he doesn't want his insurance to go up. The guy seemed nice enough but there was no way I was going to let him touch my car and not involve the insurance companies. So I left and as soon as I got home I called both our insurance companies and took some pictures.

Here they are.




The paint on the top side of the trunck.


So it sucks that I will be without my car for a while when it goes in to get fixed but I'm thankfull that it was just a very minor "fender bender". Great way to start the weekend.

 

ouch at least it is minor and just body so it should be good as new when you get it back

 

oh man, i'm sorry to hear the bad news! that's two anthracites in less than 2 weeks!! good call on involving the insurance. unless he was offering to pay out of pocket for the damage & rental car coverage, it's better to go with your insurance... i wouldn't let him touch my car that he just hit, either.

at least it's still drivable. hope you got a decent rental car coverage... otherwise you may end up in a grand am like vik! (sorry vik )

hope everything works out ok. try to have a nice weekend, though!

 

Sorry you got hit...at least he was going slow and you're not injured. Looks simple enough to fix, too...just replace the trunk.

I'm with you, though, call insurance and let them handle it. Not sure how it works in CA, but depending on the payout, in NC, your insurance might not go up. Since a trunk isn't too expensive, he might be ok (not that I, you, or anyone else cares about him, but so we sound nice...).

Good luck with it...hope you feel better, too!

 

Standard rental coverage is a $30/day car...no matter which company you go to, that's a POS, even with the discount the insurance company gets.

 

So it's just the trunk that is damaged? Look at that paint just peeling right off in the 3rd pic...

 

Ouch that sucks man. I wouldn't take his offer, definetly go to your insurance and go that route. Looks like you just need a new trunk lid.

 

If you were at his shop and saw the porches and other cars, then either he is a car thief or he really does fix cars. If he will fix it free, and you can get some good info on his shop may as well go there. But never do anything without getting the insurance info.

 

Sorry man. Hopefully it iwll be good like new

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

ndx2, yeah, I even have to pay $10/day for the upgrade to the grand am lol

 

Hate to see that, G'Luck on the repairs!

 

dude, file that law suit. you're losing waaay too much outta this deal.

 

Update: I got a call from the offending driver a little while ago. Turns out he wasn't concerned about his insurance premiums. HE IS NOT INSURED!!! I immediately called my insurance co. to let them know. I'm covered so it could be worse. I'm trying to stay positive.

Thanks for all the support. As far as my weekend goes, I was going to spend it shopping for kitchen appliances, we are doing a mager remodel, so I didn't have anything exciting going on.

As far as the car goes, I'm sure it will be fine. The only thing that worries me is the paint not matching. I'll be useing a body shop that's approved by my insurance co. so they will warranty the work as long as I own the car wich helps with peace of mind.

Thanks again.

 

Porbably because he spen his whole paycheck on his lifted 550 and the MB for the wife!

Sorry to hear about your accident. The damage doesn't look to bad. They would probably just replace the trunk lid.

 

If you are driving stuff taht pricy, It really strikes me as odd that you wouldnt have insurance.

 

He bought an MB and he doesn't have insurance?? Any chance he might be pulling a fast one on you? I mean since the cops weren't involved, there's no proof right? So that kinda works out for him. I think you should ask him to pay your deductable, if your insurance is covering it or investigate further and find out if he really doesn't have insurance.

 

for a second i thought u had a deck lid spoiler hehehe.. sucks that happened... its just body damage nothing serious any body shop can get that out easy

 

smart move bud, u never know what can happen these days with ppl like that

 

I went through the posts quickly, but I didn't see anybody mention filing an accident report with the police dept. This is usually REQUIRED in cases of more than minimal damage. Besides that, they will issue the guy a ticket that he deserves. Your insurance company will probably also want the police report. They want to know who's at fault, although it's pretty obvious here.

 

Sucks but hey you get a new trunk no big deal.

 

Well, based on personal experience: Unless there happens to be a cop driving by, they won't bother sending someone to write a report unless someone's injured (obviously they'll be there). They just say, get the info from each other and let the insurance co deal with it.

 

Your car is new enough so the paint should match OK. Sorry to hear about your problem. Good thing you have good insurance. Good luck!!

 

My grandfather hit someone and a cop was called and came out, it was low speed, I was there. Then again it sounded like the cop was a friend of the other guy.

 

In NY, if you call the cops to report an accident. They will come (whether you are injured or not).

To me, telling the insurance company is secondary. Getting a police report is the most important thing.

Automata: Good luck to you with the repairs. It shouldn't be too bad from what I can tell.

 

in CA you are required to report any property damage in excess of 750 dollars within 10 days of the accident. if you want to screw him (for not having insurance) go to the police station or dmv to get the form and fill it out. thats not a bitch thing to do either b/c its req. by law and if for whatever reason it comes up that you didnt file the report it could come down on you instead.

 

Smart move on your part. Don't fall for the sob story at all.

 

Go file a police report, he lied to you and may still be, first he said hes worriesd about premiums rising now he claims not to have insurance. go file the report so that the police can attempt to find out the TRUTH from him. He may be claiming no insurance to keep his company out of it. Plus, did you not get a hold of his insurance card when the accident occured?

 

I have just read all the posts in this thread. Sorry to hear again of another injury to one our fellow tls. I have a few comments.
1) You should definitely file a DMV report as well as the police report.
2) If you have the information provided by the other driver, then turn it in to your insurance company. Assuming you have uninsured motorist coverage you will be 100% covered. By claiming against this part of your policy, two things will happen. First your car will be fixed by your company at no cost to you. The deductible is waived (if you opted for this) since you are able to identify the uninsured motorist. They will then go after him themselves. The rental car is also included.
3) If you require certain features found in your TL for your employment or needs, then the insurance has to provide a suitable and comparable replacement. For example, I was in a minor fendor bender six months ago or so. My car has Navigation. As a RE Broker I use it quite frequently in my normal day to day work life. It has become a necessity. As such I was able to get the rental replacement car to have a navigation system on it. This was with Hertz. Granted the car was a lowly (s-itty) Malibu, but at least I had the navigation. This was at no extra cost to me or out of pocket expense.
4) By reporting the accident to DMV and your insurance you are not dinged any points on your driving record. Nor are your premiums increased by your insurance company. This was a no fault accident in your favor.
Hope this helps you and others in a similar situation.
Bruce's

 

If no one else said it, let me be the first to tell you:

You are a moron.

Take it for what it is worth on this board, but if you get hit and you don't call the police, you take your life into your own hands. Despite what a lot of people may think or say, it part of their job to deal with things like this. If you had called them, this guy would have been dinged for driving while uninsured, and you would have a legal standing, should he try anything funny. Without it, it is a "he-said, she-said" kinda thing

 

Not quite...you still pay your deductible...your insurance company will include that along with any other out-of-pocket expenses you may incur (ER visit co-pay, doctor visit co-pays, etc.) when they go after the offender to cover their costs to fix the car. However, if they are unable to get any money from the offender, you're SOL...trust me, I know...I was out a deductible and ER co-pay due to being hit by a person who not only was uninsured, but was a true piece of trash.

 

on a plus side, your trunk looks like the A-Spec concept lid haha