spicynoodle116

I was eating at Chinatown with my friends earlier tonight around 2am. After eating we stayed outside to talk for a bit, then a woman tried to park on the space in front of my car... She got the car's ass into the parking space, and I guess she tried to inch forward, but ended up stepping on it in reverse and hit my car >_<

So I went to them and knock on their window, because I saw it hit pretty damn hard. The owner of the car that was in passenger's seat came out and said it wasn't a big deal... and told me to go to hell if Im trying to claim insurance or anything.

The owner of the car then drove off, leaving the driver and 2 of their friends behind on the scene. I didn't know what to do, since the owner already took off with the car, leaving me with no insurance policy or whatever. So I suggested calling police officers because they think its no big deal.

I think the first police officer was one of their friends, they said they know one before calling. He was being really anal about the situation. Saying its a minor ding, "don't waste my time if it isn't an emergency", shit like that. The second police car rolled by quickly afterwards, and they're really helpful unlike the first officer. One of their friends actually said My bumper would've been fine if I had a front license plate, trying to get the officer to write me up and shit... But the friendly officers didn't care lol.

Here are the pics I took when I got home of my front bumper








It doesn't look too "severe", but I just purchased this car exactly 1 month ago, and installed the a-spec front this Thursday... And already have my paint/bumper whatever the hell you wanna call it CRACKED.

What I wanna know is will insurance do anything about it? Would it be consider as a minor bumper tab, or will they get it fixed?

I don't mean to be uptight or anything ._. if I was driving a beat up civic, I wouldn't give a damn if my car got tapped. But I love this car to death, and its been only a month!

Whatcha guys think of this situation? Will insurance cover it without me spending any more money, since its completely not my fault? Or am I screwed and have to get it repaired/replaced out of my own wallet?

I'll be calling my insurance on Monday since my agent doesn't work on Sundays. But I'm all ears if you guys have any inputs =(

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

forget insurance just go and get it fixed. IF it's only paint crack get it repainted..

BTW Try some prepsol on that area it might clean up the dark marks in the cracks. If that works it will be a lot less noticable and you can deal to live with it.

spicynoodle116

Im pretty ignorant as you can tell lol, but why not go through insurance if they're able to do something about it? Is my insurance rate gonna go up or something? My friend's RSX got a tiny bumper tab, and he was able to get a lot of money out of it. Enough for a new set of rims + extra.

Trew

iTrader: (1)

Your rate will go up regardless who's fault it is. In fact, your rate may go up even if they don't pay a claim!

Be careful what you report to your insurance...

spicynoodle116

Damn thats fucked up =( Thought Im safe because its completely not my fault until I hear this. How much would it be to get this fixed up? I was planning to get tints next... but if insurance is a dead end, then Ill have no choice but to cough up money.

Thanks for the replies so far, dont mean to be annoying and all

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

If it's the other person's fault, your insurance won't go up. If you have the information and don't want to be bothered dealing with the ignorant driver, give the details to your company and let them pursue the situation. Have your company direct you to their qualified body shop to have it repaired, or supply you a list of the shops to choose from.

What I've done in the past, naturally with more damage than you have, is to have it fixed immediately under our collision coverage and pay the $500 deductible. Let our company take care of the contact and paperwork, and when the other company paid, I got reimbursed the $500 plus the cost of a rental car, and I must add, no increase in premiums.

somethingstupid

sorry to hear about your situation...in most states wouldnt that be considered as a hit and run? the driver did hit your car and then the owner drove off right? although the scratches are minor...i would go through insurance especially if the police report says the other driver hit your car. thats a sure way for the insurance company to know it wasn't your fault at all. i wouldnt take my chance to just have the other party pay it out b/c hey if they gonna run from the scene, how likely do you think they'll pay for the damages. ive had to learn that the hard way before. just my 2 cents.

nmsujeff88

Were you able to get the license plate of the a-hole that backed into you? Did you get any information from the owner's friends such as the name of the owner?

Trew

iTrader: (1)

Spicynoodle... do your due diligence on this one.

Since Turbonut and I posted different answers, you should research and determine what is correct.

Here is a link from Yahoo Answers to get you started...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7205149AAruJby

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

That link reinforces my thoughts that there are a lot of stupid people in the world!
How about if I pick out the answer I like?

No, no insurance company is going to charge you for an accident that wasn't your fault
Source(s):
retired agent

spicynoodle116

My friend at the scene believes thats a hit and run too. The driver stayed, but the owner of the car just took a glance of the damage and took off without holding any responsibility or gave me her insurance policy. The thing Im worried about is will my insurance rate go up because of the claim, im getting mixed answers. The best scenario will be insurance covering it without any extra money on my part. Whats a deductable anyway? My mom told me earlier our deduct is like, $1000.

@nmsujeff88

Yup the officer helped me get everything down.

@Trew

That yahoo answer have mixed answers too. Only thing important I read is CLUE, and I'd be given a "Loss" instead of a "Claim", which doesnt do jack for me ._.

Thanks peeps~

spicynoodle116

Found it!

somethingstupid

pretty much the deductible is what you have to pay out of your own pocket first and then the insurance company will pay anything that goes beyond that. so if the total damage was $1500, you would have to pay $1000 and then the insurance co pays $500. but if the damage was lets say $3000, you still pay the $1000 but the insurance co will pay $2000. you can get an estimate and if the damage is less than $1000..then i wouldnt bother claiming it against insurance.

spicynoodle116

Real question, how much would it be to patch up my bumper? It would be pretty stupid to claim if its only $500 top. Gimme a figure

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

Buy yourself a can of prepsol and see if those marks blend out. I wouldn't stress it. WDP is a harder color to match.

blazinginder

i dont see why you/cops wouldnt be/werent able to get the driver to provide the information of the owner of the car etc. and you do have multiple witnesses, more importantly with this information you wouldnt have to worry about premiums or deductables because it would be his/her insurance company that would have to fork over all the money at no cost or insurance hike to you.

Will Y.

Sorry to hear about the accident- I can't stand people who don't take responsibility.

If you're not a DIYer or handy with wax/polish, take the car to a body shop (call the nearest Acura dealer-- maybe Serramonte Acura?-- to see which shop it uses for minor dings) and get an estimate for the parts, if necessary, and labor. Other posters here on AZ have mentioned that the bumper cover will run about $400.

The accident was a parking incident where your car was stationary, so your insurer should not charge it against you or raise your rates. However, you will have to pay the cost of the deductible amount; it gets repaid to you once the insurance company collects from the person whose car ran into you.

You should give the info on the other driver to your insurance company-- if the driver has her own insurance, your insurer can collect from it and ignore the other car's dickwad owner.

G/L.

greco9885

iTrader: (1)

Sucks...but your fault you let him leave without getting his license plate #.

Some guy hit me in NYC and tried to drive off, i jumped out of my car and stood infront of his while i was on the phone with police

xxkevo

iTrader: (1)

sorry about your accident, but your rates shouldn't be increased at all for first it wasnt' your fault and second you weren't even operating the car, i hope you have the plate # and file it as hit and run... so those douches bag drivers like those learn a lesson

Piotr_W

This help me a lot http://www.autozone.com/selectedZip,.../selectZip.htm

tc_terencec

If I were you I would have just whipped out my phone and take pictures of her license plate, and then claim it as a hit and run. Don't claim it with your insurance company, go direct to the police and file a "hit and run". I don't know that much about the law where you live, but here in Vancouver, hit and run filed with police = offense and charges CAN be laid against the driver

wall e

juss cover the damage up with a license plate. the damage that happened to u is the sole reason why i have a front license plate. if the driver said the damage wasnt a big deal, u shouldve keyed his car and say "not a big deal right?"and then if he bitches, say "well now u kno how i feel" also chinatown is in the city right? damaged bumpers is normal in the city.

invest in this

Majofo

This is a tough one spicy...

I can attest that your premium shouldn't go up because you weren't operating the vehicle at the time and it wasn't your fault, but on the other hand, if you didn't report it immediately to your insurance since you were at the scene, the insurance company might want to blame you since they can't collect on those A$$holes. They'd much rather want to hunt down those pricks to make them pay instead of them paying. If you say you came back to the car in that condition and you don't know who did it then it... then it will likely fall under property damage. Most insurance company's don't even collect on a deduction for property damage nor do they increase your premium since it wasn't your fault, but again, this could be messy for a simple repair.

I was in a similar situation except some a$$hole hit the rear quarter panel (uni body) and bumper on my '08 loaner TL while it was parked on the street. I called police & insurance after I got to the car. I received one call from the adjuster to get my story and that was it. No deductible / increase in my premium and it was considerable damage compared to your bumper.. it still hurts my feelings to look at it though.

spicynoodle116

I do have the license plate of the car. What I dont have at the moment is the owner's insurance policy number, but I can ask the driver for it when I call her later.

Thanks a ton guys, things are looking better now

Majofo

Hope it turns out well. If you think the other party has insurance I would make a claim. That's B.S. of them to take off. Make sure to have some names and numbers of eyewitnesses who can testify to the events. GL

Zigma

NYC strikes again... I had that happend to me. I was with my sister and we're cleaning crap off the car and we see the car move a bit and I'm like wtf? Did I leave it in gear or something? She then looks at me and says, I think that guy hit your car!

He did, we exchanged information and He gave me $125.

Majofo

^ cool.. well at least you got things worked out.. if the damage is not too bad I'd keep the money and wait til another sucker really hits it..

Will Y.

Your insurer will be able to get all the necessary info from the car's license plate (as long as it isn't stolen), so don't worry about it if the driver doesn't volunteer further info to you.
You'll be fine.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

damn dude fucking hate people who cant fucking park

repaint: $250-$350
but at least the bumper will match the rest of the car now rolf

spicynoodle116

I never notice a front bumper mismatch. Rear bumper definitely.

Fireguy0826

umm hit and run??

Zigma

Yeah, That's what I did. Summer is coming up and I'll be repainting both of my bumpers. I'm also going to be replacing my stock audio with better stuff (expect a thread soon!!) now that I've been able (hopefully) sorted out any mechanical issues. I'm also going to invest in a parking spot at the across the street hospital from where I live. $175 a month or so but at least I know it will be safe and some random bastard won't come and try to steal it and so forth.

YeuEmMaiMai

uhm injury or not it is a hit and run and also feeling the scene of an accident.

Call your insurance company, give them the plate # and if you got one a police report. They will take it from there......also give the location and time and date of accident.

The police should be able to give you owner information based upon plate information

Zigma

^Yes.

If you have the plate #, file a police report. It might take a few days but they will dig up the registration from the vehicle and provide the insurance company and the policy number (depending where you live, in NYC it's like that)

AZN.M3NACE

well even though you have a front license plate on the car or not and the car was hit pretty badly then the plate bracket would have left a mark anyway, but since you have the license plate number, you should be fine. just give it to the insurance company and explain to them the situation.

spicynoodle116

my brother's 04 AM, look at the left top corner of the plate.


Fucking stupid how that guy tried to get me written up, and suggest it wouldnt of damaged the car if I had a front plate.

YeuEmMaiMai

I feel ur pain man some dude in a old nissan smaked me pretty hard in the rear and left 3 stripes and a crack in my rear bumper....he told me that the marks would rub off........That really made me mad that he knew he was at fault but tried to weazle out of it stating MY insurance would go up........

spicynoodle116

Ok so this is what happened so far. I called my agent, told her about what happened, and she suggested me to file a claim either through our policy or the other party. I called my insurance claim hot line, and they said its completely their fault so I should call their insurance and file the claim.

Called All-State, provided them the info of the driver, but they wasnt able to pull up their policy number!!! So now Im at a stuck... Claiming my own insurance is stupid, and their policy isnt ringing up with the info I provided by the police officers... So whats my next move? File a police report about a hit and run and misinformation to an officer? I do have the Driver's License of the driver and License Plate of the vehicle.. HELP >_<

greco9885

iTrader: (1)

Tell that person you want the owners information or you will be pressing legal charges against them

spicynoodle116

I called her again, not picking up the damn phone >_<