hwchien

about an hour ago i just got rear ended by an eclipse, i was stopping for a red light somehow this driver didn't realize the red light was on so he rear ended my TL at about 5-10 mph due to the traffic. It was a load/clear hit so i went out and hoped not too much damange to my baby. after i "carefully" (it's only like 30F outside, my whole body is shaking) inspected my car i only saw some scratches plus a pin thingy toward outside of the rear bumper. So here goes my question for my fellow TLers!! what is the best thing to do here?
"here is this driver's solution", he took me to a shop he knows and this shop gave me a qoute about $350, but i am afraid that they only gonna buff out the pin thingy and repaint the rear bumper.
do you guys think is there any damange behind the rear bumper? if they only repaint the rear bumper might have some rattle after few monthes due to only fix whatever damange that our naked eyes see.

(p.s. if there is nothing damange behind the rear bumper, then our TL is one son of gun strong car)

XtraKrispy

I would highly recommend taking your TL to another shop to get another quote. Is the guy trying to pay for this out of his/her pocket and not go through insurance? Either way, I wouldn't trust "his" guy and I would get my own quotes to make sure you get everything fixed and fixed correctly.

Good luck!

Tripp11

Without a doubt, get a few independent estimates.

chill_dog

I agree with XtraKrispy...get another quote. Also, he should be paying as he hit you. And whether you file insurance or he pays, I'd take it to my shop, not his.

coop1018

Agreed, when I got rear ended (twice) in my Tl. I told the guy I would get three estimates for him and he would have the option of paying out of pocket or me submitting through insurance. Both paid out of pocket.

misterlien

The accident is not your fault, so why go to joe blows shop in the first place?
I would take that to the dealer and have them take a look and fix it.

A-Spec Guy

Dude, you have full coverage insurance...use it...you pay for it...no sense in not using it. Its not your fault when somebody hits you in the rear end usually....so it would not count against you rate wise. At least it doesnt with State Farm.

CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE AGENT AND GO TO YOUR OWN SHOP!

acura101west

i dont know about NY but in cali if you dont report the crash you loose your rights to who is at fault and ins doesnt have to pay for it
never let someone talk you in to not calling the cops thats just stupid!!!
take the car where you want not to his place and you have to have the bumper removed to make sure no more damage is hidden

do the right thing and dont leave a opening for you to get fucked

hwchien

thanks for all your feed back, 1st i don't want to make that kid more miserable than he already was(i know i know it's stupid, but been there and done that). 2nd i just want him to make my baby's rear like used to be, i am not going to make money out of insurance company, you know such as "oh i have headache, back pain, or something else." anyways if i get a qoute is higher than his and he is not welling to pay for it, can i file the insurance then??
again thank you for all the response

coop1018

I would first see to get money personally from the person that hit you. You do not want to go through the hassles of getting your car fixed, paying your deductible, and then waiting for the deductible to be subrogated from the insurance company of the guy who hit you.

chill_dog

What ghetto company to you use? I've never had to pay a deductible up front if it was the other person's fault. In fact, all I ever did was take the car to the shop, sign the rental car papers (no $ here, either), and pick my car up when it was fixed. Heck, even the couple of times I was at fault, I paid the deductible at the shop the day I picked the car up...everything else (rental car, etc.) was already covered.


hwchien - did you get a police report? You can file insurance, but without a police report, it becomes a he said/she said thing, which usually ends up in each person's insurance paying to fix their car. However, you were rear-ended, so that should be a little more clear cut, ie, the other guy's fault.

A-Spec Guy

NO...YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE TOO MUCH! CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE AGENT RIGHT NOW! It is hard to get protection for your rights when you break the law and then try to follow it afterwards. I know what you are saying not wanting to bring bad things on this kid...but you are not. KEEP IN MIND IT WAS HIS ACTIONS THAT PUT HIM BEHIND THE WHEEL....AND ONE MUST BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS! This is not retribution or payback...and your not supposed to scam your insurance company...that would not be the only reason you should contact them. TO GET YOUR CAR FIXED RIGHT>>> NOT ONLY DOES YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY WANT YOU TO CONTACT THEM....SO DOES THE LIEN HOLDER ON YOUR CAR (assuming you hold a loan on it). This is business as usual! No problem right now...simple rear end collision....call your insurance agent right now and he will get you into a good repair shop to get your car fixed right and paid for...they will mess with having to deal with the other party involved....that is their job....and frankly....due to the fact you have full coverage insurance....THAT IS PART OF THE CONVENIENCE YOU ARE PAYING FOR. Insurance is already the highest profit business in the US....dont stay away from using it...especially in this case. It means NOTHING to you! It isnt you being a BAD GUY....it is you simply using the system in which you are paying into, and trust me...business as usual.

IF YOU DONT CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY RIGHT NOW....and you go through with this "the kids buddy or the kid repairs your car" instead.....you will NEVER be happy with the job and NEVER have any recourse. There is a reason to handle things right when it comes to accidents....just call your insurance agent. You have nothing to worry about here, really!

DONT COME BACK HERE TALKING ABOUT THIS STUPID COURSE OF ACTION YOU ENTERED INTO AGAIN UNLESS IT IS TO TELL US THAT YOUR AGENT IS HANDLING THIS NOW AND IT IS ALL GOOD! No kidding...not dogging you out....but just trying to make you understand that this is not a HUGE deal....call your insurance agent and get the ball rolling IN YOUR DIRECTION instead of worrying about this kid....whatever he did is his problem.....quit taking responsibility for it. I mean shit....if the kid burned down your house, you are acting like you would consider letting him rebuild it for you>>?

Now....all that being said....CALL YOUR AUTOMOTIVE INSURANCE AGENT NOW! You will be glad you did and come back and tell us all about how you are being taken care of the RIGHT WAY! With somebody looking out for you and "in your corner" - your agent and insurance co....doing their job like they are supposed to....AND LIKE YOU ARE PAYING THEM TO!

acura101west

[never mind

A-Spec Guy

Now think about it for one minute.....why do you think the person would try to circumvent the "norm" to begin with.....DWI's, Wrecks, ect.....none of which equal up to the party likely following through with what should be done. He says $350....guy takes it to Acura and they say its $1500...think they guy is gonna be able to come up with the money? And then you are gonna make a police report, ect after it didnt work out for you the other way.....NOT GONNA WORK!

A-Spec Guy

I know theoretically that is the way they work......but I have NEVER gotten a return on my deductible from State Farm EVER! You are right....BEST BET IS THIS GUY IS UNINSURED! Then you pay NO deductible at all. Either way, you are not gonna come up with ANYTHING until you pick your car up from the repair shop. Then...as you state....it will either be the deductible or nothing at all (if the guy is uninsured).

acura101west

your a nice guy,but nice guys always get fucked-your asking for it
there is a reason the kid didnt want you to call the cops
come on !!!! you should know better,,,your a adult!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

XtraKrispy

Not exactly true in regard to State Farm in Illinois. I had State Farm for 10 years and I was involved in an accident that was not my fault. I was rear-ended in a 3 car accident. I was stopped at an exit ramp because there was a traffic jam. I'm sitting there waiting for the traffic to move and glancing at my rear view mirror and I see a car coming pretty quick. I then hear a large screech and phewww.. nothing...a split second later I hear anohter screech and a crash and then a bump. The person behind me got rear-ended and got pushed into me. I called State Farm to let them know that I was involved in an accident and they came out to access the damage. The damage was minor @$600-700 in damages. The bad part was that the car the caused by a person without insurance and didn't speak English. The police came and took him away. I tried calling him multiple times to tell him how much the damage was to see if I could get him to pay but he really didn't understand what I was saying. My traffic report had the court date listed and I showed up to see if I could talk to him there. Luckily I showed up because the police officer didn't show up and the judge asked if I still wanted to "press charges". I told them yes--I don't want our streets filled with uninsured motorists. Anyway, after we got out of the courtroom I tried to talk to him through an interpreter and show him the estimates to fix my car. The interpreter told him just to settle out of pocket with me because it would be less than going to small claims court. I ended up only getting 1/2 of the damages paid for in cash because that's all he had on him and I didn't want to waste anymore time on it and was happy to get "something" out of him.

Sorry for the long response. But getting back to my point...State Farm actually counted the estimate as a claim even though they didn't pay. I don't think that my actual premium went up but when I switched to All State a couple of years later and told them that I didn't have any accidents within X (I can't remember the actual number) years. They told me that State Farm had a claim on file...I still don't know how that really affected my new premium but I'm sure it had some affect.

coop1018

I have been an insurance agent for 6 years...just trying to give you a few helpful hints that not only work for me, but my clients as well!!!

coop1018

And yes, even if you file an insurance claim and you are not at fault, it still will have a minimal effect on your insurance score unfortunately!

chill_dog

A wreck is a wreck, whether your fault or not. If it's not your fault, they usually don't count against you when you switch insurance, but that depends on the company.

Also, A-Spec Guy is right, call your agent NOW. One thing though, if it's an uninsured motorist, you DO pay a deductible...you only get it back IF your insurance company can get it out of the other driver (along with any other out-of-pocket expenses like ER visits, etc.). And this may come as a shock, but that's a really big "if".

A-Spec Guy

Wow...in Indiana....you get hit in rear....it is automatically the driver in the rears fault....pay for the car in front of you in case of pile up and the guy at rear is screwed with nobody to pay! The thinking is.....you either followed too close, ect. so the rear is always at fault. As for uninsured motorist....I have been involved in that too and paid NOTHING whatsoever.

This must be a state to state thing. Uninsured Motorist coverage is mandatory in Indiana I think....and if they are uninsured....you are gold!

A-Spec Guy

Now I'm sorry....but I just dont see it....AND I HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES AS A GENERAL RULE! State Farm did not raise your rates....so they didnt count it against you, right? It was just a paperwork mixup in your case when you changed from one company to another, for the most part.... State Farm will always open a file if you report the accident.....that is so if the other guy mysteriously comes up with hospital bills,ect....they have a record of what is going on...that doesnt mean it raises your rates.

BUT....fact is....everything raises your rates any more.....even your credit score? So this is kind of a mute point....you know the guy needs to call his agent! I think you are still showing the obvious signs of being bitter because you got screwed out of half your cash even though you had insurance....for which I would be too! That sucks man....at least you got half of it back.....and one of the reasons I keep a $250 deductible collision and no deductible comp.

TCMS

Bad solution.


Your rates with State Farm will not go up however it counts against your "claims" number. State Farm WILL get rid of you when your "claims" number gets to a certain number, regardless of fault.


TRUST ME.


Now, why you didnt call the Police is beyond me. If someone hit the TL I would call the police and file a full report so that it is entirely their fault. Period. If it were my Jeep I wouldnt care and would take the risk of the putz not paying.

That said, DO NOT take it to HIS buddies shop, take it to your own.

A-Spec Guy

You do present some interesting concepts to be considered. Not sure I would have gone the route he did...thats all! Your right though....ANY insurance co will give you the boot if you get too many "claims" or are around too many "claims" that were not your fault....they could do the math and tell you that if a huge bomb fell from the sky....somehow YOU would end up below it.....lifestyle inference (sp?) there I think!

KJSmitty

Insurance premiums are based off of three primary elements/areas:

1. The amount of coverage.

2. The degree of risk they perceive you to be.

3. The environment the "ensured" operates/resides in.


As others have mentioned, "fault" isn't always the factor that raises your premium. The number of claims you make does.. It doesn't matter if the other guy was uninsured, rear ended you, no police report, completely not your fault, etc.. If you file a claim it will effect your policy.

The analogy referencing one's credit score is right on.. Insurance companies do the same yet you have a "risk" score. Once you hit an insurance providers milestone for risk - you are forced to pay enormous premiums or be removed from the policy all together.

Lastly, you could say there is a 4th element:
Your premium reflects a cost/percentage due to all of the insurance fraud that takes place each year.. Thats right, we are all already paying for all of the uninsured, law-suit happy, illegal alien drivers and car thieves out there....

hwchien

i know i should call the cop first thing, but i hate to deal with insurance comp due to some bad past situcation, also the cops in NY is going to take them about at least 2 hours to show up: time is money(you know). plus i went to another shop to get a qoute which is about the same $350-$400, however that's only for the damange we sees so far don't know what's the damange under that rear bumper. AGAIN thank for all your inputs, next time when i get into a "huge" rear end accident i know what to do.
hwchien

Vanos

how much damage can a 5-10 mph crash inflict? wow

KJSmitty

Most bumpers are engineered to absorb the energy created by a 5 mph or less impact without any other structure being effected.

Once you exceed 5 you really never know what could have been done without pulling the bumper cover and checking the rest of the underlying structure and surrounding mounts etc.

The best thing here is, if they cant see any other structure buckling, misalignments, gaps etc., most likely all of the energy "was" absorbed by the bumper.

Obviously none of us have seen or witnessed the crash so only hwchien and his bodyshops no the facts. The bit with not calling the cops is minor. Heck, if a driver isn't hurt or the car won't move, the cops in my TX town won't even respond to the accident - seriously.. Insurance wise you can always go to the cop-shop and file a report in person to help verify your story. That's what I had my wife due after a parking lot incident.

Anyway, I commend hwchien for remaining calm and civil and handling the issue the way he did. As mentioned, he was there and he made his decisions based off of what he perceived - for both him and the "crasher".

Glad no-one was hurt.

Cheers

A-Spec Guy

Wow.....now you have pointed out a fact I totally missed. Flushing NY, I bet that kind of thing happens all the time in fairly large city traffic......different things to consider there I guess? I hate dealing with cops too...! Know what you mean there.....seems a huge waste of time in the end most of the time.