cjhurtado2

Last week (Dec. 11), my wife and sister in law was rear ended by a Chevy Suburban. The driver has a foreign driver’s license and doesn't carry any insurance. My wife called the police and the Sheriff came and investigated the scene and gave the foreign guy a hefty ticket and towed his vehicle. The Sheriff told my wife that we're pretty screwed because the other party doesn’t have any insurance. According to my wife the impact was felt, the bumper was pushed in, the Suburban has a bull guard installed in the front. Sorry no pictures at the moment, its all in a camera phone.

Day after the incident, the brother of the foreign guy called my wife and they told my wife that they wanted to pay for the repair bill of the car. When this was happening, I was out of country and I’ll be back by Dec. 28. So my wife told them to better save up and my husband will be in contact by end of the month.

Now, here’s the part I need advice on, when I come back what should I do? Will I settle with them or just go thru my insurance and have the insurance do all the job for me? Any advice will be appreciated. It’s my first time dealing with this kind of situation. It kinda ruined our vacation.

Thanks in advance.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Call your insurance co & ask. Don't say it was done just ask of someone hit you without insurance how would THEY handle it.

They have no insurance so your only real course is to sue them for the $$ to repair the car.

Now if they ante up & give you $$ to get it fixed, I'd just do that.

subinf

Find out what your ins co will do. You can always sue him but they might not have any money.

mrdeeno

or you sue them and they go back to their country.

i'd say clal your company and see how they tell you to handle it.

worse comes to worse, they pay the repairs and you pay the deductible and sue the guy for just your deductible. and if they dno't pay, at least you are only out your deductible rather than the entire repair amount.

crazymjb

No rate increase?

Why oh why isn't insurance required

Mike

Eggplant-EX

get a quote from a reliable body shop. Then you can collect the money from these people. I got hit with an uninsured and the cops would not respond. In the end, my insurance handled it. Long story short, they returned $450 of my $500 deductible cause it was not my fault and they had the owner of the car and her husband (he was driving) lose their license cause the guy's

mrdeeno

Insurance IS required, which is why he said the foreign guy got a hefty ticket and his car towed.

taitando

Check your policy. Do you have uninsured motorist coverage? Your collision coverage should take the brunt of it while the uninsured motorist does the rest. Of course, only if you have it. Before calling your insurance, get your stuff together. Report of the accident, round up any witnesses, etc... You can even get quotes from from repair shops before calling your insurance. They will eventually send you to one of their "authorized" shops, but it doesn't hurt to know what others charge, even if you'll only be paying the deductible. Beyond that, if the guys have money to pay, then they need to. Otherwise, remember to document EVERYTHING.

cjhurtado2

I'm back in the US. The damage was more than I was expecting. The trunk was hit as well also damaging the rear a-spec lip spoiler. I will make some calls tomorrow and we'll see what will happen.

S14 n Tsx

hard to deal with those uninsured people. Make sure you get all the money for your damage.

phile

Well? the guy's what?

bigman

If they give you the money, then they give you the money. If they start dicking you, then contact the insurance right away.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

First rule of thumb....contact your insurance company and explain the situation.

Bottom line... your insurance company may not cover the accident since you waited way to long to report it.

Read your insurance policy. Mine says I MUST report any accident within 48 hours whether or not I'm responsible.

S14 n Tsx

learn something new everyday.

cjhurtado2

I spoke to the guy that hit me and he said his only willing to pay $2000 plus my deductible. After hearing that, I contacted my insurance and asked what my policy covers and thank god it covers everything. Still not sure about the diminished value part. I think that is something to deal with after the car is fixed.

So my question to you guys is what can I run after the person who hit me aside from the deductible? I don't think it’s fair that his going to be off the hook just like that. My insurance told me that my rates can go up. What do you think???

cjhurtado2

Sorry for the late update.

My car is now fixed. Insurance paid everything. The one that hit me did not shoulder anything, but my insurance is running after the repair bill. $2550 total repair bill.

Now that my car is fixed. I wanted to trade it in for an TL S-type. I know my car's VIN number will show an accident in carfax. Do you guys have any idea how to know the new value of my car?? or diminished value? I know the dealer will have an upper hand in bargaining. I am planning to sue the one who hit me for the amount of the diminished value and so that I will have that money before I buy a new car. Any idea?? Thanks.

scottsan

It's hard to say the dealer has an upper hand because the dealer is taking a risk by buying a car that has an accident. They can only sell the car at that value. Would any customer want to buy a car that's been in an accident? probably.

Sorry I know this thread is old as my ... shoes.

Motohip

Car fax does not show minor accidents such as yours. Only ones that affect the title of the vehicle.

cjhurtado2

True. I checked it last month. No accident report.

bigd0549

Tell that to all the Mexican nationals running around El Paso TX with Chihuahua plates. They don't have Insurance either. And everyday there are a couple hundred on the streets. If not a thousand cars that could hit you at any time, and try to sometimes, to make it look like your fault. Because they know you have Insurance and they will get paid. It happens everyday down here. Oh, and the state of texas allows it. The only thing county sherrif will do is report that it happened.

Welcome to the border!!!!

Contact your Ins Co. See what they say. I would just settle. They offered and they didn't have to. They said they would fix it. Well, find someone to give you a quote and hold the foreigner to his word.

bigd0549

WOOOHOOO!!!! Glad you got everything worked out. I posted my earlier reply before reading all the way down..........................sorry.

Marty