Seeking advice on accident.

[LollerBrader]

A woman backed into my van tonight, as I was standing there. I heard the crunch, saw the front end of my vehicle compress, and watched my van rock back and forth.

Surprisingly, there was no significant visible damage. Our hood is slightly warped, but functional.

Far more evident is the damage from last year when my wife rear ended someone's beater. No visible damage to them, so they gave us a pass. Light cosmetic damage on to our vehicle. We never claimed or repaired.

I have no intention of trying to pin the older damage on her, and am inclined to give her a "pass". She's a new mom, etc etc etc.


While I'm content to give her a pass, I don't necessarily want to waive all rights to claim any damage that we may notice later.

Anyone have any advice to offer?

[Sugarphreak]

...

[CompletelyNumb]

Depends how warped the hood is. I'd claim it if it were me. Thats what she has insurance for.

Ive been hit in parking lots a few times and had 0 damage so I don't really care. But if something is bent/broken/warped, I certainly don't want to shoulder the cost myself, simply because theyre a bad driver.

[Kloubek]

It's up to you, really. Someone else did you a solid and now it is up to you if you wish to return the favour. While nice, it is not an obligation.

If it were me, it would depend if the van was worth being pristine or not. Apparently, you wife's previous damage which went unrepaired was not an issue so I imagine it isn't really a big deal to you. If that is the case, I personally would not get it fixed just for the sake of the fact you "can".

However, if the van is something really dear to you and you didn't get the bumper fixed from your wife's accident due to lack of funds, etc, then you should not have to pay for someone else's mistake.

Good on you though for considering the other driver. Many wouldn't. If it was me, it would totally depend on which vehicle I was driving. If it was one of my older Jeeps, I probably would have let it pass. If it was my CX9 (my daily familymobile which is still in really good shape) then I would insist on having it fixed.

I agree with Sugar when he says that if the damage was enough to potentially damage more significantly than you can see then it would be a good idea to at least get it checked out to verify it is ok before doing her the favour.

[psi_klops]

I heard (from an unreliable source) that by not reporting it you run the risk of having the persone (who was at fault) report the accident and blame you as the one responsible for the accident.
Is that really possible???

[jsn]

Originally posted by psi_klops
I heard (from an unreliable source) that by not reporting it you run the risk of having the persone (who was at fault) report the accident and blame you as the one responsible for the accident.
Is that really possible???

I've heard that before too but I don't know if there's any truth to it. However, I had an accident a while ago and when I reported it to the cops, they told me to always report any accident no matter how big or small. Better to cover your ass just in case. Just because you reported it to the cops, doesn't mean you have to make a claim with insurance either.

[LollerBrader]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Just take it in for a quick inspection at a dealer or body shop, find out definitively if there is any other damage you may not be able to see.

If everything is just cosmetic and you can live with it, let her know. You can put the issue to bed and both move on without the looming mystery of if it will come back to haunt you later.

Would be my advice anyway

Excellent advice. This really speaks to me, and it's what I'm going to do.

Thanks Sugarphreak.

[Kloubek]

As jsn said - reporting it to the cops doesn't mean insurance has to know about it. Two different entities altogether who don't communicate with each other.

[DEATH2000]

Originally posted by psi_klops
I heard (from an unreliable source) that by not reporting it you run the risk of having the persone (who was at fault) report the accident and blame you as the one responsible for the accident.
Is that really possible???
Absolutley. Especially accidents at intersections, where the issue of who is at fault is iffy. You are much better off to be the person who reports the accident then the one getting a call from the police or someone else's insurance company. Their are people out their who would be more then happy to blame you and make you pay when it was their fault.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by psi_klops
I heard (from an unreliable source) that by not reporting it you run the risk of having the persone (who was at fault) report the accident and blame you as the one responsible for the accident.
Is that really possible???

Time isn't the issue here. The only time that would be a problem is if the circumstances of the accident were debateable. In this case, the other person hit the OP's parked car. Pretty hard to dispute that and come up with an alternate story.

OP, you have two years from the date of the event to file a claim. I would get the other person's contact & insurance information, take a few pictures and maybe have a shop look at it. If the damage is something that you really don't care about it then don't worry about a claim.

[M.alex]

Originally posted by psi_klops
I heard (from an unreliable source) that by not reporting it you run the risk of having the persone (who was at fault) report the accident and blame you as the one responsible for the accident.
Is that really possible???

YES! It happened to my dad - a lady backed up into his car (parked on the street). Very minor damage on his car, massive damage to hers (since his was a 90s volvo, built like a tank, and hers was some plastic toyota shitbox).

She was 110% at fault. She even admitted full blame and said she'd do whatever it took to fix it. My dad said don't worry about it (Since he had next to no damage)

Fast forward 4 or 5days - my dad got notified by his insurance company that she was claiming he rammed <his parked car> into her and saying he was 100% at fault for the accident.

After arguing with his insurance company they ended up saying the accident was 50/50

[know1edge]

Originally posted by M.alex


YES! It happened to my dad - a lady backed up into his car (parked on the street). Very minor damage on his car, massive damage to hers (since his was a 90s volvo, built like a tank, and hers was some plastic toyota shitbox).

She was 110% at fault. She even admitted full blame and said she'd do whatever it took to fix it. My dad said don't worry about it (Since he had next to no damage)

Fast forward 4 or 5days - my dad got notified by his insurance company that she was claiming he rammed &lt;his parked car&gt; into her and saying he was 100% at fault for the accident.

After arguing with his insurance company they ended up saying the accident was 50/50

But even if your dad reported it, she could have still said the same thing right?

[DEATH2000]

Originally posted by know1edge


But even if your dad reported it, she could have still said the same thing right?
Technically, yes.

This is why when speaking to anyone after an accident you should record the conversation. I believe AMA actually recommended carrying a tape recorder for this purpose.

[revelations]

Originally posted by DEATH2000

Technically, yes.

This is why when speaking to anyone after an accident you should record the conversation. I believe AMA actually recommended carrying a tape recorder for this purpose.

Youll have to prove in court that the person in the recording is the person in question. Otherwise youre recording a random conversation.

[-relk-]

Originally posted by DEATH2000

Technically, yes.

This is why when speaking to anyone after an accident you should record the conversation. I believe AMA actually recommended carrying a tape recorder for this purpose.

A witness would be even better.

[DEATH2000]

Originally posted by revelations


Youll have to prove in court that the person in the recording is the person in question. Otherwise youre recording a random conversation.
Not hard to match the voice on the tape to the voice of the person in the court room.

I agree a witness, or video camera is much better. After speaking with my insurance company they stated a video from a dash cam would be better then a witness should an issue arrise.

[clemmy26]

Don't give anyone a free pass.