Minor Parking lot incident extortion?

[BMDUBS]

Hi Guys,


I had a minor incident in a parking lot in the NW in the Hamptons with my company vehicle.

I was pulling a 18' trailer with my work truck and I ended up making contact with a bumper of a Nissan Ultima trying to maneuver into a parking spot.

I stopped just as my tires rubbed up against the bumper but the center cap that covers the wheel bearing left a 5" scratch. I waited for the owner to come out to discuss.

The bumper on her car was damaged in 2 other areas from other fender benders that she had not repaired. I asked her to get a couple of quotes to get the damage repaired and she came back asking for $5-$800.00.

I told her to forget that number as the damage I cause opposed to the rest of the bumpers damage was fractional and offered $250. She agreed to $250 but wanted a minimum of $300.

What do you guys think? $250 is like a days worth of wages. Do I suck it up and tell my boss and have her go through the insurance channels, or do I just suck it up and pay? This car is a POS with lots of other damage and I know for certain she is going shopping with my cash and not going to repair this.

Also if I do go through with the payment, I will have her sign a waiver that she cant come after me, my company or insurance company for any other recourse. If I draft this document will it hold up if there is any other claims by her in the future?

[Sugarphreak]

...

[Maxx Mazda]

Up to you. Hassle wise, pay her and leave it at that. Not worth the headache. If you want to make sure she doesn't go shopping with the money, go ahead and go through insurance, and pay the $500 (whatever your deductible is) but have the satisfaction in knowing she isn't taking you for a ride.

[GTS4tw]

You damaged someones car. $250 seems super cheap to me! Just make sure she signs something stating that the $250 is to fully repair damage and absolves you of further action or she will take your cash and make an insurance claim.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally posted by GTS4tw
You damaged someones car. $250 seems super cheap to me! Just make sure she signs something stating that the $250 is to fully repair damage and absolves you of further action or she will take your cash and make an insurance claim.

Yep, there's even template documents available online that are intended for that, with both parties signing and agreeing to waive any further damages.

[ExtraSlow]

This isn't too bad at all. $250 or $300 is a great deal. So what if she goes shopping with that money? She's the one who's been wronged here, so it's her choice how she spends the money.

I don't think you have any cause to complain. Get her to sign something, and just pay her.

[GT.....O?]

250 bucks to avoid a headache with insurance?... Dude, think about it.

One days wage is nothing. Like everyone else said, get her to sign something and forget about it.

I'd take that deal any day.

[sr20s14zenki]

Dont fuck up next time, pretty simple.

I backed into a guys 04 civic about 4 years ago, put our work truck hitch right thru his bumper. It cost me 800$ to get a bumper, and get it painted. He was super chill and allowed me to install it myself (he was stoked that i waited for him to come out of the bathroom at esso, and was honest).

Never did that again, lol

[spikerS]

Like the others have said, $250-$300 is cheap. Doesn't count as a strik on insurance, boss doesn't hate you as he does not have another headache to deal with, everyone walks away happy.

If you are worried about the cash, cash in a vacation day.

As for what she does with the money? Who cares, once she signs that waiver, she can do whatever she wants with it, it is none of your concern. As far as you are concerned, it was a cheap pay off to avoid bigger headaches.

[Masked Bandit]

I think the OP gets the message. As for what the lady does with the money you give her, well that's none of your concern. You were at-fault. End of story. If she wants you to pay her $1000 for the pain in the ass there is nothing illegal about that. If you don't agree to her terms, regardless of how unreasonable they are, she will simply go through insurance and there will be an at-fault claim on your company's insurance. And the increased premiums are going to be a hell of a lot more than $250. Pay up sunshine.

[lilmira]

no fiddy/fiddy anymore?

[GTS4tw]

Originally posted by lilmira
no fiddy/fiddy anymore?

He hit a parked car. Im going to say, no.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by BMDUBS
Do I suck it up and tell my boss

Even if you pay her cash, you should still be telling your boss. Even if she signs a waiver, there's nothing stopping her from attempting to sue down the road, at which point your boss will be asking WTF?

[Stealth22]

^



Keep your boss in the loop. I presume there's no damage to your company vehicle, so he won't be too mad about it, especially if you're paying the $250 and making the headache go away.

He may want a copy of that waiver, though.

[GoChris]

Originally posted by GTS4tw


He hit a parked car. Im going to say, no.

Pretty sure it says she was maneuvering into a spot which would make it a 50/50 fault accident in a parking lot.

[Kloubek]

Firstly, good on you for sticking around. Assuming there were not witnesses and you didn't HAVE to, that shows something about your character in a big way.

Yeah, just give her the $250 or $300, get her to sign it off and be done with it. Yes it sucks, but it is a hard lesson which teaches you to be more careful next time. And like others are saying - who cares what she does with the money. From your perspective, all you want is to be done with it.

[ShermanEF9]

250 is perfectly reasonable. it would cost you a lot more going through insurance. just make sure you get it on paper that it was paid and you're no longer liable.

[bignerd]

I had someone back out of a stall into the side of my car(rear half of my car) while I was driving down an aisle of a parking lot. No way I would go 50/50 on that, regardless of the fact it was in a parking lot.

Went through insurance and their company paid to fix it.

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by GoChris


Pretty sure it says she was maneuvering into a spot which would make it a 50/50 fault accident in a parking lot.

OP was the one maneuvering into a parking spot. The other person's vehicle was parked. OP is 100% at fault.

[BMDUBS]

Thanks for all the input in this thread.

Yes I was 100% at fault and yes I stuck around because I would be pissed if someone hit and ran me. I guess the fact she was looking in the region of $5-$800 to start was what pissed me off and that she thought I should be paying more and reluctantly accepted my offer. This bumper was already fucked in at least 2 other places significantly and the 5" scratch I caused I knew she was not getting my money to repair it. I guess I was feeling gouged but in the big picture you are all right in that it is way cheaper and less headache paying her outright.

I will find a release waver online, do any of you know where I can get one? Google leads me to all sorts of sites that end up wanting a CC number even though it is free?

I also took the advise in this thread and came clean to my Boss. He laughed it off and said that the company will cover it

Thanks again for all the input...