Car backed into.....what's next?

[bjstare]

Originally posted by OPGForce


+ 1

This is a wise piece of advice. People always freak out when they see the quote.

Another +1.

Also, as mentioned, getting her to sign something doesn't really mean shit. Good luck trying to enforce it.

[Xtrema]

Don't bother settle it outside of insurance, just claim it.

I don't really care if you are the Pope, if you hit me and I can't buff the damage out in 2 mins, I'm dealing with insurance, end of story.

I gave people an out once and end up stressing myself.

[eblend]

Hypothetical question, if I found a door, in my color, at a yard, and just replaced it myself (I am mechanically inclined so its easy for me), and just charged her for my time and she paid me cash, should I still get a police report done and all that? The damage is localized just to that portion of the door with nothing else damaged, so for a quick job I can save the headache for myself and the lady.

Just trying to explore all avenues. I found a door in my exact color that I can get for a reasonable price <$500 and it would only take me a couple of hours to swap it out. Charge her $1000 cash up front and call it a day? I don't mind going through insurance and all that, but I really distrust body shops and paint....as the paint never truly matches and you can see it was repainted and all that. If I can get a factory door off a wrecked car, it will be factory color which should much better I think, and that's that, few hours and the problem is gone.

Opinions?

[darthVWader]

Get her to sleep with you. Then claim it!!!

[Calgaryscot]

Originally posted by eblend
Hypothetical question, if I found a door, in my color, at a yard, and just replaced it myself (I am mechanically inclined so its easy for me), and just charged her for my time and she paid me cash, should I still get a police report done and all that? The damage is localized just to that portion of the door with nothing else damaged, so for a quick job I can save the headache for myself and the lady.

Just trying to explore all avenues. I found a door in my exact color that I can get for a reasonable price &lt;$500 and it would only take me a couple of hours to swap it out. Charge her $1000 cash up front and call it a day? I don't mind going through insurance and all that, but I really distrust body shops and paint....as the paint never truly matches and you can see it was repainted and all that. If I can get a factory door off a wrecked car, it will be factory color which should much better I think, and that's that, few hours and the problem is gone.

Opinions?

You don't trust them to match the paint but you would put one on from a different car???

[J-hop]

Originally posted by eblend
Hypothetical question, if I found a door, in my color, at a yard, and just replaced it myself (I am mechanically inclined so its easy for me), and just charged her for my time and she paid me cash, should I still get a police report done and all that? The damage is localized just to that portion of the door with nothing else damaged, so for a quick job I can save the headache for myself and the lady.

Opinions?

Legally you are required to report it, but it is up to you. For reference a cheap front quarter panel for my VW was assessed at around $2300 by two separate shops. It's up to you though, sure you could probably get away with it....

http://www.transportation.alberta.ca...rsvehicles.htm

Originally posted by Thaco
insurance knows people deal without them, not like they're gonna blackball you for it...i am sure they encourage it, they keep collecting your free money, you do all the work.... (they do want to know about it, but they dont care if you use insurance for it)

Yea I agree they for sure know people deal outside of them. In my policy though it states I must inform them of any collision damage as soon as possible and a failure to do so may result in a lack of coverage. Obviously they say that to scare you but it leaves you open to their discretion. NEVER rely on an insurance company's discretion, they aren't your friend. Safest to go by the book IMO.

[88CRX]

You sound like someone who has not been fucked around by the word of a random stranger. Good luck

[triplep]

Originally posted by schurchill39
I know you want to do this lady a solid, and I commend you for it, but I think you're in for a headache. I've dealt with similar situations in the past and things turn ugly real quick once you present them with the costs associated with their mistake (damage repair + rental). She is going to start questioning the quote saying its way to high etc.

Unless she has cash she is willing to hand over the second you give her a quote, save yourselves the hassle and just go through insurance.

An additional tidbit, you can still go through your insurance and let them know that the individual wants to settle outside of their insurance. Have had this in the past when I hit someone.

They called their insurance and I paid my settlement cheque directly to the insurance company, no involvement from my insurance company. It did suck, since the guy decided to go on holidays while his car was in the shop and I still got charged for his rental vehicle during that time.

The lesson learned from that incident was just to call your insurance company for any accident related issue. That way, they have the file on claim, if it goes south, they can work on recovering the amount directly from the individual without the involvement of their insurance company, or then they can go after the persons insurance company. Also, from a claim stand point, I think there might be some kind of limitation to how long you can wait for a claim, so they could try to drag it out and then you are screwed as you can't claim it with your insurance company.

[eblend]

Originally posted by Calgaryscot


You don't trust them to match the paint but you would put one on from a different car???

I figure it will mostly be the same. With paint matching they have to overspray onto the other panels and such to make it blend in. It's an older car so I don't too much care for 100% match, it's just the time and effort involved, vs just replacing a door in a couple hours and calling it a day. With the shop I will have to arrange for a drop off...rental car....weeks out. It's a basic car from the same year, and a base white color, think it will match pretty well, at least the weathered look. I took a look at it today and the door is in good shape.

Originally posted by 88CRX
You sound like someone who has not been fucked around by the word of a random stranger. Good luck

I sell shit on Kijiji all the time haha, so I have been fucked plenty of times, I expect the worst. We will see. Going to the police station today and then to the body shop I have visited before on an unrelated matter, then will decide what to do once I get some figure on paper.

Trying to build good karma. Not in business of fucking people over if I don't have to, but if things go south, insurance it is. I plan on settling this matter within a few days here, most likely tomorrow, so if I don't have cash in hand tomorrow, then insurance it is.

[max_boost]

time to get rid of it and buy that $80k car you've been wanting

[A790]

Originally posted by NoPulp
I'm assuming this person is younger? To me that looks like more damage than they're going to be able to pay out of pocket. If they are young going through insurance will really screw things up for them, so if you want to be nice get the quote and give them the opportunity to not got through insurance. Just make sure to protect yourself as suggested by other members.

I had a friend in high-school that backed into a person. All they had was a broken taillight, my friend told them he'd pay cash for it. The jerks went through insurance with some crazy ass quote and really fucked his insurance.

The "jerks" did the right thing.

OP, go through insurance. It's not going to "fuck her over". Her premiums will rise for a few years, sure, but they'll start dropping after 1 year of no tickets/accidents.

Maybe paying more for insurance will teach her to be more careful.

[lasimmon]

You don't pay insurance every month to not use it when some idiot runs into you.

[suntan]

Go through insurance, you probably won't even pay the deductible.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by A790
Maybe paying more for insurance will teach her to be more careful.

Yup. That's the point.

People who settle it outside of insurance are the biggest jerks because people learned nothing and in the long run cost everyone more.

[eblend]

Originally posted by max_boost
time to get rid of it and buy that $80k car you've been wanting

Been thinking about it haha, wanted to pay off the house first, but that's pretty much done, so perhaps time to think about it. I have been thinking this car is cursed as of the last few days, got a speeding ticket like 2 days ago, then a day later this...get her fixed up and move on.

Originally posted by lasimmon
You don't pay insurance every month to not use it when some idiot runs into you.

I'm of the same opinion, but since it's her company paying, I still pay into my insurance and not using it...so doesn't matter ether way to me.


Got a quote from a place today, $4800 to fix it up, or 2 hours of work to replace the door if I get them one to just swap it out.

[max_boost]

^^^ no good deed goes unpunished bro. don't be a hero. let insurance take care of it. you owe her nothing.

[Thaco]

if you wanna turf the car anyway then defo get a quote and see if she will pay cash, if she does, sell it damaged, cut your losses, chances are the repair is worth more than the car, you'll end up ahead.

[cancer man]

you were parked in front of your friends driveway 50/50 split and good luck.

[acedia]

Originally posted by triplep
An additional tidbit, you can still go through your insurance and let them know that the individual wants to settle outside of their insurance.

THIS.

You have insurance to protect you. Call them and get them involved. The woman can still decide to pay everything and it won't affect her insurance (even when her insurance and yours are involved making sure things go smoothly). I've been on the smashee side of this a couple of times (never the smasher).

You're covered in case she goes weird and decides not to pay the bodyshop after the work is done, or whatever, and if she follows through and pays, she saves her insurance rates from going up.

There is no way in hell I would ever go through a repair like this without contacting my insurance company.

[Gestalt]

Is it just the door? What kind of car? Just go call a couple wreckers, find a matching door, toss it on.

No need for big money drama.

If it's more than the door, get a quote from a couple independent body shops that don't do a lot of insurance work. Give it to her, and let her decide if she pays or insurance.

It's no stress helping someone out when you can. It's just a car.