** Ahh... Car accident. Need advice, pls help

[jimmyhaha]

Yesterday. I went out with my friend. And My friend (John) was involved in a minor car accident with a Korean guy call Kim.

My friend, John, drove a 90¡¦s model ford escort and the Korean guy drive a 2-3 years old dodge Carvan.

Here is how it happened. John U-turn at an intersection at a local suburb neighborhood and didn¡¦t see the Kim¡¦s Carvan coming, they both try to brake but there is a minor collision.

John¡¦s Escort dirver¡¦s side turn signal shatter and the Kim¡¦s Carvan had a few minor scratch on the passenger side and turn signal light.

Kim called the police and the police arrive. The officer cited that my friend John is at fault, and should NOT U-turn at the intersection. The officer asked Kim if he would like to file a police report. However, Kim decided not to do so. So no police report is filed.

My friend John and Kim exchange their our name, license, phone number, address, and insurance info.

Today, John told me that Kim left him voicemail on his answering machine. Kim inform John that he get 2 estimate, $1500 and $1200, plus the cost of a week of car rental. I was informed by others that most Korean are not nice ppl and hard to deal with.

Kim suggested that due to the cost, it may be a better idea to have it to goes thru the insurance company. Kim urged John to contact him ASAP with regarding to the situation.

My question.

1. Kim seems to rip off John by citing > $1000 for minor scratch + rental car for a minor collision.
2. Since there is no police report, how should my friend proceed in this situation ?
3. My friend John just got out of college and is unemployed currently. He has student loan to pay off. So I think this seems a bit tough for him

I am seeking some input from our fellow AT members. Any comments, suggestion, advice is welcomed.

In particular, what is the best option my friends John has now ?

Thanks for your time reading this.

 

[NutBucket]

No police report = screwed. Kim will contact John's insurance and the rest is history.

 

If there's no paper trail (read: police report) your friend is screwed. Once his insurance company hears about it they'll probably drop him or raise his rates up the wazoo.

 

[kami333]

Painting = $$$

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: jimmyhaha
Yesterday. I went out with my friend. And My friend (John) was involved in a minor car accident with a Korean guy call Kim.

My friend, John, drove a 90¡¦s model ford escort and the Korean guy drive a 2-3 years old dodge Carvan.

Here is how it happened. John U-turn at an intersection at a local suburb neighborhood and didn¡¦t see the Kim¡¦s Carvan coming, they both try to brake but there is a minor collision.

John¡¦s Escort dirver¡¦s side turn signal shatter and the Kim¡¦s Carvan had a few minor scratch on the passenger side and turn signal light.

Kim called the police and the police arrive. The officer cited that my friend John is at fault, and should NOT U-turn at the intersection. The officer asked Kim if he would like to file a police report. However, Kim decided not to do so. So no police report is filed.

My friend John and Kim exchange their our name, license, phone number, address, and insurance info.

Today, John told me that Kim left him voicemail on his answering machine. Kim inform John that he get 2 estimate, $1500 and $1200, plus the cost of a week of car rental. I was informed by others that most Korean are not nice ppl and hard to deal with.

Kim suggested that due to the cost, it may be a better idea to have it to goes thru the insurance company. Kim urged John to contact him ASAP with regarding to the situation.

My question.

1. Kim seems to rip off John by citing > $1000 for minor scratch + rental car for a minor collision.
2. Since there is no police report, how should my friend proceed in this situation ?
3. My friend John just got out of college and is unemployed currently. He has student loan to pay off. So I think this seems a bit tough for him

I am seeking some input from our fellow AT members. Any comments, suggestion, advice is welcomed. Thanks for your time reading this.

umm >1000 could be valid, when i got rear ended they decided to repace the bumper (paint was cracked) because the cost of labor to sand and prep it was more than the new bumper. Claim it thru insurance would be my advice


my 2 estimates were 1500 and 2100

weeks worth of rental seems to be bull though, the car will need to be in the shop at most 2 days; They dont need to have the car in order to paint the bumper and stuff... that is the time consuming part


What body parts were scratched up on the minivan?

 

[NutBucket]

BTW, I was on the opposite end of this scenario except that the people I was dealing with just said to talk to their insurance. I got my nice payout

 

[NeoPTLD]

Um... couple of door dings can cost $500 to fix at a reputable shop. $1000 to $1500 is absolutely normal for a collision that needs any kind of paint/body work.

 

[jimmyhaha]

> Claim it thru insurance would be my advice

Questions

there is no police report. How to cliam it thru insurance ?

My understanding is that, Insure company won't belive any side of story if there is no formal paperwork.... you can say whatever u want.

btw, I heard some state DMV require to file an accident report with 7 days. Is it illegal if Kim/John do not file an accident report ?

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: jumpr
If there's no paper trail (read: police report) your friend is screwed. Once his insurance company hears about it they'll probably drop him or raise his rates up the wazoo.

they cant drop him like that... his rates will go up somewhat, but not too crazy. Depends if the state is no-fault or not

 

[NeoPTLD]

Originally posted by: jimmyhaha
> Claim it thru insurance would be my advice

Questions

there is no police report. How to cliam it thru insurance ?

btw, I heard some state DMV require to file an accident report with 7 days. Is it illegal if Kim/John do not file an accident report ?

Every state is different in conditions..

For Oregon:

Report the accident to DMV if there is more than $1500 damage to your vehicle; if any vehicle is towed due to damages resulting from the accident; or if an injury or death resulted from the accident. You must submit an Accident and Insurance Report Form within 72 hours. Accidents on areas open for the use of motor vehicles -- premises open to the public -- must be reported. Some drivers who are in accidents offer to fix the damage and try to get the other driver not to file a report. If you agree to do this, you are breaking the law if the amount of damage is more than $1500.

 

[NutBucket]

Usually for minor accidents its not a huge deal. I think I was suppose to file one for mine but I never did. Hell, the police showed up and didn't bother to take a report!

 

[jimmyhaha]

umm.. thanks for some thoughtful input.

I wonder if there is any police officer, insurance agent, lawyer here ?

 

[John]

The officer cited that my friend John is at fault, and should NOT U-turn at the intersection.

It's quite simple, your friend was ticketed and he's at fault. Since your friend cannot pay the cash settlement, let the insurance co. handle it. People carry insurance for this very reason.........

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: jimmyhaha
umm.. thanks for some thoughtful input.

I wonder if there is any police officer, insurance agent, lawyer here ?

Well, I guess you can always call a lawyer when the the truth doesn't sound good

 

[jimmyhaha]

It's quite simple, your friend was ticketed and he's at fault. Since your friend cannot pay the cash settlement, let the insurance co. handle it. People carry insurance for this very reason.........

as a matter of fact, although the officer cited my friend John is at fault, he do NOT write him a ticket. John is very courteous to both Kim and the Officer.

The thing I can think of what John goes wrong is that neither he, nor Kim, insist on filing a police report.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: jimmyhaha

It's quite simple, your friend was ticketed and he's at fault. Since your friend cannot pay the cash settlement, let the insurance co. handle it. People carry insurance for this very reason.........

as a matter of fact, although the officer cited my friend John is at fault, he do NOT write him a ticket. John is very courteous to both Kim and the Officer.

The thing I can what John goes wrong is that neither he do not insist on filing a police report, nor do Kim.

Then when/if Kim goes to the insurance company they will determine who is at fault.

 

[John]

Sorry Jimmy, I misinterpeted the meaning of "cited".