car accident

[skim milk]

I am a very good driver, very aware of all surrounding but today I got into my first minor fender bender after driving 5 years.

I was yielding to make a right turn with another car in front of me. I thought he merged into the street but I ran into his back bumper at less than 5 mph. My car is fine but he claims that he has to replace his entire back bumper because the two small scratches can't be roughed out. His damage on the car is two very small circular shapes made from the top two screws of my license plate. Barely noticeable but since he let the last person who did this to him go, he wanted to take action this time. The police came and he just said to exchange contact info because it is so minor. Should I let my insurance know about this or wait until they call me to explain the situation? He asked me if I would pay him $200 cash and settle it now so he can get it fixed... seriously, I think the scratches can be covered with a $5 scratch remover from walmart wtf

 

[zoiks]

I'd say keep your insurance out of it. Regardless, painting his bumper would cost around $200. Replacing it would cost a lot more.

 

[mattocs]

Pay him. You are at fault, and I am sure you don't want the insurance company involved. Either pay what he wants, or have him file a claim with your insurance company.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Essentially you're screwed. You're at fault, he controls the situation and you've got no leverage. You either pay what he wants or it goes to insurance settlement.

 

[skim milk]

I'm going to let him file with my insurance company and go from there

 

[Rike]

If you're going to pay him off, at least get him to sign some for receipt of the money and preferably a letter that the payment ends any claim he has against you.

Since you're going with insurance, just remember that you'll be paying for that accident for the next three years or so in the form of higher insurance premiums.

 

[Bignate603]

Big mistake to let him talk to the insurance company, it'll cost you more in the long run because they'll raise your rates. $200 isn't too bad. Keep your record clear.

 

[Baked]

I love ATOT. Person asks for suggestion, forum gives good advice, person does the complete opposite.

Since there's no police report, or witness, you can just deny everything. Call the guy a liar and claim the accident never happened.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Baked
I love ATOT. Person asks for suggestion, forum gives good advice, person does the complete opposite.

Since there's no police report, or witness, you can just deny everything. Call the guy a liar and claim the accident never happened.

I love ATOT because you can always count on at least one person to be unbelievably stupid. The police were called and came. The lack of a report changes nothing. The call was made, the officer is a witness and the damage proves who was at fault. Try to deny it? Go out an try to buy yourself a clue.

 

[1sikbITCH]

Originally posted by: Baked
I love ATOT. Person asks for suggestion, forum gives good advice, person does the complete opposite.

Since there's no police report, or witness, you can just deny everything. Call the guy a liar and claim the accident never happened.

Yes that's sound advice :laugh: You cannot stop the person you hit from giving his lawyer or insurance company your tag number. What are you going to do, shoot him?
Once the lawyer gets the tag number, we run the tag and then file a claim against your insurance company. Then you get a call from your insurance adjuster asking for your side of the story. If the other person was smart enough to write down the name of the responding officer, your insurance company will talk to the police officer if you deny the accident. Even though he did not write a report, he still responded to the scene and that will be logged in. If you did not deny the accident to the officer, you will look stupid trying to deny it now, and your insurance company will likely decide to accept liability.

If he calls your insurance company, just take your lumps and be more careful next time.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: zoiks
I'd say keep your insurance out of it. Regardless, painting his bumper would cost around $200. Replacing it would cost a lot more.

Not necessarily, but without seeing it no one can tell if the bumper is permanently dinged.

A urethane cover is usually about $100-200. Much cheaper than paying someone to try and fix it.

You will still need to paint it. Some are made to color.

Being that he was already hit before you probably get the joy of making him whole over two accidents.

However, for $200 to me it's a no brainer. Have him since a release though. Last thing you need is to hand him $200 and he claims against you on top of that. It happens. I'd do it with a check or money order so there is a paper trail.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Originally posted by: fritolays
I am a very good driver, very aware of all surrounding but today I got into my first minor fender bender after driving 5 years.

I was yielding to make a right turn with another car in front of me. I thought he merged into the street but I ran into his back bumper at less than 5 mph. My car is fine but he claims that he has to replace his entire back bumper because the two small scratches can't be roughed out. His damage on the car is two very small circular shapes made from the top two screws of my license plate. Barely noticeable but since he let the last person who did this to him go, he wanted to take action this time. The police came and he just said to exchange contact info because it is so minor. Should I let my insurance know about this or wait until they call me to explain the situation? He asked me if I would pay him $200 cash and settle it now so he can get it fixed... seriously, I think the scratches can be covered with a $5 scratch remover from walmart wtf

Always watch the person in front of you in those kinds of situations. Don't even worry about cross traffic because it doesn't matter until it's your turn to make the right turn.

 

[Axoliien]

If you are paying, ask him for a written estimate from a local car repair shop that you can follow up with. Get him to sign that you have paid him for any damages you two agree to, and that he accepts the payment as full for all damages known or unknown, otherwise he could come back later saying you did something that he didn't know about at the time... Insurance can get costly if you file through them, it just depends on the total. Call your insurance first and find out, your rep can (may) help you figure out what is the better path to go without requiring you to file anything permanent.

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt


I love ATOT because you can always count on at least one person to be unbelievably stupid. The police were called and came. The lack of a report changes nothing. The call was made, the officer is a witness and the damage proves who was at fault. Try to deny it? Go out an try to buy yourself a clue.

LOL you must one of those people who think the Internet is serious business.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Baked

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt


I love ATOT because you can always count on at least one person to be unbelievably stupid. The police were called and came. The lack of a report changes nothing. The call was made, the officer is a witness and the damage proves who was at fault. Try to deny it? Go out an try to buy yourself a clue.

LOL you must one of those people who think the Internet is serious business.

No, I'm one of those people who recognize complete bullshit when I hear it. I'm one of those people who think that the internet is full of stupid people who say stupid things and then reply "just kidding" when they receive the smacking they so richly deserve.

 

[bctbct]

"He asked me if I would pay him $200 cash and settle it now so he can get it fixed... seriously, I think the scratches can be covered with a $5 scratch remover from walmart wtf"

wtf is right, let him put two scrtaches in your hood, exchange $5 touch-up paint and call it even.

you broke his shit, fix it or pay higher rates.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: fritolays
I'm going to let him file with my insurance company and go from there

ughhhh...big mistake. You are gonna pay up the ass.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: zoiks
I'd say keep your insurance out of it. Regardless, painting his bumper would cost around $200. Replacing it would cost a lot more.

Not necessarily, but without seeing it no one can tell if the bumper is permanently dinged.

A urethane cover is usually about $100-200. Much cheaper than paying someone to try and fix it.

You will still need to paint it. Some are made to color.

Being that he was already hit before you probably get the joy of making him whole over two accidents.

However, for $200 to me it's a no brainer. Have him since a release though. Last thing you need is to hand him $200 and he claims against you on top of that. It happens. I'd do it with a check or money order so there is a paper trail.

If there's a scratch on it as the OP says there is, chances are that it will cost upto $200 or even more to fix it especially if the other party knows that there is some damage. I'm talking about minimal damage here.
I had some scratches removed from my car and it cost me $250 and there were no dents; just 3 small scratches.

 

[skim milk]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: fritolays
I'm going to let him file with my insurance company and go from there

ughhhh...big mistake. You are gonna pay up the ass.

damn, I'll have to get some pictures from the guy and go around to get estimates or something

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: fritolays

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: fritolays
I'm going to let him file with my insurance company and go from there

ughhhh...big mistake. You are gonna pay up the ass.

damn, I'll have to get some pictures from the guy and go around to get estimates or something

yeah....i did the same. I have to pay an extra $300 on my premium every year until 2011 or until they take it off my record

 

[Drakkon]

Exact same accident happened to me on Friday (almost word for word in fact ) and I feeling your same pain/questions. I'll say you did the right thing with going with the insurance. If for whatever reason the guy decided to claim injuries in the future you have insurance to cover you. Without going through them your left in legal limbo which can be dangerous. Yes you'll pay a higher rate but from past experience its better to have insurance cover your ass then set yourself up for any possible lawsuits.

 

[enwar3]

What do you guys mean by signing for stuff? What release? Like one I type up that says "X accepted A amount of dollars from Y for...." and have us both sign?

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: Baked

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt


I love ATOT because you can always count on at least one person to be unbelievably stupid. The police were called and came. The lack of a report changes nothing. The call was made, the officer is a witness and the damage proves who was at fault. Try to deny it? Go out an try to buy yourself a clue.

LOL you must one of those people who think the Internet is serious business.

No, I'm one of those people who recognize complete bullshit when I hear it. I'm one of those people who think that the internet is full of stupid people who say stupid things and then reply "just kidding" when they receive the smacking they so richly deserve.

Any normal person could tell that was a joke. You say the internet is full of stupid people, I would agree with you.

 

[mattocs]

Real dumb move to go to the insurance company. I bet it'll cost you a ton more.

 

[skim milk]

Originally posted by: mattocs
Real dumb move to go to the insurance company. I bet it'll cost you a ton more.

so it would've been better to pay 200+ cash there?
I didn't realize it would be so costly, I thought he was trying to rip me off for such a small minor damage that is barely visible

and it's on the back bumper on a old car... where it has a bunch of other scratches
not like it was on a new car on anything