FINAL UPDATE and $600 later - backed into a car, cost to fix an acura door?

[KingstonU]

FINAL UPDATE:

So I ended up giving the guy $600 cash and had him sign a waiver of liability. He definitely saw an opportunity to pocket a lot of money out of this and tried every trick possible to milk more out of me. He was trying to get $800 + 3 day car rental for an estimate he never got and a rental he didn't intend on doing. When I was speaking to him on the phone I could hear his friends egging him on for more money and telling him what to say. I politely used responses that let him realize that I wasn't stupid and could tell that he didn't really intend to get it fixed and didn't beleive that he had this special shop that cost more but it was the only one he trusted etc etc, he tried every trick including going to insurance after all, and I called his bluffs and reminded him that I was doing the right thing when most people would not have and that money was going from my pocket to his. When I drove out give him the money he smelled heavily like pot. Whatever, he signed the waiver, he was happy and I'm happy it's over.

I know the lesson in this is to just be a more attentive driver at all times (I also need to be in less of a rush) and that it could have been worse. But damn by the end I am just feeling really aggravated and not so sure that I'm happy I did the right thing cause, I could easily have gotten away with it, there is not a scratch on my car, no one was around and he would never have been able to know who it was, but I did the right thing anyways and this guy didn't hesitate to try and milk this opportunity to pocket a lot of extra money out of it.

Thanks AT for the advice.


UPDATE 2: also added photos on page 2 of thread

UPDATE 1: Met the guy and his girlfriend at a local coffee shop, it went pretty well considering, I said sorry, he said he appreciated me leaving him a note with my information. It's a 98 EL and not a 03 TL like I thought. We discussed costs and body shops. He was going to get priced from a shop he's been to before and says he has a friend who could do the paint job for him. He said he would just want cash and he would get the work done in the summer when there is no more snow/salt on the roads. I said if it wasn't too expensive or too complicated then I wouldn't need to go to insurance and he agreed.

I don't know if I can still get raped with costs, though he seemed like a reasonable guy. Funny thing is, my roommate just got his mirror taken off the day before and that guy just took off.

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backed into a white acura (looks an older model, maybe 1995-2000), dented the drivers side door and exchanged a bit of paint, didn't look like an easy fix, left a note with my phone number on their windshield, any idea how much it will cost to fix? I just want to pay cash and not deal with insurance, any adivce on places to look for replacement door? any one know a cheap body shop in the Toronto area?

Any help/advice very appreciated, thank you

 

[jlee]

How bad? They will probably have to re-skin the door. If you hit my car, I wouldn't want a cheap body shop fixing it.. I'm going to guess $400-800, but I'm really not sure.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I pretty much agree. $500 minimum, wouldn't be surprised to see ~$1200+ if they took it to a dealer.

 

[KingstonU]

Guy called me, didn't seem too upset and asked if I wanted to go to insurance, I said no I will just pay for damages, he says he will likely want a new door which I expected. So several hundreds to a thousand for a new door? Any place I should be looking for a new door?

Thanks for the replies,

 

[Doggiedog]

Dunno. But it was awfully good of you to do the right thing and not run off.

 

[ViviTheMage]

:thumbsup: to you for leaving information...unlike what happened to me...twice.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2043975

 

[zoiks]

Good for you OP for leaving your info. Most people would act like douches and take off.

 

[zoiks]

The thing that'll cost money is likely the door/skin replacement and paint. I had a dent in my driver side front fender where a lady hit me (she wasn't looking). My insurance reimbursed me but I remember the bill was around $3500 or so. Yours should be a lot cheaper since bodyshops tend to charge insurance companies more. Although I would get a door from a wrecking yard and have that painted instead of buying a new one (the acura you mentioned is pretty old anyway).

 

[exar333]

Good for you OP for leaving your info. Most people would act like douches and take off.

+1. Props to the OP for being a stand-up guy.

Hopefully if someone ever does this to your car, they are equally honest and step up to take responsibility.

 

[amdhunter]

Going to be a huge PITA to match the paint on an older car. If the driver wants his paint to match, you might end up having to paint the whole car.

At that point, it's better to go through insurance, and let them fight it out.

 

[KingstonU]

It looks like a Acura TL like this: http://images.autosweet.com/722/19UUA56663A038565_1_640.jpg

Sounds like this is going to cost 1/2 the price of my whole car, oh well I gotta bite the bullet

 

[vshah]

It looks like a 93 Acura TL like this: http://images.autosweet.com/722/19UUA56663A038565_1_640.jpg

that's 2003, not 1993

 

[Vette73]

if its more then a couple hundred then let insurance handle it.

 

[evident]

wow, you're a really good person for leaving your information.

 

[KingstonU]

Yah 93 is what came up with that image when I did a google search. But that is a 2003 like you said. I called a couple places and so far I've been quoted $600 at a body shop for a new door and matching paint-job, maybe less he said if he can just fix it. But an Acura dealership quoted me $1600-$1800 for the same thing!!

 

[KingstonU]

Now I am wondering what other considerations there might be, like how long it will take to replace it and paint it, then if it's a couple of days the guy may demand that I pay for a car rental for him. This could easily start reaching or passing $2,000 *sigh*

 

[NutBucket]

Meh, a good shop can bang out a dent very well. I had it done on my Accord and when I later had to open up the door I could see that the skin was very smooth....very little filler necessary. To me there is nothing wrong with a proper repair.

 

[Vette73]

Now I am wondering what other considerations there might be, like how long it will take to replace it and paint it, then if it's a couple of days the guy may demand that I pay for a car rental for him. This could easily start reaching or passing $2,000 *sigh*

Thats why you just give him your insurance and let them deal with it.

1-2months before the policy is up get several quotes and live your life.

 

[IcePickFreak]

For a door you're going to have to have it re-skinned or completely replaced. The cheapest and probably best option would be to get a salvage door and have it painted. If the body shop is competent, they'll be able to do that ahead of time and then have the guy bring the car in and swap over anything they need to swap over (hinges, door internals if they didn't come with it) and the guy should only be out of a car for a day.

What color was the car btw? That will play a part in how easy/hard it is to color match. They may want the guy to at least stop in before hand if it's a color that had a lot of variations from the factory so they can match it to the correct one. Again it depends on the shop doing he work, but we did plenty of jobs this way when I worked in autobody.

 

[KingstonU]

Thats why you just give him your insurance and let them deal with it. 1-2months before the policy is up get several quotes and live your life.

But won't my insurance go up and in the long run I will have paid more than $2,000? The fact that I made a claim must stay on an insurance record forever no?

 

[Vette73]

But won't my insurance go up and in the long run I will have paid more than $2,000? The fact that I made a claim must stay on an insurance record forever no?

It stays on for the most 3 years. That and many will not raise your rates. That is why you shop around every 6months.

Even if you pay for it in 3 years of added fees, that is a intrest free loan.

So why pay insurance if you will not use it?

 

[PricklyPete]

Good for you OP for leaving your info. Most people would act like douches and take off.

Agreed.

 

[KingstonU]

It's silver and the body shop that quoted me the $600 to replace the whole door described the exact same procedure and amount of time as you did IcePickFreak.

Now I gotta go meet the guy in person, bleh..

 

[Bignate603]

It's silver and the body shop that quoted me the $600 to replace the whole door described the exact same procedure and amount of time as you did IcePickFreak.

Now I gotta go meet the guy in person, bleh..

That's not too terrible.

 

[CurseTheSky]

For $600 I would just do it, but make sure they look at the car first, if possible. If they start throwing in the "well... we might need to do xxxx" act, then either look elsewhere, or go through insurance.

I'm not sure of the legality of such a situation (not reporting the accident and not going through insurance), but if possible get the owner to put something in writing. Their approval of the repair, the body shop, and that you're not responsible for anything incorrect or unfinished once the body shop makes the repair. That way you won't find yourself in court if they decide the paint job wasn't "good enough."