rear-ended on the way into work

[slag]

I was on my way to work and stopped at a 4 way stop. Next thing I know, I am getting hit from behind (not hard, but enough to move my car forward). We both pull over, inspect the damage. It appears the license plate frame on her 97 neon creased and broke the paint on the bumper on my 96 Maxima.

We exchanged information (she kept saying she was late for class), and went on. I called the number she gave me for her dad when I got to work to let him know and of course, she hadn't told him yet. He wants to keep it outside of insurance if the value is less than $1000.00 (which I am sure it is).

I have about a 1 foot long crease in the bumper and broken paint and the shops I am going to get estimates from insist on removing the entire bumper, fixing it, painting all of it, and clearcoating the entire thing. I'm getting the estimates this afternoon. The only pic I have sucks because it was with a camera phone. I'll take a good one later.

Probably $400.00 damage or so I'd imagine.

My dilemma.

The car is my beater/daily driver. Should I take the money and get it fixed, or, is it wrong to use the money for anything I would want to, i.e, savings, paying off bills, etc....

What are your thoughts?

 

[FrustratedUser]

ING Orange @ 2.2% is your best bet.

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: slag
I was on my way to work and stopped at a 4 way stop. Next thing I know, I am getting hit from behind (not hard, but enough to move my car forward). We both pull over, inspect the damage. It appears the license plate frame on her 97 neon creased and broke the paint on the bumper on my 96 Maxima.

We exchanged information (she kept saying she was late for class), and went on. I called the number she gave me for her dad when I got to work to let him know and of course, she hadn't told him yet. He wants to keep it outside of insurance if the value is less than $1000.00 (which I am sure it is).

I have about a 1 foot long crease in the bumper and broken paint and the shops I am going to get estimates from insist on removing the entire bumper, fixing it, painting all of it, and clearcoating the entire thing. I'm getting the estimates this afternoon. The only pic I have sucks because it was with a camera phone. I'll take a good one later.

Probably $400.00 damage or so I'd imagine.

My dilemma.

The car is my beater/daily driver. Should I take the money and get it fixed, or, is it wrong to use the money for anything I would want to, i.e, savings, paying off bills, etc....

What are your thoughts?

When you get paid for hte damage you can do whatever you want.
It's upto you to fix the bumper or not or just drive it the way it is.
You said it's a 97, why not just drive it the way it is longer, it's sure to get scraped again sooner or later. Plus later down the road you can pick up a whole new replacement bumper and replace it that way.
Have you checked nissan forums ? You can probably pick up a whole new bumper for 1/2-1/3 off the original price from people who decide to put on body kits.

 

[Red]

There is no moral dilemma here. The daughter caused $400.00 worth of damage that needs compensation. It's your decision to use the $400.00 on the bumper or on a new digital camera.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

Originally posted by: slag
I was on my way to work and stopped at a 4 way stop. Next thing I know, I am getting hit from behind (not hard, but enough to move my car forward). We both pull over, inspect the damage. It appears the license plate frame on her 97 neon creased and broke the paint on the bumper on my 96 Maxima.

We exchanged information (she kept saying she was late for class), and went on. I called the number she gave me for her dad when I got to work to let him know and of course, she hadn't told him yet. He wants to keep it outside of insurance if the value is less than $1000.00 (which I am sure it is).

I have about a 1 foot long crease in the bumper and broken paint and the shops I am going to get estimates from insist on removing the entire bumper, fixing it, painting all of it, and clearcoating the entire thing. I'm getting the estimates this afternoon. The only pic I have sucks because it was with a camera phone. I'll take a good one later.

Probably $400.00 damage or so I'd imagine.

My dilemma.

The car is my beater/daily driver. Should I take the money and get it fixed, or, is it wrong to use the money for anything I would want to, i.e, savings, paying off bills, etc....

What are your thoughts?

 

[bunker]

I don't see a moral dilemma.

You are entitled to compensation for the damage done to your vehicle.

What you actually use that money for doesn't matter.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: slag
The car is my beater/daily driver. Should I take the money and get it fixed, or, is it wrong to use the money for anything I would want to, i.e, savings, paying off bills, etc....

What are your thoughts?

How is there any moral quesiton?

You're being compensated for a loss of value, if you decide $400 in your pocket is worth more than a pretty bumper that's entirely your call. In the end your net gain is $0.

Viper GTS

 

[MrChad]

If you're going to ask them for money, use it to fix the car.
If you don't care about fixing the bumper, then don't ask them for money.

This is not an opportunity to profit off of someone else's mistake.

 

[isasir]

You're gonna get yelled at for not going through insurance, but not by me.

Since you're doing them a favor by not contacting insurance, I don't think you have an actual obligation to repair the bumper. Just as long as you can show proof that body work would cost $400 (which I know to be accurate), then I don't see a problem.

The issue tho' is if they'll be willing to pay that much for a "minor" dent. I've been rear-ended twice. The two options are 1. Redo the whole bumper, which is $400 or 2. Buying touch-up paint and doing it yourself for $10.

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: MrChad
If you're going to ask them for money, use it to fix the car.
If you don't care about fixing the bumper, then don't ask them for money.

This is not an opportunity to profit off of someone else's mistake.

Why should he take a hit on depreciation on his car for someone elses mistake ?

 

[Red]

MrChad, he is not profiting in anyway. His daughter caused $400.00 worth of damage. Do you think he needs to be compensated for that or no? If you have common sense and say yes... then that is the end of it. If he goes on and spends it on something else, there is no moral issue. A moral issue would be one like... "Hey guys, my shop said they will fax the girls dad a quote for $600.00 even though they are only going to charge me $400.00, what should I spend the NET PROFIT $200 on?"

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: isekii

Originally posted by: MrChad
If you're going to ask them for money, use it to fix the car.
If you don't care about fixing the bumper, then don't ask them for money.

This is not an opportunity to profit off of someone else's mistake.

Why should he take a hit on depreciation on his car for someone elses mistake ?

I can't speak for the OP, but it doesn't seem like he's too concerned with the value/appearance of his car if he's considering leaving the damage as is and using the money for other purposes. In my opinion, if you make an agreement with someone to receive money for a specific reason, you are morally obligated to use the money for that purpose only.

 

[sciencewhiz]

Shop around a bit. When I rearended an new Infiniti G35, he was able to find a place that would do the whole bumper for $250.

If you plan to pocket the money, get the cheapest quote possible. If you are actually going to get it done, find the cheapest place you feel comfortable with.

 

[DougK62]

If $400 damage was done to your property then you are owed $400. What you do with it is up to you. That's the way it works.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: isekii

Originally posted by: MrChad
If you're going to ask them for money, use it to fix the car.
If you don't care about fixing the bumper, then don't ask them for money.

This is not an opportunity to profit off of someone else's mistake.

Why should he take a hit on depreciation on his car for someone elses mistake ?

I can't speak for the OP, but it doesn't seem like he's too concerned with the value/appearance of his car if he's considering leaving the damage as is and using the money for other purposes. In my opinion, if you make an agreement with someone to receive money for a specific reason, you are morally obligated to use the money for that purpose only.

He is receiving money to compensate for loss of value. What he does with that money is completely up to him.

The only time this would not be the case is if this were a leased or financed vehicle (though in the case of financing as long as you retain the vehicle it doesn't matter TOO much as long as you don't get caught).

Viper GTS

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: Red
MrChad, he is not profiting in anyway. His daughter caused $400.00 worth of damage. Do you think he needs to be compensated for that or no? If you have common sense and say yes... then that is the end of it. If he goes on and spends it on something else, there is no moral issue. A moral issue would be one like... "Hey guys, my shop said they will fax the girls dad a quote for $600.00 even though they are only going to charge me $400.00, what should I spend the NET PROFIT $200 on?"

Yes he is. He's ending up with $400 more in his pocket than he had before the accident. What has he lost? Clearly the value of/damage to car is not very important to him, so it sounds to me like he ends up with a net gain.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: isekii

Originally posted by: MrChad
If you're going to ask them for money, use it to fix the car.
If you don't care about fixing the bumper, then don't ask them for money.

This is not an opportunity to profit off of someone else's mistake.

Why should he take a hit on depreciation on his car for someone elses mistake ?

I can't speak for the OP, but it doesn't seem like he's too concerned with the value/appearance of his car if he's considering leaving the damage as is and using the money for other purposes. In my opinion, if you make an agreement with someone to receive money for a specific reason, you are morally obligated to use the money for that purpose only.

My car looks pretty good. It has the normal door dings a 200,000 plus mile car would have, but it has no rust and no big dents. The crease is right below a molded lip and does not look very bad. I also wash my car weekly or semi-weekly to keep the appearance up on it and also wax it.

My car is a pearl white car so it does not show dents very much--they tend to blend in with the car. I bought this car for the sole purpose of having a daily driver I wouldnt mind getting door dinged, but rear-ended is another ballgame.

 

[n0cmonkey]

I think it's a mistake to not go through the insurance company.

Anyhow, do what you want with the money. Put it away, save up for a new car.

 

[iamwiz82]

on a car with 200,000 miles, I'd pocket the money.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
on a car with 200,000 miles, I'd pocket the money.

Probably what I will do. I don't need a new car--I sold my 2003 because I was getting tired of the payments and the door dings that are just a part of driving your car, no matter where you park.

The car served its purpose today, I just wish I'd been driving my 97 F150 4x4 so she would have hit my bumper hitch instead....

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: slag
My car looks pretty good. It has the normal door dings a 200,000 plus mile car would have, but it has no rust and no big dents. The crease is right below a molded lip and does not look very bad. I also wash my car weekly or semi-weekly to keep the appearance up on it and also wax it.

My car is a pearl white car so it does not show dents very much--they tend to blend in with the car. I bought this car for the sole purpose of having a daily driver I wouldnt mind getting door dinged, but rear-ended is another ballgame.

I didn't mean to imply that you didn't take care of your car. However, it seems like a bit of damage to the bumper on a 200K mile car is a bit low on your priority list right now (which is perfectly understandable).

Ultimately, it's your call. I was just offering my input. It seems like my opinion is in the minority, however, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[Viper GTS]

200K miles? Definitely pocket it.

And don't listen to MrChad, he's either trolling or really, really dense.

Viper GTS

 

[dman]

Don't forget the rental car you'll be needing while the car is in the shop for a few days.

I don't think any of that is wrong. I bumped somebody at slow speed as a teenager, and yes it sucked to have to pay out (or take the insurance hit) but that's how it works. At least she didn't get a ticket too.

Be careful though, as, by not having it written up they can claim they weren't there, etc, etc, so if you try and jack up the price they may think you are taking advantage of them (which you aren't) and make it difficult to get any $.

 

[Bulk Beef]

Your car, your bumper, your crease, your paint.

Your money.

No dilemma.

 

[Aharami]

i say take the money and put it in something else that u want done (since its obvious you dont want this bumper fixed)

she caused damage, she should pay regardless of what u do with the money