so my car got hit by an uninsured driver

[OBLAMA2009]

It's best to confine the repair to as small an area as possible if the paint on the door is original and in good shape. The areas on the panel away from the repair will only see a couple coats of clear to cover the blended color coat with an unbroken paint film on the entire panel.

oh i thought they automatically did the whole door. it seemed to me that the whole lower third of the door had some degree of cave in and the end of the door, when closed, was bent outward a little by the cave in, like imagine what would happen if the corner fender of a pickup truck rammed in a car door. does that sound like a worst case?

 

[KB]

Did you call the police and get her in trouble?

 

[Ichinisan]

Do your reverse lights work?

 

[phucheneh]

Reverse light? Is that, like, the dark or something? Don't black holes reverse light? 😕

 

[ZaneNBK]

i did get her info and she was apologetic but if shes not working and cant afford insurance i doubt shes going to be able to repair my car. also if its less than a thousand, id rather pay this than go to an insurance compay and have them report it to the state that i was involved in a "major accident" which im guessing this probably would be. im mostly wondering what i need to know when going to a body shop

You might feel like an asshole but the cops need to know she's driving without insurance. Maybe it seems harmless to you but if she gets in a wreck with another car that just has the state minimum insurance (basically some medical and collision) where she's at fault, then the other person's insurance isn't going to pay and they're potentially out the full value of that car. Without their car they may not be able to get to work at all, they lose their job, can't afford to feed their 3 children and decide to go full on homicide/suicide and take the family with them.

You want that on your conscience?!? DO YOU?

Ok, maybe a bit too far, but you should still report them since basically any wreck they cause is going to cost other people money. If you can't afford the minimum state required insurance you need to take public transportation or car pool. It sucks but it's the law for a good reason.

 

[BoomerD]

Uninsured/unlicensed drivers should be shot and killed by the side of the road...and their cars impounded.

That'll larn em.

 

[ZaneNBK]

Uninsured/unlicensed drivers should be shot and killed by the side of the road...and their cars impounded.

That'll larn em.

Here's some actual good factual information I didn't know about accidents with uninsured motorists from esurance.com: http://www.esurance.com/insurance-resources/uninsured-underinsured-motorist-myth

The important part (apparently CA is a tort state, not "no fault"):

If the crash happens in a tort state, on the other hand, you may have to sue for damages — hence the "tort." This can be a costly and stressful process. And considering that an uninsured or underinsured driver probably lacks insurance due to limited funds, chances of payment may be slim. Your own policy will of course cover you, but only up to your selected limits. If your limits are too low to cover all costs, you'll have to choose between paying out of pocket or litigating.

Note that some states have "contributory negligence" laws, which mean that insurance companies pay claims based on degree of fault. So if you're deemed to be 21 percent at fault in a collision, your insurance company will pay 21 percent of damages.

Basically if an uninsured motorists causes an accident in most states and you don't have uninsured motorist coverage, you're on your own for damages and medical costs. In the quote above they're referring to your uninsured motorist coverage amounts. Of course pretty much anyone with comprehensive coverage will have that, but not everyone does.

Here are a couple of extreme examples of people screwed by medical costs from accidents caused by uninsured motorists: http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd14.htm

California has a LOT of uninsured motorists too.

 

[Puppies04]

Are you allowed to drive without insurance in the US?

 

[rh71]

Are you allowed to drive without insurance in the US?

http://www.dmv.org/insurance/penalties-for-driving-without-insurance.php

 

[MongGrel]

That name screams troll to me to begin with.

Not even reading the whole thread.

*shrug*

 

[BurnItDwn]

I don't care if you don't want to deal with insurance, but this is exactly the main reason why you pay for and have insurance in the first place. Call your agent, tell them you were hit by a scumbag without insurance. File a claim. You will initially be out your deductable , yes, but, the insurance will likely have much better legal access and experience compared to you, so they may actually get some money out of her.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Are you allowed to drive without insurance in the US?

It's mandatory but not very easily enforced... Usually, people will only get "busted" for this if they commit another moving violation and are pulled over for one thing and then don't have current proof of insurance. Usually these people sign up for cheap shitty minimal coverage, go to court, and then stop paying on their policy ... essentially because not having insurance is cheaper than having insurance....

 

[Scarpozzi]

My Jeep was totaled by a Honda about 12 years ago....uninsured motorist.

I called my insurance company. They handled the rental car, I paid a $200 deductible because the UIM clause was a lower deductible than my typical $500 liability/collision/comprehensive clauses.

Call your insurance, file a police report or whatever you must do in your local area. See what they tell you.

 

[Scarpozzi]

My Jeep was totaled by a Honda about 12 years ago....uninsured motorist.

I called my insurance company. They handled the rental car, I paid a $200 deductible because the UIM clause was a lower deductible than my typical $500 liability/collision/comprehensive clauses.

Call your insurance, file a police report or whatever you must do in your local area. See what they tell you.

 

[Puppies04]

It's mandatory but not very easily enforced... Usually, people will only get "busted" for this if they commit another moving violation and are pulled over for one thing and then don't have current proof of insurance. Usually these people sign up for cheap shitty minimal coverage, go to court, and then stop paying on their policy ... essentially because not having insurance is cheaper than having insurance....

Thanks. Was reading the first page and it seemed like everyone was ignoring the fact that the other driver had broken the law which caused me to question what US law was in this situation.

 

[BoomerD]

Thanks. Was reading the first page and it seemed like everyone was ignoring the fact that the other driver had broken the law which caused me to question what US law was in this situation.

In many states, proof of insurance is required before you can register your car for the year...but folks often buy a policy on monthly payments...then never make the payments, causing the insurance to cancel. In CA, if you do that, they notify the DMV who suspends your vehicle license unless you can prove that the vehicle is legally insured. Unfortunately, they don't actually come remove the plates or impound the vehicle...so people continue to driv e without insurance and on suspended/expired registrations.

It wasn't unusual to see 2/5 cars driving with expired tabs on their vehicles when we lived there. I don't mean "expired last month" which MIGHT mean they sent in their payment timely but didn't get their tabs before the current registration expired, but rather, driving with tabs that indicated they had expired more than 90 days previously...and often more than 1 year. (You know those fuckers aren't insured...I don't think any insurance company will insure a vehicle that's not legally registered)

 

[ElFenix]

OP needs to read his insurance policy first.

 

[BUTCH1]

Uninsured/unlicensed drivers should be shot and killed by the side of the road...and their cars impounded.

That'll larn em.

Here in FL if your insurance lapses the state suspends your license, there must be similar laws in other states??.

 

[BUTCH1]

It's mandatory but not very easily enforced... Usually, people will only get "busted" for this if they commit another moving violation and are pulled over for one thing and then don't have current proof of insurance. Usually these people sign up for cheap shitty minimal coverage, go to court, and then stop paying on their policy ... essentially because not having insurance is cheaper than having insurance....

If your license gets suspended then you can't register the car and it cost $150 to get your license re-instated (here in FL). What kills me is that PIP coverage is so damm expensive, why do they force someone to buy it if you've got insurance through work?

 

[CZroe]

Reverse light? Is that, like, the dark or something? Don't black holes reverse light? 😕

I have met people who genuinely didn't know that cars have white lights in the rear that only light up when going in reverse. Honestly, I don't know how these people can function in parking lots, neighborhoods, and city streets. I'm hoping that they subconsciously noticed that someone was trying to backup and reacted appropriately even if they didn't exactly know how they knew.

 

[Pulsar]

Reverse light? Is that, like, the dark or something? Don't black holes reverse light? 😕

Oblama needs to be careful. On Passats the blinker fluid lines run through the doors to the back, and if one of them has been damaged the repair costs can really skyrocket.

I noticed he still hasn't answered whether or not he called the cops (unless I missed it).

 

[Pulsar]

I have met people who genuinely didn't know that cars have white lights in the rear that only light up when going in reverse. Honestly, I don't know how these people can function in parking lots, neighborhoods, and city streets. I'm hoping that they subconsciously noticed that someone was trying to backup and reacted appropriately even if they didn't exactly know how they knew.

This is no longer true. The ASSHOLES at GM have now decided to turn on the backup lights when people are exiting the car on some models. I can't tell you how many times I've had to hit the brakes in parking lots recently because some idiot engineer broke convention with the backup lights on those GM models.

 

[BikeJunkie]

how long does it take a body shop to do something like this, will i be without my car for more than a week?

Dude, call the body shop and ask. Wait WHAT?!

 

[crashtech]

Oblama needs to be careful. On Passats the blinker fluid lines run through the doors to the back, and if one of them has been damaged the repair costs can really skyrocket.

I noticed he still hasn't answered whether or not he called the cops (unless I missed it).

I worked with a guy who accidentally cut through one of those blinker fluid lines with a torch, it was like an effing fireworks show.

 

[alkemyst]

so the day after my bike was hit by a car for the third time this year, im pulling out of a parking space in my year old passat and as im doing so some older lady backs out of her space and into the drivers side door of my car with her pick up. it turns out shes uninsured and looking for work so i think im going to have to pay for this myself. its a medium sized dent, caved in about an inch or two. how much is this going to cost me, and what do i need to know about going to a body shop. do they use cheaper paint that is going to crack in a few years. da fuq you hafta ruin ma week bych?

That many accidents would tend to point to the driver.

Under/Uninsured motorist for the win.

My soon to be step daughters girlfriend got this nicer car finally yet drives horribly.

She was also one of those that believe the radio ad's that say "insurance is for chumps" so go the minimum coverage. She totaled that nice car.