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New years day 8:15pm get a knock on the front door. Lady at the door says she is really sorry but they hit my parked car and knocked my side mirror off.
I was just thankful that they didn't just drive off....!!
Broke the glass and the plastic motor assembly inside, glass was all over the hood.
Upon a quick inspection with a flashlight there was MUCH more damage...
.....
Got the right rear door with a big scratches all the way through the paint.
Right rear quarter panel got some big dents and chips taken out of the paint all the way to metal...
Also the trim that goes around the wheel well is all bent up....
Rim is all scuffed down to shiny new metal at the bottom....
more of the quarter panel and bumper even got scraped...
So to continue the story after inspecting the damage the lady kept saying she shouldn't have let her son drive. but neither he nor the car was anywhere to be seen?
I told her that given the damage to my car I was sure her car was damaged much more than just the mirror as well. We walked over to house and sure enough her passenger door would only open about 2 inches before binding....
She was very cooperative and gave me all of her insurance info. But then her husband showed up and started commenting that my car was parked "really far from the edge of the road...?? No, sorry. And even if it was you hit a parked car regardless of where it was in the road....
At this point I told her that I was going to call the police to document the situation. Husband seemed a little annoyed with me after that.
I felt that I needed to protect myself since it was "just" her word vs mine. And a week from now she could just deny hitting my car(not that she would actually do this as we have met before and she lives a block down the street)
So the police came and were a little surprised that the car and lady were not still at the scene. We talked for awhile and then they went to talk to her. I didn't mention to them that she said her son was driving but thought she could decide who was driving. I went with them to her house and she came out with a what looked like 14yr old kid. She was very nice and cooperative with the cops.
I spent the rest of the night on the phone with insurance and taping my mirror back on since I had to drive the car back home this morning from the cabin....
We'll see how much insurance decides on... I'm thinking they might total it just because of the quarter panel/mirror/door/bumper.
Hope you guys all had a less eventful New Years Day than I did....
You're right, and the husband is wrong, because even though there was some space between your car and the curb, there was also snow on the curb and there was plenty of room to pass...
I'm happy to hear that they let you know about the accident, but it really is odd that they still left the scene.
As for the damage, it looks like it could have been much worse. Body filler will more than likely be required to even out the surface, but it doesn't seem like there was any major stretching or deformation of the body panels.
I was hit recently. Well not really, it happened in June and the damages are extremely similar since the accidents are also similar except mine was on the drivers side. I was given 3200 for my 2000 and they didn't total the vehicle out. Total damage done was driver fender, front passenger wheel was cracked (car was pushed into a curb at ~30mph), front bumper, paint along the entire drivers side, and damaged driver corner and headlight. Make sure not to try to get too much out of the insurance adjuster when he comes by or you'll end up with a totaled vehicle and depending on what state you live in or what insurance companies are involved, they make take your totaled vehicle and hand you a check. This is based totally off of personal experience and my brothers experiences with having vehicles totalled out in upstate NY. Ymmv wildly. I have pics of the damage on mine if you wanna see them.
as old as your car is ill be surprised if the insurance company doesn't total it. even with minimal damage they usually just write them off. sorry man.
If they total it, I'd just buy it back from them and fix it myself. I think a lot of that damage is just paint scrapings from the other car and will likely come off. Just use some 90 percent isopropyl alcohol and a clean cloth. Obviously you will need a new mirror. If you can live with the damage after cleaning, I'd just go with it.
If they total it, I'd just buy it back from them and fix it myself. I think a lot of that damage is just paint scrapings from the other car and will likely come off. Just use some 90 percent isopropyl alcohol and a clean cloth. Obviously you will need a new mirror. If you can live with the damage after cleaning, I'd just go with it.
I strongly agree with jaaa here. There's still a lot of good on your car, so it's not worth just giving away to those "insurance" companies.
Find one that is way over priced and just tell the insurance company you found a replacement and here is how much its going to cost to buy it.
That is kinda what my brother did years ago with a car of his. The insurance co wants to desperately close the case, just tell them you are not going to accept the low amount. Tell em okay lets just keep the case open for a few years then.
That's a real jacked up way to start the year off.I just glad that she knocked on your door and notified you.
Their insurance guy came by today to see it, he took some pics then said he needed to go to the office to run numbers
... I think he is going to lowball me...
My plan is to take it to a few body shops and get estimates if their offer seems low.
Their insurance guy came by today to see it, he took some pics then said he needed to go to the office to run numbers
... I think he is going to lowball me...
My plan is to take it to a few body shops and get estimates if their offer seems low.
Should have filed a claim through your insurance, paid the deductible and had your insurance company go after theirs to get your deductible back. It's pretty cut and dry what happened so it wouldn't have been a debate between the two insurance companies and you would've been made whole much quicker and since it would be through your own insurance company, the adjuster would be more willing to be accurate.
If they declare i a total loss, the best way in my experience to get a fair price is to pull up examples of the same year or newer (1 year) car with the exact same trim level and in the best condition you can find, with similar or FEWER miles.
This will be similar to how they themselves find the values, but without taking mileage and condition into consideration.
Find one that is way over priced and just tell the insurance company you found a replacement and here is how much its going to cost to buy it.
That is kinda what my brother did years ago with a car of his. The insurance co wants to desperately close the case, just tell them you are not going to accept the low amount. Tell em okay lets just keep the case open for a few years then.
I love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Insurance companies ALWAYS try to rip you off.
01-02-16, 09:15 AM
My BABY 1995 LS400 got side swiped!!
