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Minor car accident

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Smallpotatoes, Nov 12, 2017.

  1. Smallpotatoes

    Smallpotatoes Well-Known Member

    Yesterday, when I was done covering a game, I returned to my car and found a note on it. "Sorry I hit your car. Call me ASAP. I will pay for all damages without going through insurance."

    The damage was to the rear panel of the driver's side. Mostly scuffing and scratches, but a few divots, too.

    When I got home I called the guy. He said once I got an estimate, he'd cut a check to pay for the damages. I told him that I'd also need a rental for a week or more while it's being repaired and without insurance paying for it, I could not afford that.

    I'm going to the shop across the street to get an estimate tomorrow. Another concern I have is what if they find more damage when they take apart the car.

    I can see why he would not want to go through insurance, but is there any reason why I shouldn't?
    Would it be rather petty of me to file a claim or is there a chance even though I'm not at fault that my rates might go up? If I file too many claims in a short period of time, even though I'm not at fault, could there be a problem?
     
  2. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    False flag.

    I need more proof that you’re not a crisis actor.
     
  3. Smallpotatoes

    Smallpotatoes Well-Known Member

     
  4. sgreenwell

    sgreenwell Well-Known Member

    If you go through insurance, you'd almost certainly get all of the money for repairs, and possibly a rental, depending on what sort of coverage you have and what he has. The fact that he doesn't want to go through insurance is kind of... odd. I mean, he left a note, which seems like some sort of decency, and it sounds like he's going to pay for everything, which is nice too, if you get the money. Maybe he's worried about his rates going up, or maybe he wasn't supposed to be driving (suspended license from a DUI or something).
     
  5. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    I'd imagine it's about the premium and points on the license.
     
    SFIND and sgreenwell like this.
  6. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    I was rear-ended at a stop sign a few weeks ago.

    Young guy was in a panic. Apparently had just got the car, sister handled everything, had been in trouble previously, etc.

    I wanted to call police right then and there. He begged to follow him to his sister's house and would pay cash for what looked to be only paint/surface damage. Sounded suspicious as hell, but he was on his way before I could tell him the police insisted we stay put.

    We finally get to his house. He tells his sister what happened, then goes to the ATM to get $300. He's gone a good half hour, and I'm getting mighty suspicious again. Finally he does show up with the money.

    Two days later, I go to Advance Auto Parts and buy some $10 buffing solution. In 20 minutes you could never tell my car was hit. $290 profit.
     
  7. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    Had a similar situation.

    Got hit driving to work in Houston, by a company vehicle.

    Owner of the company offered to pay for any repairs as long as I got two (or maybe three) estimates.

    I went to a couple of dealerships, and got fairly expensive quotes. The guy paid the lower/lowest of them.

    Then I brought the car in, and the place I took it to said they would just buff it out for free.
     
  8. cjericho

    cjericho Well-Known Member

    Should always call police. You can get the accident report and not file a claim with insurance. But if you don't get the report the next day, he can say 'that accident wasn't my fault.'
     
  9. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    I actually did call. But the guy took off as I was on the phone. And they wouldn't come to where we was going, only to where the accident occurred.

    There wasn't even a plate on the car, just some temporary piece of paper that listed the date it expired.
     
  10. Hermes

    Hermes Well-Known Member

    I read that in the voice of that British guy in the bow tie from those 1990s "Amazing Discoveries" informercials for car wax.
     
  11. BurnsWhenIPee

    BurnsWhenIPee Well-Known Member

    Long story, so apologies going in ...

    I was fresh out of college, working in Bumblestick, Hicksville, and driving down main street one evening. I saw a hot female with her boobs very much on display, and with my then-fiancé/now-wife living about 3 hours away and me being sexually frustrated, I gawked for a little too long. I turn back to the road just in time to rear-end some kid in a Camaro or something similar.

    Crushed out the grill of my car and it looked like his car had only a little scratch. We get out and the first thing he says is, "Please don't call the cops. I have no insurance, and it looks like there's no damage to my car anyway." I say fine, we exchange info, and he says, "You know, you should just tell your insurance agent that someone backed into you in a parking lot, and it will be less of an insurance hit." Trying to end our interaction, I said, "Yeah, I'll do that."

    I turn it into my insurance company and tell my agent what really happened and start the process of getting my car fixed.

    A couple of nights later, the kid calls me and says, "Wow, I took my car in, and it looks like there's pretty extensive damage underneath and to the frame that will cost about $3,000 to be fixed. Seems like it would be in your best interest to just write me a check, because my mom talked to a lawyer and he said the no-insurance thing is not a big deal, and you lying to your insurance company by saying that it happened in a parking lot is a pretty big deal." I tell him I'll get back to him.

    I immediately go to the police station, where they let me file a report, and they tell me they'll contact this kid, ask for proof he was insured at the time of the accident and if he can't produce it, they will take his license, his plates and revoke his registration. I let my insurance agent know this kid's scam, and he says they won't pay anything to fix his car, seeing as how the car was on the road illegally in the first place.

    I called this kid the next night, tell him his mother needs to find a better lawyer, tell him I filed a police report and they will be coming to take his license, plates and registration any time now, and my insurance company will be denying his claim. You could hear him dying a little bit inside with every word I told him.

    I felt a little bad, because it was my fault he was in an accident, but trying to con me out of paying straight cash for damage that didn't exist, wasn't cool. Never heard from him again.
     
  12. Monday Morning Sportswriter

    Monday Morning Sportswriter Well-Known Member

    I loved Amazing Discoveries. Favorite Saturday morning show. I mean, where else can you find something that will turn skim milk into whipped cream!
     
    Hermes likes this.
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