I was in a minor fender bender in downtown Des Moines recently. Someone opened their door up into me as I was pulling into a parking stall, causing minor damage to the passenger side of my car. Other driver did not have insurance. What would you do? Call the cops, or try to cut a deal?
WWYD - Fender Bender
- Thread starter MNCYWX
- Start date
I'd probably give them a few hundred for their door, but then again, I usually check to see if somebody is getting out of their car before I ram into a parking space. Somebody opened their door into you? You don't just open your door into another vehicle pulling in.
Now we are trying to figure out whether to make an insurance claim and use our one "accident forgiveness" opportunity and pay only the $500 deductible. Any advice?
I think my insurance agent said that the magic number was $750. Anything less than that doesn't count against your good driver discount.
Then again, we have a $50 deductible so I didn't ask whether that was $750 paid by insurance or total damage.
My wife had a teenage girl back into her today. The girl is 16 and just got her license. They didn't call the police because they didn't think the damage was worth it but she did get the girl's name/number. It definitely buckled the driver's side quarter panel and dented the bumper.
What do we do?
My wife doesn't want to do anything because it's an older car and doesn't want the girl to lose her license. I think we need to do something in case there's more structural damage not to mention the diminished value of the car (not that it's worth that much but still).
What do we do?
My wife doesn't want to do anything because it's an older car and doesn't want the girl to lose her license. I think we need to do something in case there's more structural damage not to mention the diminished value of the car (not that it's worth that much but still).
My mom had that happen to her. Thought the damage was minor and could do nothing later when she found out the suspension was messed up. Might sound cruel but you need to hold this girl accountable since it could bite you in the back later.
Unfortunately there is no right of way in a parking lot. Get a estimate and ask your agent for the best way to go. If it is barley over your ded , then pay out of pocket. As previously state the magic number varies by company, and that number is what the pay out is after ded.
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If the girl didn't have insurance in the first place, do you think you'll actually get any money from her if you cut a deal?
I'd suggest calling DSM police, explaining the situation, and seeing what you find out. Possibly call your insurance agent, also, and get his/her take. Specifically ask about who is at fault in that scenario... I think it can be somewhat difficult to have someone declared at-fault in a parking lot incident, however I also believe in Iowa if you are in a wreck and don't have insurance that makes you at-fault. Reporting it well after the fact probably does not bode particularly well, though.
My guess is that you (or your insurance) will end up paying the damages to fix your car... or if you do get any money out of her it will be a long time. Perhaps that's a big projection just based on someone not having insurance, but the people I've heard of being involved in accidents without insurance do not tend to be the responsible types who pay their bills (or judgements when/if you get one against her).
Edit: Does the door open/close normally using the inside latch? If so, I wouldn't be real concerned about major structural damage. Take it to a reputable body shop and have them take a look / give you an estimate. If you think there's potentially internal damage to the door, you can look up salvage yard prices at car-part.com
I'd suggest calling DSM police, explaining the situation, and seeing what you find out. Possibly call your insurance agent, also, and get his/her take. Specifically ask about who is at fault in that scenario... I think it can be somewhat difficult to have someone declared at-fault in a parking lot incident, however I also believe in Iowa if you are in a wreck and don't have insurance that makes you at-fault. Reporting it well after the fact probably does not bode particularly well, though.
My guess is that you (or your insurance) will end up paying the damages to fix your car... or if you do get any money out of her it will be a long time. Perhaps that's a big projection just based on someone not having insurance, but the people I've heard of being involved in accidents without insurance do not tend to be the responsible types who pay their bills (or judgements when/if you get one against her).
Edit: Does the door open/close normally using the inside latch? If so, I wouldn't be real concerned about major structural damage. Take it to a reputable body shop and have them take a look / give you an estimate. If you think there's potentially internal damage to the door, you can look up salvage yard prices at car-part.com
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$50 deductible? I've never heard of such a thing. Have you looked into the savings by switching to $500?
10 years ago I switched from $500 to $1,000 and it saved me $300/year. So in 10 years I haven't had any accidents and it's saved me $3,000. If I would have had one accident and turned it in I'd still be $2,500 ahead.
As far as whether to call the cops, I would always call the cops. I'll never feel bad about someone driving without insurance.
I learned this the hard way. I was parked in a space and driver side door got backed in to. Exchanged insurance info and submitted it. Came back 50/50 responsibility. I couldn't believe it.
YES....Low deductible is a suckers bet. A higher deductible will usually pay for itself in 2-3 years and since any claim will raise your rate so you are almost always better off with a high deductible.
When we first bought a house we went with a really low deductible on homeowners. Had two small claims in two years. Our rates went through the roof and our insurance company said if we have one more in the next two yeas they would cancel us. Ya, I'm looking at you Farmers.
Unfortunately, it's all a waste of time. I have a friend who's an attorney, he said the court system on this stuff is a complete joke, at least in Illinois. He was telling me his court stories, sitting their with clients waiting and watching person after person, with no license and no insurance walk up, get a $100 fine and told to move on. In the end, the person who had damage done to their car still got nothing. So unless you are constantly getting into accidents, what's the point of paying all that money for insurance when you can just skate the system.
They know, if you don't have any money, you just cost the system money, so run them through as fast as possible. Now, someone with money, you are a blank check to them, so watch out.
I guess, in the end, try to get some cash for your car from them, god luck, but really calling the cops on them isn't going to do anything.
They know, if you don't have any money, you just cost the system money, so run them through as fast as possible. Now, someone with money, you are a blank check to them, so watch out.
I guess, in the end, try to get some cash for your car from them, god luck, but really calling the cops on them isn't going to do anything.
I am in the mindset that if someone caused damage to your car you always call the police and get an accident report no matter if they have insurance or not. For insurance purposes that accident report is really important so that there is a documented case on the incident so you don't have to deal with the other party changing their story after they had time to process it and come up with a way to come up with a story where they feel they are no longer at fault or make it look like you are at partial fault. My mom had this happen before, her and another woman were both backing out of parking spots at the grocery store at the same time, didn't see each other, and tapped bumpers. Initially did not look like any damage but they exchanged info as the other car had a small scratch on the bumper. Well a couple days later they contacted her and said they would have to have the whole bumper repainted which was going to cost around $900. Yeah, all that over a small scratch that some touchup paint probably would have coverd up so NEVER trust someone regardless of the situation.
I was t-boned by an uninsured driver over 10 years ago who ran a red light in downtown Des Moines. Luckily several people saw it happen and 1 already had the police on the phone by the time I got out of my car. I remember the cops talking to both of us seperately then coming up to me saying she was uninsured and here is the case information with her info and it was best I leave the scene while they gave her the bad news about her issues around having no insurance. What sucked about that was after my insurance company got her to agree to a payment plan she eventually stopped paying on it and they had to take her to court 2 years later and I wound up only being reimbursed 66% of my $500 deductible due to some BS clause in the insurance policy where if they can't recover 100% of the damages from an uninsured accident that you only get the same % back of your deductible for whatever settlement they get. They also used certified used parts on the rapairs where they could, I unfortunately couldn't convince them to use all new because of the uninsured driver situation they obviously were trying to limit as much of the loss as they could. I don't use them anymore not only for that situation but once I turned 25 they couldn't compete with other quotes I got.
My wife was t-boned by a teenager last winter who tried crossing a busy 4 lane street in West Des Moines and didn't look in her direction when he was crossing. Had the police out on that and again several witnesses around that put their name to the report. His insurance tried to nickel and dime us on the repairs wanting only used parts if they were available, luckily our insurane played hardball with them and insisted on all new parts since he was found 100% at fault in the accident so in that case our insurance went to bat for us in our best interests.
It may be tempting not to involve insurance with little damages but I just don't have enough faith in society these days to trust anyone so even if it may cost me an insurance deductible I'd rather let insurance companies handle it than to possibly get screwed over by someone who may or may not make things right by trying to settle it outside of insurance. Just too many bad stories out there for me to trust someone is going to make right on it themselves
I was t-boned by an uninsured driver over 10 years ago who ran a red light in downtown Des Moines. Luckily several people saw it happen and 1 already had the police on the phone by the time I got out of my car. I remember the cops talking to both of us seperately then coming up to me saying she was uninsured and here is the case information with her info and it was best I leave the scene while they gave her the bad news about her issues around having no insurance. What sucked about that was after my insurance company got her to agree to a payment plan she eventually stopped paying on it and they had to take her to court 2 years later and I wound up only being reimbursed 66% of my $500 deductible due to some BS clause in the insurance policy where if they can't recover 100% of the damages from an uninsured accident that you only get the same % back of your deductible for whatever settlement they get. They also used certified used parts on the rapairs where they could, I unfortunately couldn't convince them to use all new because of the uninsured driver situation they obviously were trying to limit as much of the loss as they could. I don't use them anymore not only for that situation but once I turned 25 they couldn't compete with other quotes I got.
My wife was t-boned by a teenager last winter who tried crossing a busy 4 lane street in West Des Moines and didn't look in her direction when he was crossing. Had the police out on that and again several witnesses around that put their name to the report. His insurance tried to nickel and dime us on the repairs wanting only used parts if they were available, luckily our insurane played hardball with them and insisted on all new parts since he was found 100% at fault in the accident so in that case our insurance went to bat for us in our best interests.
It may be tempting not to involve insurance with little damages but I just don't have enough faith in society these days to trust anyone so even if it may cost me an insurance deductible I'd rather let insurance companies handle it than to possibly get screwed over by someone who may or may not make things right by trying to settle it outside of insurance. Just too many bad stories out there for me to trust someone is going to make right on it themselves
Unless it happened on a road the girl won't lose her license. Parking lots are a weird deal. The police won't name who is at fault even if it is obvious. I would always try to get the police involved though if I'm not the one at fault (if I am at fault, I'm whipping out the cash or getting them my insurance info as quick as possible and agreeing not to call the cops). It's pretty hard for insurance companies, lawyers, etc. to sort through when it's "he said-she said"
In your case, your wife is trying to go easy on the girl but in the end, your property was damaged through no fault of your own and directly through fault of the girl. But in the end, if you do nothing, you'll basically pay, in some way for that girl's mistake. At the same time, that girl has to learn that there are consequences for her actions on the road. You're not being a bad person for looking out for yourselves.
