Got side swiped last night.......

[DoubleWasp]

There is definitely a reason the kid was not at the scene. Drug, intoxication, something they were trying to hide.

I was done with street parking a long time ago. Nothing but problems.

 

[Dufus2]

I had similar damage on a Mercedes and the insurance cheeped out on everything from the body damage to the wheel. The plastic moldings are trashed on my car, the insurance tried to buff it out (like others said) and there is remaining damage, the body shop said its fixed and a new estimate is 1500 to properly fix the trim. Insurance only paid 200 and said thats a fair price to repaint plastic trim.

Insurance refused to replace my wheel with OEM and said reconditioned is just as good and never mentioned cosmetic condition (will not match). There was tire sidewall damage, another thing the insurance refused to replace.

Whatever the insurance decides, insurance will cheep out on everything to the tune of HALF the actual repair cost... This is my experience with deadbeat insurance adjusters and their economic influence upon the body shops.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I swear,for the life of me I can't understand how someone can hit a stationary object? It's like your car became possessed or something suddenly and jumped out in front of them. They sound like complete dumb [censored]. I'd go after them full force.

 

[Starman2112]

Never seen it fail, when you park along the street some [censored] will eventually hit it.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: HosteenJorje
Originally Posted By: bsmithwins
Anyone willing to place odds that the son was drunk?

BSW
He(she) left the scene of an accident for starters. And, yes, the son was probably intoxicated. From experience I can tell you this. Never move the vehicle until police arrive. My wife was hit by a 20 year old kid on a bicycle who came off the sidewalk and hit the right from wheel and ended up on the hood. Kid then left pushing bicycle. Wife pulled across street and parked to get out of traffic. Kid never came back and wife drove on home. Kid went down to emergency room and told police wife had hit him. Imprint of bicycle tire tread was clearly visible on our vehicle's right front tire. Police showed up at our house and wrote my wife citation for leaving scene of accident. Enter attorney. Suggested a plea of no contest. Good samaritan who happened to witness accident came forth and told judge what really happened. Kid had left town and court issued warrant for his arrest. Never leave the scene or move vehicle until instructed to do so. And our insurance company was going to pay the emergency room charges for that little a** #@%*"s claim until receiving court documents. So along.insurance company after being paid for thirty five years of coverage.


There were no injuries and she exchanged information. Not leaving the scene
imo.
Well-the driver was gone, and the car was gone. Just because Mom stopped by, that doesn't mean the driver & car didn't leave!

 

[Brybo86]

Is anyone here familiar with Illinois law and what happens if it is totalled do they take it on the spot? or can I refuse or what?

I don't want to lose it unless they are going to give like some huge amount of money.

 

[cjcride]

Originally Posted By: Starman2112
Never seen it fail, when you park along the street some [censored] will eventually hit it.

It's as if the parked cars are the "guardrail" for some drivers.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

You need to decide if you want to deal with their insurance company, or if you have collision coverage, deal with yours (subrogate). I always subrogate, because I understand my insurance company's procedures and claims process. I get my collision deductible back when the insurance companies settle with each other.

In general, the insurance company will evaluate the damage and claims adjuster do a cost evaluation of repair vs total. I have successfully gotten one vehicle repaired vs totalled when working with my insurance company, because the dollar amounts were very close. Sometimes the adjuster prepares a third offer of check for damage and you retain the vehicle.

Once you have the adjuster's offer, you will have some number of days to respond. At that point, I would ask what the offer is if I retain the vehicle (if not part of an option offered by the adjuster). By not totalling, the company saves $300-$500 avoiding pick up and paperwork right off the bat.

You have to come to an agreement before they come and take your vehicle, if you decide to accept their offer and retain the vehicle. If you accept the offer to total, then you will also surrender title before the vehicle gets moved from the shop or your property.

I have a long term relationship with a body shop that is a preferred insurance provider, so I choose this shop to do the insurance estimates and deal electronically with my insurance company. Your experience may vary.

This is roughly how my experiences in Kansas go,and explain why I choose to subrogate. In general, I get the cars repaired sooner than negotiating with the at fault insuror's. There are too many games that can be played and you have little leverage if you choose to deal with the at fault insurance company.

 

[zzyzzx]

I only park my beater on the street, and even then, only sometimes and never on weekends or holidays.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: HosteenJorje
Originally Posted By: bsmithwins
Anyone willing to place odds that the son was drunk?

BSW
He(she) left the scene of an accident for starters. And, yes, the son was probably intoxicated. From experience I can tell you this. Never move the vehicle until police arrive. My wife was hit by a 20 year old kid on a bicycle who came off the sidewalk and hit the right from wheel and ended up on the hood. Kid then left pushing bicycle. Wife pulled across street and parked to get out of traffic. Kid never came back and wife drove on home. Kid went down to emergency room and told police wife had hit him. Imprint of bicycle tire tread was clearly visible on our vehicle's right front tire. Police showed up at our house and wrote my wife citation for leaving scene of accident. Enter attorney. Suggested a plea of no contest. Good samaritan who happened to witness accident came forth and told judge what really happened. Kid had left town and court issued warrant for his arrest. Never leave the scene or move vehicle until instructed to do so. And our insurance company was going to pay the emergency room charges for that little a** #@%*"s claim until receiving court documents. So along.insurance company after being paid for thirty five years of coverage.


There were no injuries and she exchanged information. Not leaving the scene
imo.
Well-the driver was gone, and the car was gone. Just because Mom stopped by, that doesn't mean the driver & car didn't leave!



In most states all she's required to do is leave a note anyways. At night, the damage would appear minimal until someone looked closer. It looks like the ins company is going to pay, but how much is another story. I would say that with some DIY work, the OP can make out pretty good on this accident. My Jeep was hit about a year ago almost the same way (except just on the quarter panel) and the ins company paid over 800 bucks. I can remove the interior trim, push out the dent with a block of wood, buff it and it would be hardly noticeable, but haven't bothered with it yet.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
Is anyone here familiar with Illinois law and what happens if it is totalled do they take it on the spot? or can I refuse or what?

I don't want to lose it unless they are going to give like some huge amount of money.

It's YOUR car. Nobody can just take it away from you unless you let them. As long as you have the title in your possession, it's still your car. Don't hand it over to anyone until you reach an agreement.

 

[dishdude]

At least you got their insurance info. I'd take whatever money I could from the insurance company, put an eBay mirror on it and

It's a $3k beater, who cares what the outside looks like as long as the interior is nice and it drives well.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted By: philipp10
Good you called the police. That husband was itching to get out of it....what a jerk.


No matter how little the damage is, always have the police make a report. Otherwise it is your word against theirs. The other party could deny everything when it comes to paying up.

 

[road_rascal]

Originally Posted By: Lubener
No matter how little the damage is, always have the police make a report. Otherwise it is your word against theirs. The other party could deny everything when it comes to paying up.


A co-worker's wife was t-boned by another driver who ran a red light last week in downtown Minneapolis. No injuries and both cars were driveable (co-worker's '13 Camry had extensive right front and rear door damage and the right front door glass shattered). Both called the police, waited 30 minutes then called again. This time the dispatcher told them since no injuries were reported and both cars could be driven away from the scene the police weren't going to respond. Luckily the other driver had valid insurance. They did made a phone report to the police the next day.

 

[cptbarkey]

our 2011 sienna was crunched in the right front a few days before christmas. two guys in a work truck turned in front of my wife, lied to the police and the report reflects their lies. so far $4500 in repairs, and a dash cam is arriving shortly.

 

[SlipperyPete]

How do you know they lied, unless you were there?

 

[Cubey]

Back in 2009 or so, I got t-boned (a bit at an angle) at very low speeds in a parking lot. The cop who responded couldn't do an actual report since it wasn't on a public street, but I got him to write his opinion of what he observed of the scene, which implied that it was the other driver's fault, without it being an official police report



I've been in three wrecks as a driver (and two as a kid), ALL the other driver's faults. The one above was the first.

The second, a lady ran a stop sign due to another driver STOPPING at an intersection where there was no stop sign, so she assumed it was a 4 way stop. I t-boned her at fairly low speed (I was going 25-30 and slammed on the brakes). Not at fault since she failed to yield to cross traffic that had no stop sign.


The third, I got rear ended stopping for a pedestrian and it caused my car to be pushed into the pedestrian, knocking him down. He was hauled away in an ambulance complaining of leg/knee pain. Needless to say I wasn't at fault for that one either.


The damage was worse than it looks on the surface. It cost $1500 at a body shop to replace the lower bumper, the upper piece which had broken tabs, the foam behind the bumper, paint the upper piece to match and fix belt parts of the frame behind the bumper.

Now I have a cheap dash cam with a 32GB card in it.

 

[cptbarkey]

Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
How do you know they lied, unless you were there?

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
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....


Brybo86, that comment from the husband would have made me very angry. I would have been straining to keep my cool at that point. I don't know how you managed to stay so calm. You have a remarkable amount patience for sure.

 

[Malo83]

Totaled!!! no way, good body shop can repair that damage easily, i've seen worse come out like new, my truck was hit on the pass door and bed when some guy attempting a U turn didn't see me coming and turned right into the side of the truck, his insurance paid for all the repairs, reskinned the door and replaced the bed side, truck looks like it's never been hit