THSCC Forums

ok, so i backed into a lady's car when i had a couple bikes on the back and i scratched up her hood. its 3 pretty big gouges in her pearly black acura. shit.

her car was parked, so i left her a note saying sorry and that ill pay for it. she calls, we agree well i'll cover it.

well long story short, i'm starting to get a bad vibe from her. she called again to get more info from me so i dont try to get away or rip her off, etc. thats fine, i gave it to her. i also told her some shops that came up while i was searching for recommendations. she basically didnt want to hear it and said she have 'her' shop handle it..

i can understand her wanting it done right, but if her estimate is crazy high? should i call around for verbal estimates? can they give an estimate w/o seeing the car?

if she totally tries to screw me ill just report it to my insurance and they can deal w/ her and i'll just pay the deductable. but id rather pay out of pocket to avoid any insurance rate hikes, etc.

is there anything else i could do? are there any laws for this sort of thing or am i pretty much at her mercy?

sounds like a good plan to me.

_________________
05 MCS

yeh.. no im debating whether or not i should just report it. i called GIECO to ask if there was any timeframe in which i must report a claim and they said no, but i should do it ASAP.. they also strongly urged me to report the incident for my own protection.. i have a hard time trusting them, but i dunno.

any more input?

Assume the position.


She may not even try to screw you, but I'll be she could get 3 estimates and the highest could easily be 2x the lowest (or more). Which one do you think she's gonna present to you??

I'd ask for 2 or 3 estimates and agree to pay what you think is fair- consider yourself lucky if you get her to agree to the lowest. Otherwise, maybe agree to the average of the estimates.............?

Really makes you wonder about being the nice, honest guy sometimes doesn't it?

Bret.

Dan see what her estimate is. If its lower than your deductable, pay it and be done with this thing. If it is higher than the deductable, call her and tell her its not acceptable you'll pay but only at your body shop. If she balks at this, call the insurance company and be done with it. And above all else remember NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. If it ever happens again, RUN LIKE A FREAKEN THIEF. Take the license plate number and if you feel guilt later get an estimate and send them the cash.

_________________
2004 C5(415whp,390ft/lbs),
1997C5,1997Trans Am, 1986 C4,
1990 Miata, 1976 MGB,1997 Protege, 1989 MR2

Since you damaged her car it would be on your Liability coverage. I don't think there is a deductable on liability. There can be deductable on comprehensive and colllision.

If you gouged the hood you probably would need to replace the hood and paint it.

I had a similar thing happen to me about 8 years ago. I merged in behind a lady on 64 at the beltline. She hit her brakes and I tapped her. I put two scratches in her back bumper cover. I thought about paying for it myself until she would not get out of the car without EMS looking at her.
My insurance paid less than $100 for damage to the car but there was a $400 doctor bill.

The lady had the same accident two weeks later and her car got totaled. Coincidense, I think not.

_________________
George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.

Dan, you did the right thing by leaving that note, and don't let anyone try to make you feel bad about it for one second. Bernie, I hope I don't have to park near you ever. It may be a bit more trouble to try to handle it one-on-one with the lady, but it's worth a try and, as you said, you can still handle this through insurance so you've got nothing to lose and definitely something to gain. Even if the lowest estimate she'll accept is $400 more than your estimate, you'll probably still come out ahead in the long run.

Imagine the roles were reversed, and some dorky kid backed into your BMW. Would you agree to whatever random lowball estimate he could come back with? Hell no! You'd want to get the job done right, by someone you trust, right? It's not your fault that your hood got scratched up, why in the world should you have to put up with a bad repair job, or even risk it? Say you agreed to the low estimate and a bad job was done, what would be your recourse?

Obviously you want to be on guard for "gold plated" estimates, but I would say her position gives her the right to specify who does the repair. It'll probably be expensive, so be prepared for that. Bernie's advice about knowing your deductible is his one statement I would recommend you listen to. That is your safety net in this situation, and it's a good one.

Again, you did the right thing, so feel good about that. If you need more incentive, there might have been a witness to the incident who could've gotten your plate, then you'd be looking at a lot more than an increased insurance premium.

_________________
Carl Fisher

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=4651531

Small comment on Bernie's method...

I have had a few cars get "rubbed" in parking lots. No notes claiming responsability and no mysterious wad of cash showing in the mail a few days later. The guilt level seems to drop once the offender makes a clean getaway.

_________________
Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

Dan;

See what she comes up with. Have her provide you with copies of the estimates. If they look unreasonable, or if you want to double check have her take the car to a body shop of your choice. Remember, she has what I am assuming that the Acura is reasonably nice so MAACO may not be a reasonable choice, but you could check and see where the Acura dealers take their cars for bodywork if they don't do it themselves. That way you could get a fair idea.

If she doesn't like it, or if you don't think she is being square, you can report to your insurance. Keep in mind the deductible and with Geico the increase in rates for 3 years and factor in whether you want to pay it out or not.

What Carl says, I agree with I would appreciate your being honest and responsible. There is nothing that pisses me off more than to have my car hit in a parking lot and the person run off. You are an honorable man

Carl and Richard,
My post was sort of tongue in cheek. However there are a few points I'd like to amplify
1. the statement "you can still handle this through insurance so you've got nothing to lose and definitely something to gain. " is not totally accurate. your insurance will most likely increase. So there is something to lose the increase in rates that will be with you for quite some time.
2. If the roles were reversed you would have a hundred to one chance that they would even leave a note. I've had dozens of these encounters and NO ONE has ever left a note.
3. Dan was not looking for the low estimate but rather a fair estimate, even the insurance co.'s want multiple estimates to insure your not pading the bill. I feel that scratching someones car does not give them carte blanche with your bank account....Fair and reasonable repair.
As an example, the radar gun I borrowed for this weeks autox now has a scratched face and ball point ink marks on it. So I have to replace it with a similar one. not one that would cost twice as much or more. Again fair and reasonable, I will replace it with the exact same model. If I could get it fifty dollars less than he paid for it, it would still be fair and reasonable. and the same logic applies to the scratches on the womans car.
And lastly I'd like to say Dan is Extraordinary fellow for doing what he did. Too bad it sounds like trouble from a woman who really should be grateful. Hence my statement "NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED"
All that now having been said, I'm one of the poor fools who leaves notes like Dan, and gets screwed when it happens to me. See my quote by John Wayne

_________________
2004 C5(415whp,390ft/lbs),
1997C5,1997Trans Am, 1986 C4,
1990 Miata, 1976 MGB,1997 Protege, 1989 MR2

Agreed. Integrity is all about always doing the right thing. Even when no one is looking.

_________________
Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

A few Facts:

1. No deductible on liability claims

2. Estimate will probably be higher than you would think, if there are gouges they probably won't want to use in body filler as the hood takes more heat than any other part of the car so it will crack in time. If the est has "OR" listed on any line that means Owners Request which means the body shop didn't want to do it but the owner requested it.

3. Geico sucks. They spend more money on advertising than any other company spend on commissions for agents who have 22 frigging years of experience in the business, excuse me back to the subject.

4. Your rates may not go up if the accident is under 1800 in damage but you may lose a discount or two or if you currenty have any convictions or get one in the future it then becomes a chargeble accident adding one point to you policy

5. Did I mention Geico sucks?

_________________
2002 MCS, 2003 MCS Track Rat, 2003 Generic White Yukon, 2003 BMWk1200rs, 1973 CB350F, 02 996. 08 Cayenne Turbo
http://www.clinehallagency.com

hah thanks guys.

^hrm very interesting. this is good news.

well i dont suppose youd want to take me on as a client just in time to have to fork out for some lady's hood eh?

hmm, isn't like placing a bet after the game is over?

_________________
2002 MCS, 2003 MCS Track Rat, 2003 Generic White Yukon, 2003 BMWk1200rs, 1973 CB350F, 02 996. 08 Cayenne Turbo
http://www.clinehallagency.com

It looks like Cosby Wood will also be in the market for a new insurance company.

_________________
George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.