2 months into ownership, and I get backed into at a red light!

2 months into ownership, and I get backed into at a red light! Update 3/12/11

Title pretty much says it all.

Details on the accident:
I was at a red light, when it turned green and this woman in front of me with a rental car backed straight into the wagon

Details on the damage:

My front bumper on the driver side is pushed
Which caused my driver side fender to crease and bend upwards in the middle.
The bumper itself looks to be bent pretty badly
Front clip is pushed in and my hood will not shut now, had to bungee it to get home.
headlights look beat up on the driver side as well

The front end and driver side fender/bumper appear to be all that is damaged. She didn't hit me hard enough to make contact with anything in the engine bay, although where the top of the front clip bolts down to the car/frame surrounding the radiator appears to be bent a little as well from the impact.

She told me she was willing to pay for the damages out of pocket if she can afford, and asked me to go get a quote. I told her I don't know her or can trust her, so I would still need her insurance information in case **** happens.

I verified her policy number name and address with her information she had on her. She was in a hurry to get to the airport to get back home and not miss her flight, something tells me she's going to get held up at the rental place and miss that flight.

So I called a local chevy dealer, and based on the information I told them, if I were to claim it on her insurance most likely the company will total my car I am so bummed right now.

I'm not the handiest man around, but I have heard that sometimes insurance companies will offer to sell you the totaled vehicle back at a very cheap price, and I'm pretty confident I can fix most of these issues or find a shop to get it done for me.

Any advice or wisdom would be greatly appreciated. I really hope I can get around having the car totaled if they wont sell it back to me.

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Update 3/12/11

Monday the insurance company of the lady who hit me in the rental car had an inspector come out to see/document all the damage on my vehicle. He told me he was 99% sure they would total it, also pointed out damage I did not notice before.

Fast forward to friday, I gave the insurance adjuster a call to get an update on the status of my claim. He told me that he was still waiting on a finalized report from the inspector, something about the file being too large and their servers kicking it out and working to fix that issue. The woman claimed fault of the accident, so its a non contest and I also told him I wanted to keep the car so they will be deducting its scrap value from the check they end up writing me for the wreck.
Was not sure on how much they we're giving me back yet, I'm hoping its more than what I paid because I feel like what I bought was worth more than what I paid.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point, only one shop was willing to take on the repair and that was with them bending the hood, and front clip back as good as they could get it for 1000$. I kind of feel like I can do this repair myself, much cheaper with a new front clip and fenders. They did not know about the core support being bent though, so that might change how much they would charge me.

The inspector also pointed out to me that the bumper is twisted and my core support between the front clip and the radiator took a huge hit and is bent very badly. None of this effects the driveablity of the car but just another thing I have to replace.

Unrelated, but hit a pot hole on the way home today and now I got a huge bump rising on drivers side tire. Tire shops we're closed so I had to drive it home very carefully and wait for Monday. :banghead3:. Just seems to be one thing after another since the accident.

Depending on how much I get back, I may yet again pick up a different daily driver and start tearing apart this one in the garage to get the front end ready for new parts. Not really looking forward to that, but would be the smartest thing to do!

The wife happened to find a really nice wagon being sold in a used car lot not too far from here. Think its a 79 oldsmobile custom. Its in really good shape, a lot better than the malibu when I first bought it. Had 1 spot of rust about the size of my fist. They are asking 3300 I think but I feel like that is high (I am very cheap too, so maybe its more that lol).

 

Oh man that really sucks, sorry to hear about it.

 

OK, Swazafix, I'm an insurance claims guy with 30+ years experience...
First, I need more information:

- Do YOU have collision coverage on the wagon?
- Did you get any police report?
- Were there any witnesses? If not, canvas the area for people in storefronts, houses, etc. that may have seen it. The reson I ask this, is because what's to stopthis lady from claiming you rear-ended her. Believe me, this happens all the time.

Sorry to scare you, and it's better to be a trusting individual, but when it comes to accepting responsibility, some people fall short.

Assuming she tells the truth, and her own insurance will handle your claim, here's what you do:

Get an accurate estimate for the repairs. Have the shop utilize the most cost-effective method to do the repairs, while repairing it properly (i.e.- used parts, where necessary...) This is not a case where you want the shop to write a full-boat estimate with all the bells and whistles- otherwise it's gonna total the wagon. If the shop can cut you a break on their labor rate, that would be a help, too (tell them you'll recommend them to all your friends and co-workers...)

Document the value of your wagon- print up ads for similar stuff. use other GM wagons of the same size if necessary. As long as your ads support a realistic value Since you just recently acquired it, your purchase documentation is also relative.

Now you've got your ammo, start shooting.....

Marshall

 

Unfortunately I just have property and liability insurance

I did NOT call the police for a report, I know this is really damn stupid but since this woman offered to pay for the repairs if possible and she needed to get going quickly to make her flight back home to colorado I went with it.

And unfortunately, no eyewitnesses, everyone drove off like nothing happened. I can check for storefronts, but there is only 2 close to the intersection and I'm sure one of them did not have a chance at seeing anything, the other is a gas station that MAY have had someone working there who saw what happened.

I already have a set time next week to have the wagon checked out for repairs, I was going to get this price and call and see if she was willing to write a check to pay it (would be best case senario). If not I have to try and deal with allstate, which I'm dreading! I have delt with them before when a woman backed into me from a parking place while i was sitting in a drive through line at mcdonalds last year (my ****ing luck right?!)

Should I wait to call and make this claim after I get the quote if shes not willing to pay, or should I make this call now and hope for the best?

 

What kind of law (if there is one..) in Indiana regarding proof of financial responsibility? Might want to check with somebody on that. You may have to report the accident to comply with the law.....

Other than that problem, I'd suggest getting your damage estimate (she might want two for comparison...) and see what happens. Was there any damage to the rental car? If so, she's going to be making a report to her insurance company anyway....

(Her insurance would be what's called the primary carrier. The rental company's insurance would only kick in if needed. Her insurance is also going to pay for the damage to the rental car. At least that's how it usually works)

 

she had no rental insurance, i asked this.

will that be a problem?

 

I did not report the accident I had 1 year ago, and it worked out fine. I consider myself lucky in that aspect.

 

All that means is that it confirms what I said above - her insurance will be primary. If you pay for the 'rental insurance', all that does is waive your payment of your collision deductible to the rental company, or provide you coverage if you had none (your situation).

 

Sorry about your wagon, hope it all turns out good!

 

Here, read this, it will tell you what your responsibilities are in an accident. If you need additional info, let me know. I am a licensed Officer here in Indiana.
http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title9/ar26/ch1.html

 

Sorry about the damage to your wagon but the first thing that anyone in an accident should do is get a police report especially when you're not at fault. While she may have been in a hurry to get somewhere that really wasn't your problem. Hopefully it will all work out well for you.

When I lived in Indiana I was hit by a woman from Florida (FL tags & insurance) & even though she was at fault 100% (police report stated) FL was a no fault insurance state. I had 6 months worth of arguing with her insurance co before they agreed to pay for my damages. In my case without the police report she likely would have denied any fault for the accident once she was back in FL.

 

Unfortunately I had this happen to me. Woman ran a stop sign, clipped my rear end (68 cougar, non wagon) and cried about her rates going up, divorce, etc and just wanted to pay cash. She worked locally as I saw her ID card and thought it would be the nice thing to do. She was nice as could be, talking about getting things together as I got my estimate, etc Three weeks later I suddenly the phone is disconnected. She moved. Had it in the works for months and screwed me.

ALWAYS, I repeat, ALWAYS get a police report!

As for the insurance and totaling the car?... It depends. It takes work, but you can get them to fix it. I did, on my Tempest, even though they wanted to total it. Helped out another Tempest owner in CA do the same thing. You just have to do all the legwork. Get comps for sale, get examples of other cars that were fixed, get statements from other owners of similar wagons, get as much info as possible. Documents of how much money you've put into it, pictures of before/after, everything. If that doesn't work, find out what it would cost you to buy the salvage rights.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

Holy geez....good luck with everything...frigin women drivers

 

Sorry to hear about your wagon. Not sure about Indiana, but pretty suer it would be the same - in Illinois, you have a week from date of the accident to report it and file a police report. Even though she doesn't want you to, you have to protect yourself these days. I had to file a police report on my neighbor who ran into my car and didn't say anything about it. Then, when I confronted her about the fact that there was paint transfer from her car on mine, she stalled several days saying she would pay for it herself and not to call her insurance.

Once I filed a report as a hit and run and gave her a copy, she gave me cash on the spot and tried to explain that she would have paid for it, blah, blah, blah.

Protect yourself. Get at least two estimates and file your report.

Good luck.

Ted

 

Insurance adjuster comes monday to price the damage out, most likely she will end up totaled over this from what I hear from the body shops I went to.



guess I'll be looking for a new wagon with the check I get