Well, went rock climbing with Vic yesterday, had a great time, then went to Barnes & Noble and browsed the books. I come out to get in my car, and this guy comes up to me and says he saw someone hit my car and drive off. He was writing this whole detailed account with his info and gave it to me. The guy who did the damage actually left his name and number as well, thankfully (glad to see there are good people out there!)
So, I try to get a hold of him, but can’t so I leave a message. I call my insurance, file a claim, and I’ve already dropped the car off at the repair center to get fixed (amazingly streamlined process for car insurance, I love having USAA for my bank and insurance!). I get a voicemail back from the guy, and he gives me his insurance info, but says at the end “Can I just pay cash rather than take a hit on my insurance?” Ugh!! Now it’s my choice. I can just ignore that last part, give his info to my insurance company, and be done (I’m leaning this way 90%).
Or, I can call him back, talk to him about it, find out the estimate from the repair shop, get a check from him, hope it doesn’t bounce and that he doesn’t change numbers or something. I know we all hate getting a hit on our car insurance as it’ll raise the rates. The guy was good and gave me all his info, so I should feel like I can trust him. When I was 16 I scraped a guy’s truck with my mom’s car. He went to Maaco, got an estimate for about $300, we paid him, signed a short informal contract and were done. But, my dad got hit by an uninsured family a few years ago, they promised to pay him and never did (or the check bounced, I don’t remember exactly) and he couldn’t get a hold of them anymore.
So, how much do you trust people? Plus, this whole dilemma is the reason we have insurance. As expensive as it is, and annoying to deal with insurance people (only sometimes…no offense Chris!), insurance takes care of this whole thing.
Plus, I’ve already taken it to Caliber Collision, the place USAA told me to go. They do great work, but they’re expensive as hell (they love to replace everything). If I’d agreed with the guy to just do cash I could have gone somewhere where they’d just fix up the existing pieces and replace as little as possible. The other guy probably thinks it’s only a $100-200 or so of damage, but I’m sure Caliber’s bill will be close to $1000 or more. The bumper is fairly scraped, gouged in a few places, and pried away from under the front left headlight. The Caliber rep said several brackets were broken when that happened and that the bumper itself was bent as well as possibly some other pieces connected to the bumper underneath.
Should I just give my insurance the other guy’s insurance info, should I at least call him back and give him the estimate and tell him I’d prefer insurance, or let him pay check?
Again, ugh.
Hmmm… a dilema. Not sure if there has been an update on this yet.
Talk to the guy and let him know what you have done (remember to say that his offer came after you had sent the car to get work done). Say you’ll get the estimate from the place, and then see what he has to offer. If it is as you think, then he’ll take the insurance option
May 19, 2004 @ 3:08 pmKeep us posted
Thanks. Actually, the guy has been great to work with. He’s opened a claim on his insurance and they are taking over the whole thing, even though my insurance started it. I’m so glad it’s gone smoothly!!
May 20, 2004 @ 8:53 amUgh, that sucks.
My two cents about your dilemmas, though it’s long past timely now…
In May 2002, I hit someone who ran a stop sign. Actually, Naji hit them, but we were in my car. So anyway, I took it to the place my insurance wanted, paid my deductible, and rented a car. It’s notable to mention that in the car behind the asshole who ran the stop sign was a police officer, who clearly put the guy at fault. So anyway, he claims he’s not at fault, and his insurance company and mine dick around forever, and I’m still out my deductible. Finally, out of the blue this last January, I get a check for the amount and a letter that they’d finally gotten his insurance company to accept fault. But damn.
On the other hand, I got in a little scrape with a large pickup while driving Naji’s car last May. I was driving behind a pickup on a Wendy’s parking lot, and then the pickup just starts randomly backing up. Reverse in a VW and reverse in a Miata are in VERY different places…so I wasn’t able to get out of the way in time, and he (literally) backed over part of the hood. Long story short, he wanted to not go through the insurance company. We were REALLY leery, but we took the car for an estimate that day, called him with the amount, and met him the next day to pick up his check, and went and cashed it immediately. Smooth as silk, and no insurance hikes.
In summary: For a minor incident, I would definitely consider going around the insurance company, given the experiences I’ve had on both sides.
M.
May 26, 2004 @ 7:25 pmI had to laugh when you mentioned reverse being in two different places.
I just drove my sister’s VW Cabriolet this weekend. I can just picture the panic trying to find reverse as a truck backs over your hood!
In hindsight, I think you’re right, I probably could have gone under the table so to speak and got him to give me a check. But, he’s been great about it, accepted fault and his insurance is sending me a check for the deductible (I won’t hold my breath though, I’m guessing it will be a few months before it is ‘processed’!).
May 27, 2004 @ 9:47 am