[dailo]

After reading all the accident threads here I never thought I'd write my own, but unfortunately that day has come.

First time in an accident so now I am a little worried I was a little too relaxed about the whole situation.

Basically huge escalade rear ends me while stuck in traffic and probably hits me going 20-30mph. My rear bumper looks a little bent and there is a huge gash in the diffuser, but doesn't look like its that bad. The guy gets out and says he doesn't have any insurance and offers me $300 dollars cash on the spot. I knew it was going to cost a lot more to fix that so I told him to give me his number and address and I'd get him an estimate and he agreed. His car was brand new too so it had no plates so I didn't get a plate number (mistake, probably should of got the VIN). Anyways all I have is his phone number and address, but I called and it was his cell. Anyways I guess this is going to cost a lot to fix and I'm worried he's going to back out or can he can change his story when he finds out.

Next I'm just debating on where to bring my car to get the estimate from, although I guess the dealer is the obvious choice. Next thought is whether its worth it to take the money and get a new rear bumper, but not sure what I'd get since I completely stock and probably won't look that good without a matching front. Sucks I've had the car for less than 6 months and already damage to my car

Any tips, thoughts, etc would be appreciated!

[Joekerr]

I'd be pretty nervous if I were in your situation. You do have his plate number right - what about his driver's license #? I ran into a similar situation where he wasn't covered (was from out of country), and wrote down the guy's driver's license too.

If the car is leased, you don't want to get dinged at the end, so go to the dealer. If you bought it, take it to a reputable shop, get a couple quotes from different shops you trust, and then call the guy.

My money is on he tries to weasel out - sucks, but I bet he does. Fingers crossed for you though!

[Aurora Bearialis]

You should have looked in your leather packet that BMW offers you. It comes with the car it has the manual and other stuff, but more importantly it has a little pamphlet in case you get into an accident it has everything that you should get as far as information form the other person

[dailo]

OMG how could I be so stupid. Why didn't get I get his drivers license #!!!! I was in such a hurry I didn't even think about that stuff. His car was new so no plates, but I was just thinking phone number and address would be enough.

In the case he turns out to not want to pay would filing a police report do anything? I guess I could claim a hit and run, but would suck because I still have to pay the deductible.

[mitchius]

Sorry to be harsh but...

Brand new Escalade with no insurance and no plates rear ends you and you don't call the cops? Either the whole story is BS or you're going to get what you deserve. How did he provide his address?

[e90fanatic]

Originally Posted by dailo

After reading all the accident threads here I never thought I'd write my own, but unfortunately that day has come.

First time in an accident so now I am a little worried I was a little too relaxed about the whole situation.

Basically huge escalade rear ends me while stuck in traffic and probably hits me going 20-30mph. My rear bumper looks a little bent and there is a huge gash in the diffuser, but doesn't look like its that bad. The guy gets out and says he doesn't have any insurance and offers me $300 dollars cash on the spot. I knew it was going to cost a lot more to fix that so I told him to give me his number and address and I'd get him an estimate and he agreed. His car was brand new too so it had no plates so I didn't get a plate number (mistake, probably should of got the VIN). Anyways all I have is his phone number and address, but I called and it was his cell. Anyways I guess this is going to cost a lot to fix and I'm worried he's going to back out or can he can change his story when he finds out.

Next I'm just debating on where to bring my car to get the estimate from, although I guess the dealer is the obvious choice. Next thought is whether its worth it to take the money and get a new rear bumper, but not sure what I'd get since I completely stock and probably won't look that good without a matching front. Sucks I've had the car for less than 6 months and already damage to my car

Any tips, thoughts, etc would be appreciated!

wow are you retarded? what if he deny everything. what do you have?? sorry but this is going to be an expensive lesson for you

[e90fanatic]

Originally Posted by dailo

In the case he turns out to not want to pay would filing a police report do anything? I guess I could claim a hit and run, but would suck because I still have to pay the deductible.

wtf....police report for what?? where the hell did you crawl out from? you dont have jack to prove you were the victim and he's the liable party after you leave the scene.

*unsubscribed

[dailo]

Ouch. Guess I learned a very expensive lesson the hard way. Didn't think the cops would show up for a fender bender, but I guess I was wrong.

Guess I should of been prepared to put my flame suit on...

[Seminole]

20 mph is no small crash, you probably have serious damage under your bumper....

Stop dicking around and call your insurance adjuster and see what they would recommend. The police can't/ won't do anything now.

[Van[ForTheTired]]

Yea you should have definitely got his vin#, driver license #, and got it on paper that it was his fault and he had to sign it.

good luck with it bro. anytime any accidents occur you should not leave yourself open to this kind of situation.

[WayneDoodle]

If you call the cops, they will come. Call your insurance and ask about your underinsured policy. They might cover it, and your premium will go up, but it MAY cover some of the costs of repair.

I hope the Escalade driver doesn't renig on his promise. I don't understand how someone can drive an Escalade and not have insurance (But that is another question for another day).

[JetskiMark]

I am curious as to how this will all end up.

You should attach a couple of pics too.

Best of luck with your situation.

[dailo]

Well I guess all I can do is hope for the best, but I guess I just have a high tendency to trust people and he seemed like a nice guy. Kind of with I took the $300 dollars anyways so at least I'd have something now...

If he doesn't pay the worst situation is I live with the damage. It isn't really that noticeable, but of course I'd like to get it repaired. My insurance covers hit and run, but my deductible is $1000 and I'm guessing my premium would go up so I doubt that is worth it. Going to try to get an estimate tomorrow, but not sure how I am going to deal with that now since I imagine I'd have to leave my car there for them to check it out. Lesson learned and I guess I know what to do next time...thanks again.

[dailo]

Would it be possible to file a claim with the insurance company and have them deal with the uninsured driver? Could I just give them all the information and have them handle it or do they only handle cases where both parties have insurance?

[kevinbahnz]

shoulda called the cops , just to have it recorded and witnessed by an official. Here in Ma , the cops wont even write out the report for you, you have to get 2 accident forms from the police station(1 for polive and 1 for Ins.) and fill them out yourself and have the police station file it for you. I hope the guy sticks to his words. You never know , there are some honest people out there.

[mmm def]

Be nice people! OP good luck with your situation, we all learn from these types of events..hope it all works out.

[abcommercial]

Thoughts:

1) If by some miracle he doesn't change his cell phone number and totally eff you, your insurance company might be able to find out if he has insurance (he could just be saying that).

2) If by some miracle he does have insurance, you need to make sure to file a diminished value claim on top of your damage claim -- equal to the difference in value between your car before the wreck and your car after being repaired. Note you can ONLY get this when filing a claim with his insurance; your own insurance company is not obligated to pay diminished value.

3) I was in a similar situation when I highschool kid hit my VW while it was parked outside a club I was hanging out in. I got his address and cell phone and neither him nor his good for nothing mother would ever answer the phone or return calls. finally got the kid in court.

4) I would investigate the $h-- out of him using any info you have on him, starting with places like publicdata.com and your own insurance company.

[335e92tx]

Its quite likely ur ins wont do squat without an accident report. You better see if you can find someone/ANYONE that was a 'witness'.

G/L

[Neutrino45]

You're fucked...

[PaulBailey@ltbmw]

Wow you screwed up.
Always better to be safe than sorry.
Hope you don't have more damage than you thought.
Check all the fitment around the trunk and rear doors.
I was rearended by a jetta and needed new bumpers front and back and passenger side quarter panel

[slipperman]

best of luck to you OP. in the future, i'd have the local police on speed dial.

[Aurora Bearialis]

Originally Posted by xPaulBaiLeyx

Wow you screwed up.
Always better to be safe than sorry.
Hope you don't have more damage than you thought.
Check all the fitment around the trunk and rear doors.
I was rearended by a jetta and needed new bumpers front and back and passenger side quarter panel

I was rear ended in my E46 by a scion tc and my DS quarter panel was bulging out, it was about 20 MPH too and my whole car just shut off