unfortunately my car has been hit and run yesterday on front street. It is not a really big hit, more like a scratch but still the paint came off and everything.

I showed it to Jerry@Yorkville(btw,he is really cool like everyone else said) today and he roughly estimated that it would either cost in the 3 grand range for the proper paint and everything or around in the couple hundreds range for a surface job.(like without removing the bumper and the rear left quarter side)

my question is, would you guys go through insurance for stuff like this or just take care it on your own? I have never used my insurance for a claim before, so I am quite puzzled what to do now.


here is a pic:
http://img224.exs.cx/img224/4338/img13213iz.jpg

 

Sorry about your ride there Lagos.I don't have any experiences with any major hit and runs. I would get some other opinions on proper repair costs to confirm Jerry's quote although he has an excellent reputation on here. Personally I would not want my entire car painted and would prefer to have just the damage repaired if the shop is confident they can get a good match. that's even if insurance was paying. There are so many stories about any claims affecting premiums its hard to know what to do. Maybe someone with a similiar experience can wade in here.

 

Having friends who sell car insurance really helps. I have been told that in a case such as this, assuming it's your first claim, the insurance company will "let it go"meaning your premiums won't be affected. That is assuming you are a good client and haven't missed any payments etc..However they don't forget it and if this happens again then you will definitely see a change in your premiums.This has been the case for me at least with my vehicles so I hope it helps.Apparently with insurance you get 1 strike then your out.LOL.Sorry to hear about the car.

 

Sorry....
Did you check on the wherabouts of Paula Abdoul to see if she has an alibi????

 

Lagos that is a total bummer
If you had no previous claims your insurance should not go up with the hit and run, but look out after that. It would not hurt to check with your Broker and see what they say. If it was my car I would try to get it fixed without the insurance getting involved for that amount of damage.
Good Luck

 

Sorry for your bad luck.......If it were mine and the repair was affordable, I'd stay away from an insurance claim.
Even tho they may 'forgive' the first incident, you may not want to waste it on a relatively minor one.

Good luck with repairs.

C.

 

Rbull, I know what you mean. I don't want my car to get painted but I guess it will depend on whether it can be repaired from the surface. Because I believe whether you paint the whole section or just a small part of the body, there will always be a color difference.

other thing I have heard is that, since insurance company can not determine the hit and run, they might try to put it at 50% or even 100% at my fault if they wanted to. I am with RBC so I don't know how they will respond but I am assuming they will not raise the premiums for my first claim in 4 years I have been with them with pre-authorized payments.

 

Bad buzz, dude. Upsetting...I feel for you...

 

I have had the unfortunate experience of having to make a claim on my G. This was last year and it was my first claim I have ever made. After my policy was due for renewal the insurance company sent me my new policy and there was a $600 increase. I guess I wasn't lucky enough to receive one "free" claim.

Anyways, I shopped around and ended up going to another broker and saved over $1k between home/auto insurance. I woud avoid going through insurance IF you can, however if you do, hopefully your premiums will not go up.

And btw, doesn't it really p!ss you off that you pay all that money to insurance companies year after year, and when something unfortunate happens, you are too damn scared to go through insurance! What is wrong with that picture??

 

On a newer car and with todays technology paint matching and blending is pretty good. I know it is harder on some colours more than others so you might ask about that. As others have pointed out I would try and stay away from an insurance claim. If it can be repaired for $475. that's probably what your deductible is anyway.

I hear you Canuck. Both my house and car insurance have risen incredibly and I've not had any claims for many years. Last one was my stolen snowmobile.

 

Lagos; bummer
Sorry to hear about your H&R.

You're right there will always be a difference...
But there are some good shops out there that can do a great
job of blending/fading the new into the original.
With the damage located down low I think you should be able
to get a good job done.

 

Lagos,

Sorry to hear that....as most of us said, don't claim the insurance if you can afford it.. cuz at a young age like us, insurance premium will give u a big hit even you have had a no-fault accident.

And about the color-matching, IP is one of the most difficult colour to match and blend in. I don't know if you remember my INGS+1 front lip.... that's the one I've asked the shop to repaint 3 times to get an acceptable result

 

Hello - sorry to hear about your situation.

Here are some tips for Hit & Runs:

1) File a police report right away. Within 24 hrs. No messing around here, it takes a few minutes to do this.

2) Depending on where your car was hit, there could be witnesses and there could be someone who remembers a familiar car or even a license plate. Never give up on asking a few people who work/live around where your car was hit. You can even post a reward for information. If you can get a witness and a plate number, the police will be very willing to help you track the vehicle down.

3) Check your insurance. Some policies will waive the deductible for a hit and run as long as a police report was filed in 24 hrs.

Remember that your repair will depend on whether you own or lease the car. If you lease, you want the damage repaired as best as possible so that you will not have to pay more when you return the car.

 

first,thanks to all the suggestions guys.

my collision deductible is $1000 and I don't really want to pay that and then pay more for insurance next year. I am just hoping Jerry's guy will do a good job on the surface. This is a lease car but there is a possibility that I might buy it off. so I am still in between whether I should do the insurance.

Also, next year is my last year in Canada, I will be moving back to Europe by the end of 2006 so that another thing that encourages me to use the insurance, but still not decided.



edit: added collision deductible...