Kinda weird, but I was not upset at all when my car was hit. I was at a full stop at a stop sign then I felt the big THUG! I was going "What the hell??" The guy behind me with a 1997 White Cavalier hit my rear bumper and rear bodykit valence. I just turned my hazards on, looked him, and I can see that he was going "oohhh ****..." (Young guy too) I got my pen and paper and smiled at the guy asking if he was ok. He was suprised that I was not mad. It calmed him down and he was fully co-operative. I got every piece of info I needed from him and the car. From what I saw at the time, I told him it shouldn't be much and I see what I can do so we don't have to go insurance on this. He was happy and it went quick.

Now when I got home to look at it more, it's pretty bad. Looks like the hit gouged a pretty big hole on my bodykit, crushed some sections, and chipped some paint. Overall, It probably be a hard job to fix. Also I have multiple scratches on my OEM bumper. Looks like it gonna cost more than whatever his liability deductable will be.

Knowing this, I have options now....
Should I:

1) get a new INGS bumper and have both my bumper and bodykit repainted?
2) get the bumper repaired ect but charge for a new one?
3) get a different style of bumper?
4) any other suggestions you might have?

I don't have a pic of the damage, but this is where he hit me:



Thanks guys.
Ray

 

Sorry, that was me in the Cavalier Sounds like your bumper cover is salvageable, but your Ings apron will have to be replaced. His liability will cover all the damage. If the guy tries to screw you, the worst case scenario is that you'll be out your deductible until your insurance company can recoup it. Good luck.

 

How so? I've handled thousands of claims. More often than not, there are no police reports filed. In fact, unless there are injuries, a car is stuck in the road, at least a misdemeanor was committed(DUI, suspended license), or it was a hit and run, police generally do not even show up. And police reports are hardly considered conclusive.

 

i like the impul rear bumper

 

This is true, here in CA anyway.

Sorry to hear about the accident Ray. Good to hear you handled it like a mature adult. Good luck. BTW, I like your current bumper, I say keep that style.

 

In my SoCal city, cops try not to write a police report if it's a minor accident w/ no injuries. Apparently, it's true for many other cities in SoCal.

 

Two years ago my previous car was rear-ended in Newport Beach. Thank goodness that when I called, the police came and filed a report. The lady was all "I'm so sorry" at the scene, but then she lied to her insurance company (and mine) and said that I pulled out of a (non-existant) driveway and that's why she hit me. It was still a royal PAIN to get it settled, and without the police report it would have been worse.

I don't have thousands to go by, just a good half dozen that have never (yet) been my fault.

 

Thats cool you were calm about it. Most people are ready to fight or whatever, its just a car, there is insurence for a reason, and they are called accidents...not purposes.

Ive been in 4 accidents, rear ended each time. 3 of those 4 times it was completly painless to deal with the people if you reason and put yourself in their shoes and think about how you would feel if you just crashed into someone and its your fault (its always your fault if you rearend someone). The one time was a dude that had no insurence. I called the cops, he called me racist for calling the cops on a "brotha". A sheriff came out and wrote out a report and gave him a $200 fine for no insurence. Then the next day he shows up at my house (he is from compton, at the time I lived in riverside, he rear ended me in puente hills when I was shoping for a new truck but driving my dads new sequoia). Call me racist, but when an old, belligerant black dude shows up at my front door smelling of alcohol...im ready to kick his ***. Anyways he tries to hand me $80 to fix the bumper, I told him I wish that $80 could fix it, but it wont. Then he wants to know if he can take it to his firends shop to have it fixed, sorry, but im not handing over the keys to a new sequoia. I found out later that when my insurence company called him for a statment he would do so without a lawyer present, the he tried to sue me for harassment and somthing else because my insurence company went after him for the money with some kind of bounty hunter, my insurence company is even coverded that too, i dont have to do anything.

I would get the price to fix it from the most expensive body shop you can find. Then price out what you really want and go and talk to them and be cool about it and just say "it would be $xxxx to fix it and put it back exactly how it is, or it would be $xxx to do aftermarket stuff that I would like to do anyways"...if they are gonna pay outta pocket the would go the cheapest route.

 

One problem with police reports are that in many cases, they are not complete. By this I mean, the officers don't do a whole lot to evaluate all possibilities. In this kind of case, it's not so much the credibility of the content that is in question, but the completeness of the investigation. I find more facts than police officers usually report. Having a report usually do not hurt a case if it's on your side, but aren't automatically credible if it's not.

The second problem usually only comes up in court. Admitting a police report as evidence is not ecaxtly automatic. Usually, if it is admitted, the officer who wrote the report and took statements from drivers and observations at the scene would need to be there to testify to the credibility of the report and to allow for cross-examination. And an officer can not testify to what happened, but only to what he was told. He would not be a direct witness to the accident, but only a witness to what was said. And without statements being legally recorded, it only holds as much credibility as the officer's account of the conversation. Not to mention if the party testifies differently, then what evidence does the officer have that would prove the person actually said what they did. The report itself would likely be admitted as an exhibit that can be used for reference by the offer to 'refresh' his memory of the incident. ut it would be doubtful in a jury trial, it could be admitted as evidence by itself. Small claims may be a little more leniant, but likley the judge will take it with a grain of salt.

In practice, claims adjusters do look at reports. But basing decisions strictly on a report would be a bad idea unless that is the only thing you can go by. Of course, each party's representative will push the report if it's in their favor, but simply discount it if it's not. But all adjusters and attorneys should know that the report can not be weighted a whole lot. I tend to use it mainly to identify the parties involved and get a basic understanding. Some of the time, the officer will write in measurements and diagrams that help to depict the accident. It also can be used to question parties when one person's statement is not consistent with what they told the officer in the report. It becomes especially fun when you question these kinds of inconsistencies in a recorded statement and hear their responses. Essentially, it can help guide an investigation to secure more solid evidence to determine the cause of the accident. Police reports can indeed be helpful, but they are not going to necessarily break your case. From my experience, most people have a propensity to tell the truth. So this is usually not a problem.

 

john, its time to get that m3 bumper that youve been wanting...

 

I've been told here, by the Police, if it's not (I think at the time at least $3,000 dollars) $X amount of money, don't even bother calling us.

I find that statement so wrong. Also had a friend with a hit and run, he got the tags & gave the description of the driver to the Police.......they took no action.

Funny how a money generating action such as giving parking and speeding tickets are so rigorously enforced.