I hit someones car. Damnit

[infinity5]

I was on a residential (no painted lanes) street at night and someone was parked on the side of the road and I was trying to keep right to let oncomming traffic pass and i wasn't paying attention ( becuase i'm retarted) and minaged to side-swipe some guys toyota.

I tore my pass side mirror clean off the car, but it only broke the glass in his.

I though that was it, but upon closer inspection i actually did scrape my car along the side of his, he said the paint looks intact and the bump strip just rubbed black plastic all over it, but he said its noticably denting in alone the line i left.

aw ****.
He was nice, and wasn't to interested in getting insurance involved, and said he'd go get some quotes from body shops +the dealer and i could just pay him.

We'll see. I dunno if i can afford it out of pocket if the dent is the kind of dent that will require the door being replaced/the entire door being painted+ the rest of the paint around it being blended.

It sounded like a long thin dent, like the bump strip caught it. So its not something round you can just pop out. Soo... how do they fix that kind of stuff?

You guys think it'll be something cheap and easy and i should expect to shell out a few hundered, or are they going to tell him to repaint he entire door and want like $900?

[TheEndIsNear]

What model/year is the Toyota? Do you have any pictures of the damage?

[infinity5]

new. pretty new. Its hard to tell with the darkness. A camery. Probably 2000

Pictures might have been smart, although i don't have a camera. And my house is.. far.

I sort of kind of know the guy, meaning that he like.. i dunno. I see him almsot everyday. I forget if he works at the coffee shop we all hang out at or what it was. He is known amoungst my friends. Its kinda weird he lives there and i hit him out of everyone.

He was really nice, and repeated 5 or 6 times he really appreciated my honesty and that i actually came and knocked on his door instaed of driving off.

The only reason he said he'd rather just let me pay him was that he was in an accident a while ago and his insurance went up so much he doesn't want to deal with it. Well, that and the fact that at first we thought it was just the mirror glass.


What model/year is the Toyota? Do you have any pictures of the damage?

[Nick.Hay]

Bugger mate, No good...

As is a very, very common saying on here (regardless of the damage)... It'll buff out ;)

You could have been a foot further over, smacked his car right in the corner, and your car right in the corner, bent suspension and both the chassis (and maybe even your radiator) and been in A LOT worse condition!!

[infinity5]

Bugger mate, No good...

As is a very, very common saying on here (regardless of the damage)... It'll buff out ;)

You could have been a foot further over, smacked his car right in the corner, and your car right in the corner, bent suspension and both the chassis (and maybe even your radiator) and been in A LOT worse condition!!

Yes! It's true! there's always something to be thankful for.

[infinity5]

It doesn't look bad at all. I can see how there's probably a depression where my car scraped, but its far from a dent. No idea how you'd fix something like that though.

http://i6.tinypic.com/14iddmv.jpg

Sorry for no re-size. I'm on someones elses PC and in a hurry.

Here's another. Sorry Modem folks ;)

http://i6.tinypic.com/14idfso.jpg

[Nick.Hay]

It'll be OK. Bodyworks guys can damn near perform miracles!!

[Alexlind123]

It will be fine. Who has dial-up anymore???

[TheEndIsNear]

That's very light damage. A good body shop should be able to repair that reasonably.

[infinity5]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys.

I actually didn't notice this damage when i was there, and it was after i left and he called me that i found out i had hit more than his mirror.

Looking closely at these pictures makes me realize it is indeed very slight.

That's good. hopfully its just a few hunderded dollars out of pocket and porblem solved.

[632 Regal]

when they did my door it was around a grand + rental car for a week.

[Tiger]

Ahh... Retarted you say... even ya can't spell it right! ;) Sorry you had this problem... but come to think of it... do you think it was poor lighting of your car that make you not see that parked car ahead of time?

[granit_silber]

The other reason he may not want the insurance involved is that he was in the wrong. His car was an obstruction to the roadway if you and another couldn't pass without hitting him. I dont' know where you are, but in NC it would be his fault most of the time.

-ashley

[Wyn]

Did your turbo spool at 12MPH?

[infinity5]

Did your turbo spool at 12MPH?


LOL! Well, i think i was going more like 25-30, but no Tubro =\



He called this morning with a quote from a "very cheap" shop for $1000.
Aparently it technically hit "3 seperate" body pannels, the bumper, fender, and the door =\ And they said the entire rearview mirror will need to be changed. And it will need paint after all.

I'm in school ATM so $1000 is about what i make in an entire month. shitty.

As for him being in the wrong, there was enough room for both me and another car to pass. You can park on the sides of residential streets here.

Honestly it was 1. The fact that it was about 11pm, and 2. I was looking in my rearview at my friends behind me whose headlights were annoyingly bright.

[granit_silber]

You can always have him get a second or third estimate. You can even choose the shop.
-ashley

[Wyn]

LOL! Well, i think i was going more like 25-30, but no Tubro =\

This is a two year long running joke on NASIOC, a kid named panache said his turbo spooled at 12MPH and went through a house.



http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=606692&page=1&pp=50

[Elekta]

Get some acetone and a rag and wipe all the black off first. With it all gone if he can't spot the swipe, then offer to replace his mirror. That quote is high.

Wifey hit a cement pole trying to wash a mini van we rented once, and I found estimates from $350 at a dent busters place to over a grand from a name brand body shop. Cleaned the yellow paint off with acetone, and the rent place said don't worry about it...it was hardly noticeable.

If he doesn't have to have it perfect, then get that rub strip mark off there asap, and price a replacement mirror

my.o2

[calmloki]

You guys are funny. Turn it around and let the Toyota hit a parked BMW. Would we be reading the same comments? No offense to Infinity5, who sounds like an honest stand-up guy.

[Felixdacat]

You might be able to find the door and mirror at an auto recycler( junkyard).
This would be a lot cheaper. All you would need is the door, and swap everything from his to the new one.

[e39dream]

may want to have a paintless dent removal guy look at it, may be a cheaper fix.

[ryan roopnarine]

$1k sounds about right for a vehicle long sideswipe for a car that new (looks like a 2002 or newer from the hubcaps). if it was one of those yellow concrete barricades in front of a storefront it might be $350 or so to have a PDR guy get it out, but when you got someone moving at roadway speeds....


LOL! Well, i think i was going more like 25-30, but no Tubro =\



He called this morning with a quote from a "very cheap" shop for $1000.
Aparently it technically hit "3 seperate" body pannels, the bumper, fender, and the door =\ And they said the entire rearview mirror will need to be changed. And it will need paint after all.

I'm in school ATM so $1000 is about what i make in an entire month. shitty.

As for him being in the wrong, there was enough room for both me and another car to pass. You can park on the sides of residential streets here.

Honestly it was 1. The fact that it was about 11pm, and 2. I was looking in my rearview at my friends behind me whose headlights were annoyingly bright.

[Tiger]

Put it on credit card... tell him to get other quote... How about your mechanic... he might know a shop that will do it for a very resonable price. It's only bondo and paint job... some buffing to do.

[ryan roopnarine]

no offense to infinity, who i've met in person before....i'm probably in the exact same situation monetarily as he is......

but some of the comments in this thread are insane. if somebody were to sideswipe your car in the middle of the night, and agreed to settle the matter outside of insurance on good faith, could you honestly say that you would still feel that way if you knew the guy was actively trying to find the cheapest way to get out of the situation? i was going to post to this thread this morning, suggesting that "infinity" explain his situation, and politely ask/suggest that the gentleman take his car to one additional place for an estimate. in every instance where i've settled with someone outside of insurance/been an intermediary for somebody else in this situation, i've always provided the other party with cash and a profuse expression of gratitude if their $$$ sounded even remotely reasonable. i can't possibly imaginge low-balling somebody who was willing to work things out w/o using insurance.

[Bill R.]

believe some of the responses that i'm seeing here, especially when you can obviously see damage to the door where its creased and pushed in. On a car that new i would say that getting off with 1k is very cheap indeed and i would be very thankful that someone would be willing to work it out like that.

[infinity5]

if somebody were to sideswipe your car in the middle of the night, and agreed to settle the matter outside of insurance on good faith, could you honestly say that you would still feel that way if you knew the guy was actively trying to find the cheapest way to get out of the situation?

I wasn't taking seriously any bondo/buffing/used parts suggestions, not that they weren't helpful, just not right for this particular instance :)

When we spoke on the phone this morning he said he understood that 1k was alot of money for a student working, and said it only took 20minutes to get the quote, and it was no trouble, and would be happy to go to any other shops i suggested.

He is currently out of town for three days, and i told him when he came back i would suggest maybe one or two other shops and see what we could find out. He said that sounded fine.

He actually owns a small business downtown (flash backs, in case you've been there/heard Ryan), which i frequent, which is why he looked so familar. Actually he ran for mayor at some point in the past? or so i was told. And i discovered he knows some of my good friends decently well. it's a small world.

Anyway... i'm just not sure which is more cost effective.. Out-of-pocket or Insurance.

[infinity5]

believe some of the responses that i'm seeing here, especially when you can obviously see damage to the door where its creased and pushed in. On a car that new i would say that getting off with 1k is very cheap indeed and i would be very thankful that someone would be willing to work it out like that.

Thanks for posting Bill, you're advice is always a help.

So you think 1k is good price?

I just need to figure out if i want to pay my deductible and let both our cars get fixed and my rates raise a little, or if i want to hand over a grand and be done with it. Don't really know what to do.

I've got a shop in mind i'll have him take it to monday and then make a descision.