<font color=skyblue>The wreck was her fault. In fact, she has so many points already that she will lose her license if I call my ins. co. to report it. My car may be totalled. Her father offered to pay for the car repair if I did not call it in. I called today and said I would take the value of teh car, $1500, and I would not call the ins. I only have 24 hours to make my claim. He said he wants a professional body repair guy to look at it. I am fine with that, but I want to be assured that they will not bring anything up in court later about this, and I do not know what to do about transportation in the meantime. I have finals in two weeks. I don't have school tomorrow, so I can go and try to get a body repair guy to write an estimate, and then get the father to see it, give me a check that will not bounce (maybe cashier's check or money order), and get it in the bank before 5pm. If something gets me hung up and late in calling the ins., I am dead.

If I call the ins...that will protect me from court fees and lawyer fees later, incase they try to sue me for who knows what. Again, it was her fault, but who knows what a lawyer may be able to pull up against me. If I take the payoff, I will not suffer my own ins. going up, as even though it is not my fault, my ins. will go up if reported. What the hell do I do?</font>

Make the deal, let insurance out of it. That's how we usually deal with things around here, given that the car isn't a total wreck.

The legal repurcusions alone would have me calling the insurance company. IIRC in florida you have to call in the insurance company on an accident. In fact, neither vehicle is legally permintted to leave the scene until an officer arrives. Otherwise its a hit and run.

CALL THE INSURANCE!!!

1) she obviously sucks at driving, taking her off the road might not be such a bad idea

2) liability for legal issues: he could claim you blackmailed him, or tried to bribe him. there are a hundred and one ways to get screwed

3) he delays past the twenty four hour deadline and doesnt pay you jim diddley... dont risk it.

want my advice? go the right way and call the insurance.

Sounded fine, until he wanted the car inspected.

Then it just sounded sus! Tell him his options are to pay up in full with cash, or your on the phone to the insurance. Also mention that you have already had legal advice and that if this is not acceptable then the deal is off and you will begin court action.

Call the insurance man... it's the wisest you can do. and if the dad is willing to break that law (it's the law there like here, to call in the insurance right?... )I imagine he has no qualms about screwing you over.

I hope you see it too... [img]smile.gif[/img]

well you can ask him for something like the cash first for your car (something like the market price of your car) as a leverage or assurance. so incase he doenst pay you in repair, you still can use his cash he has given you to repair your car.

but i agree with everyone else, call the insurance and let them take care of it.. its saves you and everyone the hassle.. period.

Larry, dude, you need to call the insurance company NOW! This guy is scamming you. Plus, get this crazy girl off the road!!! She could kill someone man...

Seriously man.. call NOW!

I'd also say get him to pay up NOW otherwise call the insurance co.

If the girl is a bad enough driver to already have enough points off of her license to lose it, that's not your responsibility. Your job, is to look out for yourself. Call your insurance agent, to prevent scamming, or worse, from having a lawsuit come your way.

Plus, I'll feel just that tiny bit safer on the roads, once she's gone [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

Folks, I hear an assumption that once her piece of paper is gone, she'll magically be unable to drive a vehicle again. She won't, and she will be driving. It's a sad commentary on today's world that belongs in Current Events, I suspect.

Out here, we've had three newsworthy cases over the past year of unlicensed drivers getting into accidents and killing people. Quote one of them: "Well, I had to get to my job..." What? Your feet don't work? You don't have friends? If it's difficult, then maybe when you've got the privilege back, you'll appreciate it more.

However, in your shoes, Larry, I'd file the insurance claim. The fact that she may lose her license is not your problem, even though her dad asked to buy you off. It's not his problem, either; it's hers, and no one else's. Any arguments to the contrary are enabling her as a victim of the world, and depriving her of the opportunity to be responsible for her life.

If you do accept a payoff for this, will she be a better driver? Will she not have any more accidents? Or the next time she hits someone, will it not be just you in the car, but MaryBeth too? How was the spot where she would have been sitting?

As a dad, I'm sorry to pull out the heavy artillery like that, but it's a serious issue. Would she be able to buy her way out of this if MaryBeth were in the hospital?

Driving is a privilege, not a right. Period. This girl sounds like she doesn't know how to handle this privilege, and sad to say, she's not the only one who gets affected by it.

Steering a ton of plastic, steel, and combustible fluids is not something to be taken lightly. The penalty for failure can be death... the driver's, or someone else's. You may be able to change that.

She mucked up. She should pay the price. Pure and simple.

Hear what your saying Bungleau, but if you read the last paragraph of Larry's post, if he reports it to his insurance company his own premiums will go up as well. While I agree the girl will get off scott free, it means that Larry doesn't have to pay for something that was her fault, if he can take the money.

Just my 2cents worth.

<font color=skyblue>That's right. Now I have been told that I have no obligation to call my ins. But that her's is the one for me to call. Is that right? Would I still be able to keep it on the low with my ins?

I had the car towed to a body repair shop to get an estimate on damages. I want to see what they say first. They are going to take pictures before they tear into my car, in case I do decide to call ins. I am told that as long as a police report exists, there is no reason to have to call within 24 hours, that I have a couple days.

Meanwhile, I am trying to secure a rental that may or may not have to come from my pocket. I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, I am going to have that number ready to the ins. in case this guy makes a wrong move. I will get on a payphone if I have to and call right there in front of him.

</font>

I agree with Ziroc, this really sounds like a scam.

I think you should ask for cash, for how much the vehicle will cost to get repaired plus a few more grand, if she wants to stay on the road, she should pay a price.

You should have called the cops if you were in an accident serious enough to total your car. If I were you I'd call the cops now and go fill out a report, hopefully there were witnesses because if that guy is scamming you than he's getting his kids car fixed right now and he'll just say "what accident, my kid wasn't in an accident".

Get cash in hand in VERY short order or you may get scammed.

I'd also worry about "letting her off the hook" coming back and biting me in the ass if I were you. What if next month she kills someone and they find out that you could have gotten her off the road by reporting your accident but didn't? Up here in the Litigous State of NY there's people that sue for less... not sure if it'd go anywhere but they'd try.

[ 04-20-2004, 12:26 PM: Message edited by: Thoran ]

Personally Larry, I think you'd do better listening to your common sense and morality than to greed.

I'd ask for the sum of what it's going to cost to fix, plus, say $500 because while an accident's an accident, this is extra hassle you don't need and didn't ask for. Dont bother with insurance companies since both you and her will lose out in the long run. Just make damn sure you dont get scammed or ripped off.

Larry,

Call the insurance company!

If the police were actually called to the scene, then the girl's fate is probably already sealed. Her "points" will be determined, iirc, on whether the police have issued a traffic citation and have charged her with any number of offenses. That's the way it works in a number of states.

As for the insurance, you don't need to contact YOUR insurance company at all. Again, assuming a police report exists that cites the girl as being at fault, you should go directly to HER insurance company. You should INSIST on them reimbursing you for the cost a rental vehicle. Most insurance companies will pay for a couple of days without question and longer if necessary.

It sounds to me like the father is trying to do two things: (1) Keep HIS insurance rates from going up, and (2) Protect his daughter's driving privileges so HE isn't bothered with having to chauffer her around.

I wouldn't even give this a second thought! Call her insurance company!

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00">I am thinking they may not even have insurance.</font>

[ 04-20-2004, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

I think the father does, but the daughter may not be insured on that vehicle.

1999 Mercedes

Larry, I can't urge you strongly enough to call and report this! I've seen people be badly burned by trying to be 'nice' and not raise someone's points or insurance by not reporting it! If you don't report it, they can claim just about anything they want and it's all your word versus theirs unless you have a police report.

I would called the insurance company NOW and you also help to get the trafic a bit safer without that woman on the roads for a while!

[ 04-20-2004, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: Megabot ]

IMNSHO, the amount your insurance may go up is trivial, Larry. My guess, not being an actuary in the Carolinas, is that it might go up 5% to 10% for a couple of years. If you're paying $300 every six months, that's $15-30, or $30-$60 per year. Not exactly a huge amount, although it can be inconvenient (it was for me at one time).

Assume it goes on for three years, that's $90 to $180.

How much could you be on the hook for? Think it might cost you more than $180 in your time and wages if this ends up going to court somehow? And even with that, I'd be reluctant to agree to something like this without having a good legal document to cover it, so that they can't come back to sue you for anything. I mean, what if she gets in another accident, loses her license and such anyway, and the old man decides to reneg on his deal with you? Where does that leave you?

Folks may think I'm a hard@$$ about it, but I say she made her bed, she lies in it. If you do the moral and upright thing, you never have to worry about what you're going to do six months or a year from now. You don't have to look over your shoulder, wondering if you're going to get sued or if the police or your insurance company may get upset with you about it. I mean, if they decide you lied about your driving and accident record, they can probably drop you as a client... and where would that leave you?

My position is probably colored because she's already got a lot of points on her record. This isn't a "pity my poor daughter" scenario, where I'd be inclined to give a rookie the benefit of the doubt. She's apparently had a number of benefits of the doubt already, and hasn't learned enough yet.

Having been in a couple of accidents before, it's awful nice to let the insurance folks, who do this for a living, take care of things. I've never had to worry about whether I was doing the right thing or not. I fessed up to what I had done (when appropriate) and moved on.

My vote is for you to take care of you and your family first. Let them take care of themselves.

BTW, you might check your own insurance policies, but I believe most policies extend to you and your immediate family. The "insured on a vehicle" thing pertains to the questions they ask when they determine your rates... and if they lied when they applied for insurance on that Benz, whose fault is that? I'm pretty sure it isn't yours.

being that i was recently involved in an accident here are some hints:

1) get a police report... this is invaluable, especially if you have witnesses

2) Call your insurance agency. You pay the deducatable, but buy your new car (assuming you have full coverage). Since the police report will indicate that it is not your fault, then no, your insurance will not raise. Your insurance company will then go after her insurance with their lawyers and will pay you back the deductable that you payed to get your car fixed. Don't agree to sharing any percentage of the fault for the accident or you won't get ANY settlement whatsoever

3) let the cops check out your car before you tear into it. That and the information on who was where when the accident ocurred will pretty clearly show who was at fault.

I've done it both ways.

Years ago when I was in high school, a pretty, popular girl hit my car leaving the school parking lot. She cried,admitted it was her fault because she wasn't paying attention, and said she was soooo sorry. When she asked me to please let her dad pay and not to call the cops, I said ok. She was so sweet, how could I say no? My dad ended up going round and round with her dad before he finally paid up. Her story AND attitude changed after she talked to daddy. He acted like we were trying to scam him even though all we asked for was the replacement cost of the bumper and labor costs. Somehow during her crying I forgot that she was too snooty to talk to me any other time. I'm still a sucker for the tears of a pretty woman, but these days I'll only fall for out and out nudity( [img]tongue.gif[/img] ).If I had that to do over again, I'd have called the police despite her tears.

Last year a customer at my wife's place of business hit her car while backing out of his parking space. No one saw the accident, but he stopped, came back inside to find out who the owner was, and told my wife he'd be happy to pay. He had a teenage son and didn't want his insurance to sky rocket. I couldn't help but trust a guy who admitted to an accident he could have easily driven away from. He told us to tell him how much, I provided an estimate and the final bill but he said I didn't have to give him either. He was a nice guy who needed a favor and appreciated our help.

So it all depends on the situation, and I'd say if you have ANY doubts, report it.

AS to the guy wanting the car evaluated, I guess that isn't too unreasonable because he doesn't want to be ripped off, but the bottom line is, you're doing him the favor. If you feel like he should pay $1500 to cover the cost of the car, he can pay it to keep it off his insurance, otherwise you should file it. I believe as long as no one was injured you are free to handle the damages without reporting it, but you get to choose, not him.

Sounds like he's all into this from his point of view without regarding your loss. You are the victim. What about your loss of transportation? You are the one being put out. If your car is out of commission his insurance will not only pay to fix or replace it, but they'll also pay you for a rental.

If this guy doesn't seem to be out to make this situation as easy and painless as possible for you, then I'd say report it.

You just can't be nice to some people. ;)

Larry, I agree that you should report this. If the guy was all that anxious, he wouldn't want an estimate. I don't object to bribery in itself, but a cheap briber is not to be trusted. ;)

i guess all's been said larry.. good luck and im sure you know what to do.

I say report it. Its all too tempting and easy to just take the money but I agree with promethius said. Its much easier for the insurance companies to handle it. Plus they know what they are doing and also have your intesrests in mind ( because your interests are the same as thiers.....get the money from the other guy).

I also agree with reporting it just to get someone off the road. I saw a reckless accident about two months ago. I wasn't involved and couldn't stop because I'd be holding up traffic. But I called the insurance company anyway (...its a bit different in Canada, everyone has to have the basic insurance from the same company...i.e. the government.....and then you can buy additional insurance sompeplace else if you want). I told then what time and where and descriptions of the cars and what happened. I did it partly because one driver really shouldn't have been on the road.

So, if you asked me? I'd say report it. Go to the closest police station and file an accident/incident report and then call your/their insurance company and at least get a file started. If they decide not to claim on their insurance and just pay for it out of their own pockets then nobody's insurnace premiums go up.

my two cents
Kz
K

In many states it is a crime to not report accidents to the Motor vechicle department. For instance in California if you do not report an accident where damage exceeds $500 you can lose your license for a year. Both drivers are obligated to report the accident with a certain time frame.

Don't let this guy play you for a chump.

Rokenn has a good point! I think it's similar here in NY.

I see I'm probably too late, but I'm going to repeat what others are saying: call the cops, report it to insurance.

1) Her immaturity isn't YOUR problem, and she needs to learn her lesson.

2) The potential for liability here is HUGE. She could just call the cops and blame YOU for the accident, and YOU would look guilty b/c you didn't report. In fact this happened to me once - I agreed to take cash instead of taking it through insurance, and I hadn't left the scene 15 minutes and they were talking to the police accusing me of everything from drinking to speeding. (fortunately, I got wind of this quickly and was able to prove I wasn't drinking AT ALL and she had a history of lying about this stuff)

3) If she is 100% at fault, you shouldn't have to worry about your rates going up unless no-fault is more of a reality than it is up here.

4) He's asking for an estimate - he's in NO position to demand anything; especially if she isn't insured on that vehicle. If I was in your shoes I'd be saying "Buy my car for $5K, or shut the f*** up and we go through insurance"....and buying a better car.

I'd keep in mind if you use the insurance you will have no doubts as to getting things fixed honestly and completely, and usually the person reponsible's insurance co. pays for car rentals as well, and you did say you need transport while your car is out. Normally I'd say just let bygones be bygones and take the father's deal, but given the situation, with your car being most likely totalled, I'd play it safe Larry. If this girl has that many points on her license, she probably needs to lose it for a time and take some driving classes anyway, for everyone's sake.

Just my 2c [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'd tell the father he has 10 hours to come up with $2000.00 Cash money. To cover repairs and my time. If not then in 10 hrs and 5 min I call and report to their ins.company and they can pay anyway and the kid looses lisence and his insurance costs hit the moon, time starts now TICK TICK TICK. NO games, no bull, Pay now or PAY big later no games period.
But its too late now. so I'd call the Insurance company and sue for $5000.00 for pain and suffering and inconvience plus cost of the rental
and cost of repair and replacement of your family transpertation.

Why would your premiums go up? Didn't she receive a ticket? When I was in that accident last month, my dad told me that (at least here, in NC) if the other person gets ticketed, you premiums shouldn't be effected. Or do they use that no-fault rule over there in Winstom-Salem?

I think the one fact Larry has excluded so far has been whether the police were even called to the scene in the first place.

From what I gather, he has.

Ahh, I missed that part apparently.

Hmmm.... I was just cleaning out some old paperwork and I came across something from an accident I was in almost three years ago. We were rear-ended, and my wife experienced a stiff neck.

It's a form from the insurance company, reading...

Now, that sounds to me like an insurance company doing a CYA -- you were hurt, you chose not to get treatment, correct? If something happens later as a result of this, we're not going to pay...

Just a thought, Larry. Life is different when you're a parent -- you can't think just about yourself, but about everyone else. And sometimes, it stinks.