GT

Hey guys,

Pulled into work this morning, and for some stupid reason, decided to park close to work... of course, as I'm sitting in my car, waiting for turbo to cool down, guy pulls in next to me, he opens his door, a gust of wind blows and his door slams into my car... I get out and notice about a half-inch cut in the side of my door... so, I ask the guy if he's going to pay for it... he says no and tells me that if we want, we can file an accident report and then he'll go through insurance. Now, all this seems like a big hassle, and the cut is rather small, but this is my first ding in my rather new A4. Anyone know how much this might cost to fix? Does it sound unreasonable that I"m asking him to pay? Any tips for how to do this right (filing the accident report and all that)? Thanks!

ErikR

He's just bullying you. Get an estimate from a shop and see what it'll really be to fix. Then ask him again in writing with a copy of the estimate (registered mail). If you go through insurance it still counts as a claim AGAINST you. Small claims can work well if you have some free time.

RickM

Otherwise I agree, get a repair estimate, communicate it in writing and keep the pressure on. He's just trying to duck responsibility, hoping you'll throw up your hands and go away because it's too much of a hassle for you. You do that, he wins. Good luck!

Rick

ErikR

Those low-lifes told me that they put every single claim on the record: Windshield replacement (w. the "special" 0 deduct), fault, nofault, unfixed, unclaimed, no matter what. I finally dropped them after they refused to give me back my deductable on a other party caused (and admitted) an accident with me in a nofault province (and called it a claim). So, I disagree.

GT

that he decided to call his insurance company, so I'm going to go get an estimate from his insurance company... hopefully, this won't count against me... the scratch is pretty small, but right now, I think it's more the principle than anything... had he just offered to pay for it up front, I probably would have let it go... ah well, we'll see what happens...

Pelican Pete

I don't know how the insurance laws differ from state to state, but your premium will only go up if it's a collision claim.

If you make a comprehensive claim (including your glass coverage) they will pay the claim and will NOT raise your premium.

In fact, you can even make a collision claim up to a certain amount (I think it's $1000 or 1500) without affecting your premium.

They will definitely save your claim history on your account. But shouldn't raise your rates because of it.

At least that's how it is here in NY.

Heck, they paid out a $5500 collision claim on my last car and didn't raise my premium. The other insurance company never paid them back either (so I didn't get my deductable back -- but at least Allstate didn't raise my rates.)

I have since switched to State Farm because they are cheaper. But I never had any problems with Allstate's service.

My $.02,
Peter

Pelican Pete

I wrote my other post in response to ErikR's experience with Allstate.

But this one is directed at GT...

File the claim !! And file a police report too.
Yes, it is a hassle. But it's your best protection.
You didn't do anything wrong. It will not count against you. Especially if you file directly with the other guy's insurance company, and not your own.

If you put in a claim with your insurance company, chances are that the repair will be less than your deductable. But the other guy's insurance company should pay for the full amount.

You can even use YOUR insurance company as legal representation against the other driver & insurance company even if you aren't processing a claim through them.

When I had Allstate, they helped me collect $1900 from another driver's insurance company. I put the claim in directly with the other company.
But Allstate did all the leg work for me, and did not raise my premiums at all.

Good luck,
Peter

Michael

Just key the ****ers car.

ErikR

I'm glad you had a good experience with them. I had nothing but problems at both the Denver (polite) and Chicago (FIB's) main offices.