Just $!%&*#@ Great....1st Detaling Lasted 72 Hours

[HondaMan]

Well, I guess I joined Jared today...I was on my way to work, when some ditzy young girls decided to play bumper cars on a suburban road. My car bumper got hit and I thought the damage was alot worse than it was -- a few scuff marks on the bottom middle of the bumper and 2 "puncture indents" that came from her liscense plate screws in the front of her car.

She rear-ended me and in turn got rear-ended by someone else. The 3rd car has broken front tail lights and other damage (but not much -- she had one of those iron grills on her SUV) and the 2nd car (the one that hit me) was OK in front but had trunk and taillight damage in the rear. I called the police because I thought hers was over $1,000 and in NYS you need an accident report for over that amount. Report should be done by tomorrow.

At first, I thought Car 3 hit Car 2 and pushed it into me. Now appears that each "stopped short" and Car 2 was going slower (also a smaller car and no iron grill) which accounts for the less damage to my 7 week old car.

Just great...the car is perfectly detailed and now I`m gonna have to get a new bumper which probably will be out-of-pocket.

[Woob]

yup I hate accidents. annoying as heck! I once got hit in the back at a border by some old lady. what freaked me out was my dad got out of the car and the border peeps starting yelling at us to get into the car. nevertheless i think my rear end is fine, i just need to ProPolish it!

[groebuck]

AGGH is NY no fault?? :(

[JaredPointer]

Sorry to hear that man. At least it wasn`t bad and you are okay. I would say you came off pretty good. If it only damaged the bumper be grateful. The insurance is letting me know if they are gonna total mine or not. We will see. The Pinto will be seeing lots of action now. Hope you get everything settled and back on track ASAP!!

[CharlesW]

Bummer!
Luckily, I haven`t had many of these encounters, but, FWIW, I always notify the police and file an accident report. Kind of a CYA thing. You never know what the other parties story might be tomorrow.
Contact your agent and see what he suggests about the claim. It sounds like the damage should be taken care of by the other parties involved. Rather than get into a hassle, let your insurance company take care of it. That`s what you pay them for. I think the term is subrogation. When this same type of thing happened to me, I had the vehicle fixed, paid the deductible, the insurance company turned it over to their lawyer, (They have lots of them:)), and when the insurance company collected, they returned my deductible costs.
Also, if you don`t get any support from your agent, you might want to start shopping for a new agent.

Charles

[HondaMan]

The strange thing is that BOTH of these idiots said that the light was green up ahead....HELLO!!!?? YOU DON`T DETERMINE SPEED BY A GREEN LIGHT 300 FEET UP AHEAD...YOU LOOOK AT THE CAR 10-30 FEET AHEAD OF YOU?

Am I right?

The fact that both said the same thing about the green light led me to think (1) they`re each incompetent drivers (2) they were each daydreaming (3) they weren`t paying attention and specifically, might have been on cell phones when they hit me/each other.

Yes, NYS is no-fault...not sure what this means for me....friend is saying have Car 2 pay for anything of mine...have to get estimate on new bumper or bodywork first....not sure if `s No-Fault if you can "piggyback" on someone else, that would be "Fault" insurance.

I have a $1,000 deductible, doubt very much a new bumper is gonna clear that.

[HondaMan]

Charles, just got called by my agent...he is telling me to file a claim because even if the accident wasn`t my fault and I don`t put in for a claim, you never know if -- given there was a police report filed -- in the future (esp. if I went with a new insur. company) it will bump up my rates. Also, CMA in case I have any future medical problems (you know, my neck is stiff...I think it`s whiplash...I CAN`T WORK ANYMORE!!! I`M INCAPACITATED!! I DEMAND FULL INCOME COVERAGE!! LOL).

Only in the U.S....you get hit in the rear, not your fault, you DON`T file a claim...and they raise your rates down the line. Is that hillarious or what??

Just got a call from Honda...gave me their bodyshop people. Suggested I have 2nd Car pay for it and get estimate from the shop. Going there now...will report back later....

[HondaMan]

UPDATE: Looks like I`m gonna get a new bumper. "Subrogation" is when each "guilty" party pays for the damage they caused. I guess this means Car 2 will be reimbursed by Car 3 and Car 1 (me) gets reimbursed by Car 2.

Whatever, I pickup the police report tomorrow. Hopefully, it`s as clear as it should be, I call #2`s insurance company, they OK the bumper at the bodyshop, they put it on in the next 2 weeks, the paint matches up perfectly, and I give it a wash/clay/AIO/2 coats of UPP to match the rest of the car...and I`m as good as new.

Counting the days!!

[kayel17]

Originally posted by HondaMan
... The 3rd car has broken front tail lights and other damage...

HondaMan,

Glad to know your all right but exactly what are "front tail lights"? :lmfao

[HondaMan]

Front HEAD Lights...hey give me a break...I was involved in a traumatic front-rear collission...it might have been in the 3-5 mph range...ok, my seat belt didn`t lock, looks like no structural damage, but my brief case in the front DID fall over.

Brief case looks ok, you`ll be happy to know! lol

(I have to use the LOL sign because everytime I put a smiley face on, it only prints at the beginning of the post).

[tomp]

Nofault usually only relates to personal injury. I suppose that depends on the state. But property damage is another matter. You should be glad you don`t live in PA. We have no small claims court. We have a JP system that is not binding unless both parties agree!. If they don`t, you have to get a lawyer. It doesn`t even pay to sue for less than $5000.

I came close to losing big bucks on the last vehicle because the check bounced but the title was transferred. If the guy wasn`t honest and had come up with cash I would have been up the creek!.

You know, my Lumina was rear ended 3 times and never showed a scratch. Don`t ask me how but I had an awesome bumper (and light colored paint)!

[HondaMan]

tomp, I was very surprised when I got out and looked at the damage. I thought the whole rear would be smashed...in retrospect, all I heard was a "whump" which was me getting pushed (thankfully, I did NOT have my foot hard on the brake -- the car "gave" and inched forward). Didn`t hear the sound of metal/plastic getting crunched or lights breaking; my seatbelt didn`t even lockup. Of course, in that split-second, you don`t look for all these things, you just think "I`m hit, !$!%^&*$*" and try and move your car.

When I got out, it was just the 2 screw indentations, each about a nickel-size in diameter. A few scratches mostly visible only because the bumper is brand new and stuff sticks out. But those you had to be 6" away from to see.

I`ll keep you all posted with the breathtaking final resolution! : )

[HondaMan]

All`s Well That Ends Well..... State Farm (the 3rd woman`s insurance company; #2`s company declined to pay since it was apparently #3`s fault in the first place) paid me $440 to get the bumper repaired. A new bumper was a few hundred more; they wouldn`t go for that. Anyway, you can`t tell at all where the nut indents were -- it`s really amazing that they can totally eliminate the damage.

[420DETAIL]

state farm .....they suck. shoulda toldem u wanted a new bumper not repair. they willl do that every time even on a new car. did u tell them about the front taillights?

[G35stilez]

As a NYer, the person in the back PAYS.

It kinda sucks because it coulda been the chick`s fault who hit you, but the caboose always pays up. Talk to insurance, they`ll guide you through it.