this guy in a volvo SUV got in his car and proceeded to back directly into my car. there were at least 4 feet between our cars, but he didnt seem to notice or care. anyway, he stopped, and was about to get back in his car (and take off, presumably) but i saw it happen and was sprinting over to make sure that didnt happen. he seemed a bit oblivious but expressed regret while i surveyed the damage.

meanwhile, his 8 months-pregnant wife gets out of the car, starts looking at my car and says "oh, theres no damage" which then changes to "oh, we didnt cause that damage." riiiiight.

anyway, the front bumper got bent downward and the paint got scuffed and damaged. he was "in a hurry" and gave me his business card, wrote down his geico policy number, and bolted before i could say anything. i got his tags so i should be okay if he tries to pull anything, and my girlfriend, her friend, and i all saw it happen less than 200 yards away from us.

my biggest question is: if you park on the street, how the hell do you get into your car without knowing that there is a car behind you?

UGH. i hate it when people drive like morons. now i have to take time off of work to have the car looked at, have the damage appraised, then leave it in the shop and drive some donkey car for 4 days. all because some idiot....cant drive??

end rant.

 

also, what's that payment that you can demand from the insurance company for someone hitting your car (and devaluing it further than it should be worth without the accident)?

 

Insurance should just cover the cost of the work from the bodyshop minus your deductible. You would need to file a separate diminished value claim to get additional money for loss of value, AFAIK.

 

At least you caught him in the act and have his insurance info. You should not have to pay a dime out of your pocket to have this fixed.

I feel your pain. I came out last week to my Subaru having been backed into in a parking lot in a hit and run. Why can't people drive around at low speeds without running into things?

 

I hope you immediately called police. Without a report you might have trouble.

 

[QUOTE=SheDrivesIt,Apr 7 2008, 05:02 AM] I hope you immediately called police.

 

I suspect the fact that you have his card and insurance number will probably work in your favor.

 

why would you call police in a situation like this.... anyways, glad you were there when the car hit you.

 

I wasn't in my S2000 (son's Blazer) but had a similar incident in VA. The person who backed into me while I was stationary and waiting for another car to pull away from a parking space had Geico. He was plastered and gave me some bogus data. I got his license and insurance numbers and his place of employment. As it turns out, the best thing I had going for me was that there were two independent witnesses whose names I was able to provide. Geico was very quick (and nice about ti) to pay off for the entire about which was just shy of $1K. Calling the cops when there is no bodily harm and the damage is relatively minor (fender bender) is still worth logging in the event of a court case (you can submit the cell phone call record as your attempt to summon police). Despite the payoff, I still had to hassle with the vehicle, repair shop, etc. Our time is worth something too!

 

just got off the phone with GEICO...the other drive owned up to it and they're going to settle it through his insurance policy (as expected).

still, i have to take time off Friday to get a damage assessment, then I have to drop it at a body shop AND drive a craptastic kia spectra rental.

awesome.

i did some research into that diminished value claim, and it looks like only a few states will side with you (oregon, washington, and georgia?)

is that true?