My wifey just had an accident few hours ago.. she made lane change without looking I guess.. It looks like this pic and the other car(old SUV)'s damage is not that much.. I HAVE notified my insurance company for this accident thinking to be safe and all.. I don't know it was a good call maybe Cash settlement was better?

Anyhow.. What do you think about the damage done and can anyone give a ballpark number before I shop around? It drives fine. and anyone know a good Body shop for my MINI near glendale/burbank/la crescenta?

Oh.. Will my insurance go through the roof because of this? I am now paying with good drivers discount and all... all this is very new to me!!

any help appreciated. thanks!!

oh yeah.. we bought this car LAST WEEK! sigh~

 

I had damage to a similar area on my Cooper earlier this month and the original estimate was somewhere around $1200. However, did this not include replacement of the fender (the panel with the vent in it), so I assume that will cause yours to be a tad higher. That did include painting of pretty much that entire side of the car.

You can always get an estimate before you decide whether or not to involve insurance.

 

Thanks... So It will not affect insurance rate or anything if I chose not to involve insurance even if they know?

 

Beefy, call "Kelly McGee" at Universal City Mini service department and ask for a couple of body shop referrals. 818-505-7455. (I'm near Glendale--what street did the wifey have her accident?)

 

Thanks for excellent infos!! It was occured in ;( I will definately call universal mini...
actually only the small fender where S badge is and door was damaged in accident.. other parts including hood is not affected at all. Lucky i guess?

I just called the owner of this SUV and he wants .. for bumper and other things.. he says axle arm is broken because it did kinda go over my mini's tires for a moment. and he says he has to fix lights too.. hmmmm dont know about that..

So... ballpark figures will likely be more than ... insurance right?

 

Flower & Western = LOUSY intersection!!! I know it well. That bridge has people driving fast downhill and then the 5 freeway on & off ramps and trucks on Flower St---it's just a mess over there sometimes...everyone going every which way.

It's too bad everyone goes through this "should I tell my insurance?" junk when you are paying them to provide a service. I would report the whole thing and ask for options from your agent. That's their job to guide you through this. Don't hand out cash to the victim, who knows... that ding on his bumper can have an interesting little "journey" to his mounting costs at the local chiropractor.

 

beefy, nobody here, with any degree of confidence, can tell you if this will affect your insurance premiums.

Depends on which company you're with.
Depends on the total payout of the damages.
Depends on the safe-driver discount percentage you're currently receiving.
Depends on if your company uses an underwriting score for ratings.
Etc.

Call your agent. If you're with a company that doesn't use agents, call their customer service. Explain your situation. Ask them what impact this might have to your premiums.

THEN decide if you want to handle out of pocket or through your policy.

 

In my experience, once you have told your insurance compnay that you were in an accident, the damage is done. If your rates are going to be affected, it will happen whether they pay out or not. Your situation may be different, but it wouldn't hurt to proceed on that basis. Since the SUV owner is already seeming to want to milk this for "extras", definitely have your insurance handle him. They will have an experienced adjuster look at the SUV and determine what is related and what is prior stuff.
As to your MINI's damage, you'll need a fender, repair the door, paint both and blend the paint into the cowl, hood and probably quarter panel. I have no idea what the labor rates are in your area, so can't give a guess as to cost, but $1000 is probably close. Can't tell from the pic, was there any impact to the tire? If so, get the suspension looked at.
Good luck, and let us know what happens.

 

Wrong. Even after you report the accident, you can still elect to pay out of pocket.

Wrong. There's a threshold for payouts that decide if it's a surchargeable accident or not. For my company, like many, that threshold is currently at $750.

Right. An insurance company does not pay for damage that existed on the vehicle prior to the accident and estimators are very, very good at determining the damage their company is responsible for.

 

I bet they get paid pretty well too.

 

CR, I'm going by WA ins law, which is all I'm familiar with. I was vague for a reason. Every state is different, and underwriting standards vary by company and state.

 

True. But some things are general rules of insurance and I wouldn't say you're wrong if you weren't.

 

Yep, they are compensated fairly well !

 

Considering what the total came to for fixing almost invisible damage to mine, you're probably looking at about $2000 to fix that by a competent body shop.

 

thanks for all the infos guys... I called universal and told me to goto Marcos I will get their estimate soon. anyone know this place? are they good? I called the owner of SUV and he scares me to pay him $800 to settle or he is calling his insurance by today. I seriously doubt that it will cost that much... I reported the accident anyways, so I am pretty sure I will go with insurance.. I do not trust this person at all, totally sounds different from the date of accident. I will keep you guys updated!

 

Gromit801 you are absolutely right! how did you know? Do you know it is like a 10% of the whole freakin car?!!

 

It may not be the same for auto insurance, but I remember a story that came out after one of the recent natural disasters saying that for homeowner's insurance, even *inquiring* about whether to file a claim for damage could generate a negative report in the insurance company's database (which is shared with other insurers), whether or not you actually file a claim.

I don't know whether such a report would cause your premiums to increase even if you don't file a claim, but the article said that the reports were used to decide whether or not to renew particular policies.

 

Scott, they're talking about a reporting system called "Choicepoint" that gathers insurance data in a national databank to be shared among insurance companies.

True, a claim can generate a report in that system. But it also reflects the amount paid out in a claim. AND... if it ever affects another insurance company's decision on eligibility or rating, you just go back to the reporting company and get a letter than says you were not held at-fault in the loss.

Four years in Underwriting and I only ever had to do 3 of those letters.

 

Dont forget that most insurance if it was an at fault accident (ticket issued or not, just a police report needed) may indeed go up?

With that said you dont want this guy coming back in a month saying oh and now my xxxx is broken?
I would personally for piece of mind and the rates this is looking at go with the insurance option. I know that I had 1 accident about 4 years ago 5k in dammage and my rates didnt change but maybe 3 percent. I had a 7 year clean record prior to that.

 

Too complicated a question to answer with any certainty. Too many unknown factors for any of us to answer that question, including me. See my first post in this thread for reasons why that's true.

And, btw, the presence of a moving violation in conjunction with the accident doesn't necessarily make you at-fault in the accident. Nor does the police officer's opinion on the police report. Claims adjusters (like me) sometimes disagree with the officer.

 

Hey, I often disagree with the officer too!!

 

But your vote doesn't count !!

 

hey, that's what the judge said too!!

 

I don't think so!!!! I could def. be paid much better

 

With the exception of pro athletes and Paris Hilton, who DOESN'T think they're underpaid ??