Pete's right. Your insurance company may be more inclined to pay the claim (and increase your rates ) than to pursue the other company/driver, especially if there's no clearcut legal fault. Protecting yourself on this one is sound advice.

 

Yeah, but you can call your insurance company and get clear answers to all of these questions that are right for your state, your company and your specific situation and nothing will happen to your rates.

And like I said... my last "uninsured driver" claim had NO effect on my premium. Don't know what comany you have but just in case.

Of course still be proactive and go after her all you can.

Her insurance should pay for this.... try again and see if they can find her by her address, husbands name, VIN #, anything.... she most likely does have insurance and everything will be fine once you find her.

 

Well figured out her insurance company and left it with Import Paint and Body yesterday evening. Dont know how long it will take to fix and was afraid to drive it as it was pulling so bad to the right. Estimate was around 2500 and most of that is the headlight (680) and 17" web spoke wheel (200) - the hood was only 360 or so. Don't know what is up with front end yet.

I am now the proud driver a 2006 chevy cobalt - apparently they did not have a car with less "personality" - he he

I will see how Loren does with the repairs and update all when it is done. Pray for speedy delivery of parts, and a wonderful repair job by import paint and body. Will post pics when done and let you know how they do.

Thanks.. John

ps. What I should have done last saturday was drive up to winston instead of working around the house. Live and learn.

 

Good luck, John. What a crappy thing to have happen. Hope you get your car back as good as new!

 

If the police charged her with "unsafe movement" then they feel the wreck was her fault.


Your insurance rates will not go up (at least here in NC). BUT you DO need to contact your insurance company A.S.A.P. and go to the PD and get a copy of the wreck report.


I don't know about everyone else out there, but I think we are lucky that we have people like Domonick and Rob at Hendrick MINI in Charlotte. I have had a number of different cars over the years, and these are the FIRST guys I have ever had to deal with that really give a *darn* how your car was fixed. And I feel that they really care - which is strange now-a-days.


edit:
A few years ago a "lady" ran into the side of my wife's car as the "lady" was leaving a fast food place in Mt. Holly, NC. My wife gave me the "lady's" insurance company, phone number and I called them the next day.

The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Yesterday one of your customers plowed into the side of my wife's car in Mt. Holly. She doesn't have a way to work while her car is being repaired. Where do I go to pick up one of your rental cars?"

Woman at the insurance company: "Sir, we don't provide rental cars."

Me: "I'm sorry. I must not be making myself clear. Yesterday one of your customers plowed into the side of my wife's car in Mt. Holly. She doesn't have a way to work while her car is being repaired. Where do I go to pick up one of your rental cars?"

Woman at the insurance company: "Sir, we don't provide rental cars."

Me: "Please forgive me. I know I must not be making myself clear. Yesterday one of your customers plowed into the side of my wife's car in Mt. Holly. She doesn't have a way to work while her car is being repaired. Where do I go to pick up one of your rental cars?"

Woman at the insurance company: "Sir, can you hold while I talk to my supervisor?"

Me: "Yes ma'm."

A few minutes later...

Woman at the insurance company: "Sir, will you give me your home address? We will bring a rental car to you."

Me (after giving our home address): "Thank you. I really appreciate your help."

 

Thanks Rev! The way you handled that situation is instructive. I'll keep this in mind if I ever find myself in a similar situation.

 

Rev is dead-on! You MUST take initiative in most cases - they will only take advantage of you if given the opportunity.

 

Well, After 3 weeks and 1 day, my car has been returned. Loren and the Guys and Import Paint and Body did an EXCELLENT job and I am glad to have the vehicle back. That chevy cobalt they gave me was a real POS. I would recommend them to anyone in the Charlotte, NC area that needs any work or mods....

John

 

My advice would be to get a copy of the police report yourself and fax it to your's and their insurance company depending who you go through. That should speed up the process a bit as it can take a while for them to get them.

Luke

 

Those huge SUV's just make me nervous.We have always had a truck of some sort, but we actually have a use for one. Hauling our tractor around, buying large quantities of dog food for our business, hauling stuff for our chickens or DH taking his canoe to the river. We tried an SUV for a couple of years but went back to a PU that we can see out of. Most of the folks I know who have one don't need it and would do just as well in a station wagon or mini-van, but they just like driving something big. Around here there are way too many, and alot of them are Hummers and Escalades, yikes. I just pay extra attention when there is one near me because I know how bad the visibility is in most of them.
Oh and around here we call them a Ford Excuuuse Me, cause they never actually fit where they are trying to put them!!
Happy it turned out for you,
Annette

 

It really gets amusing here in Germany when you see Americans in large trucks or SUVs trying to park in slots that were never designed for them. Germans take great care not to ding your car when they get in and out. In the year that I have been here the only dings that have happened have been on post caused by Americans. It really is sad that most people don't take care of other peoples property.

The one time that I was dinged by a German, I found all of their information on a note under my wiper with a sincere apology.

 

Kudos to Rev for not taking that adjuster's crap. I work for a personal injury law firm, and part of my job entails handling between 50-60 property damage claims a month versus various insurance companies. Each one handles their claims a little bit differently from the next, but they are all bound by the same rules.

Your questions have been answered in part by many helpful people on this board, but some people have also given you some misinformation, which is not unusual. I'm not attacking them, I'm just trying to correct some common misconceptions I hear from people on an almost daily basis.

Auto collision claims are actually pretty simple to understand. Here is the bottom line:

If someone hits you, and they are at fault; your insurance premiums will not go up. Will you have an accident on your state DMV print out? In California the answer is yes, but it is not a CHARGEABLE accident...you were not at fault, so it doesn't matter. HOWEVER, you should have proof that the accident was not your fault (in the form of a police report or letter from your/their insurance company that shows you were not at fault) in case you want to switch insurance companies down the line and they are not smart enough to see that the accident wasn't chargeable.

Someone told you to get a lawyer for this accident. If you were not injured, an attorney would not represent you on a contingency fee basis, meaning you would have to pay a retainer fee...it's not worth it. Your insurance company will do whatever it takes to get the money they paid out for your collision damages through a process called subrogation. If the defendant is deemd uninsured, they'll get paid back $50/month until the defendant pays them back in full.

Someone else told you to take the defendant to small claims court, in part to get your deductible back. Getting the judgement would be easy, but collecting your $250.00 won't be. Before you go through that hassle, check to see if you have CDW (Collision Deductible Waiver) coverage on your policy. If you do, and she is uninsured, you'll get your deductible back from your own insurance company. If you don't have this coverage, you should get it, as it's typically pretty cheap...and as you can now see, it's pretty handy too.

Also, I think this is a good time to tell everyone reading this to get Uninsured Motorists coverage. If you DO have this coverage, make sure the coverage matches your Liability limits (this is the max you can carry). It benefits only you, and your loved ones in the event you are hurt by an uninsured, or hit and run driver, and it costs about 10-15% of what it costs for liability coverage.

Lots of people don't realize the benefits to their uninsured motorists protection until they need it (most of the time, it also kicks in to cover the void left by a defendants low limit liability policy, this is called UNDERinsured motorists coverage).

It sounds like your claim is pretty well underway, and that you found a great shop to repair your MINI. I hope everything turns out well for you, I'm glad you weren't hurt, as this accident could have been much worse.

 

Sorry that you got hit by an idiot. However, she was not an idiot because she drove an SUV, she would be an idiot no matter what she drove. I drive a big gas sucking SUV that only occasionally goes into 4WD. I've never been in a ditch either before, during, or after a snowfall. I drink coffee while I'm driving it. Does that make me an idiot? I also drive a MCS. I also drink coffee in that. Out of a travel cup I bought at the MINI dealer.

Next time anybody feels that a full size SUV is worthless, hook up a tandem axle trailer loaded with a race car to their MINI and tow it to a race track 10 hours away.

I'm lucky enought to have several vehicles to use, so I can pick one out that suits my need for that day. Usually it's the MINI. However, a lot of people can only afford or want one vehicle, so they buy one that fills a wide variety of requirements. Like it or not, a Utility Vehicle, Sport or not, fills that requirement for a lot of people.

 

Super Coop,

Having been an owner of a Ford Excursion 4x4 V10, a present owner of a Ford F250 4 Door 4x4, and 2 MCS and 1 MCSC I could not have said it better. So I want try.

 

Thanks Call, I'm glad I'm not the only one here who realizes that large trucks and SUVs have a place. BTW, it's that trip to Road Atlanta (lucky you), going over the Blue Ridge twice (from Charlottesville) that makes a big V8 so nice.

 

Glad to hear that you have gotten your MINI fixed and you're motoring again.

This is the way that I saw one of the first MINIs in America at the USGP in Indianapolis way back in September of 2001...MINI marketing before the dealerships opened 7 months later.

 

I don't thing anyone said that SUVs don't have a purpose, just that a great deal of owners do not use them for those purposes and that many many do not drive them, or park them, properly (and driving them, or other big tall vehicles, is different then a normal passenger car due to the differences in blind spots, dynamics, and reactions).

 

Yeah, there are lots of folks that need the big SUVs and trucks. I just have a problem with the folks who never have more than 2 people in them, can't drive much less park them, and think they are the station wagons of the new millenium. If the fed ever starts classifying them as passenger vehicles instead of trucks and, therefore, counting them towards the manufacturers' CAFE numbers we will, perhaps, see fewer of them on the highways.

On a positive note, after the recent fuel scares from Katrina and Rita, foks around here can't give 'em away, much less sell them. And, the MINIs and other fuel efficient small cars are jumping off the dealers' lots.

 

Lots of great posts! I to am forced to drive an SUV due to work and have gone more than 200k in an suv WITH NO FENDER BENDERS ! The post from Germany made a good point that really ticks me off how folks are so careless in parking lots. I usually park as far away as possible and walk to be away from any lurking DOOR DING ARTISTS only to find one next to me when only 125 + or - parking spaces were avail at the time! Oh well so much for my gripe. I'm glad no ome was hurt and that the repair went so well. We LOVE our 05' MCSa and love driving it.

Multum in Parvo

 

I used to work for Discount Tire ...but you have wheel sensors on the rims... when you were hit the tire may have not been damaged, but your sensor probably was...prices vary from car to car and i left them last summer so im not sure how much they are for your mini

 

I think the flat tire sensors are part of the ABS/braking system. This is why you can change rims and tires w/o having to do anything special.

 

the MINI sensors are not on the wheels, they are part of the electronics for the ABS.

 

I would personally love to see the larger SUV's require a commercial driver's license to operate.

And, for those who bandied alternate names for the Excursion about, consider this: as Ford SUV's get larger, their names represent smaller notions.

Small SUV: Ford Explorer (implication is that you can do anything!)
Medium SUV: Ford Expedition (take an African safari, tour Tibet)
Large SUV: Ford Excursion (go to the beach for the weekend)

I suspect that their next model, twice the size of the Excursion, will be called the Ford Errand, perfect for trips to the grocery store.

My wife calls the Chevy Suburban "the Chevy Subdivision".

 

Just to be clear I was not SUV bashing - I merely commented on the fact that she did not see me when she hit me. I have a 2005 MCS, and I also have a Ford Expedition - I have 4 kids and need the space in the expedition at times. But I prefer the MINI

 

your rates should't go up.. you were not at fault.. do you have a police report? submiting the police report to your insurance company should make the difference on you rates..

good luck