NF - Fender Bender Adice

[Fishnwire]

I backed into a guy (my fault) while he was making a left-hand turn behind me. I scraped him right at his gas-cap lid. It still opens and closes, but the panel has about an eight inch ding in it.

 

The thing is, it was a '95 Dodge Ram (regular cab, I believe)...I can't find the Black Book value because most on-line calculators don't go past '97 or so. There was some rust on the body (not a whole lot, considering the year, but it was far from "rust-free") and there was an existing ding on the same panel which he admitted was there before.

 

We agreed not to involve our insurance companies, and I told him it was my fault and that I'd make good on things. My question is this; Can I be liable for an amount greater than the BB value of the vehicle? I think it's posssible a body-shop repair bill could exceed what the truck is even worth. Secondly, if I write him a cheque in the BB value amount, do I then own the truck? What are my options?

 

Thanks, folks.

[JohnF]

I backed into a guy (my fault) while he was making a left-hand turn behind me. I scraped him right at his gas-cap lid. It still opens and closes, but the panel has about an eight inch ding in it.

 

The thing is, it was a '95 Dodge Ram (regular cab, I believe)...I can't find the Black Book value because most on-line calculators don't go past '97 or so. There was some rust on the body (not a whole lot, considering the year, but it was far from "rust-free") and there was an existing ding on the same panel which he admitted was there before.

 

We agreed not to involve our insurance companies, and I told him it was my fault and that I'd make good on things. My question is this; Can I be liable for an amount greater than the BB value of the vehicle? I think it's posssible a body-shop repair bill could exceed what the truck is even worth. Secondly, if I write him a cheque in the BB value amount, do I then own the truck? What are my options?

 

Thanks, folks.

 

I would talk to my insurance agent. That doesn't commit me to running it thru insurance but it gets me an informed idea of my options.

 

JF

[Paully]

after 24 hours you/he cant make a accident claim.

I once hit a guys bmw with my door when i was opening it and ended up giving him 500 bucks..

[DanD]

It’s going to be a bit of a pain to do this but I would ask this guy for a couple of written estimates from body shops. Then make sure you’re there at these agreed upon shops when the estimates are made out. That’s so you know that you’re only being priced on the damage you did.

From there you maybe can come to an agreeable cash settlement?

If the guy doesn't agree to this I'd say he doesn't want it fixed to bad. He'd have to get estimates if it were going through insurence; so there's no difference for him, just more leg work for you.

 

 

Dan

[Joey]

NO FAULT INSURANCE!!!

 

Don't report yours if you are not getting it fixed, he can do whatever he wants! His insurance company may come after yours, but for the amount it looks like you are talking about, I doubt they will.

 

Joey

[Fishnwire]

Thanks for the input folks, but here's what I'm after...

 

"My question is this; Can I be liable for an amount greater than the BB value of the vehicle? I think it's posssible a body-shop repair bill could exceed what the truck is even worth. Secondly, if I write him a cheque in the BB value amount, do I then own the truck?"

[JohnF]

Thanks for the input folks, but here's what I'm after...

 

"My question is this; Can I be liable for an amount greater than the BB value of the vehicle? I think it's posssible a body-shop repair bill could exceed what the truck is even worth. Secondly, if I write him a cheque in the BB value amount, do I then own the truck?"

 

I'm no expert but the answer to both questions is "probably not".

 

If it were to go to his insurance company, or if your company was to accept liability (I realize you don't want to go thru the insurance companies), they would not likely pay out an amount in excess of the book value. His company could settle with him if he has collision coverage and then subrogate against your company. Knowing they would have to subrogate and that your company would not likely pay more than book value they sure wouldn't pay out more themselves.

 

As for the other question you might try offering to buy the vehicle for book value ignoring the damage. Then you'd be able to address the repairs however you wished and he might be content with the cash. Otherwise you're on the hook to reimburse him for the damages if that's what he wants. I have no idea how you deal with a repair cost in excess of the book value without litigation which will mean legal fees and costs.

 

JF

[bridge]

How did the guy seem? Offer him a $100. His trucks pretty old and as you stated has some dings and rust already. If nothing else it starts the process, maybe he'll come back with another number. I know you stated that you want to make it right by him but it also shouldn't be like the guy hit the lottery, or the lottery hit him.

[splashhopper]

It sounds like you are going to do do the right thing no matter what.

 

I got rear ended by a lady two summers ago.

 

She hit my 99' Grand caravan and buckled the sub frame on it.

 

Insurance offered me 950 bucks for my van.

I said NO! Fix it.... I did NOT have to get three quotes! I have the right to get it fixed at the shop of my choice.

 

I took it to a shop that I have dealt with in the past and the bill was gonna be 1250 to fix it.

 

I gave the quote to the insurance company.

 

They said the van was not worth 1250.

 

I said, what can I buy for 950 to replace my van !

 

We settled at 1050. I had the sub frame pulled and welded. Took the trailer hitch off it and drove it for another 30k.

 

 

Do the right thing,, pay for the ding that you caused... you don't know the guys situation and he didn't cause the accident.

[tb4me]

Actually have been thru this. I was the guy hit. This happened last year..I ended up getting screwed. It all depends where the accident occured. If it was in a parking lot there is nothing that can be done. Like another poster said no fault insurance. If it was on the street and you dont come to an agreement you both can be charged with leaving the scene of and accident. All accidents on the streets must be reported.. its not like it used to be where if the damage was under $700 dollars you didnt have to involve insurance or report the accident. While my truck (dodge ram) was new I was assured that repairs would be done at the other persons expense that never happened. I called local police and was told they would need to open an investigtion and that were both in trouble for leaving the scene. Needless to say I didnt bother with the report. so in short if this person is unreasonable tell him to go fly a kite. there is nothing he can do now. You may want to make sure he didnt go to an accident reporting centre without you knowing.Just my advise..

[aplumma]

Since you were the cause of the damage to his truck then you are liable to returning the truck back to the preaccident condition. If the body shop has to replace the panel and repaint the quarter to blend then that is your legal obligation.If you request 3 estimates then he has the right to be compensated for his time and a rental car while he is without the vehicle.In a sense you are playing insurance company when you decided not to involve them. You might not know that he has a new motor or transmission or other major expenses invested into the vehicle.What a truck looks like and what it's value can be two very different values. Once he has a body shop to repair it you have the right to pay the shop directly for the repairs but he can still charge you with receipts for the time off from work and the rental of a car. Even dings can run up quite a bill so you might reconsider the not involving the insurance company. You also do not have the right to buy his truck at book value because he was not in the marked to sell the vehicle when you hit it. If that were the case everyone would be bumping into the 1964 GTO,s and offering the purchase price value of $2810.00 versus the blue book value of $45.560.00.

 

 

Art

[Fishnwire]

Thanks for the advice, guys. Hopefully the guy is reasonable.

[Fisherman]

after 24 hours you/he cant make a accident claim.

I once hit a guys bmw with my door when i was opening it and ended up giving him 500 bucks..

Kindly inform us where this is written, black and white, not my brothers aunt said, please.

[fishing n autograph]

MVC's where police are not called end up being civil matters...if he ends up giving you an astronomical quote then refuse to pay....if it's a scratch on a beat up truck it shouldn't be a lot

[fishing n autograph]

Kindly inform us where this is written, black and white, not my brothers aunt said, please.

 

Highway traffic act says "forthwith" which means as soon as reasonably possible be it 24 hours or 72....

[Fisherman]

Highway traffic act says "forthwith" which means as soon as reasonably possible be it 24 hours or 72....

FnA, yes I know that part, I've never heard of the "after 24 hrs you can't file a claim" we used to get people coming in 2,3,7 days after the fact, a real pain.

[John Bacon]

Don't be too quick to rely on the information posted here.

 

My van was hit while in a private parking lot. The police located the driver (drive left the scene but a witness provided a plate number) and the insurance covered the damages. So I would have to say the one about nothing can be done if it was in a parking lot is untrue.

 

I have filed insurance claims more than 24 hours after an accident. I suspect that information is wrong too.

 

No fault insurance does not mean that your rates won't go up if you file a claim.

 

I would start by asking the guy if we wants to get it fixed or if he will take a cash settlement. Start the negotiations from there.