Someone smashed into my car

alcoholic_engineer

First off in alberta canada if that affects how i should react.

So apparently while i was at school someone smashed into my car. It was apparently a pretty bad hit right in between my front and rear doors, and i cant even get open my driver door. Window was smashed, mirror was halfway down the road, at least a couple thousand to get fixed.

Now luckily the guy left a note and it was apparently a company vehicle (gonna phone them first thing tomorrow). So the cops came by and took my statement and because the guy admitted to doing it in the note and to the cops, it is clearly not my fault.

Now, I dont have collision insurance on my car, but is it neccessary? I wasnt driving it, and it was parked on the side of the road. I intend to phone up his company and try and get them to pay for it.

How good are my chances of getting them to pay for it, and getting a loaner vehicle to replace it while it is getting fixed?

musanman

His insurance pays for the accident if it's his fault. Unless you were parked somewhere illegal you're getting new car parts.

Retox

I don't know about the loaner, but if it was definitely his fault then his insurance will pay for it.

Chief1138

Well I assume that the whole reason the guy left the note was that he intends to pay for it. You're lucky.

Blake T

^ see above.

Insurance is there if you make mistakes. What you will need to do is contact him ask for his insurance company and number and ring them up and ask what you need to do to get it repaired (some companies only deal through certain repairers others require three quotes before paying it off).

Also if he admits guilt it is investigation over he is at fault full stop.

alcoholic_engineer

sweet: all i needed to know- Thanks guys

Kyougu

Not much else to add except that it is nice to hear that even though the guy did what sounds to be pretty big damage, he at least took responsibility. I'm sure plenty of people would have just taken off.

Thanatos

If it's anything like the U.S., you're allowed to take the car to wherever you want to get it repaired. I recommend getting estimates from a couple of places you like to use, rather than just going to whoever the insurance recommends.

Topia

I'm from Alberta too, and as far as I know, you can bring the repairs anywhere. Also, no worries, they are right in saying insurance is for YOUR mistakes, so collision is only for when you hit someone else. You should be fine.

If you want to be a dick, you can also try milking money by saying it inhibited your ability to get to work and you lost money. It worked for a friend of mine.

Edit: You won't get a loaner unless you fight for it. Insurance companies are ass like that. On a addition to the sentence above, if you claim you need a vehicle for transportation to school and/or work, you can get something out of it.

an_alt

There are two ways you can get a loaner. The first is if you have an SEF 20 (Loss of Use) on your insurance. Even if you don't remember asking for it, it's one of the most common coverages and might have been put on automatically. The other is to take your car to a repair shop that has loaner cars. That way, you're getting the crappy loaner just for taking your car there and it has nothing to do with insurance.

alcoholic_engineer

ok, so now the guy phones me and says that it isnt covered by his insurance (it was a company vehicle and the driver wasnt supposed to be driving). The company owner says that he WILL take care of me.

Apparently he knows a specific body shop and the guy is gonna come to my house friday/saturday to give an estimate. Luckily i have a buddy who can hook me up with a sympathetic other autobody shop owner who is going to come over and do another appraisal so i have something to base it on.


Now the guy has been extremely civil and has taken most of the effort at this point which is nice. I am just concerned that he chose a specific body shop, but that i will wait and see about. He has mentioned multiple times in different conversations that if it is going to take a long time to fix he might just buy it outright from me for its value. That is completely up to him, and to be honest if that happens I am gonna have to blow a retarded amount of time trying to find a new car.

I should also mention i dont have collision on my car, so my insurance people cant really help me out any more.

Pretty much at this point I am gonna have to wait and see what the different appraisals say, and take it from there.

Any other advice about how to handle this?

GoodOmens

You mentioned that you don't have collision insurance, but I'm assuming you have insurance at all...have you called them? They should be able to give you specific advice in terms of how to protect yourself legally.

Chances are good this guy is trying to do the right thing, but you might end up screwed.

alcoholic_engineer

GoodOmens wrote: »

You mentioned that you don't have collision insurance, but I'm assuming you have insurance at all...have you called them? They should be able to give you specific advice in terms of how to protect yourself legally.

Chances are good this guy is trying to do the right thing, but you might end up screwed.

yea, my insurance company has been pretty helpful, but because the guy wants to take care of it privately, they have said there is not much they can help me with.

Blake T

Like we said, it doesn't matter about collision damage, that only counts if you hit them.

Along with a quote get a list of stuff that needs to be repaired. You are under no obligation to go to that specific body shop, though it would be civil of you to do so. Compare the list and see if there is any records of whether or not this shop has a good service record.

In terms of buying your car out from you, call up your insurance company and ask what value your car is insured from I think that's all you can be paid out on it.

saint2e

It's good that you've got another body shop in mind for an estimate. Bells and whistles went off in my head when I read "Apparently he knows a specific body shop and the guy is gonna come to my house friday/saturday to give an estimate".

Seems like the guy's being nice about it, but still it's definitely a good idea to get a second opinion from an auto body guy you trust, or someone you know trusts.

supertall

If his business is large enough to warrant a fleet of vehicles, it's likely he takes all his business to one garage in exchange for reduced prices, so it seems less likely to me that he's trying to scam you with a buddy of his.

Cryogen

I thought the same thing as Supertall when i first read about that recommended garage thing, as well.

Depending on the size of the company i think you'll be fine. The company owner sounds like he's just trying to take care of this as quickly and cleanly as possible. Its probably not worth his time to handle it any other way. I think you'll be fine. In fact, i think you're quite fortunate with the entire way they have handled this by the sounds of it, aside from the fact that the accident took place at all, of course.

saint2e

Still, I think it's always good advice to have your own mechanic/auto-body guy back up what the other guy says. Could be the other guy is going the cheap way out, and you don't want that with your car, you want it done properly.

I'm not saying that's what the other guy is doing, but still you've gotta cover your bases.

MichaelLC

Good call getting another car guy to look at it.

Could be a fleet thing as someone else said, but hell, maybe he goes around crashing into cars then buying them cheap and re-selling, or scrapping for parts. Some people are crazy that way.

Shit, I saw a news scare-piece that found a team who goes on expressways and with the help of a lookout, finds a distrated driver to rear-end them, then sues for injuries.

Not to scare you or anything...

Szechuanosaurus

Ugh, personally, I'd call the police then possibly sue him. A) He left the scene of the accident and he was driving without proper insurance. This is the sort of person that costs other road users escalating insurance premiums year after year.

If you are going to get him to pay for the repairs, I'd demand that it be done at the garage of my choice and the estimate plus at least 15% extra (to cover unforseen additional costs) is given to me by him in advance of the work proceeding. Preferably in cash, cheques can bounce long after they appear to have been 'cashed'.

GoodOmens

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

If you are going to get him to pay for the repairs, I'd demand that it be done at the garage of my choice and the estimate plus at least 15% extra (to cover unforseen additional costs) is given to me by him in advance of the work proceeding. Preferably in cash, cheques can bounce long after they appear to have been 'cashed'.

This sounds about right to me. One the one hand, it feels like being an asshole to do this...demanding the money in advance, in cash, all that. But remember that he's the one at fault, and he doesn't really have any authority to dictate the situation.

an_alt

I'd take the route of letting the guy work it out without hassle, but protecting yourself at all times. Definitely get an appraisal from another shop first and be sure to be there when his shop is doing the appraisal. Also, make sure the work is done in your name. At least any warranty/guarantee is in your name and you can deal with it if anything happens down the road. If you don't feel comfortable with it, just walk away.

If things don't work out with the guy, you still have a few options left. I can't remember if Alberta insurance includes uninsured motorist coverage by law (I kinda think it does). If so, you file a claim with your company and they go after him for you. Also, there's the standard small claims court suit. This will suck as it will involve you paying for repairs first then hoping to get the money back sometime down the road.

Blaket, unless you have an SEF 19/19A on your policy, your car isn't really insured for a specific value. It's insured for an average value and in theory the company will increase or decrease the payout (in the event of a write-off) based on the actual value of your car. There's a reason collision coverage is only 10-20% of your premium.

BTW, I'm not an insurance broker, just somebody who works in the industry. Anything I've stated is not a substitute for professional advice.