My Baby Got Hit Today, I never thought I would ever be posting Options

[chosen1]

So I'm sitting in my car on a side street talking to my friends about an apartment they're going to look at. All of a sudden, there is this old woman in an Accord who side swipes the Celi, bounces off my car, swerves and keeps going. Thank God for the red light cause I ran down the street to get her license plates. The first thing the woman says is "Why did you open the door while I was driving by?". I looked at her and said "Ma'am, let's not do this. You hit my parked car." At this time, my friends get out to look at the damage. They close the doors and my alarm locked the doors after 30 seconds.and my insurance info, license and all that were in the car. I was so pissed that I just had to laugh. Then the woman says "Well you have to admit that your car is way off the curb and stuck out in the street." How can she try to blame me for her hitting a parked car. Her car had a dent in the front fender and her side mirror was broken. My drivers side fender and the part over the rear wheel well has deep white scratches all on it. That's not even the worst thing. The worst part was that it was a Honda Accord!! Now you see why I hate Honda owners.

[audiophile24]

ive found that geriatric car owners are the worst drivers....and think they are never at fault tell her she needs to turn in her license.

[neoklis]

feel you. just read my Avatar

[CelicaQT]

So what happened? Cops? Did you eventually exchange info? Sorry about your car man!

[turboinduction]

i'd say its time for the stick... muhahahhaha..
well, give it a day or so

I hoped you claimed it. The cop would of easily sided with you, even if you were two feet off the curb. I like the "door open" excuse, shes got creativity. But even if you did open your door, why did she keep driving? Old women... geez.

[Akimbo]

i like Accords as practical cars

but damn, that sucks. Got pics of the damage?

[macavely]

chosen1 i feel you pain kid.... at least you were there when it happened... then SOB that hit bounce.. now my car is totaled.. 4 years and my baby is gone now... I hope that this way i belive after you reach the age of 50 you should have to take your road exame once a year... I really belive and older person hit my car.. cause the sliver caddy that was always parked on my block ... well i haven't seen it sine my car got hit....

but yea chosen sorry about that... hope things turn out good for you

[chosen1]

Thanks for the well wishes. i eventually called my Allstate motor club to send someone to unlock my doors. I got the woman's info and let her leave because it was like 20 degrees in Boston last night. What surprised me is that the police wouldn't get ivolved. I went to the station afterward and they told me to go through my insurance company to see who was at fault. The police only have to come if someone was injured. So i called my insurance company and they tell me to contact the woman's insurance company to get compensated. If I wanted my insurance company to handle it, I would have to pay the $500 deductable up front and get it back later, after the woman's insurance paid my insurance company. Does anyone else find this all a bit strange ? I'm from Chicago and we definately do things a lot different. Well anyway, the moral of the story is don't get into an accident in Massachusetts.

By the way, the damage is a dent and a couple of deep scratches and the fuel door is jacked and there is a long scratch on my side mirror.

This post has been edited by chosen1: Mar 23, 2004 - 1:07 PM

[sphinx]

[stelica85]

when some stupid lady backed into me i just called her insurance told them what happened, they came out and looked punched a few numbers and wrote me a check then and there.

worked out really well actually

[LatinKraze]

Same here. 1,200 to replace my bumper. I just sold my car and kept the money.

EDIT: Not in my Celi tho.

This post has been edited by LatinKraze: Mar 24, 2004 - 8:25 PM

[Digndoug]

im still dealing with mine from july... sence jersey is no-fault, i had to go through my insur, then they go through the other guy's an i dont get my deduct, until i close the thing, but im not going to cause i wanna sew cause my back still hurts every-day.. but then when i close, i get my 500 bucks.. it kinda sucks.. an my back still bothers me, thats the worst of it.

[chosen1]

Update: I go to get an estimate on Monday. The woman called me and told me that if it wasn't too expensive that she would just pay me herself. She said that she's been through this before and she doesn't want her insurance to go up again. I may just let her pay me because I was going to get the whole car repainted over the summer anyway. So I'll update you guys on the estimate after I get it on Monday.

[macavely]

[94GT]

Hey, my wife just got hit 2 weeks ago, and the cops said the same thing to her, but here's my advice to you: She has done damage to your property, and the sooner you document it with the police, the better. Especially since she tried to flee the scene, if you file a police report now, you've got better chances later when she tries to change her story, or say that you pulled out and hit her, causing the accident. Most police departments have a simple form for documenting the damage to your vehicle (definitely take photos, too). The insurance thing is standard, but you might be better going through your own company, even though you have to pony up 500 at first, because when this witch changes her story, you'll have them and their lawyers on your side, because aside from your 500, they want THEIR money back! Also, if you file a police report, and she disputes it, she's not lying to the insurance company, she's lying to the cops, and making a false statement (it's illegal either way, but she might think twice if it's to a cop). Here's another thing to consider: She's a little old lady, right? Little old ladies have kids, and once they start getting involved and trying to defend their mom, you never know what lies she'll come up with. Good luck, and be careful, especially if she's offering to pay you cash. She might try and stick you with the bill and not pay.

[turboinduction]

YES! File a report as fast as you can. Dont agree to her "pay cash" story until you see the cash or cashier's check in hand. No personal checks. If you agree not to push charges and take cash, she can not deliver and just tell the cops she did. You have no way then of ever getting money from her. To them, It'll look like you got cash, spent it and are now still pushing charges since you didn't report right away. Plus, if you dont report right away, she can claim that some of the damage she didn't do. Like it happened afterwards and all she did is bump your back bumper or something. Dont take chances. I know from experience. I had my first Talon stoned to death. 5300 in damage! Good luck!

[chosen1]

This is great advise. Thanks guys for the info. The only thing is that there was no one injured and I was unsure if the damage exceeded $1000 so the police told me that I couldn't file a report. I think that's the way they handle accidents in Massachusetts, as crazy as it sounds. They want the insurance companies to deal with the situation. Her insurance company told her she had the option to pay me out of pocket if she didn't want her rates to go up again. I guess I'll see after I get the estimate on Monday.