Car accident question

[Julio]

I guess in a similar vein to the parking lot question:

Had a kid back up into me. No question it was his fault, we were waiting in line to get into a parking lot, and I have a witness (the lady taking the money for the lot).
I had to get a hold of the guy in order to get all his info (I didn't get the kid's drivers license, and he was driving his parents SUV, and I had to file a police report). I got a hold of the dad, and he immediately went into 'I don't want insurance involved' mode. (The father is a new Canadian, if that makes a difference) He wants to see the estimate I got from the body shop, saying 'it seemed high'.

I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't politely tell him I want to go through insurance, both because how do I know he will pay, and because I also get a rental while my car is in the shop.

Can anybody tell me why I would let this guy have a look at the estimate, and then go outside the insurance system to get my car fixed?

[prarieboy]

If the guy pushes back just go through Insurance. It's not like you owe this a guy a favour.

Plus you'd have to negotiate him paying for the rental

[JiriHrdina]

The only reason would be you get the repair bill and tell him he gives you that + some extra money.
I'm actually going through this with a guy that rear-ended my wife as she was stopped at a stop sign. Just ran into her and said "Oh I didn't see you there". Idiot.

He is pushing to handle this without insurance. I'm not budging. I've already got my insurance company and his involved.

If people don't want to have their insurance costs increase they shouldn't drive like twits.

[Kjesse]

Go through insurance. To do a side deal puts you at risk, and you're the one doing the favour. If there's any push-back, like you've already experienced, it will only get worse. Let his insurance pay the repair and for your rental car. Explain to him politely and preferably by email why you've chosen to go that path. Problem solved.

[bc-chris]

i hope this isn't a dumb question - why wouldn't you go thru insurance?

i girl hit me a number of years ago and wanted to avoid insurance. i said no

my truck got fixed and then icbc gave her the option of paying the bill to fix my truck. if she chose not to she would then have to pay her deductible and her rates would increase.

whether we avoided insurance or not, the cost of the 'fix my truck bill' was the same in the end

i'm not sure if the insurance companies in alberta offer the the same "here's the bill do you want to pay it off" option or not

[JonDuke]

I was hit while in a parking lot as well. Was the other drivers fault, 100%.
No huge damage, and she didn't want to go through insurance either.

I knew she lived in my neighborhood (kids went to same pre-school) so I semi trusted her.

On the advice of a friend in the industry, I wrote up a letter saying she was 100% responsible, would pay for all costs associated with the repairs (including car rental) and that she nor I would never come back later to seek further damages once this was settled.

I don't know how much weight that would hold if we ever had to use it, but I had her sign it, took pics of her license, and she paid. Was actually great about.

If it was someone I did not know whatsoever though, I'd never do it that way again.

tl:dr: Go through insurance

[Northendzone]

I'd just tell the guy that is the estimate you got from the shop you selected, and that you are not going to run around town getting quotes to save him some money.

Personally, I'd be loathe to deal directly with somebody outside of insurance to much potential hassle.....

[blankall]

If he really wants to not have his insurance dinged, his insurance company will give him the option to pay in cash inserted of making a claim.

The other option is to have his shady friend do it for cheap on the side. Go through insurance.

[ranchlandsselling]

Two ways to look at it,

1. Help someone out with some using my suggestion below
2. Don't

I'd recommend getting a second estimate and then asking for cash before you do anything else. If he wants to put in on a CC he can do a cash advance. If he won't pay cash then go to insurance. Maybe provide 48 hours. There's really nothing he can complain about.

I once hit someone in our office parkade. I left a note on their car. They called me, got two estimates, I went with the cheaper one, they had it fixed, shop called me, I gave CC over phone and was emailed receipt. Everyone was nice to each other and the transaction worked. Mine was a different situation as someone who leaves their info after hitting your vehicle with no witnesses likely isn't someone who's going to bail on the bill. But going the cash route solves all issues.

Good luck, but try to give the guy a break if you can hedge the risk.

[Sammymydog1]

Had someone rear end me awhile back at red light. Minor damage & didn't want to go through insurance, which I totally understand. I got two estimates & price for rental for period of repair. Guy brought me a certified cheque for full amount. I offered to sign a note/ release & he only wanted a handshake. Done deal & if it didn't work out so easily, I could have went to insurance. Sometimes we need to have some faith!

[JiriHrdina]

Maybe I'm a dick. But shouldn't people that get into accidents, through their own fault actually have to pay higher insurance? I know accidents happen but I'm not sure what the motivation is not to go through insurance.

[Winnie]

Unfortunately, greaseballs have ruined it for the honest guy that deserves a break. In my experience, folks that immediately resort to "let's not get insurance involved" have been in the same scenario a few times before, and they're trying to take advantage of someone who might not know any better.

[Jason14h]

Maybe I'm a dick. But shouldn't people that get into accidents, through their own fault actually have to pay higher insurance? I know accidents happen but I'm not sure what the motivation is not to go through insurance.

Why do you care who pays as long as your car is fixed to the same quality in end?

But as many have said, the insurance company will happily let him pay if he wants.

[BigBrodieFan]

I am an insurance agent, and you are NOT a dick. Absolutely 100% go through the insurance so you're guaranteed a reputable body shop fixing your car with a warranty on all parts and labour, and do not talk to this kid again. It's not your problem- and he should be ashamed of asking you to not follow the proper procedure. Plus, you want the accident reported that you are not at fault in case his insurance company doesn't pay and yours has to try to subrogate. Don't even think about not going through insurance!

Good luck with everything!

[llwhiteoutll]

Tell him the quote is what you're going with, if he wants to pay in cash, then he can do so within 24 hours.

You already gave him a chance and he started to try and weasel out of it, just go through insurance. Much easier to deal with and they won't try to lowball you on repairs or have a "mechanic" do work that will fall apart later.

[Hevishot]

I deal with this every day. You have already done him a favor by going out and getting him an estimate. If he thinks its too high too bad for him. Put it through insurance and let them fight it out for you. Also ignore any harassing phone calls that you might get from him once your insurance is involved (it happens more than you want to know)
Like winnie said the greaseballs have ruined it for everybody who wants to customer pay.
I would say 80% of the people I deal with who are told by the guy that hits him to "go get an estimate and I will pay" end up opening an insurance claim after the guy:

A)Refuses to pay because you are hosing him
B)His buddy can do the work in his garage cheaper
C)Have no money/no insurance
D)All of a sudden is out of town for work and wont be back for weeks/months
E:All of a sudden they stop answering your phone calls/text messages before the car goes in for repair.

Best of luck. Go the easy route

[Huntingwhale]

Go through insurance. Screw the other person's thought process for not wanting to go through them. It NEVER benefits you and always benefits them. Go through insurance and never ever talk with them directly. My friend went through this, tried to be a nice guy and not go through with insurance. He found out every time he talked with the guy, the guy was recording their conversations and trying to get my friend admit even the slightest bit of fault. Nope. No good.

Bottom line is you cannot trust other drivers to be honest and do what's fair. Insurance makes sure you are compensated fairly. Nice to see some stories in this thread of people doing things honestly and paying back as agreed on handshake. But this is 2015 and things like that are the exception and not the rule.

Get a dashcam. $70 for peace of mind and video evidence if something like this happens again.

End of story. Insurance exists for a reason.

[Weitz]

Why is it people pay all this money for insurance and then when they need it they never want to use it? Boggles my mind.

[Fuzz]

Sometimes it is cheaper to pay out of pocket that the cost increase in premiums over a year or 2.

[Swarly]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Maybe I'm a dick. But shouldn't people that get into accidents, through their own fault actually have to pay higher insurance? I know accidents happen but I'm not sure what the motivation is not to go through insurance.

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Why do you care who pays as long as your car is fixed to the same quality in end?

But as many have said, the insurance company will happily let him pay if he wants.

I agree with going thru insurance, I'm with Jiri here. I'm hoping that even tho his insurance gives him the option there is now a record of his crappy driving on file. This will eventually bite those repeat offenders in the ass making driving more expensive for them and maybe getting them off the road entirely, and if the guy honestly did only make one little mistake its not going to end him either.