Backing into someones car.

Hey guys,
Today I had the unfortunate experience of backing into another car. I was exiting a plaza parking lot, when I remembered I had forgot something, put it in reverse and backed into a car that was directly behind my truck. I did look in my rearview, but between the incline of the street entrance and the low vehicle I hit, It was not visible. My bad.
My trailer hitch had left a "ball" imprint in the bumper of this 06'ish pontiac vibe.
I got out, made sure everyone was ok (1 km accident lol), and asked the nice woman to head to the body shop of her choice, have it repaired/ replaced at my expense.
She calls me tonight to meet for the estimate, 11:30 am, making sure ill be there. I told her no problem. (I already talked to the owner of the shop after the accident)
After I get off the phone I realize that she wants me to be there to give her the cash for the estimate.....
Im going to pay the colission center and wont under any circumstances be putting cash in her hand, The accident happened on company time, in my company vehicle, while picking up business related supplies. The accident is a business write-off.

Tell me, is this unfair of me?
Should it be her choice to take the $1500 and pocket it?

On a side note, 2 years ago my wife did something very similar. Put a small scratch in a 1995 van, the guy told me he wanted 550$ to have it repaired, I put cash in his hand. Of course he never did repair it.
This makes one "accident" for each of us and im feeling the heat from her aswell lol.

Thanks,
Eric

You are not being unfair. The bill gets sent to you for payment of the damage you did. There should be nothing more for you to do, besides get proof you paid. If you went through an insurance company this would be what would happen.

Just because you feel guilty about hitting her car does not mean you cannot control the situation. Perhaps you could simply say this is a company car and you are not allowed to do anything related to cash.

Good luck.

James.

You're not being unfair at all, why should she get the choice of putting the cash in her pocket? She wouldn't have if it was an insurance case. IMHO if she did it would be very close related to scam.

Do like James said and use the company car aproach.

I don't think it's really a matter of fair. You indicated your fault and therefore your responsibility. Her property, her damage and her choice regarding repair or not in my opinion. I don't think insurance companies look kindly on people when they know a vehicle is not repaired. Make sure you get a full release from this person regardless of how the matter is settled.

I hadnt thought about a release, probably wise.
I wonder if a simple:
" I _____ have recieved XXXX.XX from _____ as full payment for the damage to my vehicle. ________ and companyx is fully released from any further responsibility pertaining to the incident. sign and date"
collision location/time/description
would this be sufficient ? (maybe a lawyer lurking?)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lynn

I don't think it's really a matter of fair. You indicated your fault and therefore your responsibility. Her property, her damage and her choice regarding repair or not in my opinion. I don't think insurance companies look kindly on people when they know a vehicle is not repaired. Make sure you get a full release from this person regardless of how the matter is settled.

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Totally agreed, I once tapped a car scratching the painted bumper. The person brought me an estimate from their personal mechanic totaling in around 1300 dollars. I did research and found a new stock replacement bumper painted for 1/3 of that, and called multiple shops(including my personal mechanic) who said it would be less than 2 hours work. Printed everything up, told the person I would rather not use insurance because I have the money, but, if they are trying to get me to pay nearly triple I'd rather go through insurance. I don't mind if the person doesn't fix it and pockets the 500 it would cost, but I'm not gullible, and I'm not going to get scammed. I ended up giving her the appropriate amount and getting them to sign a receipt/release, and never heard from them again. First and foremost alway's protect yourself, a few years of being a paramedic taught me that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by epd

I hadnt thought about a release, probably wise.
I wonder if a simple:
" I _____ have recieved XXXX.XX from _____ as full payment for the damage to my vehicle. ________ and companyx is fully released from any further responsibility pertaining to the incident. sign and date"
collision location/time/description
would this be sufficient ? (maybe a lawyer lurking?)

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I would say, over document vs. doing the minimum. When I worked as a paramedic I would have gladly gotten yelled at every day by management for taking too long to document the events of a call, than lose my ability to work forever and possibly get sued for something someone messed up after I was gone.

I would personally include pictures, a copy of an estimate or two, and get it notarized(it doesn't take that long and it could save you a lot)

Not a lawyer, but I would get a release from any and all claims arising out of this incident. Particularly if she was in the vehicle when you struck it....I mean uh, tapped it.......lol.

You hit her and caused the damage so you pay. Whether she pockets the money or not is up to her. I would have her get 3 estimates and pay on the middle and then get an iron clad release from her and pay by check no cash so there is a record. To be technical the proper way is to just let the insurance companies handle it of course. If you don't want to involve them for whatever reason that's your call but you are in no position to dictate to her.

Just my opinion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by epd

I hadnt thought about a release, probably wise.
I wonder if a simple:
" I _____ have recieved XXXX.XX from _____ as full payment for the damage to my vehicle. ________ and companyx is fully released from any further responsibility pertaining to the incident. sign and date"
collision location/time/description
would this be sufficient ? (maybe a lawyer lurking?)

---

I had a similar incident back when I was 18, totally my fault, however, the guy was being a complete j-hole about the whole ordeal saying I caused thousands of dollars of damage to his classic POS rustbucket. My dad and I offered him x-amount and had him sign 3 copies of such an agreement and that was the end of the story for my part. A few months later, I saw the same car with none of the "damage" repaired. Guess he decided to just spend the money on whatever, which I suspect this woman would do. I third Jame's suggestion of the company car and let insurance handle it.

Even if it is a company car, if your at fault so you have to weigh the options, will it be cheaper for you to pay it, or let your insurance go up, all depends on your driving record.

Lynn is absolutely right, as long as you get the release it does not matter if she repairs her car or not. You should be able to use the release document for your business right off. Good luck.

My dad taught me that insurance was for what you couldnt pay for. He has been in the construction business for a long time and I was raised in it. We have had very few incidentals, nothing over 5k. I consider my insurance is to be used for (heaven forbid) mechanical failure, injury, ect.
I understand the protection the insurance company provides in a situation, but I hope to never make a claim on any of my policies (including life lol)
Tomorrow im going to attend the estimate, suggest another estimate, mention the release, and maybe even gain a client.

The lady was really understanding. She told me at christmas she did the same thing to someone at a funeral home, and the woman she hit told her "merry christmas" and left. I thought I knew where she was going with the story, then the phone rang with our estimate appointment :)

As of now, it could have been worse, she could have got out holding her neck.

Thanks for all of your input, Ill be sure to post the results and a pic of the damage
Cheers

Things are not quite as litigious in Canada as south of the border, but I'd still CYA as best you can..

I think it depends. If insurance is involved in any way, I think it is best to pay the body shop directly and get a receipt from them.
However, I don't think it is morally wrong for her to propose a deal. If you have inflicted 1000$ of damage, and she wants 750$ in cash because she doesn't really care about the bodywork of her car... that's a fair proposal on her part.

She'll have to sign for it on paper that this amount will settle any debt between you, regardless of actual cost.
But if no insurance companies are involved (because that would make it fraud) I don't see anything wrong with it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You hit her and caused the damage so you pay. Whether she pockets the money or not is up to her. I would have her get 3 estimates and pay on the middle and then get an iron clad release from her and pay by check no cash so there is a record. To be technical the proper way is to just let the insurance companies handle it of course. If you don't want to involve them for whatever reason that's your call but you are in no position to dictate to her.

Just my opinion.

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I wouldn't take it that far to get 3 estimates. If you think the price is fair then pay her and by all means get a release. If you don't she could call her insurance company and get you again. Make sure the release covers personal injury past and future.

It depends on whether the $1500 is going to be less than the increase on your insurance premium. Sometimes it's best to let the insurance sort it out.
Like many of us, I've paid tens of thousands in premiums over the years for business and home, maybe it's sensible to get some of it back rather than shell out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lynn

I don't think it's really a matter of fair. You indicated your fault and therefore your responsibility. Her property, her damage and her choice regarding repair or not in my opinion. I don't think insurance companies look kindly on people when they know a vehicle is not repaired. Make sure you get a full release from this person regardless of how the matter is settled.

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actually some of them, the companies, don't care. my car got savaged by a runaway shopping cart during a windstorm in a drugstore parking lot. i got an estimate of over 600 bucks, called my insurance company, and they paid me for anything over my 500 dollar deductible saying, we don't care if you fix it, but if you don't and the car is ever totalled, we're deducting this amount from your payoff. my left front fender crumpled like it was tinfoil.

So I went and met the lady at the body shop. I was suprised to see the damage was smaller than I thought, barely even visible on my camera phone.
The lady told me that her daugthter is getting married this weekend and this was one of a few things that happened to her in the last week, I said "Well hopefully that was number three, bad things always happen in three's" she had a good laugh, apparently this is number 13 LOL.
Turns out I know the owner of the shop, he tells us it will be $720+ tax, I was relieved. She arranges a time for the repair and we walk out. The guy follows me to my truck and says just bring $600 cash and have a nice day.
I also mentioned the release to her, she said she will sign it no problem.
Tuesday I have to go in to meet her and pay the shop, as of now I an happy with the outcome.
Thanks for the help everyone.

Nice! I love it when a plan comes together. :)

Not to hijack this thread I hope, but I was teaching my sister to drive the other day and she stamped on the gas instead of the brake in the garage! Hit the lawn tractor and both it and the car went straight though the wall into the laundry! Assessor arrives today, but I have to say the insurance people, both car and house and contents, were very nice on the phone. Total combined excesses of $900. I'm no expert, but it appears the damage to the house (two storey) was not structural - went through the plasterboard and took out the studwork only, I think.

Thank God we had checked with our car insurer that we were covered for learner drivers on our policy. The house and contents insurers are talking about recovering costs from the driver's insurer - pretty sure that's us!! haha! :D

James.

Thats terrible news Jimbo, at least everyone was ok!

Glad everything worked out for you epd

Thanks epd! Yeah, everyone was fine - just one of those things. Actually, it is pretty freakin' funny now we look back on it. We just sat in the car for 10 seconds afterwards starting at the plasterboard all over the bonnet, neither of us said a word... lol!

James.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by epd

I hadnt thought about a release, probably wise.
I wonder if a simple:
" I _____ have recieved XXXX.XX from _____ as full payment for the damage to my vehicle. ________ and companyx is fully released from any further responsibility pertaining to the incident. sign and date"
collision location/time/description
would this be sufficient ? (maybe a lawyer lurking?)

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Do yourself a HUGE favor and get a proper release written by a lawyer. There are much more expensive matters to consider than the damage. The release has to be for all current and future claims against you, the company, anyone else in the vehicle (hers and yours), for future damage,medical issues etc... I guess you get my point. Just my 2cents.