How should I handle a car accident?

Question

I have a 1995 Toyota Camry and was hit from behind. Other driver says he will pay for damages (estimates I got range from $2,300 to $3,700). I checked value of my car at kelly blue book and at a fair condition it is worth $2,950. He has asked me not to file a claim with my insurance because he does not have insurance and wants to avoid dealing with the DMV. My predicament is that should I just ask him to pay me $2,500 for damages or file a claim. Will the ins. co. salvage my car since the repairs are slightly more than its value? If so, can I still keep my car or will they take it away from me? What other options do I have? Thank you for your ideas.

Answer 1

Contact your insurance company regardless of whether you ultimately choose to accept the other parties offer for payment or not. Depending on your State's law, you may need to file a statement of financial responsibility with your DMV so it is always best to contact your insurance carrier for advise on this issue.

As to whether the other driver wants to avoid issues with the DMV, he/she should have thought about that before he/she got behind the wheel and drove without insurance. "Tough love" is in order so let the chips fall where they may for Mr./Ms. Uninsured!

Regarding value of your vehicle, insurance carrier policy varies widely when it comes to "totalling" a vehicle; check with your carrier to determine what method they use to value a vehicle (it should be based on "fair market value" not based on Kelly Blue Book. You may want to check private party sales in your area to see what a 1995 Toyota Camry is selling for in your local market; you can also check with local dealerships but remember they are going to be higher because they need to recondition vehicles for sale and factor that into their asking price. Do a little homework and you might be surprised about what the true value of your vehicle might be.

CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY OR AGENT - NOW!

Answer 2

Depending on how long ago the accident was, you can still file a police report in the town where the accident occurred.

I would give him 2 options: Option 1: He pays you the $2,500.00 for your car or Option 2: you call your insurance company and they'll pay you and then go after him for every penny they lay out including but not limited to Attorney fees and costs.

Since you have a 1995, I will assume you had no collision coverage, however, if he really is uninsured then your insurance company will give you either the value of the car or the damages, whichever is less. If you keep it, they'll deduct a small fee since you are keeping it. If you go through your insurance company, make sure you open an uninsured motorist claim for property damage. It may take a while for you to get paid b/c they have to investigate that this guys was in fact uninsured, so be patient.

Just advise the guy who hit you what your options are at this point in time. If he doesn't want to fix it, go report the accident immediately. You shoud've done that from the very beginning, especially since your talking about your car being totalled.

Answer 3

Ask him for the $3700 in cash. And he needs to get you that money YESTERDAY.. not next week, not in a few months but RIGHT NOW. If he has a problem with that or he wants to negotiate, then go to the insurance company. The clock is ticking down and if you don't act soon, you will get screwed. You don't have time to wait for him to figure out what he wants to do about it. If he wants to avoid the wrath of the DMV, then he should not have a problem with paying that money.

He wants to circumvent the penalty of the law. You do not owe him any type of "fairness" or courtesy. You are doing him a big favor by not blowing the whistle. You could even gouge him for a few hundred bucks more. I am not suggesting that you do that.. but you certainly should not bend over towards his direction.

Now for the second part of your question- Any time a vehicle is totalled, the insurance company will give you the option of buying it back for the salvaged value which is based on what the average junk dealer would buy the car for. If you take that option you usually end up with your settlement check minus $200 and you drive away in your car. Sweet deal, huh?

Answer 4

If you file the claim and your vehicle is a total loss, you have 2 options: keep the vehicle (retain salvage) or turn it over to the insurance.

If you retain salvage, you keep the car and you get cash less the salvage amount. For example, the ACV on your car is $1000, salvage is $200, you get $800.

If you turn the car over, you receive the full ACV.

The insurance, nor the guy at fault, is not required by law to pay you the HIGHER of the repairs vs. the ACV. If the repairs (lowest estimate) exceed the value of the vehicle, you are due the value of the vehicle, not a penny more, not a penny less.

Answer 5

I am an insurance agent and have seen this many times with my clients. They almost always end up losing money. The guy is going to ask you to wait a couple of days and then you will start calling him to get payment. It NEVER works out. If he was driving without insurance do you really think that he has the money to pay the money to fix your vehicle. He doesn't have the money and is hoping that you are nice enought and naive enough to do what he is asking. DON'T! Call your insurance company right now and turn in a claim. Also, call the police department and report the accident. You didn't get him into the mess he is in, he did it himself and it is not your responsibility to help him out.

The company is going to probably total out your vehicle. You then have the option of buying the car from the company or giving it to them for salvage.

Answer 6

You are running the risk of this person just disappearing and leaving you holding the bag. Just let your insurance company handle it, and let the uninsured motorist pay the fine and get the license suspension for driving without insurance.
Some things to remember.
Nice people finish last...
You do the crime, you do the time....
You are setting your self up to aid and abet a crime, even though it is a misdemeanor.
As far as your car, you can get it fixed and have it covered by your insurance company, or take the payoff and buy another car. You can also take the payoff and buy your car back from the insurance company and then have it fixed in TJ.

Answer 7

either way get a police report.this will cover you if the guy does not pay.if he dont want you to call the police have him pay you the highest estimate price right now so you know your covered.the balls in your court,dont get burned.do something ASAP.if you go through insurance it will be your own being he does not have any .given the year of the car you should get to keep it. they will pay 80% of the cars value minus your deductable.check with your insurance company first and ask questions before making a claim.

Answer 8

If the cost to repair your vehicle is 75% of its value then it's totaled. So the insurance company will total it. I doubt this guy is going to want to pay that much money out of pocket once you tell him that info on your estimate. Plus, out of pocket settlements never work out, and you'd be better off using insurance.

Answer 9

If hes willing to pay you in cash, dont bother about the insurance company. Call the junk yard and have it tow there and junk it.
You can tell the insurance co. that you junked ur car cuz it broke.
Salvaged title can be recovered by inspection of certain mechanic groups... if its fixed by liscensed mechanic from the insurance co. it will not become savage title.

Answer 10

Honey, you are playing with a live snake and are about to be bitten. My advice is to contact YOUR insurance company and file a claim. They will handle the whole mess for you, though you will likely lose your vehicle.