I skidded on some water in the road and i drove into the back of a car. the front of my BMW z3 was slightly crushed and needs £1300 to fix it. The other car and driver were fine!!
My question is that he drove of and has only contacted me today for insurance details i was hoping to do this without involving them as my policy would go sky high. Has he left it to late and what happens about the time scale.
thanks
xx
2007-12-16 22:33:26 · 21 answers · asked by rachelmrafferty 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
by the way i gave him my telephone number because i didnot have my insurance details with me
2007-12-16 22:41:37 · update #1
He only drove off after you'd exchanged details. So he's done nothing wrong.
Have you asked him how much his repair will be? I fail to see how you can do £1300 damage to your car and not cause his car any damage. I drove my small car up the back of a big car once that looked undamaged afterwards, my repair bill was £11.50 - his was £650, so I'd be surprised if you don't have to involve your insurers.
No he hasn't left it too late, you need to either pay his repair costs, or get your insurers involved.
2007-12-16 22:47:52 · answer #1 · answered by Steve C 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ok the way you worded that sounds as if he fled the scene. But obviously he stopped to get your details and then drove off, which is the right way to do it!
Are you absolutely certain the other car had nothing wrong with it? You should have checked for any bumps and scrapes on the other car before you left! Even a scratch can be expensive to fix.
I don't think him leaving it 2 weeks to sort out will change anything to be honest. The only way you will stop insurance getting involved is to ask the person directly. As long as your willing to foot the bill then hopefully they will agree. I would ring them back and ask if they would be willing to go along with it.
2007-12-16 23:02:34 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ok I get this alot. I would first ask him to get an estimate on his vehicle so you have to opportunity to pay this out of pocket be sure to give specifics of what you plan so he isn't thinking you are just jerking him around. Second I would notify my insurance agent that you were in an accident and what you plan to do so at least there is a record that you were in an accident beyond just your word...unless a police report was filed. Third if the estimate comes in at an acceptable payable level I would make arrangements with the body shop to pay for the damages done to the other person's car in advance based on the estimate. Then make the check payable to the bodyshop so you cover yourself in the event this guy tries to say you never paid for the damages to his vehicle...get a copy of the bill from the body shop!!!! Good luck,
Momma_Bear
2007-12-17 06:13:49 · answer #3 · answered by the_morris_bears 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I take it you are fully comp. You can do one of two things, either be smart and say the accident did not happen and finance the repair of your car yourself. Frankly I would not do this in any event a t £1300 I think you are going to claim on your insurance and so it will go up anyway the costs of the claim are not relevant the fact you have made a claim is. . In any event it was your fault so do the decent thing. As their was no personal injury he left the scene quite legitimately. You do not hit the back of another car without causing damage and I should reckon the costs of his car will be about the same as yours. Even what appears to be slight damage is surprisingly expensive to repair.
2007-12-17 03:16:33 · answer #4 · answered by Scouse 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Can you be sure that the other drivers car has not been subsequently damaged (maybe in a car park whilst away from the vehicle) by someone who has left the scene and he's decided to blame you.
Or maybe he has decided there's some money to be made by involving accident solicitors.
Two weeks is a long time to wait so I would ask him to prove that his claim was the result of your collision before involving your insurance company.
2007-12-16 23:38:56 · answer #5 · answered by ashkirkian 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not too late. First of all, if you both stopped and exchanged names and addresses, that's all you needed to have done. In GB, that is. There's no call to "call the cops".
Next, if you did £1300 worth of damage to your car it's a fair bet you did an appreciable amount of damage to his. The choice is yours, either with his agreement offer to pay for the damage yourself (which could be substantially more than what you'd lose on your insurance, be careful) or give him the details he wants and tell your company. Be sure to tell them you're not making a claim yourself.
2007-12-17 04:34:02 · answer #6 · answered by champer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many answers are correct. As he left the seen of the accident the ball is in your court. What it all comes down to is your conscience. As the other driver was fair enough to not call the police etc at the time, he sounds like a fair enough bloke. If you feel that the right thing to do is get his car repaired, explain that you do not want it going through your insurance but you'd be willing to pay for the damage to his car. This happened a friend of mine. A taxi driver crashed into her and to avoid big insurance bills he paid to have her car repaired and he give her an extra £100 for the inconvieniance. As I say its down to you, if you decide to do nothing about it, he may take it to court. If he does you will have to be prepared to lie in front of a court and hope they do not check your car for evidence of a collision. In my bet if he was fair enough to not call the police, he'll be fair enough not to push for insurance repair. As I don't know what country your from I don't know what law your under, but Northern Ireland law basically states that you are not required to pay (if a vehicle leaves the scene) unless it is taken to court. If it is and it can be proved you caused the accident you would be made pay damages, court fees, solicitors etc. Your best bet is to phone a solicitor and ask his advice.
2007-12-16 23:32:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Legally you can make a claim against someone who causes loss or damage to property for 6 years (or until the claimant is 24) - for injury it is 3 years.
You must report the incident to your insurance company even if you intend to deal with the claim yourself (read your insurance policy) and you must now decide whether the costs for repairs to the other vehicle + your own repairs is going to be more than the effect of the loss of no claims bonus. (As you can submit the claim form for information only.
2007-12-17 06:11:38 · answer #8 · answered by welcome news 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its not too late for him to claim against you. If there are no personal injuries involved you can offer to pay for any repairs to his car. Presumably there are some because he wouldnt be asking for your insurance information otherwise
2007-12-16 23:14:06 · answer #9 · answered by Nimbus 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Be carefull !! if you play hard ball with him you may just be suprised at how easy he will find witnesses. before you know it the the truth will change, and a share of a personal injury claim, you left him your number but he was dazed at the time ect,ect
2007-12-18 03:37:47 · answer #10 · answered by J 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋