Hit and Run Accident with Vibe

[suzye]

So Yesterday morning I am driving in my vibe. I am on a road with three lanes in each direction. I am in the center lane, there are a couple of cars ahead of me in my lane wanting to make left turns (the left turn lane was very backed up) so I was in the intersection waiting for these cars ahead of me to turn (they had to wait for the traffic in the other direction to clear) and just as the light starts to change a commercial Ford van comes up in the right lane and wants to make the left turn, cuts in front of me and hits the passengers side of the car (between the front wheel and front bumper) and proceeds to make the turn. I follow him and make the turn and then pull over assuming he is doing the same and he just takes off!!! Luckily I got his plate number. I went to the police precinct and filed a report, then called my insurance company. They said since I was 100% not at fault (he was trying to make a left turn from the right lane!) that they could either go through my collision coverage and I would have to pay the deductable or I could go to the other cars insurance company and have them pay. So they run a check on the plates and give me the name and address of the company that owns it. Turns out the address is incomplete and the company can't be found in the phonebook or online! So I called back my insurance company to see if I copied the address wrong, but they repeated it and it was the same information I had from before. So they told me that the company's insurance is listed as unknown but it did list their previous insurer. So I called up that insurance company and they told me the policy expired on 12/31/03 and that they didnt have an address or phone number for the company, only contact information for the broker who handled the insurance for them. So I call the broker and he tells me he didnt write any policy for them and has no information. So my question is what do you think I should do? I can't get a copy of the police report until Monday, but I am assuming since they are looking in the same DMV database as my insurance company that they will have the same incomplete address. From the address I can tell what block it is located on so I drove down the block twice yesterday, hopeing to find the business or see the van, but it was a residential block and the van wasn't there. Should I just go through my collision coverage and pay my deductable (my insurance said they would then try to go after the other guy to get their costs covered as well as my deductable, but couldnt guarantee anything) or how else shoudl I proceed? I am thinking the other guy doesn't have insurance since it is listed as unknown and the policy they had expired on 12/31/03. Anyway thanks for the help and sorry for the long post! Pictures of the damage are attached, they aren't great because they were taken on my camera phone.

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[suzye]

Another pic

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[suzye]

Final Pic.Anyone have experience with similar damage? I am wondering what the cost of repair is. I should be getting an estimate this weekend, but just wondering what to expect.

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[joatmon]

Sorry to hear about that. How much is the deductible on your policy? be sure to ask your insurance company if the claim will affect your insurance rates. Have heard lots of horror stories, even if they say its 100% not your fault can they still bump up your premium because you file a claim?If you want to get it fixed soon, you'll probably have to pay the deductible. Doesn't sound like there's any guarantee that they'll find the perp quickly, so if you don't pay, you may have a wounded vibe for a while. It looks like the damage doesn't affect the safety/driveabiity of the vehicle, so that's an option.I don't know what it might cost to repair, but it will probably be more than it seems like it should. You can look in ragingfish's dmage thread at http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=6823 for some prices on front end body parts, your damage is a lot less than his.Good luck with it, and most importantly, glad you were not hurt.

[Kari]

Well, I know ragingfish has experience with replacement of those parts, just on the other side of the car. If the bumper has enough damage to have to be replaced, that will probably be the thiung that costs you. I'd wonder if there's a way you could "get legal" on this company though, or if a good lawyer might be able to track them down. Hit and run will get them in a lot more trouble than if they'd just stopped and fessed up to the damage.

[suzye]

My deductable is $500. I am pretty concerned about this increasing my insurance rates because in the last two years I had a car stolen from my driveway (on a quiet neighborhood on long island on a dead end street) but it was recovered about a month later with only the cd player missing so the insurance company didnt pay anything since it was under my deductable. I also had my car broken into in Manhattan(window smashed and cd player and air conditioning control panel were taken) insurance paid everything above my premium on this claim (about $700) both of those incidents happened on my honda CR-V which is why after owning it for less than I year I traded it in for my vibe. I had my vibe for about a month when I came out to my vibe that had been parked in the same location for about 24 hrs. with a dent the size of a softball in the back just to the right of the license plate. Because I was afraid of the increase in my insurance I didn't report that, and the person who hit it was no where to be found. So now with this new damage I am afraid of what is going to happen to my rates! I figured going after the other guy's insurance was my best bet for not having my rates increased.

[Reynoma]

Wow Suzye, that's a string of pretty bad incidents. IMHO, I would get the car fixed soon (pay the $500 deduct). I don't think the damage is going to be that much $$$, but I'm a pretty bad judge. If the damage is low $$$, then pay it yourself and don't even involve the insurance company.

[joatmon]

ragingfish had his fender off, he might be able to say how hard it is to remove/reshape/reinstall.

[SARGE]

You shouldn't have to worry about your deductible going up. About a year and a half ago, my wife was driving on I75 up to Atlanta, and a semi threw a retreaded tire into the front of our Vibe. It pretty much destroyed the front end, the bumper (top and bottom piece), the drivers side headlight, the hood, and the drivers side fender. Total repair cost was in excess of $3000. We paid the deductible, and had it repaired. Since it was not our fault, my insurance rate did not change. The big issue is resale value of the Vibe. Although the repairs are immaculate, it has still been listed as being in an accident. But, the good news on that is my insurance company sent me a check for the resale value loss. It worked out pretty well for us, because we ended up getting more back than our deductible. Ask your insurance company if you have that type of coverage, and if you do, just pay the deductible. Just my .02 cents.

[ragingfish]

Suzye:I'd like to unfortunately admit I'm pretty seasoned with front end damage. Suicidal deer. Let's leave it at that.Anyway, if you have any questions I can answer, drop me an IM, or post here and I'll be glad to help out any way I can!

[fuel4soul]

Your poor Vibe needs a garage!

[Merzbow]

Oh man I would be so pissed...I'd follow that b*stard until he stopped and I'd use my trusty steel beer tap handle and hammer stick my dad gave me to beat the sh*t out of him until he paid me.

[fuel4soul]

Then you'd come out paying HIM assault and battery charges! It'd probably be worth it though

[Merzbow]

I think it would be worth it

[VibeChick]

Steel beer tap handle...beating some guy with a beer tap handle - that is such a funny mental image...

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by VibeChick »Steel beer tap handle...beating some guy with a beer tap handle - that is such a funny mental image...lol. that is extremely funny... imagining it now.... back on topic, i had a similar instance in my tundra when i got run off the road and hit the back end into the rail guard. i got the kid's insurance info and all, but since he was a minor his folks refused to make a statement or pay it. i paid the deductible to get it fixed, it wasn't my fault, and they took care of the rest. your insurance should not go up since it wasn't your fault. but, most likely the reason the guy took off so fast, was he didn't have insurance to begin with. up here, its not uncommon and you have to keep uninsured motorists policy too. i'd pay it, get it fixed, and kiss your money goodbye. they won't get it.

[suzye]

Thanks everyone for the comments and advice (esp. ragingfish i might need your advice on these repairs once i figure out what i am doing). I'll keep you updated on what happens. I am going to pick up a copy of the police report this week and get some estimates so then I'll figure out where to go from there.

[suzye]

Juat an update. Finally was able to get a copy of the police report. They didnt even run the plates so I got no further information about the other driver or their insurance. Got an estimate of just under $2,200, looks like i will be going through my insurance with my collision coverage since I have been unable to track down the other drivers insurance info. I did request records from the DMV on the other driver so hopefully that will turn up something. My insurance said they would try to go after the other driver to recover their costs and my deductable. Just hoping I wont be without my car for too long.

[wicked1981]

Good luck hope all goes well. Sucks that people would just take off.

[suzye]

Just wanted to give another update. I decided to go through my collision coverage since I have still been unable to locate the company that owned the other vehicle or their insurance. So the insurance adjusted looked at the car yesterday, I just got his report and was surprised that I had $5,470.83 worth of damage! This includes work to the front bumper, grille, hood, front lamps, cooling, fender, pillars, rocker & floor, front door and wheels. The body shop said they were hoping to get the car back to me on friday, in the meantime I am driving a rental, a huge trailblazer which has been a pain to parallel park! I can't wait to get my vibe back!

[suzye]

Hey sarge-You mentioned that your insurance company covered you for the depreciation of your car due to the accident. I don't believe I have this coverage, but iin case I am able to track down this other guy I would like to go after him for it. Do you know how your insurance company calculated the amount? Maybe there is a standard amount, or a manual or something to look it up. I'm just trying to figure out how I can come up with a number for the depreciation of my car due to the accident.Thanks!

[frostyGT]

Quote, originally posted by suzye »I had $5,470.83 worth of damage! This includes work to the front bumper, grille, hood, front lamps, cooling, fender, pillars, rocker & floor, front door and wheels.Wow!!! From the pics you posted, it only looked like the fender and maybe the light were damaged. How did all of those other things get damaged from that one little hit? It sounds like the body shop is looking for a little extra work.Hope you get your car back soon! That's alot of work to get done by Friday. Of course, a Trailblazer is a pretty nice ride in the meantime!

[suzye]

I was surprised too by the amount of the damage, but that is the amount from the insurance adjuster's report so I would think if any thing his reported figure for damage would be on the low end since you would think the insurance company wouldn't want to pay too much! Here is the breakdown for the parts they are replacing:Right Fender $256.95Right Fender Liner: $82.85Right Fender Liner Pad: $16.78Right Flare: $246.30Right Protector: $26.80Right Headlamp Assembly: $303.98Right Fog Light Assembly: $152.65Right under cover auto trans: $29.27Insulator Retainer: $7.04Emblem: $31.51Nameplate "Vibe": $29.17The rest of the charges are for painting the front bumper upper and lower cover, hood, upper and lower tie bar, fender, Right front panel, rail assy & upper rail, hinge pillar, right door shell. Labor for paint and body and frame work and some miscellaneous charges and tax. I think the reason for the high cost is where I was hit, since it affected the lights that costs a lot and even though the bumper for example wasn't dented it was scratched so they are going to repaint that whole thing and I was told they have the paint the door for blending since the paint on the new parts won't exactly match the rest of the car because of fading, etc. so if they repaint the door with blending the difference in color won't be as obvious because it will gradually change and you go from the front to the back. In the end I do have to say that I am surprised at the amount my insurance company came up with but I am glad I have collision insurance!! Hopefully they will be able to track down the guy who hit me and get him (or his insurance) to pay the damages. At least one good thing whith so much of the front being repainted, the little scratches that had occured from regular wear and tear (we know how bad the paint is!) will be fixed so it should look better than before the accident

[frostyGT]

Well, that is less than $1200 in parts...That leaves over $4200 for paint and labor! Incredible! If I was you, I would let your insurance cut you a check for that amount and go to an honest shop and get the work done for a total of $2k, and pocket the $3400 remaining.Or just live with the damage and keep the $5400 JMHO...I hope everything works out! The important thing is always that nobody was hurt

[SARGE]

Unfortunately, I'm not exactly sure where I have the paperwork. I don't think it's any added coverage I have, it's just something that State Farm has on policies. The best bet would be to call a local insurance agent, if your company doesn't have any idea what you are talking about, call a state farm agent, and ask them about it. Sorry I could not be of more help.