Hey guys,

This is my first post on the site and of course its not a good one. Christmas eve i was driving home from a holiday day lunch and in front of me was a lady turning left into a parking lot. With not alot of room to go around her i waited patiently behind her. About 20 seconds later while still waiting behind this car i saw a black car coming from behind me. The next thing i knew i was lunged forward and thank god the lady in front of me turned at the same time i got hit or i would have been in her trunk. I just got my car three months ago, so of course im freaking out.

I called the insurance company and oddly, they told me to contact the other persons insurance because it was there fault. Still no call from there insurance company. I have a peice of metal sticking out of my bumper, and i cant open my trunk because of the bumper. Now for the worse part. Everytime i hit a bump my whole top shakes, sqeaks and cracks and its uncomfortable. I feel like my roof is going to just collapse. It finally stopped raining, so i tryed to put my top down. It goes down but the trunk seems like its only lifting from one side and the other is just kinda going with the flow. Roof on one side is flush against the other roof panel and the other side is raised a bit. Same with my trunk lid, huge gap on one side and the other side is flush.

What do you guys think? I hope she isnt totaled but then again he hit me hard and the bumper doesnt look that damaged so im thinking it all got absorbed into the roof.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. If i had a sedan or a coupe id say screw it and get an afterarket bumper but like i stated before i think it all got absorbed into the roof.

 

I think that, you should have called the police and gotten them to write up an accident report so that you have documentation of what happened and who's at fault. Hopefully you just skipped posting that part.

Unfortunately nobody can help you very much simply by the description and a photo. It doesn't look like much at all. Take it to a shop you trust and tell them what the problem is and let them diagnose it.

 

Sorry to hear about your accident.

I second what BB stated: hopefully there is a police report and also that the at fault "insured" has coverage.

Even though the bumper "COVER" looks fine, there are countless pieces, structurally and otherwise, right behind that cover which absorbed and distributed the energy from the impact. My guess is something under there is really damaged.

Take it to a trusted mechanic/ repair facility/ stealership and have them look it over. Just because it looks fine cosmetically doesn't mean it's fine.

Good luck man.

 

Unfortunately depending on your location, police will not come if no body injuries. I hope you took some pictures of the scene to show the other party bumped you from behind because they can easily deny they didn't hit your car due to the slight damage and no paint transfer.



OP you should take your car to a few reputable shops for estimate repair cost. Mind me asking the insurance company?

 

Ouch...sorry bud, I can't imagine how you're feeling since you just bought it.

Is that an RI plate? Did you get the car from Inskip?

I'm in RI and just bought my G too.

 

Youm are right. But if it occurred on a public road and caused any property damage other than minor cosmetic damage (light scratch), they better respond when you call. I deal with a fleet and I have run into this crap before. You can demand that they respond if there is injury or damage more than a paint scratch. Because that's what they're paid to do. This is thousands of dollars of damage that the other party's insurance may or may not accept liability for. I know that some places will tell you they don't (I've run into that too). Ask for the duty sergeant and tell him that you need him to send an officer to the scene. The exception is on private property like a parking lot or driveway where it's a maybe.

If there's no police response/report what's to stop people like the one who hit OP from simply saying "wasn't me" and not having the accident on their record with their insurance company?

The only recourse you have is to take tons of pictures of the actual scene immediately at the time of the crash and get contact info of witnesses. But many people don't want to give you their info as a witness, and often people involved in a wreck aren't thinking clearly and don't think to take pictures immediately of both cars and the damage to each, their position and the VIN and plate number of the other car involved.

OP, if you have any problem getting the other insurance to take responsibility and pay, tell your insurance to handle it and subrogate with the other company. That's why you pay them money. It's not your job to take care of that yourself.

 

Just a heads up- a friend of mine had a major issue with her 3 series hard top cabrio after a very minor parking lot mishap.

Much like you, it didn't look like a ton of damage, but she could never get the cabrio top to function properly again. BMW looked at it and couldn't diagnose the issue. Their only solution was to replace the entire top and all associated parts.

Long story short, insurance ended up totaling the car b/c they couldn't get the car fully functioning again.

 

Sorry, I should have explained better.
It was raining outside so the police officer didn't give the guy a ticket. In RI there is a police report no matter what, but I was actually in MA where they do not do police reports for accidents under that are under $1,000 in damage. - this was my face.

When I looked up the bumper, it came up for $1,116. I then called the officer at the police station and he said hes not a body mechanic and he doesn't know body work. He then said it was cut and dry and I should have no problem. The other guy had not a scratch! Its like all the momentum just went into my car. At the scene he did do an insurance swap but did not put his policy number or anything; Just his name, ID# and DOB. The one good thing on my side is he did sign the insurance swap paperwork.

I called a local body shop that my family trusts and he just kept eeeking at everything i told him. He then said he wants the car at his shop when the insurance adjuster comes to take a look at it and he will have it apart and be able to explain. He thinks the whole top is misaligned and like KEG97 stated above, he would have to just replace the whole top.

I have State Farm and I was actually surprised they told me to deal with the other parties insurance which is Travelers. So far Travelers has been very nice but this is the third day that I have no phone call back from the adjuster so I'm very anxious.

 

Yes, its an RI plate,
and yes I got it at Inskip. Love those guys. Only dealership that I can actually call a dealership. I would have gone to them for a quote but they cant even see my car until February 18th because its still "drivable" and they are extremely busy.

 

BB: But even though you want an officer, the other party might not want to wait 30mins for the officer to show up and I don't think they legally have to stay for the report if information was exchanged.


OP: Knock on wood (IF) next time you get hit like that, you should take as many pictures as possible (if you are in a safe environment to do so) just like BB stated because that would place the other party at the scene of the accident. You have no idea how many scumbags would deny afterward (due of only slight damage) and if you have no proof then there would be NOTHING you can do. The only way you can TRY to claim your money would be through small court (depending on the amount).

Hope the other insurance come through with the claim. Like I mentioned earlier, you will want to get several estimates for the repair because the other party insurance will send someone to appraise the repair cost. Have your numbers ready so you don't get low-balled. Good luck and keep us updated!

 

Keep calling them on the hour until they call you back with an answer. They will happily swerve and swerve you all day. Take names of everyone you talk to and if they don't get back you escalate it until someone starts to give a damn.

Persistence is the key my friend!!

 

Wow sorry to hear that. I am constantly looking behind me in Atl trafic in fear of something similar. while the bumper may be the only thing major showing i always worry that any hard jarring or hit might move the top out of allign or some other issue and we all know how much anything to do with the top costs. I typically go to infiniti and say who do they use and get that estimate as well. who better than a dealer to give you the most cost to get it right.
Then i agree with if you dont hear from the other insurance in 48 biz hours to go back to your and go through them and have them go to the other guys. I had to do that last time i was hit in my G35 coupe.
Best of luck and hope the rest of your holiday is better.

 

The squeeking wheel get's the grease, Brother. Keep calling everyone and their cousin until the situation is resolved to your satisfaction.

 

Correct, if no bodily injury, and information given. There is no obligation to wait for police.

 

If the police had to write an accident report for every traffic bump in Los Angeles, there would be none fighting real crime!!