COMJNUT Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Ok, got into my first real accident today. Miata is pretty banged up from it. Police officer gave the minivan driver a failure to yield ticket. The minivan driver has called me a couple times about getting the miata to a shop that the driver knows of instead of going through the insurance. The shop isn't really a known shop, but has worked on many cars from the local auto auction. My first reaction to this news was "NO, at least take it to maaco" The minivan driver has a good attitude about everything and cooperating very well. The officer told me to call the minivan's insurance because that driver's at fault, Already called my insurance, they said call the minivan driver's insurance, I'm not wanting to pay more on my insurance just because I had to go through mine. The witnesses were all in their merry world and didn't stop, so no witnesses to it on paper. :wall: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drahcir495 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 That is a small car to get into an accident with :eek: . Hope your ok - Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigd44889 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 go thru his insuanse so u know u will get your car back and bill will get paid sounds like thay might not have any insurance glad you are ok :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 It doesn't matter if there were any witnesses. The officer gave him the ticket so he was at fault. Make a claim on his insurance. There are too many things that could go wrong if you don't. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtdesigns Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I guess you could give the guy a break.. Just make him and his buddies shop sign a contract to fix your car to the state it was in before the accident. Then if his shop doesnt do a stand up job and he doesnt fulfill his word then you can take legal action in a small claims court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigd44889 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 its not really giving him a brack if he has ins the ticket will still show on his driving record so ins will still go up i would still say get it done right at a real shop not some guys garage :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollockzrodz Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Well atleast thats not a bad accident. All you need is a fender and a spray. I would just get a price on a cheap fender from ebay or somewhere online for around $100 then tell the guy that you want $400 and you can just throw the fender on sparypaint it red and invest the extra cash into your MJ. Thats what I would do if you don't want to go through insurance companies. I wouldnt trust "His friend" to fix it because your just asking for trouble. Expect that exact fender hammered out filled with bondo and sprayed a red he had sitting around haha. here's a link to some miata fenders http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZma ... ZQQ_sopZ12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james750 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I vote to make an insurance claim with his insurance. Take the money from it and buy a certifit cheapo part and spray it red and invest the rest into your MJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deziped Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Your paying for insurance & don't want to use it, doesn't make any sense. My insurance never went up for being in an accident. I once tryed to give a guy a break for an accident when he was at fault, he still tryed to screw me by not paying, so my lawyer called him and asked him for his lawyers address. I got paid the next day. Just can't trust people you don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I'm glad you are ok. As an ex-tech with 15 years of experence this is what I would do. Take it to the two or three best shops in the area and have it checked out. It could have some hidden damage and from how it looks the tire had to take some of the impact. All of the front end and unibody should be inspected. Take the two highest estimates and go from there. If you feel stiff or sore from the accident get checked out. There is no reason to take any chances or give him a break. :no: Auction body shops do a slap it together and make it look good type of job. :nuts: A real bodyshop will replace the fender and paint the hood, bumper and door to blend it all in. My guess is about $2500.00 to fix it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbhill Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 stop right now. get the guys insurance company to pay to fix it. its his fault he hit you , and I'm pretty sure what he is doing is illegal. if he won't give you his companys name, get the police report it will be on there, or see what your insurance company will do for you. i just read TNT's post again, and he is right to, auctions just slap it together to make it presentable for a sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COMJNUT Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 update: called the minivan driver's insurance today, haven't been contacted back yet...thinking it's going to take 24 hrs for them to figure out that the minivan driver is at fault and to start helping me. :nuts: still taking the risk of driving the MJ around town, hope my rash of bad luck is over... :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Do you have estimates for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 update: called the minivan driver's insurance today, haven't been contacted back yet...thinking it's going to take 24 hrs for them to figure out that the minivan driver is at fault and to start helping me. :nuts: still taking the risk of driving the MJ around town, hope my rash of bad luck is over... :( Do not wait for the insurance company to get back to you. Call at minimum once a day. It doesn't take long for them to get all the accident information they need when they choose to. They would be more than happy to sit around and do nothing hoping this all goes away without them paying out a claim. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Make sure his insurance provides you with a free rental car until your car is finished too. You shouldn't have to drive your MJ around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COMJNUT Posted March 21, 2009 Author Share Posted March 21, 2009 update: the insurance adjuster showed up earlier today around 9am. only got 2 hours of sleep after my graveyard shift to when the adjuster called :eek: the adjuster took pictures, looked it over, said give me 10 minutes. right before she left she said it was at total payment threshold (may be totaled). later on today I got a call from the adjuster, said it's a fix not a total sweeeet :bowdown: Now for the insurance to figure out that the minivan was at fault and for them to fix my car. BTW, they won't give me a rental untill they figure out who's at fault (minivan driver)... :rant: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Did you have it inspected by the best most expensive bodyshop in town for hidden damage??? GET AN ESTIMATE!! They will try and screw you every chance they get. Watch your back. Go down to the police station and get an accident report. Then contact them with the results of the report and tell them to have a rental car delivered to you. It is as simple as that. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you that in an earlier post. Anytime you are involved in an accident get a copy of the police report for your records. Make sure you pick the bodyshop(most expensive) and if there is no lien holders on the car tell them that they can send the check pay to the order of you. Then take it somewhere else and save a few bucks for yourself if you want. :D Eight years ago somebody keyed my '95 XJ. I contact my insurance, got two estimates, the adjuster comes over about 2 hours later. Two days go by and a check comes in the mail to pay to the order of me since it had no lien holders. The $2800 helped the bills and the build budget. 8) They keyed in down to the primer but I didn't care because it was my trail rig. Two months go by, my insurance stays the same so I dropped the full coverage on it saving me more even money. :brows: :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Glad to hear you are ok! Do not let any shop that does work to forget the 3M Chip Guard on the lower rockers and back of the front fender. All Miata have it. Or, You could just buy the Miata I am trying to sell :brows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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