My car got hit in the parking lot. A witness said it was an old Thunderbird. I filed a hit-and-run report with the police. Later, the woman’s sister came out to talk to me. The woman also spoke to the officer that night and gave her details. Neither of them saw how bad the damage was, but the woman offered me a few hundred bucks to fix it. I told her I’d take it to Caliber Collision to get an estimate. The estimate came back at $8030, and she laughed, saying I was getting ripped off. She also told me to talk to the officer to get her info, but I already have it in the police report.
Should I give the info to my insurance claims person or take it to Caliber Collision and give them her details?
She laughed at the estimate after running from the scene? I don’t know why you’re even considering her paying out of pocket. If you have her details, just file a claim with her insurance.
Val said:
She laughed at the estimate after running from the scene? I don’t know why you’re even considering her paying out of pocket. If you have her details, just file a claim with her insurance.
It wasn’t even the driver who laughed, it was her sister - probably because the driver can’t string a sentence together, let alone drive a car!
What’s Caliber Collision going to do with her info? You either need to file a claim with your own insurance, file with hers, or pay for it yourself and try to get the money back from her later. Insurance will have more control over the repair costs.
You can’t just go to a repair shop and say ‘bill it to this woman.’ Body shops won’t do thousands of dollars of repairs without proof. You’ll need to either sue her or go through your insurance.
Your insurance will get the info from the police report, but if you have it, you can give it to them directly. Let them handle the repair, and they’ll go after her insurance.
Either file through your insurance under collision or file with her insurance and let them handle it. You’re not getting ripped off—repair costs have skyrocketed. Everything’s more expensive, from parts to labor. There’s more tech in cars now too, so even a small hit can mean a big repair bill.
I used to work at Caliber Collision. Lots of people think they can pay out of pocket until they see the real cost. Just go through your insurance and let them deal with hers.
Tan said:
I used to work at Caliber Collision. Lots of people think they can pay out of pocket until they see the real cost. Just go through your insurance and let them deal with hers.
Your insurance won’t deal with her until they’ve paid for your repairs first and then get reimbursed.
Call your insurance, give them all the info and photos of the damage. They’ll reach out to her insurance and sort it out for you. That’s what insurance is for.
She’s already run off once… If you go through your insurance, you’ve got a better chance of getting her or her insurance to pay. Otherwise, you might end up in small claims court trying to get half the repair costs.