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I was backing out of my driveway and my neighbors car was parked along the front of their house and I accidentally hit their car and told them to take it down to an auto body shop and we would take care of the cost to fix the small dent. They never brought the car down and it has been about 5 months now so we assumed it was their intention to let it go as it wasn't that bad.
The other day we found out the car was totaled in an accident and the insurance deducted $600 for the prior dent on the side of the car and now she is looking for the $600 from us.
My problem with this whole situation is that the auto body shop is a friend of mine and would of probably fixed the dent for much less and the fact that had she brought it down to the auto body shop for an estimate and it was too much I would have used my insurance on the property damage claim part of my insurance which has no deductible.
I really don't think I should have to pay since she never pursued the dent before the total and don't even know if she would of done anything.
I also must state that after this incident but before they totaled the car, I did notice another small dent in the car which was not my fault.
I'd ignore the whole situation,you gave her ample time to take you up on your offer to recompense now half a year later she wants money? is the car still available for inspection as to the damages you caused? if not id say let her take it to small claims court. Or to be a good neighbor split the difference and offer $300.
Just pay it. It's your neighbor and you backed into their car. They could take it where they want to get it fixed. That's not your decision. It may have been a $1,000 repair if it was taken in five month earlier. You got a got a break for 5 months and now it's time to pay it. When you have an accident, you are supposed to notify your insurance company right away.
thanks for you advice we thought about offering her $200, but like I said I could of used my insurance and had no deductible that is what makes me so mad.
thanks for you advice we thought about offering her $200, but like I said I could of used my insurance and had no deductible that is what makes me so mad.
Give the neighbor your insurance information and call your agent and tell him the story.
Just pay it. It's your neighbor and you backed into their car. They could take it where they want to get it fixed. That's not your decision. It may have been a $1,000 repair if it was taken in five month earlier. You got a got a break for 5 months and now it's time to pay it. When you have an accident, you are supposed to notify your insurance company right away.
^^^^^ Absolutely. You hit them, they did not hit you. $600 is CHEAP, a girl backed into my car and scratched it and put a slight dent in it..............$1900.00.
You are not taking responsibility for something you did wrong. Your neighbor was under no obligation to go to your "friend", they had the right to choose who fixed it.
Time to be a good neighbor and citizen, and do the right thing..........pay them the $600, you got off easy.
thanks for you advice we thought about offering her $200, but like I said I could of used my insurance and had no deductible that is what makes me so mad.
$200 doesn't fix anything on a body. You may have not had a deductible, but your insurance rate may have gone up. Stop being cheap.
This. You can't properly fix scratch nowadays for less than $500. Even if they did have it fixed 5 months ago, they were under no obligation to take it to your friend. They are legally allowed to take it wherever they want. So you can't say that it would have cost you less.
Also, why would you make an insurance claim for a few hundred dollars?
By your negligence you damaged your neighbor's car. According to the insurance company your negligent act cost your neighbor $600 in a reduced insurance payout for the totaled vehicle.
If your neighbor sues you you have the ability to defend by arguing that he failed to mitigate his damages by accepting your offer to have the car repaired at your expense. Whether you are successful is dubious, but the range of possible outcomes is you owe your neighbor $600 or you owe him some unspecified amount less than $600, let's call it $300 just for the hell of it.
How much do you want to pay a lawyer or your insurance carrier in increased premiums to save a potential $300?
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