Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Hi. My daughter is going to college out of state (she’s in Florida). She scraped another car while parking today. The damage isn’t bad as I have looked at the picture. But there are scrapes. She had to get to class and the other driver was not in their car so she left them a note to call her.
We plan to pay out of pocket for the damage. The deductible is $1000 and I’m guessing (hoping) the damage will be that or less. I advised her to apologize and offer to pay damages.
Does anyone have any advice for me? If we do pay, do we let them give us an estimate from the shop and pay the shop directly?
We plan to pay out of pocket for the damage. The deductible is $1000 and I’m guessing (hoping) the damage will be that or less. I advised her to apologize and offer to pay damages.
Does anyone have any advice for me? If we do pay, do we let them give us an estimate from the shop and pay the shop directly?
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
That $1000 deductible is for collision damage to your own car isnt it? Your liability insurance covers damage to the other car, and there isnt normally a deductible with that.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Congrats for raising a daughter with the good judgment to leave a note and call you!
If this happened in my family I'd call my auto insurance company first. I've always found them super helpful, they deal with this kind of stuff all day long.
If this happened in my family I'd call my auto insurance company first. I've always found them super helpful, they deal with this kind of stuff all day long.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
I think the damage, if fixed by a good shop is going to be much more than you expect.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Thank you. My long time insurance agent sold her business to a new person. That’s why I’m a little hesitant to call. At least at this point.Lookingforanswers wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:10 pm Congrats for raising a daughter with the good judgment to leave a note and call you!
If this happened in my family I'd call my auto insurance company first. I've always found them super helpful, they deal with this kind of stuff all day long.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Kid in college? Yeah.. I'd pay out of pocket for that too.
Parked car... no real risk of massive liability if you pay out of pocket.. I'd let them take it to the body shop of their choice and send you the bill.
No way would I want a claim on my insurance with kids riding on my policy. Could easily lead to 50% rate increases.. or worse.. cancellation entirely. Insurance is no longer something you can really use unless it is catastrophic (or risk of catastrophic, ie, large liability claim.)
Parked car... no real risk of massive liability if you pay out of pocket.. I'd let them take it to the body shop of their choice and send you the bill.
No way would I want a claim on my insurance with kids riding on my policy. Could easily lead to 50% rate increases.. or worse.. cancellation entirely. Insurance is no longer something you can really use unless it is catastrophic (or risk of catastrophic, ie, large liability claim.)
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
It's not just the cost of repair, it's the rental car during the repair period, which can be a surprisingly high cost these days. And of course if she hit a Boglehead's car they'll be wanting compensation for diminished value. Ugh.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Congrats to you and your daughter for her growing up to be an honest ethical person who takes ownership of their mistakes and does the right thing. Sadly a rare thing these days. Bravo.
If the scrape damage covers more than a single panel on the car, like across a door and fender and if it has creased the metal, repair is going to be a lot more than $1000. If the metal isn't creased and paint can be buffed out you might get lucky with $400-500 ding repair bill. If it's an older car that already has some scrapes you might be able to offer $500-750 cash to owner to square them up (no insurance involved).
If damage is minor and the car is newish and has some value, it is in the damaged car owners best interest to not get insurance involved. The dirty secret is that having any accident claim on a car drastically impacts its salability in the future. Having an accident reported on the carfax reporting system (even a minor one) significantly lowers the value of the car - sometimes by thousands of dollars.
If the scrape damage covers more than a single panel on the car, like across a door and fender and if it has creased the metal, repair is going to be a lot more than $1000. If the metal isn't creased and paint can be buffed out you might get lucky with $400-500 ding repair bill. If it's an older car that already has some scrapes you might be able to offer $500-750 cash to owner to square them up (no insurance involved).
If damage is minor and the car is newish and has some value, it is in the damaged car owners best interest to not get insurance involved. The dirty secret is that having any accident claim on a car drastically impacts its salability in the future. Having an accident reported on the carfax reporting system (even a minor one) significantly lowers the value of the car - sometimes by thousands of dollars.
Last edited by jabberwockOG on Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:39 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Is it reportable under Florida law? Unlike VA which specifically excludes private property from being reported in a case like this, FL doesn't appear to have this exemption...but perhaps its buried in the Code. Even if there is, if it's a public university, are those considered reportable?
Not reporting a reportable accident in FL is a misdemeanor.
Florida uses this information to compile the data contained in their yearly Crash and Citation Reports & Statistics. https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/crashreports ... s_2019.pdf
Not reporting a reportable accident in FL is a misdemeanor.
Florida uses this information to compile the data contained in their yearly Crash and Citation Reports & Statistics. https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/crashreports ... s_2019.pdf
Last edited by Mr. Rumples on Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Yeah offer some cash, if they won’t just take the cash, plan on getting insurance involved just so that the door closes firmly on the incident.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
fortunefavored wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:15 pm I'd let them take it to the body shop of their choice and send you the bill.
The risk is that a body shop if given no constraints will charge top dollar.
I had a airport commuter van back into me at the airport. I went to their insurance collision center and they estimated about $1000 damage. The commuter van company said fine just get a quote and they will pay it. I went to body shop and they quoted around $3000. The commuter van company balked, so I got my insurance involved and the same body shop quoted $1500.
You may just want to see what the quote is, and if excessive run it through your insurance. With teens accidents will definitely push up premiums.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Nice that she left a note. But it would have been much better if she skipped the class and had either the police or campus security write it up and take pictures.
That way, it would be documented as to exactly what she may be responsible for. As it is, the owner could claim she caused all sorts of issues.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
My DH hit the car of a claims adjuster. She had no issue with doing it without involving the insurance company. I did check with my agent who said this was not a violation of my policy. She signed a simple release of liability and we gave her a cashier’s check based on the estimate she provided which included two days of a rental car. All very civil. I think it will all depend on whether the other party is amenable to working with you vs going through insurance.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
I hadn't thought of that but definitely taking pictures would have been a good idea. I guess it would have depended on how important class was if I'd wait for police, assuming they'd even come. I've been in situations where police won't respond to non-injury accidents so sometimes you just can't get a police report.JoeRetire wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:42 pmNice that she left a note. But it would have been much better if she skipped the class and had either the police or campus security write it up and take pictures.
That way, it would be documented as to exactly what she may be responsible for. As it is, the owner could claim she caused all sorts of issues.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Well I feel that I must follow up here. The other person called my daughter and told her not to worry about it! I thought that this COULD happen. But a lot of other things could of happened as well.
I told my told my (often negative) daughter that there are lots of good people out there.
Thanks to everyone that gave me advice. I appreciate it.
I told my told my (often negative) daughter that there are lots of good people out there.
Thanks to everyone that gave me advice. I appreciate it.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Might just be paint transfer.
"Oh, this isn't so bad. Yeah, I thought it'd be a lot worse than this! They'll be able to buff this out, no problem! Oh, yeah!"
https://youtu.be/5vjAXB3G4Ys
"Oh, this isn't so bad. Yeah, I thought it'd be a lot worse than this! They'll be able to buff this out, no problem! Oh, yeah!"
https://youtu.be/5vjAXB3G4Ys
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Awesome for your daughter to be honest and for them to show grace... what goes around comes around
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
My car is in the shop right now after being hit in a parking lot. Driver's insurance covered everything - $2800 to repair and 10 days of a rental car.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
My brother once returned to his car to find his bumper damaged. This was the note on his windshield: "I'm sorry I hit your car. Just in case someone is watching I thought I'd leave a written apology."
No name, no phone number.
No name, no phone number.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
My daughter "scraped" a minivan about ten years ago, I paid almost $ 1,000 out of pocket to the autobody shop to repair. OUCH !
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Take lots of pictures.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
It appears to me that in Florida, a driver is required to file an accident report within 10 days of the incident if the damage appears to be $500 or more. If this is a reportable accident, then you probably may as well file a claim because it will show on driving record anyway.
You should be able to discuss the options with your agent without being committed to filing a claim because of having shared the info with the agent.
You should be able to discuss the options with your agent without being committed to filing a claim because of having shared the info with the agent.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
I did a similar thing a year ago. Small scratch in the parking lot when I was backing out. Left a note, owner called me. He sent me two quotes, it was $1,300. Didn't want insurance increase, paid out of pocket.
I took pictures, kept the quote he sent me, kept verification of payment via Zelle and made him sign a "Vehicle Accident Release of Liability Form" (before I paid him).
I took pictures, kept the quote he sent me, kept verification of payment via Zelle and made him sign a "Vehicle Accident Release of Liability Form" (before I paid him).
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
another KUDOS to her for doing the right thing. accidents like that can happen and it means a lot she held herself appropriately responsible.
this exact thing happened to us. i highly encourage just going through insurance. i did not want my kid getting involved in any acrimonious back-and-forth monetary 'under the table' settlement ... let the kid stay focused on school. the other student likely would have just pocketed the cash any way...
yes rates went up a bit but not the end of the world.
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this exact thing happened to us. i highly encourage just going through insurance. i did not want my kid getting involved in any acrimonious back-and-forth monetary 'under the table' settlement ... let the kid stay focused on school. the other student likely would have just pocketed the cash any way...
yes rates went up a bit but not the end of the world.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
If another student, money might be tight, and they might appreciate $500 cash more than a quality repair job that fully indemnifies them.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Like....if the guy goes home to his damaged Lamborghini from a different accident and says he found the note on that windshield.JoeRetire wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:42 pmNice that she left a note. But it would have been much better if she skipped the class and had either the police or campus security write it up and take pictures.
That way, it would be documented as to exactly what she may be responsible for. As it is, the owner could claim she caused all sorts of issues.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Thank you for the update. Glad it all worked out so easily. My experience interacting with others concerning minor dings and bumps have been equally positive.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
It sounds like the other driver is saying this isn't a $500 issue to him/her so I'm not seeing where that meets this reporting requirement. How will this incident end up on any record, anywhere?Northern Flicker wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 7:51 pm It appears to me that in Florida, a driver is required to file an accident report within 10 days of the incident if the damage appears to be $500 or more. If this is a reportable accident, then you probably may as well file a claim because it will show on driving record anyway.
You should be able to discuss the options with your agent without being committed to filing a claim because of having shared the info with the agent.
Obviously one concern would be the other person changing their mind later and then you having not reported the accident to your insurance. So that might be worth discussing with the agent. However the agent is the company (assuming an agent, not a broker) so I'm not sure whether there would be any implications to rates etc. of doing that.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
For all you “call the police” talkers, chances are they would not have dispatched for this.F150HD wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:14 pmLike....if the guy goes home to his damaged Lamborghini from a different accident and says he found the note on that windshield.JoeRetire wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:42 pmNice that she left a note. But it would have been much better if she skipped the class and had either the police or campus security write it up and take pictures.
That way, it would be documented as to exactly what she may be responsible for. As it is, the owner could claim she caused all sorts of issues.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Your daughter is very fortunate. I'm not all that surprised. Most college students won't care if they had a scratch or two or they have some car enthusiast friends (me), who can buff most of it off. I once made a rather large scratch squeezing my new SUV onto a beat up van. I left a number, they called me and wanted $2900 cash for the repair. I told them to deal with my insurance. My insurance premium barely moved the needle.
This is not legal or certified financial advice but you know that already.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
My wife had a minor accident. The two parties exchange phone numbers but didn't call the police. Bug mistake.F150HD wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:14 pmLike....if the guy goes home to his damaged Lamborghini from a different accident and says he found the note on that windshield.JoeRetire wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:42 pmNice that she left a note. But it would have been much better if she skipped the class and had either the police or campus security write it up and take pictures.
That way, it would be documented as to exactly what she may be responsible for. As it is, the owner could claim she caused all sorts of issues.
She was notified by her insurance company that the other party filed for repairs far, far beyond anything caused by her accident.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
I had my car scraped in a college parking lot. Nobody left a note but I'm sure it was a large burgundy SUV based on the height, location, and color of the paint left. I'm reasonably sure which vehicle it was since there is a student-driven SUV that matched that description and regularly parks illegally in the faculty lot so the ethical concerns of the driver were a match as well. The vehicle had paint on it and scratches that matched my car but I doubt I could have proven it was the vehicle that did it. I agree with others that it will cost more than you think to fix. It cost me $3100 15 years ago to fix it but involved a dent as well as scratches on my car.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
I've had these incidents work out with and without insurance. On balance, I think it's best to let insurance handle it. That's why we have insurance. Otherwise, things have a much higher probability of going wrong.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
Auto body shops are getting to be like doctors. The retail price and what they will accept from insurers is getting wider and wider. A tree damaged my van. My insurance adjuster said that will cost $1,100 to fix. We recommend this body shop but you can take it anywhere. We took it to a body shop we trusted. Their bill said, "$1,600, but we'll accept your insurance estimate".
So, my experience is that the insurance company will get the job done for a lot less than if you pay on your own. I don't know about increased premiums though.
So, my experience is that the insurance company will get the job done for a lot less than if you pay on your own. I don't know about increased premiums though.
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Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
My wife recently had a similar accident, except the other driver was in the car (it was in a parking lot). Zero damage to the car she hit (we paid to have a body shop look over their car and for an alignment - zero issues), minor body work to our car (which we still need to fix). Police immediately came and my wife got a ticket; nothing else. Police women even told them to not even bother contacting insurance. To be fair, we live in one of the handful of "safest" cities in the country so police really have nothing else to do (5 of them will come when someone is caught speeding down my street)...and as I say that, our car and garage and that of my neighbor were broken into 2 nights ago.phxjcc wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:14 pmFor all you “call the police” talkers, chances are they would not have dispatched for this.F150HD wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:14 pmLike....if the guy goes home to his damaged Lamborghini from a different accident and says he found the note on that windshield.JoeRetire wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:42 pmNice that she left a note. But it would have been much better if she skipped the class and had either the police or campus security write it up and take pictures.
That way, it would be documented as to exactly what she may be responsible for. As it is, the owner could claim she caused all sorts of issues.
Re: Daughter dinged parked car in college. Advice?
I’d pay out of pocket, done it a few times without incident. Recently scratched a truck (really beat up) left my phone number. The guy called as I was leaving parking lot. I turned around gave the guy $60 he was thrilled.