hey guys... its been 3 yrs since anything has happened to me or my car, so im a little stressed right now and need some 411...

ok, so last night, i went to wawa (mini mart) and as i pulled into a parking spot, the dude next to me swung his car door open and hit me. no major damage, but a pretty noticable dent that sticks out. i was just about to put my car into park, and i was more than halfway into my spot when this happened. (dent by my front passenger wheel) my b/f got out of the car to check it, and so did the guy, and he just said ''prima , prima'' and ran away.. yeah, he was a foreigner lol

so he comes back 5 min later, after i called the police, with his cousin, and they both started screaming at us .. they were telling us it was our fault, that we shouldve looked, but i was yelling back saying, ''how am i suppose to see when he swings open his door and im about to park?!!! your suppose to look for cars that are coming into park!" duh stupid!!

so the cop came and got our info. he was from out of state (NC) and i overheard the cop saying he had an expired ins. card. he never got a ticket for that so im guessing he found the right card. well, i have to wait till monday to get the report and see what the cop stated... i know i didnt do anything wrong, and he hit me..

couple ?'s i have for you guys:

1.)NJ is a no - fault state. meaning, whoevers fault it is, your rates go up. i also have a $500 deductible so no matter what, if i report this to my insurance, my rates increase. ;( .. is there a way to go about this w/o reporting to my insurance?

2) if he's not insured what do i do? pay for it out of pocket i guess right?

3) can i just call up his ins. company, state that one of their insured hit my car, i have the police report and some pictures to send... i will get estimates , can i get a check? (i wouldnt say it like that but you know ..)


im trying to post a pic up but my phone isnt working for some reason so when i get it ill do it
4) any other things im forgetting?

 

I have been in a similar situation, don't worry about no fault laws you insurance shouldn't go up, no fault is there so if you are in a major accident and need medical attention your insurance covers it automatically no matter who is at fault, your rates shouldn't go up. If the cop says that it is his fault I would recomend you call his ins comp and get on thier *** about getting you a check, they like to doddle, don't let up and don't take a run around, I would even go as far to offer they take 10-20 bucks out of the check and fedex overnight it to you if you can't go pick it up. You are pretty safe calling your company, they also will go after the money for you if you are having problems getting it. So to sum it up, if it the other guys fault you don't have to worry, get an estimate, call their insurance company and ride them (politly) until you get a check to cover the damage.

 

Here in Toronto, Canada, if you get into an accident in a parking lot (private property) then its always 50/50 no matter who's fault it is... At least thats what i've always thought. Maybe i'm wrong.

 

yea thats what im really stressin about, im afraid if his insurance co. calls mine, im fvked, and my rates will go up no matter whose fault it is... im going to call them monday and see wahts goin on, but it sucks i have to drive around w/ this sh*t on my car.. fockers!!!

 

I feel that pain, my Ralli got backed into last week, and I'm dropping it off at the shop today. Even tho I was nowhere near the car when it happened, and the other driver has claimed responsibility, I bet I'll see a little present when renewal time rolls around.

 

michigan also is a no fault state. here they have something that starts with a T, where you can get a maximum of $500 from the other party (if they are at fault). thats usually to cover the detuctable.
check if you have the same law there.

 

here in bc, if you driving anywhere, and someone opens the door and you tear it off, they're at fault no matter where you are. icbc states how your suposto open your door so so you dont get it ripped off lol

 

well i got an estimate at one place so far for $548 for this dent... he said he has to paint the fender and the bumper so it matches... im scared to go to him b/c he made it sound like no matter what paint he mixed, it wouldnt match exactly... but it should if he gets the paint code from the right place correct? ill go to 2 more places once i see the police report monday...

heres a quick pic i took



notice how its in the front of the car by my bumper... that shows how i was almost completely parked before he swung open the door

 

damn he opened his door pretty hard to do damage like that

 

some places dont always exactly get the paint exactly right even with the paint code and machine mixed and painted, but since its not your whole bumper you wont be able to tell

 

well, im going to get the police report during lunch... hopefully it states that he was at fault but we'll see... ughhh

 

ok got the report this is what it says:

driver of veh. #1 stated that she was attempting to park in the wawa parking lot when the vehicle next to her opened his car door resulting in damage to her passenger side front quarter panel

driver of veh. #2 stated that he did not observe (KEYWORDS!!!)veh. #2 attempting to park and opened his driver's side door.

the lady at the desk where i got my report told me that his insurance code looked false so im about to call my ins. company and see if thats true. i also left a message to for the cop to call me b/c if he has fake ins. info. im screwed

 

well, cop called me with the correct ins. code

cop told me he came in too to pick up his report. im about to call in and file a claim... should i cross out my insurance info? and make a copy just incase they need it?

 

another update: now this code is false once again!! this is the 2nd time already ughhh im about to pull my hair out

 

not sure about nj's laws and statutes but i can assure u that this is a small fender bender and as such does not need to be reported to the dmv or insurance (in ca you only report damages of $500 and up). as for being uninsured, he will be properly penalized by the dmv if not the police and if you dont get compensated by him through external means (small claims) then you have to pay for it yourself. or if you have uninsured motorist coverage, you can have your insurance cover it without your premiums going up because you were not at fault, but like i said, the damage seems minimal so you could peruse another method of resolving this matter.. good luck