[wvtlo]

Here's a long story short...I got rear ended the other night by a Ford F-150 going about 5mph. Clearly his fault, which he admitted to. We pulled over to exchange information and he was really nervous his parents were going to find out and wanted to pay me cash for the damage. He does not want to go through his insurance. Meanwhile, I filed a police report so it was on file. The following day, I got an estimate for the repairs at roughly $1,500.

I have given him the option to pay cash if he wishes, or, go through his insurance company. He's prepared to give me the money asap for the repairs. I advised him to think on it and maybe it would be better for him to own up to his parents what happened and go through his insurance.

Either way, I just want my ride fixed. What would you do?

[ejazbmw]

same thing happened to me some kid maybe 18 hit me barely making a dent but it came out to be 950bucks i don't think he told his parents but he came up with the money in 3 days in cash....it was kinda weird that he had that type of money laying around but i didn't ask questions i got my money!

[koreez88]

Give him a deadline for his decision.

[Tag]

Originally Posted by koreez88

Give him a deadline for his decision.

+1

Any if he doesn't pay up do what you gotta do.

[bavarian19]

Originally Posted by tag824

+1

Any if he doesn't pay up do what you gotta do.

Yep... I would talk to insurance right after the deadline...

[alex325i]

Originally Posted by bavarian19

Yep... I would talk to insurance right after the deadline...

+1 dont let him take too long. i say a few days..after that talk to insurance.

[voltron1011]

The only problem is (I just went through this as well) when the body shop starts pulling things appart, they'll probably find additional items that need to be fixed as well.

My $889.00 initial estimate ended up being $1400.00 after all was said and done...

[John 070]

I once got hit by a bicyclist, his fault as my car was standing dead still.

He was cited by the police for failure to yield right of way, and same deal, he wanted to pay cash for the damage.

Turns out not only did he not pay me, he attempted to sue me for 1/2 million dollars for "pain and suffering," being rendered "lame," "lore," loss of income, etc. I decided I wasn't going to stand for it and wasted 8k of my own $$$ for an attorney to get it dismissed.

Long story short is I wouldn't get too teary-eyed worrying about whether his parents will ground him and if he misses the senior prom. Get your car fixed, do it right, and cover you liability. Don't worry about his.

[shocka1212]

well you did the right thing by getting the police report even though he "said" he was gonna pay cash. you dont know how many times i see crap go on like that where they dont want to file a report and you end up getting screwed. good job. threaten him in a few days that you can enforce legal action. but whatever you do, dont let this saga pass 30 days.

[wvtlo]

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. He actually already agreed to pay cash. He's 17, so I want him to be sure he is making the right decision. I gave him overnight. We will be talking tomorrow.

I also am going to draft a document for him to sign, so if the body shop does pull off the bumper and there's more damage, that he will pay for the additional discovered damaged.

[shadowcoder]

Originally Posted by wvtlo

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. He actually already agreed to pay cash. He's 17, so I want him to be sure he is making the right decision. I gave him overnight. We will be talking tomorrow.

I also am going to draft a document for him to sign, so if the body shop does pull off the bumper and there's more damage, that he will pay for the additional discovered damaged.

Make sure you also give a receipt for the money he gives you that clearly
states what the money is for.

Out of curiosity, did he hit only your bumper? What exactly is the $1500 for?

[John 070]

Originally Posted by wvtlo

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. He actually already agreed to pay cash. He's 17, so I want him to be sure he is making the right decision. I gave him overnight. We will be talking tomorrow.

I also am going to draft a document for him to sign, so if the body shop does pull off the bumper and there's more damage, that he will pay for the additional discovered damaged.

You must be a really nice person. He's 17? He's not even old enough to enter into a legal agreement imho. But you seem to want to take care of his best interests. Good luck.

[wvtlo]

Originally Posted by shadowcoder

Make sure you also give a receipt for the money he gives you that clearly
states what the money is for.

Out of curiosity, did he hit only your bumper? What exactly is the $1500 for?

Roughly, without posting the entire estimate...$700 for bumper, finish, paint, blacklines....$600 for labor...and $150 for rental car.

[shadowcoder]

Originally Posted by wvtlo

Roughly, without posting the entire estimate...$700 for bumper, finish, paint, blacklines....$600 for labor...and $150 for rental car.

No offense intended but $600 for labor and another $150 for rental car
just for a day, is way too much. The bodyshop can color match the
bumper, paint it, and have it ready to install for you. You go in with
an appointment, you won't even need a rental cause it's a 3 hour job
including many coffee breaks If you don't have the 3 hours to spare
then you need a day's rental. Hardly above $50. The whole estimate is
inflated by about $200-$300 above normal (tax inclusive).

My advice is to go through the insurance since he is also not old enough
to sign anything that you give him. That saves you from all troubles and
it's in your best interest (what if this wonderful kid turns around and says
that you forced him to come up with the money? all of a sudden from a
very nice guy who tried to do a good thing for a kid, you've turned into
a very bad guy who is blackmailing a 17 yr old). As far as he is concerned
his parents also know best if it's more cost effective for them to pay up
or go through their insurance.

Talk to the parents or go through insurance cause he is 17 and the amount
of money is not small and because as I said the estimate is a bit inflated.

Save yourself potential troubles. Best of luck with your ride getting it fixed.

[CALIF65GM]

Originally Posted by shadowcoder

No offense intended but $600 for labor and another $150 for rental car just for a day, is way too much.

My advice is to go through the insurance since he is also not old enough
to sign anything that you give him.
Save yourself potential troubles. Best of luck with your ride getting it fixed.

+1