Accident advice in NJ

I was sitting 3rd car from a cash toll both on the Garden State Parkway at a stand still. A 32 year old guy rear ends me in my 2013 458. The impact pushed the car forward about 3-4 feet. We both agreed to pull threw the toll and pull into a parking area just after the toll. He was very apologetic and said his foot slipped of the brake and he would gladly pay for any damage done. It was at 9pm. There was no noticeable damage. After taking his info we agreed to go our separate way with no police report.

The damage to my surprise is a small paint chip/ indent from his license plate screw. I got two separate estimates. One for 826.00 and the other for 1100. This was on June 26.

Today I asked him if he had a chance to review the estimates and he basically said I don't know what your talking about.

I am easy going and can live with the paint chip. Do you guys think I should just let it go or pursue him out of sheer principal? If so what would be the best course of action at this point?

 

I trust you took pictures of the two cars, license plates and him with your smartphone?

Geotags will confirm the location.

Tell him you will take him to small claims court if he doesn't pay up.

Kai

 

The Impact moved the car 3-4 feet and no other damage? I would have the car carefully inspected, there very well be hidden damage under the bumper cover.

 

Yes took pics of cars, plate, and his info. I would only think that there should be a toll vid.

 

I am very surprised how little damage there is. One thing that helped is I just let off the brake to nudge forward. I thought the trans dumped the clutch lol.

 

Have someone take a look. I got tapped from behind in a 2012 911 and the bracket behind the cover was bent a bit and the little crumple zone thing did its job absorbing the impact by crumpling. I replaced both pieces so the next time it gets tapped it will do its job. It was just a few hundred bucks on the Porsche but who knows on a 458.

It's a double-edged sword ... report him for not paying up and you and risk a notation on the Carfax which could be hugely expensive when it's time to trade or sell. The guy who tapped me drove away before the cops came -- I called it in because he seemed to be drunk (at 1 pm on a Sunday, no less), hoping they could catch the guy a few blocks away and get him for DUI but they did not find him. Waiting to see if that pops up on the Carfax as they took the VIN as part of the police report. I did not claim to my insurance, just paid up to replace the bracket and lived with the tiny wrinkle in the cover.

 

This is NJ.
*always* get a police report. Always. Just for such circumstances.
The police do not file the reports with the insurance company. It is up to you to report the accident. And if the other driver wants to pay out of his pocket, not involve insurance, and renegs, you usually have several days to several weeks to report the accident to your insurance company. Call them & ask them what the time limit is.

Get the car fully inspected. Then decide what you want to do quick. The GSP/Tpk authority might not keep those video tapes long and they certainly wont readily give them up.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, or police, or anything of the sort. I've just been in similar predicaments.

 

So I guess the best thing to do is move on. Guess it doesn't pay to be nice these days. I even sent him the lower estimate lol.

btw- The body shop said it's not even worth pulling the skin to paint it, just touch it up and call it a day.

 

DO NOT REPORT THIS TO YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY !

The increase in premiums over time will far outweigh the cost of the damage.

I'd take a shot in small claims court, but you need solid proof of the guy causing the accident in addition to repair estimates. Toll plazas are loaded with security cameras - you should be able to get footage of the collision.

Good luck.

 

Do not report to police or insurance! Carfax gets their reports from police reports. Let it go and pay the small some. Consider it a sunk cost. If you report it, there is a strong likelihood it will eventually show on carfax....that could cost you 1000s. Consider yourself actually lucky.

 

You sure that's what you want? If there's no police report, the other party can easily turn around and blame you. Off to court you go & your on your own. Your word against theirs. And if you've gone into court, its pretty certain they aren't playing nice.

Is it worth a simple ding on any carfax report which is notoriously inaccurate? Court will certainly cost you thousands if you enlist an attorney.

it's your decision.

 

It should be no problem proving fault. I had a passenger that's a witness, text messages, and also I can subpoena the toll video. Small claims may be and option and I don't mind going threw it without council. Its about $35.00 to file in small claims.

 

Do that. I had a stupid rear end in my new jeep SRT. Got a police report, showed up on car fax and car was worth 15% less. And this is a jeep! Not worth it. I was told that carfax pulls from police reports and insurance

 

I know I should just let it go. It just bothers me knowing if I was on the other end I would gladly pay 800 all things considered. . Guess this guy probably has nothing to lose.

I simply need to find out if I can sue him in small claims as he said he would pay out of his pocket and avoid going threw INS.

 

If the damage is really confirmed to be only under $2k, I say do not let your VIN get anywhere near a police report so that Carfax and Autocheck don't grab it for their unfair branding of title at your expense. Then I would file the small claims case against him and the owner of the vehicle if someone else owns it. The second he blows the time to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint immediately move for default. Then find out when you can get a damages hearing so you can get a judgment to screw up his credit as he is obviously a jerk who won't take responsibility. Even if you never get a dime it will be fun.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Liking the way you think. This more the direction I would like to go.

 

This guy has the right idea. A police report will trigger an "accident" on the carfax which would hurt the value 5 - 10% when time comes to sell. Post a picture of the damage, in most cases - a good body shop can spray the bumper for under $500 and it will look brand new.

 

We can all agree that the $800 isn't sending you to the poor house. But on sheer principle like you said, make sure he pays one or another. There is no good reason that scumbags should get away with anything. If this happened to my 430, Id show up to the guy's house with a bat before he plays dumb and tries to act like it never happened.

 

$500? My car got hit in my driveway last year by a neighbor who forgot to set their parking brake. Dent doctor was $150 for the body panel portion and the removal, repair and respray of an admittedly difficult metallic color was $1,100.

We did go off of insurance for that. He lived 3 doors down and fortunately he was a man of his word.

 

Without QUESTION this is proper advice. If you are rear ended, typically the driver that rear ended you is at fault. Probably would have been issued a ticket too, but in the case of getting repairs, no matter how cheap they seem, you need to have the police involved.

Just happened to my wife. She didn't know what to do, I told her to call the police - and I did as well.

Never leave it to the devices of another person's word. Not all will be unscrupulous, but a lot are...sorry to hear. Glad you are ok.

 

I disagree, as others have mentioned, for this minor damage the OP maybe out $900 but the diminished value that will be deducted from his cars value once the police report goes to carfax, he will loose a lot more in the end!

I would have forced the driver to go to a bank immediately or threaten to sue for back and neck issues,