Ok so not sure if this belongs here but here it goes.
So Saturday morning im chilling at the drive thru entrance to McD's. Theres a car a head of me who is almost in the lane for the drive thru and im out bout a car lenght back. The dude decides he wants to leave and does a full throttle reverse and slams into me. His exhaust rips a chunk out of my front lower bumper and does some other stuff. He hops out says hes sorry and didnt see me. And hes having a bad day his brother just went to jail and he hit someone else this morning too. Exchange info, and I call him later because I ment to get his insurance info. He tells me that his insurance was cancelled the previous day, and I should get some estimates from local body shops or he could "bondo" it. My insurance AAA says I could make a claim thru my uninsured motorist, my rates wouldnt go up and i wouldnt pay the deductible, id take it to their body shop and then they would go over the guy for payment. Or I could just do it between me and him.
The highest estimate I got was $950 at a place simular to Maaco, the suby dealership body shop quoted me $740, and the 2 other places were comparble in price to the suby dealer for a new bumper and repainted. Im tempted to do the 950 and just get my car repainted

 

do the 950 so he gets what he deserves i know he was having a bad day so what he hit a subaru

 

yea i was thinking that too. wether or not he can pay up is a diff story. Think he was driving an ol Mitsu Mirage with a fart can that tangled with my front end. So if he pays up the full amount shud i just repaint the whole car instead? THat shop has packages from 499, 699, 899 and 3k. I was thinking forrest green or something to complement my dark bronze rims

 

Don't do a paint job for that cheap, there is no way you will get quality for under $2k. Cheapo paint jobs are terrible, people can spot them from 50 yards away. You'll end up with mismatched colors in the engine bay, inside the trunk and around the door sills; no one is going to hit those areas on the car for less than $1500 and even then it would be a rush job. $950 will get you a new bumper, prime, color-matched paint and a good install.

Always go through the insurance company, NEVER try to make a cash deal with someone -- if they are uninsured they deserve the penalty (which should have been the siezure of his licence, if you had called the police like you should have). If you have an insurance company that might hike your rates for GETTING HIT, you need a new one -- no company should touch your rates unless it is proved in court that you are 100% at fault.

 

mmm i smell victory Called the guy he said he couldnt pay the estimate, said his gf was preggy somsort of guilt trip. Told him id just go thru my insurance. Which I feel better anyway. And now to go file a police report

 

new paint new paint =]

 

I wouldn't play those games. That can quickly turn around and bite you instead. Go thru your insurance and let them deal with him.