ThosL Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Monday evening I was exiting a parkway and got rear ended by a baby sitter in an SUV pushing me into a Range Rover. No damage to the Range Rover's bumper, my rear bumper inspected today looks a little crinkled but not bad. We did not call the cops only got one another's contact information as I did not see the reason to file a claim, etc.. Was this too careless? The rear impact was enough to push me forward but I had my foot on the brake and probably instinctively increased the pressure when hit. The driver in front of me that I hit took copies of my driver's license and the other driver. I had the Uhaul hitch with the hitch ball installed when this happened. The next day I checked for damage and found the side panel had been pushed out a little. Not enough of a rear impact to hurt me or the other driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 Even if you don't see any reason to file a claim at the time, you always at least get pictures of the accident (ie vehicle placement) and ANY and ALL damage areas of ALL the vehicles involved. Situations like this can go sour real quick once everyone leaves the scene, especially when there is no police report. Insurance companies investigate any accidents where a claim is made by ANY party, and they can use even the most insignificant detail to their advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 not careless - probably some risk, but a calculated risk. everything is a calculated risk, even if people don't see or view it that way. walking out your door is risky. driving a car is risky. driving in snow is risky. how risk averse are you? sounds rather benign and you could have gotten cited for "following to closely" or something along those lines for getting pushed into the other vehicle and not maintaining a safe distance. so sounds like a good calculated move on your part. nothing is 100% free of risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 I took some pictures of the car damage which is minimal. I went by a body shop that said that from their perspective it would have to be replaced because it is cracked. I'm still not sure whether it makes any sense to pursue this. http://imgur.com/hl21YPK http://imgur.com/hQPKOgn http://imgur.com/dxTVmtn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Pull your spare tire out and look for damage, also pull up the carpet panels in the rear. The bumper bolts in with 2 19mm bolts per side and then some small stuff for the plastic. There may be a little sheet metal damage, but nothing you couldn't adjust a used bumper when installing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 So how does the "make money from the near accident scam"? Their insurance adjuster comes out does an estimate (bumper is totaled). You take the check and do the job yourself? Is that how it works, haven't done this myself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnorthguy Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 For example, insurance might say that a new bumper cover is needed. Cost of bumper cover (usually a few hundred dollars) plus the cost of painting it to match and installation (another couple hundred). You go buy a used bumper cover from the salvage yard for $50 and install it. Delta is yours for the repair fund. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) For example, insurance might say that a new bumper cover is needed. Cost of bumper cover (usually a few hundred dollars) plus the cost of painting it to match and installation (another couple hundred). You go buy a used bumper cover from the salvage yard for $50 and install it. Delta is yours for the repair fund. did just this on my bmw. a jeep backed into it in a gas station parking lot it was all caught on the gas station cameras. instance gave me 650 for the damage i bought a used fender already painted the same color as my car for 50 bucks and installed it myself pocketed the other 600. Edited February 20, 2015 by sirtokesalot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThosL Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 The problem with making a claim with the driver's insurance company would be getting proof; I did not call the cops. The Range Rover driver did not call the cops. He took pics with his smart phone of our driver's licenses, so if I called him how would he react? He didn't make a claim. I can probably get this fixed within reasonable condition myself. Personally I don't have much sympathy with the babysitter that rear ended me because she said the kids in her car were misbehaving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Unless you backed into the person behind you, they are responsible for hitting you AND pushing you into the car ahead of you. Get the information from the lead car and proceed from there. No one is talking about the Land Rover's damage and you following too closely. You were pushed into that car. Evaluate and get an estimate of your damage and call the person asking if they want to pay out of pocket or have you file an insurance claim with their carrier. Most times they will say go for the insurance. Simple and easy. You should be able to reclaim any deductible since they are at fault. If they blow you off, contact the police department and ask them how to proceed. You don't know for sure that the lead car hasn't already filed a claim and is walking around with a neck brace and then YOU will be at fault for not notifying your carrier. Many years ago, I was rear ended by a Lincoln Continental while driving a P1800 (2 seater) Volvo. Very mismatched duel. Destroyed the car but I felt pretty good. Woke up the next morning and could not get out of bed.Swelling around cervical vertebrae doesn't occur immediately. Stuff happens. That crack is not going to go away by itself. If it were me, I'd want my car restored to the pre-accident condition and perhaps have one of those tree shaped air fresheners thrown in to boot for my inconvenience. Edited February 21, 2015 by brus brother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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