NWR- Rear ended

HobokensFury · October 2010

So while I was coming home from a dr. appt. some stupid B**** on a cell phone rear ended me. Although there is not much damage there are scratches and marks on my car that I'd like to get fixed. She tried to give me some sob story about how she's unemployed or whatever and begged not to call the cops. Wanting to protect myself incase she was some kind of psycho that tried to sue me later I called the cops. They told me not to file a police report because the damage was little (in their opinion) and that I would have to pay my $500 deductable if I did but rather file an incident report on my own. They gave me all the paper work and her info but I don't really know what to do next. I'm thinking about going to the hospital because my back hurts. I guess I'm just so lost and of course FI has to be away right now. Any avice/help/experience?

tinydancer842 · October 2010

I don't understand -- why would you go to the hospital?? If you did not get hit hard it's probably not from the accident & thus why are you wasting time in the ER? If they are just scratches most dealerships will give you touch up paint for free. Just relax, it's not the end of the world.

HobokensFury · October 2010

Honestly it felt really hard when I got hit but my bumper took it like a champ. I can't just get touch up paint because her plate left a gouge mark in the bumper. I'm holding off on the ER until tomorrow because it may just be my nerves right now and when I wake up I'll be fine. I'm more wondering about the paper work because the cops were no help about how to file it.

tinydancer842 · October 2010

I think they should have taken care of that...? I don't know why they didn't.

If you have her insurance info that should probably be all you need -- however I'd find out how much it is to repair the damage is first b/c it may cost less to not go through insurance.

NikkiPSU · October 2010

This happened to me 3 days after I got my license, not fun at all! Simply fill out all the paperwork and bring it to the police department in the town where the accident occurred. Make sure that you request a copy for your records in case you do have any injuries that you may need her insurance to cover! Good luck and feel better! I know accidents can do a lot to your nerves!

NatesGirl16 · October 2010

I've had this happen to me. When I got hit, I was in pain in my back and neck and panicked. When my doctor examined me, he said it's normal (although I don't know your case, obviously) in most accidents. Your natural reaction is to tense up when you get hit, which strains your muscles and causes pain.

I'm surprised the cops told you not to file a report with them--I've never heard of that. Good luck and feel better.

MissButters · October 2010

I have been rear ended multiple times (all when i've been stopped and someone isn't paying attention). If it was her fault (which it seems to be), you should not be paying anything - it should all be covered under her insurance. So, I'm not sure why they're saying you have to pay the $500. You do need to call your insurance so they know, but again, it shouldn't cost you or your insurance a dime.

Also, I don't know what kind of car you drive, but I learned the lesson of diminished value to a car the hard way. Once you get hit and get the bumper fixed, even if it's fixed perfectly, you'll never be able to recoup the same amount of money if you try to trade it in, especially if the accident gets reported on your carfax report. So, while a lot of states don't recognize it, and again, it depends on the age and type of car, you might want to see about getting a little extra cash from her insurance to cover the cost of the car that you'll never be able to get back.

I recently traded in my car that had been rear ended a few years ago and fixed, and since the accident was on my carfax report, I lost $2000 on my trade. My family is friends with a car dealer manager in MD, and he said that's just the way it is now. Once it's on the report, they have no idea what the real extent of the damage was.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56181-2004Oct23.html

Melissa66 · October 2010

So sorry about your accident.

I've had the bad luck to be rear ended several times. The whiplash that the accidents caused have permanently messed up my neck, but going to the hospital about whiplash is a waste of time. The x-rays will most likely come back negative and they'll send you home to ice your neck and pop some OTC pain killer. But if your neck pain persists, see a chiropractor to get evaluated. Through adjustments my chiropractor has helped my neck pain a lot.

cutiepie12702 · October 2010

I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. I was in a similiar situation except the lady who caused the accident claimed someone hit her, which caused her to run into the guy behind me and then push that guy into me...yet I saw no damage to her car whatsoever so she was a LIAR. Long story short, the damage to my car was very minimal...scratches caused by the guy's license plate who hit me. I, like you, was completely infuriated seeing as my car wasn't even a year old yet and it was in PERFECT condition until this a-hole scratched it up (the guy who hit me even had the audacity to tell me I had a nice car and ask me what kind it was...I was like uh yeah it WAS a nice car, now it's ruined thanks to you not knowing how to use ur brakes!!!). I took it for a quote to get it fixed....$725....I was like excuse me?!?! They are tiny little scratches!! I ended up not fixing it because I would have had to pay my $500 deductible (since the lying lady told the cops someone hit and ran her, so she wasn't liable). I also had back pain and ended up going to the doctor and boy was that a mistake!! I had to pay $85 for the pain meds and and the doctor visit out of my own pocket, since it was not enough to meet that deductible either. Total waste of money and just a lot of aggravation. I stayed home from work and I used those thermacare heating pads on my neck and shoulder and it helped a lot. By 3 days later I was pretty much back to normal. If I was you I'd try that and see if it helps. I hope you feel better!!

USER876 · October 2010

yeah, if it's her fault you sue her for your deductible = costs you nothing. You should of filed a police report......if you are injured you are screwed now. You can also file a report that is nonreportable to the insurance company's. If it's really a small repair and the lady was going to pay for it out of her pocket, then it's probably smart not to report it as even though it's not your fault, your rates MAY go up. Sounds like this lady doesn't have any money though....pray she has insurance............

I don't think cosmetic damage and a bumper repaint will affect the resale of your car that much, even if it's on the carfax, that would be the least of my worries unless the damage was more than cosmetic or more panels to repaint than just bumpers.

NJgurl19 · October 2010

Sorry for what happened to you. Accidents no matter how little can be a mess. I don't understand why the cops told you not to file a report, that strange.

MissButters · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-jersey_nwr-rear-ended?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:90Discussion:14d00a03-e82b-48be-abf2-6e83fc832bbdPost:81bf9faa-0af3-42bf-bc41-7f30eef852f4">Re: NWR- Rear ended</a>:
[QUOTE]yeah, if it's her fault you sue her for your deductible = costs you nothing. You should of filed a police report......if you are injured you are screwed now. You can also file a report that is nonreportable to the insurance company's. If it's really a small repair and the lady was going to pay for it out of her pocket, then it's probably smart not to report it as even though it's not your fault, your rates MAY go up. Sounds like this lady doesn't have any money though....pray she has insurance............ I don't think cosmetic damage and a bumper repaint will affect the resale of your car that much, even if it's on the carfax, that would be the least of my worries unless the damage was more than cosmetic or more panels to repaint than just bumpers.
Posted by USER876[/QUOTE]

The problem is the dealers when you trade it in don't know the real extent of the damage. Mine was only cosmetic and the carfax stated that (no frame damage and that I was rear ended), but it doens't matter (again we checked with mutiple people to ensure I was not getting a raw deal). The dealers don't know if Carfax is accurately reporting the correct information, and once it's been fixed, they can't assess the damage. My dad got rear ended and is getting ready to trade his car in, and it was minor enough he never had it taken care of. The Lexus dealer who he's looking at buying the car from said it was better that he didn't get it fixed cause they can see what the exact damage is to the car and it's not on the Carfax. Yea, it sucks that now something as minor as a little fender bender can have consequences down the road.

HobokensFury · October 2010

Thanks for all the help ladies. I woke up this morning and felt better. I'm sure my nerves/ rage was getting the best of me last night. I never thought about the resale value unil it was brought up here. After looking into it FI and I agree that it's not major enough to get fixed and reporting bumper damage on the car fax would hurt far more down the road because they don't specify the extent of the damage. For now I guess my poor pontiac will have scratches. So I guess the only thing I'm left with is the feeling that I still wish I could slap the B****.

NWR- Rear ended

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