Rear ended yesterday need advice

[treejs4]

So long story short, I was stopping to allow a person in the cross walk to cross, and this dumb fluff plowed into the back of me. I'm sure she was texting Bc of how much time I had to look in the rear view mirror and say please stop please stop until I even heard her tires start to squeal. Luckily, the damage seemed minimal and only to the bumper, however, I made the mistake of calling the cops Bc of the impact itself and this being my first accident. Therefore since I am going through her insurance, what do I do? I'll post pics later today to show you how hard it is to see. The car is vinyl wrapped so I don't know how the paint looks underneath.

EDIT: For Pictures and more assessment of damage.

The most noticeable damage from her license plate screw I'm assuming


The diffuser seems to be scratched a little and dented in this area



It's hard to see in the picture but you can tell that the exhaust took some of the impact as well, and when I was just driving it, I'm starting to hear an exhaust rattle at higher rpms. I also believe I found my heat shield in the middle of the road. Not sure if it was hers or mine though.

[GRUMPY-S4]

Why do you say calling the cops was a mistake?

[chet]

cops are good. reports help make sure you don't run into issues claiming against her insurance. call her insurance company and ask what to do. they'll be helpful!


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[treejs4]

Why do you say calling the cops was a mistake?

i guess I don't know how the other girl would have reacted if I proposed not going through insurance but it would be nice to not have an accident listed on the car fax report too.

[GRUMPY-S4]

i guess I don't know how the other girl would have reacted if I proposed not going through insurance but it would be nice to not have an accident listed on the car fax report too.

I was figuring the CarFax thingy.

Did she react poorly to the cops? Only way it wont go on carfax is if you don't use insurance and use a shop that doesn't report I think.

[The Fat Kid]

That sucks! You did the RIGHT thing calling the cops.

The S4 has a very delicate rear end; it is basically designed to collapse to keep you safe. Don't be shocked to have $5k+ in repairs, and some S4s have been totaled for what appeared to be bad, but repairable damage.

You need to go after her insurance company for a diminished-value claim because your car will be worth less after it is repaired.

[peekaBu]

If she agrees to pay out of pocket, you can avoid carfax and insurance

If she doesn't, file a claim with her insurance company (you need her claim number) and they will send an estimator to determine how much they will give you for your repair. They will probably try to get you to get an estimate at their shop.

I HIGHLY suggest you telling the agent/estimator to meet you at an independent shop to get a second estimate. The opposing insurance company will try to pay out as little as possible.


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[s14roller]

If it was hard to see anything, I would not have wanted an accident report on my carfax. At least you can take pics so you can show the buyer when you sell it, so they will see it's not bad.

[carlosvjr92]

Bummer man. Was rear ended in my 2010 Camaro SS by people texting and driving. It was a while ago so don't remember exactly what I did but I believe I got a quote on the price to fix it and sent it to the driver. Not entirely sure anymore to be honest. The whole situation is a pain to deal with though. Good move on calling the cops...personally I prefer to do it that way because I feel like it gives me some more reassurance that the situation will get resolved.

[s14roller]

That sucks! You did the RIGHT thing calling the cops.

The S4 has a very delicate rear end; it is basically designed to collapse to keep you safe. Don't be shocked to have $5k+ in repairs, and some S4s have been totaled for what appeared to be bad, but repairable damage.

You need to go after her insurance company for a diminished-value claim because your car will be worth less after it is repaired.

In the US, there are states that do and do not allow you to file for diminished value. As for the rear end, you and I have very different opinions. Have you been in an accident with the car or this is your assumption?

I was in a S4 as it got rear ended in the city. It was a large bang and we all expected to see quite a bit of damage. Went outside, and the car just had some license plate scrapes from the other car. No structural damage and no issues.

OP also says he was rear-ended and it's hard to see anything.

[JeromeS13]

Almost the same thing happened to me this past Friday evening. My estimate came out to be almost $2k.

[blackfunk]

Take it to a shop of your choosing - that's your right. This is a minor accident and they'll probably just cut you a check without even having an adjuster come out. If they do need to inspect the car the shop will take care of it. Honestly I wouldn't even worry about carfax - they're worthless.

[blackfunk]

Almost the same thing happened to me this past Friday evening. My estimate came out to be almost $2k.

1k was for the bumper, $400 the valance and the rest in miscellaneous fees and parts. Sounds about right. And that's at shop prices. In real world dollars that's no more than $600.

[DGVR6]

Usually they'll hook you up with a rental while your car is in the body shop.. Ask for that too lol

[VenturiRS]

Usually they'll hook you up with a rental while your car is in the body shop.. Ask for that too lol

Don't take any ol' plebeian rental car though, demand a Porsche or better.

[The Fat Kid]

In the US, there are states that do and do not allow you to file for diminished value. As for the rear end, you and I have very different opinions. Have you been in an accident with the car or this is your assumption?

I was in a S4 as it got rear ended in the city. It was a large bang and we all expected to see quite a bit of damage. Went outside, and the car just had some license plate scrapes from the other car. No structural damage and no issues.

OP also says he was rear-ended and it's hard to see anything.

I have not been rear ended in the S4, but plenty of people have posted photos and repair costs. It is not an opinion that rear-end damage can easily hit five figures.

The fact that she barely hit her brakes before impact means there could be more underlying damage. No one knows until the car is thoroughly checked out.

Regarding calling the cops: I randomly know a lot of people who have not called the cops after an accident, only to have it bite them in the arse later when the person who hit them balked at paying.

Almost the same thing happened to me this past Friday evening. My estimate came out to be almost $2k.

@S14Roller - That looks like pretty minor damage and it turned out to be $2k. The OP's car is wrapped (another item on the repair bill), so it could be hiding worse damage.

[treejs4]

Updated for pictures of the damage and more assessment. What do you guys think I should do? I'm a perfectionist and although it doesn't look like much, it is driving me nuts!

[DBFL]

call your insurance agent. Tell them what happened and that the other driver was at fault. They will handle contacting the other driver's insurance. They can also help you find a reputable repair shop. That's part of what you are paying for when you get insurance. And since the collision was not your fault they should be more than happy to assist since they won't have to pay anything out. At least this has been my experience.

[sacandagaD]

You did the right thing. It almost never works out having the other party pay OOP unless the damage is like $ 200.
These are very expensive cars to repair, and the chances of most people having 2-10k cash to pay is usually slim. Usually once you give them an estimate, they get pissed and think you are ripping them off. Plus, what happens when you have supplemental damage once they take it apart, or even have a problem a few months after the initial repair? Good luck with that, since her insurance company is not going to be easy to deal with after the fact.
Only way it might work is if they knew they were screwed, and would be dropped, if they reported it to their company.
In this case, you can go either way, through hers or yours. If you go through yours, you will have to front your collision deductible and your company will subrogate against hers and get it back for you.

[mgaman]

Few things:

You did the right thing calling the cops.

Fuck the CarFax, if it was repaired properly and you have the receipts and work orders to prove it then you can keep your price solid when you resell. It's better than dealing with shitty repairs or trying to track her down when she renegs on her out of pocket agreement.

Don't deal with her insurance. Deal with yours. Give them her insurance info, the police report number, and then take it wherever you want - that's your right, as someone else said. Have the repairs done to your expectations - your insurance will get the money from hers. There's zero reason for you to middle man it. That's what you pay those guys for :)


Good luck! I was rear-ended in a similar manner, was an easy 2k repair ><

[BoostEasy]

You did the right thing calling the cops as others said.

If it's just a bumper replacement and repaint, $2k sounds reasonable. But as you said, the exhaust could have been hit. OEM exhausts are usually pretty expensive so that can drive it up more than expected. Also, other odd stuff can go wrong later so it's good to have it documented.

I made the mistake of letting one person go with just an insurance exchange (no cops) on a rainy Christmas Eve 10 years ago. The woman hit my wife's old maxima which wasn't worth more than maybe $4-5k at the time. She had a monster SUV like an Expedition and backed into me while I was stationary in a parking lot. I laid on the horn before she hit me and she just kept coming and stopped when she bumped the car leaving a small fist-sized dent above the rear wheel.

She was really apologetic, said it was her fault and told me she had to get home for the baby-sitter etc so I let her go saying we'd handle it after Christmas. If it was an expensive car I'd never have done this but with that old car I didn't really care that much and the damage was fairly minor.

When I called her the day after Christmas to talk about repairs, to my disbelief, she totally denied she had hit my car. Said the dent was already there, I was lying to get $ and basically just hung up the phone on me. She lived in a pretty expensive area of 7 figure homes but it goes to show anyone can say anything and @ssh0le you just because.

Moral of story: Always call the cops when hit, get the police report, report with insurance within 24hrs.

[treejs4]

I was also curious if I could take the repair money and use it towards upgrades for those parts, such as the exhaust if in fact that did need to be replaced?

P.s Thank you guys so much for the input!

[sacandagaD]

I was also curious if I could take the repair money and use it towards upgrades for those parts, such as the exhaust if in fact that did need to be replaced?

P.s Thank you guys so much for the input!

Sure, once the insurance adjustor gives you the settlement amount, if there is no lien on the car, nothing says you even have to get it fixed (but obviously that is not your intent here). Then you can talk to your repair shop, about kicking in extra money to upgraded parts if they are cool with installing them.

[604bking]

Pretty much the same thing happened to me earlier this month. I was stopped for a pedestrian crosswalk but the lady behind me didn't stop in time and hit my rear. The bolts from her front license plate holder nudged into my bumper and also damaged my diffuser. I don't know about insurance in the US, but here since it is 100% her fault we exchanged info and I filed a claim through my insurance company. I didn't have to pay any deductible and it was all covered by the insurance. They repaired my bumper and replaced the diffuser. Total comes to around $1500 in damage.

From your pictures it looks like your bumper can be fixed while the diffuser will be replaced. As for the exhaust tips they might just polish it.

Here are some pictures I sent to my adjuster. http://imgur.com/a/Y1Gho

Good luck OP.

[sirsycott]

since ur going through her insurance, find a shop that will work with you, and have them replace EVERYTHING that was damaged or even contacted

the higher the payout from her insurance company the more they will raise her premium

claim back injuries, and whiplash

girl wants to deny it, so you give her the capital D with no lube

turn savage mode on and have the body shop gouge the insurance company

[homelessNY_LI]

since ur going through her insurance, find a shop that will work with you, and have them replace EVERYTHING that was damaged or even contacted

the higher the payout from her insurance company the more they will raise her premium

claim back injuries, and whiplash

girl wants to deny it, so you give her the capital D with no lube

turn savage mode on and have the body shop gouge the insurance company

Wow seems like ovekill, bitter about a past experience?

[B-Time]

claim back injuries, and whiplash

Seriously? Such a d-bag thing to do. And not to mention illegal.

[Dr GP]

These cars are tanks. It would seem that the damage you had was not severe enough to negatively impact the functioning of the car. Mostly. if not all cosmetic,, other than the exhaust. IMHO, when repaired, the car will be as good as new. Save pictures of the damage for trade in or resale. I would not expect it to significantly decrease the value of your car. It could deter a private buyer from buying it. But a knowledgeable buyer should not be deterred. Do not get your own insurance company involved unless you are having problems with the other persons insurance co. AND, you pick the repair shop that YOU want to fix it.

[agent47]

Wow seems like ovekill, bitter about a past experience?

Seriously? Such a d-bag thing to do. And not to mention illegal.

If the OP felt he was jerked forward hard enough, at the least he should go for a Physical Therapy examination(not in the "were you in an accident" clinic but a legit PT clinic). Most of the times the pain due to such incidents takes a day or two to actually hit you. I was rear ended pretty good once in my A4. But the guy was very respectful and apologetic. I am a PT myself so I could handle my sprains myself. I just had his insurance take care of the car. Never mentioned any pain or discomfort.

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[treejs4]

If the OP felt he was jerked forward hard enough, at the least he should go for a Physical Therapy examination(not in the "were you in an accident" clinic but a legit PT clinic). Most of the times the pain due to such incidents takes a day or two to actually hit you. I was rear ended pretty good once in my A4. But the guy was very respectful and apologetic. I am a PT myself so I could handle my sprains myself. I just had his insurance take care of the car. Never mentioned any pain or discomfort.

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Yeah I'm not going to take the route of saying i have injuries unless I truly am experiencing pain. But luckily my girlfriend who was with me is an RN so she took a good look at both of us and nothing but just being a little shaken up at the time.

[hotleadsingergu]

cops are good. reports help make sure you don't run into issues claiming against her insurance. call her insurance company and ask what to do. they'll be helpful!

I wouldn't go that far lol but I agree with them being helpful when it comes to making a report. You definitely want it on record that she was entirely at-fault, since many drivers will try and turn it around after-the-fact if there's no report of the incident.

[SportVier]

cops are good.

Said the white guy who drives an Audi...

[dizzlesizzle]

had this happen to me over this past summer, guy admitted to the cops it was his fault so it was no issue going through his insurance. damage looked and was minimal like yours shows...still cost almost $4k to fix.

[palmor]

In the US, there are states that do and do not allow you to file for diminished value. As for the rear end, you and I have very different opinions. Have you been in an accident with the car or this is your assumption?

I was in a S4 as it got rear ended in the city. It was a large bang and we all expected to see quite a bit of damage. Went outside, and the car just had some license plate scrapes from the other car. No structural damage and no issues.

OP also says he was rear-ended and it's hard to see anything.

I don't know.. this was $22k in damage. Granted it isn't a "hard to see thing" but stuff happens behind the scenes you would never think of. I didn't think this would be $22k!!!!! Of course the OP doesn't have this much damage but you'd be surprised.

[Senseless]

I had a guy run a stop sign and I hit his passenger door at low speed. My pickup truck only had a bent chrome bumper and he promised to pay for it out of pocket. "I'm SO sorry, please don't call my insurance company and we can handle this without the police". After giving him a $500 estimate, he said I should have been more careful and denied fault. It turns out he had so many accidents, he was on our state's assigned risk insurance program. Live and learn. Call the cops.

[blackfunk]

You did the right thing calling the cops as others said.

If it's just a bumper replacement and repaint, $2k sounds reasonable. But as you said, the exhaust could have been hit. OEM exhausts are usually pretty expensive so that can drive it up more than expected. Also, other odd stuff can go wrong later so it's good to have it documented.

I made the mistake of letting one person go with just an insurance exchange (no cops) on a rainy Christmas Eve 10 years ago. The woman hit my wife's old maxima which wasn't worth more than maybe $4-5k at the time. She had a monster SUV like an Expedition and backed into me while I was stationary in a parking lot. I laid on the horn before she hit me and she just kept coming and stopped when she bumped the car leaving a small fist-sized dent above the rear wheel.

She was really apologetic, said it was her fault and told me she had to get home for the baby-sitter etc so I let her go saying we'd handle it after Christmas. If it was an expensive car I'd never have done this but with that old car I didn't really care that much and the damage was fairly minor.

When I called her the day after Christmas to talk about repairs, to my disbelief, she totally denied she had hit my car. Said the dent was already there, I was lying to get $ and basically just hung up the phone on me. She lived in a pretty expensive area of 7 figure homes but it goes to show anyone can say anything and @ssh0le you just because.

Moral of story: Always call the cops when hit, get the police report, report with insurance within 24hrs.

There's another reason to call the cops. Recently my brother slid into someone due to the bad weather. They got out inspected each others cars saw that there was no damage and went on their merry ways. A few weeks goes by and his insurance company calls to tell him he's being sued because she now has medical issues. Mind you there was no damage to either car because this was a slow speed accident (not a dent or scratch). She must have googled him and figured out that he's got some cash and hoping he pays her to go away. He's a lot like me - told her eat a d1ck and see you in court. Since that I will ALWAYS call the cops going forward.

[blackfunk]

I was also curious if I could take the repair money and use it towards upgrades for those parts, such as the exhaust if in fact that did need to be replaced?

P.s Thank you guys so much for the input!

I've done this in the past. You'd just pay the difference and the shop doesn't really care.

[doug97gxe]

since ur going through her insurance, find a shop that will work with you, and have them replace EVERYTHING that was damaged or even contacted

the higher the payout from her insurance company the more they will raise her premium

claim back injuries, and whiplash

girl wants to deny it, so you give her the capital D with no lube

turn savage mode on and have the body shop gouge the insurance company

and this is why Insurance Premium's are so high

[hurricanes28]

Lower back pains and neck pain. But go to a real body shop that works on Audis and get it done(fix) the first time.
I was hit from behind and did not do it right the 1st time and it cost me a brand new hummer in 2010.



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[homelessNY_LI]

and this is why Insurance Premium's are so high

Yes because of careless drivers like her