My roommate backed in to my car, dented in front right quarter panel, and scratched the door. Door won't open now. How should I handle this? Should I get his insurance information and call his insurance company? Or should he call them? Should I just call my insurance company? Will my rates go up?

Here is a picture of the damage:

 

Dam!! How bad is it? I see it dented at the bottom. And your door won't open? Is that because the fender is in the way?


[Modified by mr. skelly, 9:38 PM 12/8/2001]

 

handle it like as if he/she were a stranger. I would never get insurance form a company that raised rates from someone ELSES *** up.

Call your ins co...they will tell you what you need to do.

 

That stinks. Like Chris said, just call your insurance company and they can guide you from there.

 

Ask your roommate what he wants to do....if he wants to pay out of pocket or have it go through his insurance or your insurance. Usually if the damage exceed X amount of dollars, it requires a police report. You weren't responsible. Your car was parked and you weren't at fault. Your rates should not go up. Worse case scenerio, you'll (or your roommate ) will have to pay a deductible.

Either way, you should still beat your roommates ***.

 

I know my comprehensive deductible is $0. So basically for me to claim it costs nothing. My roommate seemed all happy to pay for it with his insurance, but he is seeming more reluctant. I am thinking I will end up going through my insurance company. I am somewhat pissed; this is the one roommate I am not too fond of...

 

You ins will ask for his.....and charge them.

 

If you go through your insurance, they will go after his insurance company for you. (at least I think so...)

 

yup, file it with his insurance company. Friends are friends, but not with mistakes like this

 

I'd make him throw you some loot anyway. You need to waste your time going through your insurance company and now your R is no longer perfect and will have some bondo on it. Do you get a rental car? Lay the guilt trip on him......

 

yup..its his fault..his insurance co.pays

 

thats what I was trying to say!

 

 

Unfortunately for him...he'll need to figure out what HE can do.

A) He pays out of pocket for the damage

OR

B) You file the claim with HIS insurance...NOT YOURS!!!


You don't want YOUR rates going up. F*ck that.

 

thats the only way to do it..

tj

 

Ouch .

 

Do it which ever way possible where it won't hinder your friendship with him. I assume he must be a good friend of yours to be your roommate, so just see if he wants to handle it through insurance, or with cash. Try to go for cash, because it's the cheapest way possible. If you're kind enough, let him make payments of several hundred a month. Better yet, have him pay for the next 2 months of rent, and you can save up the money to fix it yourself.

 

Get his insurance to take care of the damages and then you need to throw his *** out on the streets..

 

Well I am new to the board but I am going to throw my 2 cents in. The reason your door is not opening is because the fender is in on the bottom. The bodyshop will most likely replace the fender, and if they do that they will HAVE to blend the hood and most likely the bumper. The scratches on the door they will feather them out and just have to prime/paint the front side of the door and blend it out towards the back. I work in a bodyshop in PA and am very familiar with this color, it is very hard to match. To the naked eye it may look good outside, but bring it in flouresent light and everything changes. I wish you the best of luck with your car and make sure you find out if the bodyshop will be doing what I said.

 

I think I will end up going through my insurance company. There is an excellent body shop in the area that I know will do an A+ job, and I would rather have the job done right.

His insurance will most likely not want to pay to have it done "the right way" I am goign to do whatever it takes to get the car back the way it was before he backed in to it.

 

i just went through this, you can do 1 of 3 things:
-take it to a body shop, get an estimate, and let your friend pay out of pocket.
-go through your insurance.
-go through his insurance.
i highly recommend you go through your insurance. first you should contact your insurance company and describe the incident; your roommate should do the same and claim full responsibility. once you have filed a claim, you should locate a body shop. the body shop (and insurance claims adjuster) will put together an estimate for the repair damage. specify you only want oem parts, no aftermarket!!! the body shop will complete the repairs and you will pick up your car after paying your deductible (usually $500). your insurance company will then subregate (spelling?) his insurance company for the repair costs; subregate is a fancy word for getting the money owed. after the claim is settled, you will be fully reimbursed for your deductible.
going through is insurance will keep you from having to pay out your deductible, but the service won't be as good as from your own insurance company.
letting your roommate pay out of pocket is silly, unless he has lots of free cash. that damage will likely be ~$1500-2000. a small accident shouldn't affect his rates too much. besides, why shouldn't he take a little heat for his stupidilty?

 

Damb that really sucks Chris, you really don't have good luck w/ITR's. Well I wonldn't worry about your rates going up, because it wasn't your fault. Keep us posted on what happens.

 

monkey_truckR, thanks for the advice. That was what I was thinking would happen.

I already know the shop I am going to use; last time i went there when my last car got wrecked; I had the shittiest car in there, all i saw was Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, etc.

I am just hoping my roommate even calls his insurance company...

 

I agree with MonkeyTruck...damn if that isnt the voice of reason!

Good call

 

I'd probably talk him into paying out of pocket. It doesn't look like that much damage. It would save you both some money in the long run because his insurance would go up and probably your insurance too. Its happened to me before. My friends mom backed up in to my car at the end of the driveway. AND Guess what? My insurance went up about $150 a year. And that's a lot when added up. Ya know, I wish i could find an insurance company that aren't a bunch of nickel-diming bastards. Anyways that's a bummer man, good luck.