Saturday afternoon I parked my car in a flowershop parking lot and forgot to put it in gear. (I always put it in gear when I park and I don't know what the heck I was thinking.) Even with the parking brake on, the car rolled back very slowly and very quietly hit a parked car (Toyota corolla) on the rear passenger door. The door was dented and some paint smeared off. My beloved s2000 sustained very minor damages but the rear bumper got some of its paint, on the passenger side, smeared off. I left a note on the person's car. I have a few questions: should I let my insurance company handle this? My deductible is $500. Will my insurance go up and by how much? If I were to tell my insurance company about this will it go on my driving record? I want to keep the costs down as much as possible and don't know if I should tell the insurance company vs. paying in cash for both cars.

ps. I'm waiting for the estimate on the Toyota and will go tomorrow to get an estimate on my bumper to be repainted.
I would really appreciate some input on this.

Thank you

 

it doesnt sound like you did too much damage on the other car neither. if your deductible is $500, i would wait for an estimate to see how much the cost would be to fix the other car. if the cost is lets say under 1k. i would opt to just pay it out of your pocket and not go through your insurance company. this is good for the long run because your insurance might go up a bit if you make this claim. better to just pay an extra 500 since your deductible is 500 anyhow. if it cost more than 1k to fix the other car, which i doubt. then i would think about it.

hope my opinion helps and sorry to hear about this little fender bender.

 

Agreed.

 

Thanks alot. Any other inputs???

 

I would do the same. How agreeable is the other party to a private settlement ?

 

They are actually very nice people. (so far ) And they don't mind either way. I wanna make sure I don't end up paying an arm and a leg for their door. Can anyone estimate how much it would be to repaint my bumper?

ps. Am I responsible for a rental car when their car is in the shop. They kind of hinted that this was their only car and asked me what I thought they should do. What do you guys think?

 

My view with these incidents? Use "The Golden Rule" and do unto others...

'Course, you could "stalk" them back to their home & assure yourself that they only have one vehicle. j/k

 

A bumper repaint is about $150. The big question is will it match and will the paint work last.

 

Some of the advice you have been given is incorrect. Your LIABILITY ins. pays for their car. There is NO DEDUCTIBLE on liability coverage. The deductible only applies to collision coverage which is the damage to YOUR car. It sounds like your damage is under $500 so the question is do you want to pay 100% of cost of repairs to other car vs insurance co. paying 100% to keep it off your record. Also if you file ins. then your ins. company will furnish them a rental so they have right to expect it if you pay.

 

WOW, someone that actually left a note. You should be commended for doing the right thing.

I had someone hit my car and they paid out of pocket. They paid for a rental car too. It's part of my insurance coverage and I was allowed $30/day, so the people that hit my car gave me the same benefit.