Advice after my car got hit

[DH9387]

So, on my way home from work this evening my car got hit and the other car fled the scene. Thankfully, the damage seems to be incredibly minor. There are a few scuffs in the paint on the rear bumper cover behind the passenger side wheel and the bumper cover itself is now slightly misaligned, but that seems to be it. I got a police report, but now I am not sure how to proceed. Part of me wants to file a claim with my insurance and have the car fixed (especially if I do not have to pay the deductible as part of a hit and run, although I will have to get that verified by my insurance company in the morning), but on the other hand I do not want an accident on the CarFax, especially one so inconsequential. I know I can pay for this out of pocket and keep it off any reports, but I am afraid that there might be more to it under the surface once the bumper cover is off and I do not want to do anything that could jeopardize my insurance from covering it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I have never had to deal with any sort of accident before.

On a side note, when I tried going home, my car would not start. Apparently, during the hour I had the flashers on, my battery drained and was not capable of starting the car. The cop helped out and tried jump starting the car, but even with letting it charge for several minutes, the car still wouldn't fire. I ended up having to bump start the car to get it home. I have it on a tender now, but I am betting that the battery, which is original to the car (2016), is shot. Normally, with a used car, the battery is not covered under any sort of warranty, but since this is a CPO that I have had less than three months, is there any chance that I can have it replaced under warranty?

Sponsored

 

[CoolHandLuke]

So, on my way home from work this evening my car got hit and the other car fled the scene. Thankfully, the damage seems to be incredibly minor. There are a few scuffs in the paint on the rear bumper cover behind the passenger side wheel and the bumper cover itself is now slightly misaligned, but that seems to be it. I got a police report, but now I am not sure how to proceed. Part of me wants to file a claim with my insurance and have the car fixed (especially if I do not have to pay the deductible as part of a hit and run, although I will have to get that verified by my insurance company in the morning), but on the other hand I do not want an accident on the CarFax, especially one so inconsequential. I know I can pay for this out of pocket and keep it off any reports, but I am afraid that there might be more to it under the surface once the bumper cover is off and I do not want to do anything that could jeopardize my insurance from covering it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I have never had to deal with any sort of accident before.

On a side note, when I tried going home, my car would not start. Apparently, during the hour I had the flashers on, my battery drained and was not capable of starting the car. The cop helped out and tried jump starting the car, but even with letting it charge for several minutes, the car still wouldn't fire. I ended up having to bump start the car to get it home. I have it on a tender now, but I am betting that the battery, which is original to the car (2016), is shot. Normally, with a used car, the battery is not covered under any sort of warranty, but since this is a CPO that I have had less than three months, is there any chance that I can have it replaced under warranty?

Sorry to hear this... sucks big time. Unfortunately, the police report you filed will more than likely show up on Carfax since they now pay for accident report data from any county willing to participate. You may get lucky if you live in a small town... fingers crossed. If you file with your insurance company, you'll definitely have a tarnished Carfax. In addition, most people don't know that if you have the vehicle repaired at a large corporate owned Ford dealership or any other large corporate owned body shop, their service department will also likely sell the data to Carfax once the repairs are complete and the repair order is closed.

If it were me, I'd wait about two-three weeks before filing with the insurance company to see if the police report shows up on Carfax (trust me, it probably won't even take that long). If the Carfax is clean, find a small, reputable, mom and pop body shop and have them pull off the rear bumper cover to see if there is any hidden damage behind the bumper (rear body panel etc.) They can do this while you wait in most cases-it will cost you roughly $100 and will be money well spent for peace of mind.

If they find major damage, you can then weigh the cost to repair yourself vs. filing a claim and having the accident and repair data on Carfax. Everyone knows this will be a huge detriment to your cars value if/when you go to sell/trade. Speaking from experience, a few years ago, my 2017 M3 was rear ended by some moron who rolled into me at a stoplight. Having spent 20 years in the collision business, I knew the damage was isolated to just the rear bumper cover and a couple of brackets but I insisted on calling the police when the girl shrugged off the damage as "nothing" on my $85K car. Just when I decided to fly under the radar and have it repaired myself to avoid Carfax, I found out that the exact verbage from the police report had already been posted on Carfax less than ten days after the report was filed... not a fun time for me. Needless to say, I went on a pilgrimage to find out everything I could about Carfax, Autovin etc. and how they obtain their data records....it was eye opening.

I hope this helps... good luck.

 

[SVTinAR]

I'm impressed you were able to roll start the car. I wouldn't have been sure a computer controlled car with a push button ignition would do this. Good to know. Hope you get it sorted out soon.

 

[DCShelby]

I'd just pay it myself if its under say 4K or so. But once you get the estimate you can decide. You never know till you get some parts off and see whats bent or twisted. Then the price can really go up. As for bump starting, wow.....I'm quite surprised that worked in a modern car....

 

[03reptile]

Carfax is often hit or miss. Many PD's do not participate, so no Carfax sourced from them. Insurance company repairs sometimes don't show up on Carfax, either. I had an 03 Terminator that was hit from behind. Police report was initiated and the "at fault" driver's insurance paid $15K for the repair and an addition $3K for diminished value. It never showed on Carfax.

 

[activeGT]

My 2 accidents were not reported to the insurance and I had 2 Carfaxs thanks to the cops.

 

[DH9387]

Sorry to hear this... sucks big time. Unfortunately, the police report you filed will more than likely show up on Carfax since they now pay for accident report data from any county willing to participate. You may get lucky if you live in a small town... fingers crossed. If you file with your insurance company, you'll definitely have a tarnished Carfax. In addition, most people don't know that if you have the vehicle repaired at a large corporate owned Ford dealership or any other large corporate owned body shop, their service department will also likely sell the data to Carfax once the repairs are complete and the repair order is closed.

If it were me, I'd wait about two-three weeks before filing with the insurance company to see if the police report shows up on Carfax (trust me, it probably won't even take that long). If the Carfax is clean, find a small, reputable, mom and pop body shop and have them pull off the rear bumper cover to see if there is any hidden damage behind the bumper (rear body panel etc.) They can do this while you wait in most cases-it will cost you roughly $100 and will be money well spent for peace of mind.

If they find major damage, you can then weigh the cost to repair yourself vs. filing a claim and having the accident and repair data on Carfax. Everyone knows this will be a huge detriment to your cars value if/when you go to sell/trade. Speaking from experience, a few years ago, my 2017 M3 was rear ended by some moron who rolled into me at a stoplight. Having spent 20 years in the collision business, I knew the damage was isolated to just the rear bumper cover and a couple of brackets but I insisted on calling the police when the girl shrugged off the damage as "nothing" on my $85K car. Just when I decided to fly under the radar and have it repaired myself to avoid Carfax, I found out that the exact verbage from the police report had already been posted on Carfax less than ten days after the report was filed... not a fun time for me. Needless to say, I went on a pilgrimage to find out everything I could about Carfax, Autovin etc. and how they obtain their data records....it was eye opening.

I hope this helps... good luck.

Thank you for all of this information. It is incredibly helpful. I plan on calling my insurance company this morning just to find out some more information on my options, but I will definitely wait to see if the police report triggers something on CarFax.

 

[DH9387]

I'm impressed you were able to roll start the car. I wouldn't have been sure a computer controlled car with a push button ignition would do this. Good to know. Hope you get it sorted out soon.

As for bump starting, wow.....I'm quite surprised that worked in a modern car....

I was not sure if it would work either, but I am glad it did. If it had not worked, it would have just added an additional layer of inconvenience to an already frustrating evening. As for the bump start itself, it was the first time I have ever attempted to do one, but I just put the car in accessory mode, put the transmission in first gear, let it roll down the slight hill I was parked on, gradually let my foot off the clutch, and on the third or fourth attempt (I was not exactly sure how quickly or how much to let off the clutch) , it sprang to life.

 

[ANGST]

I had exactly the same thing happen to my car, sounds like almost the same damage . I was lucky and someone got the license plate number . I called the police , filed a report , and made a claim with my Insurance (USAA) and in turn they subrogated with they hit and run drivers insurance ( State Farm ) I had it fixed at the dealers repair center ( Koons Sterling VA ) . There is nothing on the CarFax

 

[ANGST]

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/paking-lot-hit-and-run.64083/

My thread from when it happened with pics.

 

[Tank]

Thank you for all of this information. It is incredibly helpful. I plan on calling my insurance company this morning just to find out some more information on my options, but I will definitely wait to see if the police report triggers something on CarFax.

Your insurance company isn’t some sort of benevolent friend, especially if you have a loan out on the car. You might want to reconsider talking w them unless you know you’re filing a claim.

 

[mustang1]

If there is minimal to no deductible I would file insurance, and take my chances on carfax. If its surface / paint, and the repair makes it to carfax then it should show up as minor / cosmetic, with minimal DV. If there is structural damage that requires welding, then it will be an expensive repair.

 

[mrbillwot]

I juuuust got my Explorer Sport back this morning (rear-ended by a car that itself got rear-ended it). The police reported "minor" ball hitch & bumper damage to my SUV ended up being $4500 and nearly 4 weeks of rental of a Grand cherokee (on the tab of the at fault cell phone distracted 17 year old's insurance company).
Point is, as we know. that it can be shocking what a seemingly minor bang in the bumper can do - above what 5mph today's specs its meant to be sacrificial so replacing what took the blow is expected and also the only way to maintain the value. Check your loan if you have one - reporting damage to the bank regarding their collateral may be a requirement. I dunno.
Daily driving a Shelby is no way to maintain its value, which seems to be your concern, so I'd say suck it up and get it fixed properly. JMHO.

 

[03reptile]

Thank you for all of this information. It is incredibly helpful. I plan on calling my insurance company this morning just to find out some more information on my options, but I will definitely wait to see if the police report triggers something on CarFax.

Just telephonically contact the police dept. that is handling the incident and ask if they participate with info to Carfax instead of waiting.

 

[datadatum]

Make sure you document the damage and save the repair information. It may not make a difference, but it just might.

I'm impressed you were able to roll start the car. I wouldn't have been sure a computer controlled car with a push button ignition would do this. Good to know. Hope you get it sorted out soon.

I haven't push-started a car in years. Probably my '05 STi was the last push-start. Cars now are so heavy, it isn't like back in the day when you could push start a car by yourself uphill.

Sponsored