First accident after only a month of ownership...how bad is it?

[wustang]

Well, I took the car to a couple body shops, one of which is owned by a family friend. There actually is a little bumper dent damage adjacent to the parking sensor. First place estimated ~$660 to remove, repair, and refinish the bumper and parking sensor. Second place (family friend) can do it for ~$550. A little more expensive/extensive than I originally thought, but I suppose that it could be worse.

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[TaraFirma]

First off, good to see you're not injured.
But, the uninsured driver continues on being uninsured.
Next time they hit someone, and there will be a next time, they may end up killing or injuring someone.
You should have called the police and reported them.
It's illegal, for reasons you now know, to drive without financial responsibility in TX and I believe every other state.
Now you're stuck paying out of pocket.

 

[Jetnoise]

calling cops would involve an accident report which can be reported to your state then it will come up on carfax. prob instant 1k loss in resale value.

1k?
How u figure?

 

[activeGT]

1k?
How u figure?

At least.

 

[Blade007]

One in a million to only damage the parking sensor. Got off lucky IMO if that was the only damage.

I believe the actual odds are 1 in 14000605. It's Strange I know!

 

[wustang]

The uninsured party has offered cash to cover the repair costs; we'll see if she follows through when I seek payment. We exchanged numbers and she has been responding to my calls and texts. In retrospect, perhaps I should've called the police, but she seemed really apologetic on the scene. I took a picture of her driver license and later noticed when I made it home that it's actually expired...

 

[ChromaticGrey]

No insurance, and an expired license. You bet your ass she was apologetic. She shouldn't be on the road.

 

[mustang1]

So I was stopped at a red light and a car rammed (well, maybe more like aggressively love-tapped) me from behind. At first glance, the rear bumper damage was difficult to discern, but I soon realized that the other car actually managed to precisely bullseye my parking sensor second from the left. As you can see from the pictures, the sensor is now scratched and slightly indented (pushed into the bumper) but seems to be functioning appropriately at present. Anyone know whether this would be a purely cosmetic issue or if there is more than meets the eye? Thanks in advance for your advice!

even a minor accident can flex the paint and become more obvious with time. Collision shop should do an eval. If they want to pull the bumper and re-paint the affected area, my guess is $700 + rental car. Not including the sensor. You could file on your insurance for an uninsured motorist and let them figure out if they want to pursue the matter.

No insurance, and an expired license. You bet your ass she was apologetic. She shouldn't be on the road.

likely a cell phone was involved as well. Or at least following too close.

 

[serpent]

My car was backed into while parked by a young driver. parents came to scene and called police.Report made. Her insurance paid 100% went to trade it for Mustang I have on order. 1st thing dealer did was run carfax and sure enuf accident came up. now trade in he says is 1500 to 2000 less than car is worth. also went shopping for new insurance 2 out of 3 companies wanted to hit me up an additional $700 for an "occurance".

 

[JimsFury]

My car was backed into while parked by a young driver. parents came to scene and called police.Report made. Her insurance paid 100% went to trade it for Mustang I have on order. 1st thing dealer did was run carfax and sure enuf accident came up. now trade in he says is 1500 to 2000 less than car is worth. also went shopping for new insurance 2 out of 3 companies wanted to hit me up an additional $700 for an "occurance".

Yep even if it wasnt your fault it still goes against you, just another scam by insurance companies to jack up someone's rate.

 

[GT Pony]

Yep even if it wasnt your fault it still goes against you, just another scam by insurance companies to jack up someone's rate.

Yep, that practice should be against the law. Charge the accident causers, not the victims of their stupidly.

 

[The_Phantom]

1k?
How u figure?

+1

Some people need to learn to negotiate better. Been in the business all my life, NEVER had resale deducted on a trade for accident history. That's purely a person-to-person deal. And in that case, I just pass and let them go lowball someone else until the right buyer comes along.

The CarFax states what kind of damage was done. Cosmetic is basically nothing. I had a semi shove a car into the back of my GT the second week I owned it. Paid $490 to repair and was reimbursed by the at-fault party's insurance. Police report was documented. It's important to get it documented because guess what, no police, no accident. Someone can tell you they'll fix your car but never pay and you are stuck with the bill.

Sorry for the luck OP, I really do feel your pain. I was lucky. My parking sensors weren't damaged, but I had two holes poked through the bumper due to the bolts holding the front plate on the car that hit me. Took the body shop 1 day and I had my car back, good as new.

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