And the prius takes damage

I was the lone car in the parkinglot when I went into the store but when I came out there was a pickup parked next to me and a pretty nasty dent in the door. Immediately I snapped a picture of the license plate, the damage and called down the police. The driver of the other vehicle, missing at first, ran up and explained the wind caught the door when he opened it. He was begging me to take $500 and offered his address if I wanted more.

There are multiple dents but one is right on the body line. There is no way this is going to be pulled out. A new door (67004-47210) is list price $624 and the color is a bitch to match as I discovered from my bumper modification. Needless to say I was not interested in a cash offer.

The guy was really upset because he was not in the country legally. Of the multiple insurance cards he offered me, while they were all the same account number, they were also all expired. He also did not have a divers license so there is no telling if the insurance card is for the driver.

The police responded but the best they could do was write an incident report because the vehicles were in a parkinglot (private property) and the other driver was not operating the vehicle. Had he been, or if we were on the side of the road then he would have been found to be driving without a license or valid proof of insurance. As it stood there was very little I could do.

Long story short, I did make a claim in his insurance. While there was no valid card in the vehicle, the account was still valid. Is it for the driver? Not sure. The cop was sure to tell me it was insurance registered to a business even though this was not a commercial truck and apparently in Ohio insurance follows the driver not the vehicle like in most other states. The cop would not write up a police report however he did hold the door to the dent while I took a picture to show that everything lined up and stated such in the incident report. At least no one can suddenly forget what happened and claim the dent was there when I parked and am trying to scam the poor immigrant.

I did feel bad for this guy though because he was really upset and worried for himself and his family. After the cop left and he shook my hand I remained for a little while and explained to him cops are not immigration officers. As long as he didnt have a warrant than they were not going to arrest him. I did offer friendly advice though, the cop left but could have easily been waiting around the corner for him to drive out. The moment he did so the cop could get him for driving without proof of insurance and without a license. I wasnt out to screw this guy but at the same time I wasnt going to take a cash payout either. I estimate the cost of repairs at probably $2000 if they replace the door panel (what I will be pushing for because the car only has 3000 miles on it and the dent will never be perfectly pulled out). In speaking with my own insurance company I was advised of "diminishing value". I could actually seek compensation for the difference between what my car was worth pre-accident and post accident to offset any value lost when I sell it with an accident on the record.

All in all, I am worried about the paint color matching but I am not too upset over the damage as this was not a moving accident. There is no risk of alignment being off, there was no sensor impacted, the damage is totally localized to the door itself and not the surrounding body. Sucks but what can you do right...

 

Yeah i dont care if he is illegal, i care if he has insurance. The two are mutually exclusive. I guess i will see what happens tomorrow when their adjuster calls me.

 

Its hard to see but i am dented in three places. One is right on the body line. The car is only two months old and has 3300 miles on it. I kind of want it restored back to original condition and if it cannot be pulled out i want the door replaced.

My insurance company also said i can go after "diminished value", a check cut for the difference of what my car was worth pre and post accident claim. I never heard of this before but apparent it is a real concept that big and small insurance companys cover though they do not make it easy.

 

They shouldnt get me i made a claim against his insurance. While his cards were expired, i made a claim anyway and learned they were still valid so a claim has been filed against his insurance. Will they give me a hard time? That is a different story. Their adjuster is to contact me tomorrow.

 

Now you guys will hopefully see why I would just take $500.
With the reflection it is hard to see the extend of the dent and very hard to see the crease that was caused by the door but I highlighted it with painters tape.



The door is creased across two body lines a total length of 10"




The two body lines dented run

 

You cant dentless remove when the metal is creased or on a body line....
You may get rock chips and what not but that is typically not on a rear door. Hood and front bumper usually.