Sniffs

Sorry for the double post, I need a resolution quick so I figured I'd post here as well to get more exposure..

I have a scion tC with a little bit of damage in the front right of my bumper.. paint scraped and plastic was bent.. it's not really that noticible..

I was hit again and this accident caused a ton of damage and MORE damage to my front bumper.. their insurance says they wont pay for my bumper.. are they not obligated to pay for it? even though the person who hit me, caused more damage to the bumper as well as damage to my fog lights..

help?

ninjaionsobe

ya fog lights broken i would go after the company do you have first dammeg and after hit shots?

Sniffs

No.. I took pics of the front of my car pressed up against a pillar.. but because they said I had pre-existing damage, they are trying to get out of the whole thing.

my fog lights aren't exactly broke.. the glass is fine, the lights still work.. just that when they hit me, they pushed my car forward which made me hit a pillar.. this caused a huge dent in the front of my bumper and because of this, my fogs were pushed down and now I have a big gap at the top of the housing where the fog lights sit.

Here's a pic

RCZDesigns

If theres no record of you having previous damage then how did they even know prior damage existed?

If there IS record of the prior damage, and you haven't gotten a chance to fix it and now someone caused MORE damage, of course they are still responsible.

Call up your insurance company since the other persons insurance is just trying to get out of paying, and ask them what you should do.

My girlfriend hit an old man because he hit his brakes in the middle of an intersection after proceeding, and even though the rule is whoever is the back car is always at fault, USAA got the other insurance company to pay.

Now if it's been a good amount of time since you had the first damage and you decided to keep the car as-is and pocket the money, i'm not sure exactly but I think it might be fraud or something? You'll be in a bad light about it I believe.

Just my hopefully helpful words.

Sniffs

I did not report it because I had a lapse of ins so I technically didn't have insurance at the time of my first accident.. we just parted ways.. 2 years later I get into another smackup and this occured.

I edited my post and included a pic.. there's a small scratch on the fender and some damage on the bumper.. but because I was pushed forward, it created another dent in my bumper as well as fog light housing may need to be repaired.

RCZDesigns

If theres no report of prior damage, you probably could've gotten away with just saying it was caused by this accident.

You don't have to know what caused the damage when your not at fault, from my experiences.

Did you tell the other insurance people you had prior damage? Or the driver of the other car? If nobody knows about it then you might get away with it. Otherwise at the very least they are responsible for the damage they caused, not the scratch or whatever that was preexisting.

Now about not having insurance for a bit... I would've reported it as a hit and run or something a few months after getting insurance again. Not to condone not having insurance, as thats illegal and also very frowned upon by your loan people. Just to have the car back to normal so you're covered for stuff like this.

Sniffs

I played the dumb thing and said there was no pre-existing damage but they are holding out..they've sent me a check for the rest of the damage of the car, both back side fenders and massive back bumper damage..but they are refusing to pay for the front.

As you can see from the Pic, my car has front end damage.. but because the bumper is all 1 piece..they can't exactly pay for their damage without paying for it all..

So I dunno what to do..I've played dumb this whole time.. I just want to know what everyone thinks.

RCZDesigns

I'd ask them if it would be more worth their time to take the issue to court. If they can't prove there was damage prior to the accident then their jig is up. You don't have to prove their wasn't prior damage.

I would've gotten BAD on that place as soon as they said they weren't paying for ANY front damage. You are backing down about it, so you can't expect them to just hand you more money. They are just trying stick you.

ninjaionsobe

go up the ladder tell them you not satisfied with the rear repair at the amount given send them the bill for the rear and the estamet for the front and highlight the total in read include that pix with a statement from the police report <if any>and auto body shop
the call them and ask why they think you fog lights broke when the guy hit you

Sniffs

Can I get their insurance to pay the remainder of the rental fee? or is that something that insurance companies dont do.. i mean this IS an inconvenience for me and having to pay out of my own pocket is an annoyance.

RCZDesigns

I would say so. They are the ones at fault, they caused your car to be in the shop for a period of time, of course they need to flip the bill for alternate transportation.

I've heard of people taking issues like this to court and getting every dime they have and would have lost from an incident.

Rental car, pain and suffering, time out of work, money for the repairs, etc. Not that you should go this route at all, but the insurance companies are aware there are more ways of getting what you're owed than asking nicely. Talk to the highest up person possible on the phone at the other guys insurance company, like ninjaionsobe said.