So I Had A Car Accident...

[Mayuri Krab]

Ok this is not a rant post:

So I had a minor car accident today, the front left side of the car crashed onto the front right side of the other vehicle. I called the cops asap at the scene but they said since it isn't a major accident they wouldn't come & just told us to exchange details and file a crash report at the nearest police station asap.The other guy called for tow truck and the tow truck driver told me to contact my insurance company asap to tell them that they have towed my car to their panel repair shop.

I just finished filling in the crash report forum that I downloaded off the WA police site & I'll go to file it tommorrow & call insurance.

I want to know what happens after that? How do they work out who's at fault if the crash scene has being moved already & how long would it take for them to work that out? If they are gonna take a long time (which I have feeling they will), I'll probably phone the tow place & get them to tow my car back to my house as I read that they charge $10/day for keeping it.

I'll ask them that when I get there tommorrow but I just want some quick info b4 hand.

Could anyone tell me the basic flow of things?

Thanks.

[hoony]

they will want a copy of your police report, they'll also want a copy of the other party's police report...

depending on what has been said and what evidence there is (in the report you have to draw a rough idea as to what has happened)

they'll base their decision on those details, police officers that take your report off you sometimes have an idea as to what the insurance company would decide as well...

last time i had an accident i don't think i was at fault and the driver had alcohol in his system and didn't even have his license and he was driving the passenger's car, speeding in the wet too... he wasn't even listed on her insurance and i had to end up paying because i didn't get any details nor was i able to prove anything on the spot when i should have, i was so bloody shocked hey...

get everything done now, remember exactly what happened and draw carefully... lol make sure all your details are specific and nothing is left to question...

basically, depending on your story and theirs, the insurance company will see which one is more feasible and they'll let you know and take care of the rest dude, if you weren't at fault and it was obvious you weren't at fault, you got nothing to worry about...

would've been good if you had a witness though...

my2c

[dan_the_man]

towing... tell your insurance company to take care of it.

regardless of who is at fault, they will still tow it to a smash repairs of their choice for an evaluation.

[Mayuri Krab]

last time i had an accident i don't think i was at fault and the driver had alcohol in his system and didn't even have his license and he was driving the passenger's car, speeding in the wet too... he wasn't even listed on her insurance and i had to end up paying because i didn't get any details nor was i able to prove anything on the spot when i should have, i was so bloody shocked hey...

Man, that would have sucked, sorry to hear about that.

get everything done now, remember exactly what happened and draw carefully... lol make sure all your details are specific and nothing is left to question...

I better go & redraw it, diagrams were never my strong point in highschool .

would've been good if you had a witness though...

Didn't see any people around during the crash, people all came out from bulidings after they heard the big bang

Cheers for the info,

PS: your post count was 888!, thats a good sign, you gonna be rich

[hoony]

LOL

cheers buddy, i bloody hope so... trust me, i need some $$$ right now but who doesn't ey?

let us know how all the stuff goes tomorrow man, will be checking up on you

[infamous_t]

Minor & you got it towed?

I drove around for 6 weeks with minor damage(panel only), waiting for evaluation & then waiting for panel to come from Japan.

They said as long as it wasn't going to cause further damage there was no problem.

But most important of all, talk to your insurance company.

ps. my insurance company acknowledged the high price of OEM Nissan front bumpers, and allowed me to change to aftermarket bumper if it was cheaper or I paid difference(if I had wanted to)... something to keep in mind if its being replaced.

[Mayuri Krab]

Minor & you got it towed?

The tow guy said a bar or something got bent around the wheel area (forgot the name of the thing, still a noob on car structures ). He said its not a good idea to drive around with it, espeically to get back home from where the accident took place I need to go onto the freeway. I guess thats not really "minor" & I used the wrong word? I'm only comparing this to the other car, his whole bumper pretty much came off due to the shock of the impact.

ps. my insurance company acknowledged the high price of OEM Nissan front bumpers, and allowed me to change to aftermarket bumper if it was cheaper or I paid difference(if I had wanted to)... something to keep in mind if its being replaced.

I perfer the stock one (or a stockish looking aftermarket one), as if I only change the front to a different one then it would look out of place compared to the rear bumper (my friend's wrx was a good example of this, his after market front bumper looked liked a gaint lump compared to his stock rear , & most after market bumpers makes the car too low to the ground without you actually lowering & I'm not a fan of lowering anyway.), but hopefully they can just beat it back into place somehow, as only the front left side of the bumper got scrapped & pushed, rest of the bumper is ok.

[SCR34M]

man, this kinda thing sucks, i was so pissed last time it happened to me, not at fault but what can can ya do... seems people just love to drive into my skylines... anyways, last time i had to claim, i didnt even do the police report, too much messin around, just got the details, got the car towed, went home... problem with insurance is you have to make them work for YOUR money.... you will probably be waiting a month and a half before you get your car back... depending on who your with i guess... oh and btw... call them and ask to change to an aftermarket kit! will prob cost less also... dependant on how much damage was done of course!!

[br3ndan]

but hopefully they can just beat it back into place somehow, as only the front left side of the bumper got scrapped & pushed, rest of the bumper is ok.

Be careful when you ask them to "beat it back into place". Not the best idea when it comes to plastic... unless the panel beater is very good, it will never be the same.

When my car got nudged on its rear by a reversing Ford.. the damage was very minor... just a dent the size of a tennis ball on the rear bumper.. lucky he didnt hit any panels. Anyway, in the end i got him to change my rear bumper rather then to repair it. Which i personally saw them paint and install... so i know they didnt just fix the old one.

Just my opinion... im too picky when it comes to my car... and besides if it was his/hers fault why should you settle for a repaired bumper... when it most likely wont be the same...

Something to think about ya!

Hope your car gets back on the road soon

Brendan

[madbung]

Ask your insurance company...or are you paying them premiums just to be nice?

Edited June 4, 2008 by madbung

[Mayuri Krab]

Well I just came back from my local police station & filed the report, the lady there said, the cops will work it out & determine who is at fault & sent out infringement notices.

Called my insurance company, told them the situation, & they say it sounds like the other car is at fault but since I'm only on 3rd party, they can't fix my car & told me to ring the other guy's insurance company, which I did & they told me to wait until he has lodged a claim & depending on both sides of the story, they will have to work out who's at fault & if its not very clear they will have to investigate (which I hope a police infringement notice should be good enough proof).

I called the other guy, he hasn't even done his report yet (he didn't know you could get the forum off the net... ) nor has he lodged a claim... he thought his insurance company got told by the towing company...

This is probably gonna take a while...

On the bright side, at least Uni finished (just got exams left) & I happened to take a 3wk break off from work so I shouldn't need to travel as much as I used to.

Like Marge Simpson said: "I guess at a time like this, all you can do is laugh..."

<sits there with a blank look for 1/2 hr>

Just my opinion... im too picky when it comes to my car... and besides if it was his/hers fault why should you settle for a repaired bumper... when it most likely wont be the same...

A new front bumper would be nice, but since it would be the other guy's insurance company fixing my car, they probably go for the cheapest route. Fixing it or a 2nd hand bumper I'm guessing.

Hope your car gets back on the road soon

Thanks man

-Edit: typos-

Edited June 4, 2008 by Mayuri Krab

[Lucy in the Sky]

nooo my old car :'(

what was the other car that was involved?

it is not good enough for him to not have lodged the incident with his insurance company. if he isnt willing to cooperate properly just tell him that you will be seeking legal advice.

it shouldnt be a long process and it wont be if you keep badgering him / your insurance company.

[Mayuri Krab]

nooo my old car :'(

Sorry lucy

what was the other car that was involved?

Toyota Rav 4

it is not good enough for him to not have lodged the incident with his insurance company. if he isnt willing to cooperate properly just tell him that you will be seeking legal advice.

it shouldnt be a long process and it wont be if you keep badgering him / your insurance company.

I think his just lazy, & his more focused on going to his Melbourne trip (which he said his going next week) than the accident. He gave me his old man's phone #, probably will be badgering him, if there's still no result within a week.

On the plus side, His vehicle look alot more ed up than mine, his whole front bumper came off due to the impact. Guess the seemly tough 4WDs aren't as tough as it seems.

Skyline - 1, Rav 4 - Nill.

[Stinky Rooster]

.........they can't fix my car & told me to ring the other guy's insurance company, which I did & they told me to wait until he has lodged a claim & depending on both sides of the story, they will have to work out who's at fault & if its not very clear they will have to investigate (which I hope a police infringement notice should be good enough proof)......

dude, if you are planning on waiting for the police to make a move, don't bother. You will need to apply under the freedom of infomation act just to be informed wether or not he was issued with an infringement, and I can tell you from first hand experience that it isn't very likely. Mainly because if he decides to take it to court, the police can't prosecute on just the accident report.

Hassle him like crazy to lodge his claim with the insurance mob (I would suggest at least twice a day - seriously!), and tell him that once he gives you a claim number he will never hear from you again.

After that happens, it will be between you and the insurance co. and that is where things are going to get nasty, because they are proper scumbags to deal with yourself. If you don't contact them on behalf of anther insurance co, they will do all they can to deny any and all claims, and it will be solely up to YOU to get them to admit liability. This is not going to be easy, especially with no witnesses, but it is doable.

You will just need to stick to your story, collect any physical evidence you can (angle of impact from the collision, lots of photos of the place it happened, including any marks on the road etc) and at all times, make it VERY clear to them that you are willing to take this all the way to the small claims tribunal.

If you need any clarification on this, drop me a PM, I went through the same thing with my stagea last year, and I know how gut wrenching this experience can be, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[Lucy in the Sky]

Sorry lucy

haha thats okay

a new front bar might give it a new image!

[R34P3R]

insurance compnaies are annoying.... they had to review my claim coz of my rims. i just found out today they are charging me 3k with my rims which they value at 2.5k for 17s but atleast you got his details and stuff

[big col]

Wtf do you pay insurance for if they tell you to sort this crap out yourself? That's just crap.

I'll agree with constantly calling up the guy (maybe even pay a visit in person to intimidate them if you got an address) until you get a claim number, otherwise you're in for a world of shit if the guy decides to bugger off to melbourne and not answer your calls.

[hoony]

want to hear something f*cked up with insurance?

i pay $2997 premium per year, find out for the hustle my car had with a pole on Sunday car will cost (in excess) over $3500 to repair...

only reason to have full comprehensive is just in case your car gets written off in my opinion, insurance = ghey

[SKYRYAN]

Thats why you just fix things urself and dont claim unless its a writeoff

[Lucy in the Sky]

which insurance company are you with?