slayer_taunu

iTrader: (3)

thankfully not in my f-bodies, i was in my gf's car. i'm not 100% sure that he has no insurance, just know that he didnt have his card with him at the scene, and the 'license' he gave me was a paper temporary 'id card', so the signs point to uninsured.

why on earth i didnt call the police right then and there is beyond me , but i took down as much info as possible and called the police once i got home. they told me the guy had warrants out for him. today i tried calling the phone number he gave me, so i could get his insurance info, but it doesn't work.

i DO have his supposed name/address/DOB from his supposed non-photo ID card... i'm tempted to show up at his door to get the info/money, but if his is like an escaped axe murderer or something, i dont think that's in my best interest to do... so if anyone on this site has the ability to look up that stuff and can tell me any useful info, that would be great.

looks like he just bought the car (said it is his wife's), so it had paper 'untitled vehicle' plate on the back, but had a real plate on the front. i tried writing down the VIN of the car off the paper plate, but it was dark and it looks like i missed a number .

my gf only has a $500 deductable on her uninsured motorist coverage, and i doubt the damage will be more than that, so i have a bad feeling that i'm going to get hosed on this one... the police were less than helpful, so if anyone has any advice about any legal rights i have to not get screwed, that would be awesome

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

And what exactly did you expect? ALWAYS call the police when an accident occurs.

If less than $500 damage was done, that doesn't sound like much of an accident. Door dings can cost more than that.

Looks like you have a couple choices ...

1. Fix the car and be the hero

2. Find a new girlfriend

Josh McGrath

iTrader: (4)

...and be a hero to someone else with bigger boobies

But seriously man, I know FW police are so unhelpful when it comes to accidents. Unfortunatly sounds like you are gonna eat this one...I had to also thanks to FW police

Latin-Man

if the guy dont have insurance (paper plates, paper license, no insurance ID card...HELLO!!! ...hint...hint), more reason to call the police.

oh well, at least she's got un-insured coverage. Iv'e been there before (hit and run), and it sucks.

white man

iTrader: (1)

i thouhgt you had to have proof of insurance just to get a drivers license??? you sure that was a paper temp-license and not something else

slayer_taunu

iTrader: (3)

no, it wasn't a driver's license, it was an 'ID card'.

and i know i f'ed up by waiting to call the police... but at the time, it seemed like i was doing the right steps... i thought calling them after the fact was good enough.

and even if i did call the police, all it would have done is gotten the guy's car towed and he might have spent the night in jail from his warrants... it wouldn't have gotten her car fixed.

if the cops never saw the accident, what would it have done to have them show up just to file a report? when i called them after the fact, they were pretty much just like 'ya, he got warrants, but so do a lot of people, so we're not gonna do anything about it.' so all i have to do in order to never be liable for car accidents is to just not have insurance or a drivers license?

what's done is done, so i just need advice as to what to do to make sure i get as minimally screwed as possible.

joshua32

iTrader: (20)

It would have kept the guy off the streets and allowed the crappy *** law to somewhat do their job. I don't know if there is anything you can do other than pull the money out your...and go ahead and pay for it.

What kind of damage is there? If it is less than $500 don't even bother with the insurance.

ALWAYS ALWAYS call the law, unless of course you or your girlfriend had something to hide...

Joshua

lo_jack

iTrader: (27)

Practically I would say fix it yourself or take it to someone yourself: here is why:

If it is at or below deductible you are not going to gain yourself
much if anything by filing on your own insurance, besides having to get a rent car and the possibility of your rates going up. They hate when you file on your own insurance. Ask me how filing my totalled SLK on my own insurance is going.

Comes down to this, I think:

1. Pursue offender for money = legal/uninsured nightmare
2. Claim on your own ins = insurance might go up, pain in the *** for a minor incident, using up insurance goodwill/karma on a small event
3. Do it yourslef = control over time, money and who does the work in exchange for the fact that you are paying for it.

None of those are ideal, but I feel your pain.

A-Dub

iTrader: (6)

The whole system sucks. The uninsured motorist is coverage that you pay for because you know some a hole is driving illegal without the state mandated liability, basically you are paying for his insurance. And then your rates go up because he didn't have insurance? Just another way to screw the policy holder. Very rarely is an accident ever easy, convenient, or fair. It sucks. Fix the car and hope the next accident is a ways down the road.

Josh McGrath

iTrader: (4)

I think you get one claim uninsured a year by Texas law cant be held against you. 35k buck settlement, no rate increase, horrible driving record (not me, my buddy)

Thats how I got my 98 ta from a douche bag on this board

osvaldo

iTrader: (4)

take the guy to small claims court and if u lose, throw rocks thru his windows

SRT2LS1

iTrader: (12)

Sucks to hear man, but it would be best for you to just pay out of pocket. I had an older lady hit my last car and she didnt have ins. but I called the cops and my insurance company they handled the whole thing. A month after my car got fixed form that I hit a cow and totaled it, again they handled everything very quickly and my insurance didnt go up at all ($3600 first accident - $18500 when totaled). Anyway though good luck. Just learn from your mistake of not calling the cops...

SRfastZ

get all your friends and roll up to his house

slayer_taunu

iTrader: (3)

she got a 1st quote and it came out to $680. it doesnt look THAT bad to me, but body work is crazy $$$ these days. she's gonna get another one just to pricewatch.

nope, nothing to hide... just dumbass ignorance on my part. being that the guy has warrants out for him, i'm very temped to show up at his door with the ultimatum of 'cut me a check for the damage or i pursue your warrants with the police'. i know the police dont really give a ****, but maybe it will scare him... but then again, being that the guy has warrants, they might not just be for unpaid tickets and the guy could be a convicted felon... in that case, i think i'd need to assemble a posse before showing up at his door.

has anyone ever done small claims court on a thing like this? how much does it cost and how time consuming is it?