Fender Bender help...

[Lesson]

OK so Yesterday I was backing out of a parking lot at a Auto-Repair shop, and my car windows were all fogged up. So this guy enters the parking lot and its a small parking lot, so I was backing out and didn't want to hit him(he was at the back of the parking lot), anyway, he said he left me plenty of room but like I said, I couldnt see that well, so I back up and I clip the car on my left and I was straightening out, Turns out the car I hit belonged to that guy who was pulling in( he was test driving a reparied car i guess), so anyway, I was thinking of what to do, and I was going to find a spot or turn around or whtever(i didnt know whose car it was initially), he comes over knocks on my window, I get out and we look. My car has no damage. Now I look at his car(its one of those Piece of crap vans with a latter on it and the 2 doors in the back) so you can see his doors are pretty bent, he points it out but says "Wait that was already like that, it was already damaged" so after about a minute hes like whatever it was already messed up. I go home, and don't tell my mom(I figured I had no reason to, because the guy said it wasnt a big deal and I was gonna get in big ass trouble if I did tell her). ANYWAY so about an hour later(like 8pm) he calls my mom(he has her number cause she went took it in to get it repaired) and tells her to call back tomorrow(today) morning. My mom calls and the guy says yea your son hit my car, and I couldnt see in the dark but there is damage to my ladder/door. Basically am I screwed? How can he prove that it has more damaged if he told ME it was already damaged. BTW we didnt exchange numbers, insurance or anything. Im assuming he wants money, I dont know how much but I dunno if this is legal to do. Im about to go with my mom and see him and the car, what should I say?

Whats the deal?
Thanks.

 

[Vincent]

Ok

 

[Unbridled_1]

It sounds like he is about to extort you. He knows you wouldn't want to reprt that to your insurance company (and really, neither does he) so he'll probably ask for some type of cash pmt, between $200 - $500.

Truth is, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place, but I would call his bluff. The repair shop may have documented evidence of the damage already done to the car, which could be looked at by insurance or in a potential court case. If you want to avoid a headache, I say bargain him down to $50-100 and just pay it.

 

[Lesson]

I forgot to mention, he WORKS at the repair shop.

 

[liberal]

Call up an attorney and just ask them what the legality of the issue is.

I'm not saying take the guy to court, just get an expert opinion.

 

[diablo]

Let him know that failure to report an accident is a crime, for the both of you. If he didn't report it right then (which he obviously didn't), then he's as guilty as you... the only difference is that you're 17, and therefore not going to get into trouble over it... whereas he would. It's over, he'll drop it, end of story.

 

[Lesson]

I just did a little research on that diablo and while it is a crime, someone has 10 days to report it... so far its been 1 day so I don't think that would work.

 

[DrMetallica]

you exchange information (address, insurance, etc.) at the time of the accident, and are allowed 10 days to report it. Sounds like you didn't exchange information

 

[Lesson]

Originally posted by DrMetallica
you exchange information (address, insurance, etc.) at the time of the accident, and are allowed 10 days to report it. Sounds like you didn't exchange information

No we didn't, but like I said, he said it was no problem we didn't need to... I said fine and left, now he wants my money.

 

[Eternal]

If you exchange information, you have 10 days to report it.

Since you two did NOT exchange information, it's a "failure to reporty a crime" like diablo said.

So...Let him know that and he'll either keep his mouth shut or get in trouble.

There is also this fact:

He can't prove that any more damages happened because of the crash, since, he didn't report it. Otherwise, I could go out, get backed into by my neighbor, have a nice dent in the fender and not report it, THEN crash into a fence or something and then claim those damages against my neighbor...Ain't gonna work.

 

[diablo]

Originally posted by Lesson
I just did a little research on that diablo and while it is a crime, someone has 10 days to report it... so far its been 1 day so I don't think that would work.

Negative. "A driver who is involved in a motor vehicle accident ... must notify the police of the accident. Moreover, the driver must submit a written report of the accident containing information on the cause, condition, and persons and vehicles involved within 10 days after the accident to the DMV."

This means he must report the accident when it happens, and file a written report within 10 days. Not report the accident within 10 days.


Also, "leaving the scene of an accident" is also a crime. One which both of you committed. Tell the guy what I've told you, and he's going to back off.


If you're the operator of a vehicle involved in an accident, you're obliged to give your name, address, vehicle identification number, and driver's license number to the police or to the injured party before you leave the scene of the accident. If no police officer is present, and you're prevented from giving your information to the other party involved, you should immediately go to the nearest police station to report the accident. Failure to do so means you could be guilty of the crime of leaving the scene of an accident. In most states, leaving the scene of an accident is a Class A misdemeanor, or a felony in cases in which there was physical injury to the other party or any significant property damage, or in the case of a repeat offense. The obligation to remain at the scene of an accident until the required information has been given to the police or other party involved doesn't depend on who was at fault in the accident. If you're involved in an accident, be sure not to leave the scene before you've provided the required information. If you're accused of the crime of leaving the scene of an accident, you should consider contacting an attorney.

http://www.4utah.com/legalanswers/legal/topic.aspx?content_id=9D8F90DC-1425-479A-8358-92BEB8C2DA7E
(While it's from Utah's website, the law is pretty much the same all across the nation...)

 

[Lesson]

Good look eternal and diablo, thanks a lot.