FRESH OFF THE LOT COLLISIONS

bmwdeej

I decided to take my brand new BMW 323i sedan,
premium pkg, leather interior, titanium silver
color onto the freeway for the first time... well
it was stop and go traffic (L.A. OF COURSE). I was
stopped and all of a sudden i was hit from
behind!!. My seat belt tightened up and I realized
I was rear ended. I was in SHOCK- pulled over 2
busy freeway lanes-the guy that hit me followed.
Needless to say I was soooo upset my left side rear
bumper and tail pipes were dented and scraped and
the black piping above the bumper was off the
car.The guy that hit me was apologetic said he FELL
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL AND IS DRIVING WITHOUT
INSURANCE! I was crying at this point...to make a
long story short-my insurance co. covered expenses
(I had to pay my 500 dollar deductible) I got all
new parts and chrome tailpipe covers out of it. The
guy still hasn't paid...Anybody ever had similar
experience? The car looks brand new but does
anybody think this might hurt resale value? The BMW
body shop says no because the parts are brand new
replacements.

obyone

of replacing all the parts. Why hasn't the guy paid...obviously no money so don't hold your breath. Did you call the cops and make a report? Got to get those no insurance drivers off the road. Is there a fine/jail time in your state for driving without insurance? I would have pursued that route at least for some vidication...

bmwdeej

Just after the accident I called the highway patrol and they said if no one was hurt just to settle it with the insurance companies. I said thats just it the guy that hit me is an uninsured driver. The officer said it still has to go through my insurance co. and that the DMV has an accident form that must be filled out and returned to DMV within 1 mos. I spoke to the DMV and told them the story-they told me that once I complete the form and it is processed the state law is that they will take that persons drivers lic. for one year. Then for three years following that he must provide proof of insurance. I'm still calling my ins. co's collection dept. to see what they are doing to get me my $500 back(my deductible). It's pretty sad that I was a victim (my car that is) yet I have to pay because some irresponsible person was driving without insurance... Thanks for listening!

burdawg

I live in the LA area too. I wouldn't worry about the damage to your car-it sounds minor and I doubt if it will effect the resale value much or at all. As for the person that hit you-don't hold your breath that California will do anything. It's my opinion that most of the laws we have now don't have any teeth to back them up, and if your waiting for the DMV to take action, well good luck.
My brother in law was hit a while back by a guy that had no insurance, license, or registration. His Cal bug was totalled. The local police were called, but wouldn't do anything. He pointed out that just the Porsche headlights that were smashed were worth more than this guys car. The police pointed out that the guy will be across the border before they could do anything. So what's the answer?
The only community I've heard of that has really used these laws is Buena Park, where recently they were running a check point for license, registration, and insurance. No drivers license or driving with a suspended license-car impounded. No registration or proof of insurance-citation issued. No ifs, ands, or buts. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I was amazed at the number of impounds and citations issued. Other places may have tried this also, but I'm not aware of it.

danielj3

I bought Mercury Sable wagon almost 3 months ago.
It is a 2000 model and brand new, shiny gold color. Somebody rear ended me at about 25 to 30
mph on a road in NY. The only damage was a scraped
bumper which the other driver paid for in cash.
I fixed it a had money left over. The guy happily paid, probably not his first accident.
I was lucky but I shouldve called police and made
a report though.

How fast was the car that hit you traveling? It seems like a lot of damage to your BMW.

bnormann

..this is a good topic for our Finance, Warranty and Insurance conference. You might want to look at diminished value. You will need an appraisal done by an independent appraiser, probably because your insurance company will usually fight it.

Your Host, Bruce.