Got rear-ended, help need!

Capital Slow

Hey, guys,

GF's little Corsa got rear-ended by a heavy family saloon as the traffic was pulling away and the car in front cut-out, stopped the corsa on time but the one behind didn't and result a rear impact on the bumper, the bumper's few points are disconnect, rear plate light holder was knocked off and the window is rattling on revs.

Called the guard on the spot and the guards are reluctant to come when they know there is no ambulance needed, but I insisted them to come and 5 mins later they did, and first thing they said was "there is no damage to your car, and the other one goes I can't see any damage at all, we see accident everyday, this is not accident.

To be fair, it was not a heavy impact but was heavy enough to shot the Corsa a few yards, coke can in the cup holder was on the floor, air fresher on the floor, everything on the seat were on the floor.

Called your man today, give him the assessment from the dealer for all the parts and labour for about 1k, I know it is a bit much, I don't mind if you man agree to settle privately and get it done correctly for a bit less in a Indy garage, but the thing is,

Your man said there is not any damage and he is going to get to the guard to prove it.

My question is surely the guards can't assess the damage on the spot and there could be hidden damage underneath and now your man sounds like going to leg it.

Never involved in accident, please advice what's the best procedures to go through the whole thing.

Sorry for can't make it shorter, apologies and many thanks for advises in advance.

Drummerboy08

Sorry, What?


*EDIT* - Now that i've translated it, i think your in a sticky one there sir. If it goes to insurance companies or Court, the Guard has already said there was no damage. It might be hard to prove otherwise.

qz

Preview before you post next time eh?

edit:
Can you try get some pictures of the car before and after the incident just to show what exactly happened to the bodywork? To show the other driver / the insurance companies.

Random

Personally I would report it to my own insurance company and then to his insurance company. Let them take it from there.

andrewh5

Whether or not there is damage done, the fact is a collision occurred and the garda was wrong! Did you get his/her name/number? If so you should report them. If there is evidence of damaage to your car discovered in an examination at a garage you have every right to insist on an insurance claim from the other driver. If s/he refuses they are breaking the law.

Capital Slow

andrewh5 wrote: »

Whether or not there is damage done, the fact is a collision occurred and the garda was wrong! Did you get his/her name/number? If so you should report them. If there is evidence of damaage to your car discovered in an examination at a garage you have every right to insist on an insurance claim from the other driver. If s/he refuses they are breaking the law.

Thanks,

forgot to say, got ur man's reg, name, address and phone number in front of the garda,

got the garda's name and as well!

brought to the Opel deal and got examed there, should I pursuit it through insurance if he does not agree to settle?

Random

Capital Slow wrote: »

Thanks,

forgot to say, got ur man's reg, name, address and phone number from the garda,

got the garda's name and as well!

brought to the Opel deal and got examed there, should I pursuit it through insurance if he does not agree to settle?

If you/him are disputing the level of damage and events etc etc then I would suggest reporting to yours and his insurance company.

In my opinion the sooner you do it the better.

BoardsRanger

I would have thought that the Guards assessment of the damage is irrelevant. Could he assess if you had whiplash, broken bones etc? - No. The same should apply to the damage of the car. His job is to determine how the accident happened and take note of evidence. The garage should determine if any damage has been done.

Random

I doubt the Garda's opinion would be too relevant here but my advice is simply to report it to both insurance companys. I don't see why someone would try and settle privately if there is a dispute as to the level of damage etc. It's just gonna lead to trouble down the line.

Anyway, just my thoughts on it.

CharlieCroker

Its not the Garda's job to comment on the level of damage to your car. Even if its the smallest scratch, thats not up to the Gardai.
His job, as long as nobody's injured, is to ensure that both parties exchange insurance details.

ART6

If you run into the back of someone you were too close and are liable. End of. Doesn't matter what the Guard said. The only time there is any mitigation for the person who rammed you is if you braked hard at a time when there was no reason to do so -- like braking to threaten the tailgater.

kermitpwee

The guards opinion has no bearing here. He is not supposed to comment on the damage. If you can get the person who hit into the corsa to admit they hit the corsa then thats it. It will get sorted, once the guard records that you were hit from behind and it can be proven that they hit you then thats it.

The correct procedure is to ring his insurance company after the accident and tell them you are claiming from one of their clients. This thing of sorting it out privately just causes headaches. He hit you why should you accomodate him.

kermitpwee

Capital Slow wrote: »

brought to the Opel deal and got examed there, should I pursuit it through insurance if he does not agree to settle?

His insurance company will offer you garages where you can get it repaired as they will have set deals for repairs with these garages.

You are entitled to get it repaired where you wish( say that opel garage) if you go this way his insurance company will send out an independent assessor to value the damage.

Mr Benevolent

Call you insurance company. Gardai are not qualified as damage or liability assesors and have no say in this. Believe me, the insurance company will sort it out regardless.

CTU_Agent

Call your insurance company.

Report all details to them including garda's name, other drivers details and the report you received from the opel garage

They will send an inspector to inspect the car

The insurance company will then contact the other driver to inform him a claim will be registered.

Liability will be decided.

Payment will be arranged and car will be repaired.

Points to note

Gardai are not car assesors, they take notes and gather evidence.

[You are *obliged* to phone your insurance company to report the incident

End contact with the other driver, if he phones you, tell him your insurance company is dealing with the incident and you can comment no further.

PS I work for an Insurance company and have been in this situation myself. Hope t his helps

su_dios

While you may be totally honest here and you see the damage to your car, the other guy might not see anything worth arguing over and then think that you're using it as an excuse for a claim or to fix up a previous mark or dent.

Just tell him to handle it through the insurance and get a few more quotes maybe as 1k seems a lot of money for what seems to be a minor bang with no visible damage.

I am very careful when it comes to my car and if someone banged into the back of me I would notice the faintest scratch yet they might see nothing. It would still have been their fault though and you should not lose out because of the other person.

Voodoomelon

Well a rear bumper replacement, respray and labour coould easily be in the €600+ area, and if the rear window is rattling that probably means a new one of them too, so I wouldn't say €1000 is far off.

I'd do everything CTU_Agent just said, step by step.

Tipsy Mac

Call your insurance company and let them deal with it, cease all contact with the other driver, you gave him the very reasonable option of paying for it himself and he refused.

AAARON

yeah i agree there could be back panel and rear bumper carrier damage the guard was in the wrong to give an opinion on damage as hes only there to take statments ring your insurance they will go through his

Barr

What exactly are they doing for a €1000? what year is the car btw

Capital Slow

CTU_Agent wrote: »

Call your insurance company.

Report all details to them including garda's name, other drivers details and the report you received from the opel garage

They will send an inspector to inspect the car

The insurance company will then contact the other driver to inform him a claim will be registered.

Liability will be decided.

Payment will be arranged and car will be repaired.

Points to note

Gardai are not car assesors, they take notes and gather evidence.

[You are *obliged* to phone your insurance company to report the incident

End contact with the other driver, if he phones you, tell him your insurance company is dealing with the incident and you can comment no further.

PS I work for an Insurance company and have been in this situation myself. Hope t his helps

Thanks for the reply and thanks for everyone here, really helpful, just thought may need to contact your man's insurance company, did not know to contact our one as well.

So, it means we would not be able to have the car repaired until the liability is settled and payment is arranged, is that right? Cause really dont wanna to pay upfront in case the dispute is never settled?

Pedro K

I also work for an insurance company.

Your company may offer you the option to go "comp and recovery" if you don't want the hassle of chasing your mans insurance. Basically they will fix the damage to your car under your own comp policy (if you have comp) and then chase up the third party's insurance company for recovery of the outlay.

It essentially takes contact between you and the third party out of the equation altogether.

Only downside is if your insurance company doesn't recover the outlay by the time your policy is renewed it will affect your NCD until they do make a recovery.

Mr Benevolent

Pedro K and CTU_Agent are spot on. I work in insurance as well. Bottom line - ring your insurance company tomorrow. If he rings don't discuss anything.