Ever have a family member hit your car?

"Roadster Man" (roadsterman) 08/22/2013 at 20:11 • Filed to: None

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What did you do?

Three weeks ago my dad backed into my miata and dented the rear quarter panel. No big deal, I don't pay rent so I had to let it slide. It'll take me a day of bondo work to fix it.

Five minutes ago, a relative pulling up to my house hit my miata with his trailer and wrecked the bumper and fender. Luckily it's drive-able after a few minutes with a crowbar. We are going through insurance at his behest but I feel guilty- I don't want his rates to go up, but I want my damn car fixed. Is it impolite to talk cash as an alternative?

An aside: What should I tell the shop? I can't have them spray the new bumper and fender because my car is plasti-dipped, but I want to be compensated for having to buy 2 more gallons of dip because now I need to re-dip this thing.

I think my miata is cursed. In February it slipped out of gear, rolled down my (steep) driveway, and crashed through my garage door, destroying my ping-pong table in the process. Then I got screwed by a mechanic, and after I finally get the new front end on and dip the car, it gets backed into. And now this!

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 20:12

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Twice. Same car, same damage, just opposite sides. Once I was riding in the car that hit me. Just let insurance (AAA) take care of it, cross insured so no deductible.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 20:16

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maybe you should stop parking your Miata anywhere. Just keep driving.

-Amateur > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 20:17

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Take this, and go for their knees:

Just kidding.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 20:17

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Yes.

My aunt hit my Kia with my uncle's Opel Vectra. Cost me a rear bumper. But I decide to remove it at all to save weight.

Party-vi > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 20:17

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I saw sitting at a light when I felt a "bump" from behind. I was first at the light with no one behind me when I pulled up. I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of my Cherokee ready to lose my shit at the dumb fuck behind me who couldn't get stopped in time to not avoid hitting my car. I then proceeded to turn around towards the offending car and...it was my dad in our Silverado, laughing his ass off.

Fucker.

webmonkees > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 20:19

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Realize the passage into adulthood as your parents just did something they used to only expect you to do, i.e. make a mistake.

Also, I park out of range.

newsmctado > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 20:21

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I HAD a family member that hit my car. No one has seen him sense.

Sn210 > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 20:23

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My mother inlaw scratched up my bumper backing out of my driveway because she was so concerned with avoiding my lawn, she forgot about my car. She offered to pay for the repair, but none of the local shops seem to want to fix it either because its such a small job or because I said I wasn't going through insurance... Took one guy a week and an email reminder to give me a high price. Another guy gave me a better price on the spot, but hasn't called me back yet with a time to drop it off and it's been two weeks.

Joe_Limon > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 20:36

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Dad did the same thing to my 86 tbird. He paid for the repairs.

ASheep > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 21:00

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My Girlfriend's mum reversed into my old car a couple of years ago, her tow bar went right through my front grill...

boxrocket > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 22:08

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I once was the relative hitting a relative's car, and before I was licensed. My brother was over doing laundry and it was about to storm, so I offered to back his F-150 up the driveway just in front of the garage so his walk to the truck would be less wet. I was wearing untied sneakers that got wet on the ground, and I didn't have the foresight to adjust the bench forward, so while hitting the brake, my foot slipped off the brake and hit the gas, causing me to back into my mom's recently-acquired Accord parked in the garage (notably, it was also mother's day), which caused a chain reaction pushing the Accord into the garage fridge and that into the garage wall. To say the least, I was surprised and mildly terrified, as it was before I was licensed (using the excuse of driving my brother's truck to practice), and was more or less in front of my entire immediate family.

End result, I wound up paying the insurance deductible for the Honda, (front and rear bumper covers, some structural elementd, straighten the hood), paid cash to unbend the substructure of the truck's bumper, and had the garage fridge recycled.

As for your case, I'd put chocks behind the wheels on the downhill side (the type with ropes for easier removal), and make a cage out of pool noodles and something supportive with flags at all corners and in the middle so if bumped they wave, so a bit of warning before contacting the car.

GhostZ > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 22:08

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Don't pursue him aggressively.

But make the insurance claim. Think of it this way: does hitting a family member's car make you off-the-hook for accountability? That's like saying "Oh, I punched someone across the face and broke their jaw, but it's okay and they don't mind because we're related!" It doesn't make sense.

Family is there to support and help eachother succeed, not tear eachother down or make mistakes that hurt eachother. Backing into your Miata is a mistake. Support your family by not letting it get between you and being mature about it. But don't let them take advantage of your relationship just because you're afraid that if you made them own up to their mistake, they wouldn't like you.

Any family member who couldn't accept a major mistake like that isn't a family member I really want to like me anyway. Maybe if they don't like me, they'd learn to be a better family member/human being and watch where they are going .

Agrajag > Roadster Man 08/22/2013 at 22:50

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My brothers wife has hit his car in their driveway no less than 4 times.

His Stigness > Roadster Man 08/23/2013 at 01:11

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When you're in an accident and you're not at fault, the car is supposed to be returned to it's original state, so the insurance has to pay to re-dip your car. It may be a fight since it's not factory and it wasn't done by a shop, but if you don't want to get screwed, you have to pursue it and be persistent. Don't think of the insurance company as an extension of your family member, there rates won't go up anymore because you have to re-dip your car. Just remember that your car has to be repaired to it's original condition, platidip and all.

Stef Schrader > Roadster Man 08/23/2013 at 11:46

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Dinero or bust. You wrecko coche? Necesito dinero.