another accident.. this time from the back

[XploShun]

Sigh…

I was on my way to Flemington after leaving DFO. Got on Homebush Bay Dr and overtook this STATEMENT coz he was doing 20 in a 80 zone. Just b4 the Sydney Market exit, people starting stopping (dunno y) so I slowed down. After like 5 secs a loud BANG!! And my car stalled. The Statesmen hit me! I reckon he was going pretty fast, probably around 40 or something. the ciggie lighter thing popped out. Luckily it didn’t touch me! <_<

the damage is pretty bad, I guess!

Damage:

Rear Bumper: 1 hole and both sides popped out and scratches

http://img69.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc01556mk0.jpg

http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pop2mp3.jpg

http://img180.imageshack.us/my.php?image=poptw8.jpg

http://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bump2xr3.jpg

Tail lights: (Right) a piece has gone (cracked), (Left) didn’t check

Boot Door: pushed in, coz its not at level with the tail lights. I cant close it properly so the door light is always on. Man I hope it doesn’t rain during the weekends.

Boot (interior): the carpet has stuck! cant move it... should i try to tear it out? i think i need the spares soon.

He said he works for a car auction or in a car industry, so he told me to go to his Panel Beater. And it will be fixed for free (of course for free!!! as if im gonna pay for his fault!!). Im cool with that, as long its done properly... But he said.. “yeh, it will be done in a day”… then im like.. WTF!? 1 day!? Last time that tiny bump in the front took 3 days to repaint and stuff.

Now ive got a few questions.

HE doesnt have rego sticker on his car. He said he did it online and it doesn’t expire until November. And ask me to check it with RTA if i dont trust him. Is there such thing? its a company car

Should I really take it to his panel beater? Its all the way in Moore Park, and I live near Concord.

There are like 10 panel beater around my work. -1 the ****ty place I went last time. I really want to take to somewhere i can trust.. but this guy insist.. they will do the job right and all.. sigh...

My front tyre is totally flat now. I don’t know why, it was ok b4 the accident.

But when I got back, the tyre is flat! It cant be his fault, right?

can they repair the rear bumper even tho theres a hole. or do they have to replace it?

and.. y didnt the air bag deploy?? does it only deploy when its a head on collision?

my gf said she will never buy a car.. coz its her 2nd time.. involved in a accident like this. (last time during her L lesson).. hahahah can we sue this guy for mental distress? :D haha

even my battery moved off the tray

i think im pretty lucky.. coz ive seen many bad accidents around homebush bay.. 5 cars in a roll and stuff.

Hahaha man luckily I didn’t install my JDM tail lights last night!!!

how much do you guys think it'll cost?

Edited May 18, 2007 by XploShun

[RO11AS]

Sad to hear man :(

I know you can do your rego online but they still send a sticker via post.

If your worried about the quality of workmanship on the repair, take it to a person who your happy with.

Also try sus out extra cash from him, to do it in his workshop or whatever he recommends. But in either case make sure you have a written contract, cause he might fix it and its very dodgy. Nothing you can do there then.

hope that helped.

[MR22ZZ]

paying rego online you still get a rego sticker that MUST be displayed.

[Kevsta]

Good that you're both okay, but you might want to get your neck checked out for whiplash.

Personally, I'd make an insurance claim and get the insurance company to chase his insurance company.

Take your car to your own panel beater.

Rego sticker thing sounds sus to me. Even if you pay online, you still have the rego sticker, it's just not stamped with a receipt no.

[JJCRU23R]

if the tyre is busted.. then surely its got a connection with the accident. maybe your tyre was warn out already but the thing is the tyre went flat not long after the crash. make him fix or replace the tyre too.

[neK]

Do not take it to his "mate" who is a "panel beater"

Heard one too many horror stories on this one.

You got his details down?

Take it to your insurer and let them handle it. Thats what they are for.

You can never trust ppl who say "i know a panel beater" BS and especially when they dont have a rego sticker on their car!

Edited May 18, 2007 by neK

[RO11AS]

nEK has it spot on there!!!

[Saiya]

Dude sorry to hear about this.

With the rego sticker I pay mine online.

What happens is you will get your rego sticker in the mail as normal. If you pay it online you need to enter in the code that is on the rego papers. You then get a receipt number that you write on the rego paper. You then stick the rego sticker on the windscreen as normal. It gives you instructions after you pay online as well. You dont get a re mailed rego or anything like that.

By law the car must be registered with the registration sticker showing. So thats suss right there. Maybe talk to the police and the RTA and see what they say.

With his panel beater "mate" stuff him. I rather trust the insurance preferred panel beaters than his mate. Contact the insurance company and let them handle it. That way you get a good job.

[shmicko]

Looks like you may just need to get a new rear bar and possibly rear tail light. It all depends on your excess I guess man. To fix your car it would cost $250 for front bar, painted and fitted another $150+ a tail light, a set cost's about $269 so, if you can buy one? 135? Also your boot and everything. I

f your excess is more then that's not worth it imo. I hit the left side of my front bar, cracking it and the fog light area. The headlight reinforcement snapped, so it sat a bit out. Also mud guard lining and under lining of my car got ripped off and shredded.

Dad calculated it @ about $600-$800 worth of damage. Excess under my name is almost that much.. So I left it.

Don't really trust the guy to get it fixed, but if he's willing to buy you a new rear bar, tail light and fit it and fix your boot, perfect condition I'd do it. But if it's a half assed masking job, let your insurance deal with it.

[SuperDave]

I didn't read this too in depth, but I would go through insurance. Your the innocent one, you just want your car back, so you have the leverage. If you want any help try PMing "buddha" as he knows a lot about this sort of stuff.

(off topic: wow, the forum has been updated)

[TRDYUS]

I'd go through insurance also, dont take in whatever they dish out.

[encounta]

Yup, just go through insurance, as long as you got all his details, rego, car, name, license number, etc (hope you copied his details and had a look at his license),

But yeah, don't trust him, and his hook up's, unless you know the shop is good personally...

[Bernie]

Na, I wouldnt go to his if i were u

quality not guaranteed, and he wanted u to go2 his bcoz he works there

means that he has control of wat to do on ur car e.g. say ur bumper has to be replaced,

but he might not do so to save up on the repairing cost

REMEMBER

he was at fault not u

goin 2 his workshop is a privilege for him

Edited May 19, 2007 by Bernie

[XploShun]

thx guys!

hahah everyone says NO!

well.. i cant feel any pain at the moment coz im taking 6 panadine forte everyday.. so i cant feel anything so far

but my gf said her neck hurts a bit last night.. but its a lot better now...

called NRMA.. they said.. they cant find the car in their system

so I went to the police and reported this.. just incase he denies the accident hehehe (he called me last night, saying he lost his license <_<)

the officer said the car is one of those SALE car and stuff... but he said.. he should have put on the rego sticker

anyway.. then i called this dude and ive decided not to take my car to HIS panel beater... coz its way too far and i dunno what hes going to do with my car!! 2nd hand parts and stuff.. NO WAY!

i said the same thing to him... and he said "Nar! Im from the car industry, so we will do the job right" and let me drive their car and stuff during the repair

................ "CAR INDUSTRY"?... then he must be trustworthy ay! (wow new smileys!)

well.. then he said.. hes not going thru with the NRMA so I can take it to my panel beater.. but he will need to call HIS guys to check it out as well, just incase my panel beater makes up a huge bill...

well, i reckon its fair.. so im gonna leave my car at my panel beater 1st thing on monday.. and they can start discussing...

should i be there as well?? hahah just incase my panel beater starts bargaining with this other dude.. HAHAHHA

anyway.. QUESTION again!

is the rear bumper hollow?

coz spare wheel is stuck now... like the back of the bumper has squeezing the wheel! im wondering whether its the bumper/reinforcement bar that its bent.

and also in the spare wheel cabin i can see LIGHT from the back of the car.. but theres no hole on that part of the bumper... y is that?

man... this sux... everytime i drive.. i can hear the door banging and stuff...

and both my rear tyre is only 14 psi today... the one in front.. after using the basketball pump last night, its 12psi. the other one is around 28. thats when the tyres are warm.

Edited May 19, 2007 by XploShun

[CORZZA]

Hey im sorry to hear about that! Never nice! :(

Hopefully the steel plate behind the bumper is straight still. otherwise they have to cut it and replace it. that will be the biggest cost

[JAZE55]

Hey Xploshun, TRUST ME ON THIS go through your insurance. I have been through a similar thing and the guy just kept stuffing around and making excuses. I just called my insurance company and they dealt with the whole thing. There is no point wasting your time and energy going through this crap, that is the reason you pay for your insurance. At least if you take it to your insurnace company its a qualified panel beater with life time warranty.

Im just warning you of what can happen, cause when my insurance company chased this guy who hit me, he called police saying he had lost his licence and all this crap he made up. I was called into the police and this guy was such a shifty BAR%TARD, he wasted my time as I even took a day off work to meet him and resolve the issue and he didnt turn up.

PLEASE go through your insurnace, I dont want you to go through what i had to. My insurance dealt with everything and I had no headaches after.

Sorry for the long post.....

[GAZOOM]

Hey Mic,

Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope your Ok mate.

Always go through your insurance when its not your fault thats what you pay them for.

Good luck

Cheers,

Gaz

[ADDZZ]

don't let him discuss wth his panel beater. it has nothing to do with him how the car is repaired.

leave it all up to your insurance and get your own quotes. those quotes are for you not him. he doesn't need to know anything.

remember its his fault you have to go through all this crap so why should you cut him even a little bit of a break.

Also make sure you get all new parts. don't let them just repair or plastiweld the bumper and stuff. some repairers will help you out on this.

like bull**** to the insurance company for ya and stuff. my repairer helps me out on stuff like that. he's freakin awesome at colour matching too.

last time I was in an accident was in my mr2. I was on the way to work and this guy in a datsun 120y smashed into the back of me at a roud about. ****** tried to tell me it was my fault cos my brakes are too good. he didnt hav insurance either. my insurance were brilliant. i think they're takin him to court cos he wont pay the 3grand.

[RME1]

Insurance all the way dude.

Take him to town on this one! GOod job with the police thing B)

No one should be able to 'get away' with not paying a claim when it is their fault!!

Get three quotes from panel beaters you trust and get him to cough up prior to the repairs.

This dude sounded dodgey as from the first paragraph you mentioned him :o

Getting in a prang that ain' ur fault is heaps demoralsing

Things will pick up.

TAKE HIM TO TOWN (and show him where to go) :D

[JJCRU23R]

yea totally agree.

its supposed to be 3 panel beaters that you trust 2 work on your car, not the guys he trusts.

its your car, not his.

he may be paying for it, but its his fault so if he want to argue over it then he should take it to court...

"car industry".. like car rebirthing or something? lol! how reliable can he be when hes lost his license?

[sinan]

faa dats bad man. im cheering, just recently bought a stivo 05 and just got it lowered but wen i hear stories like dis make me feel bad.. dont listen to da guy. get ur car fixed and the panel beater will send the bill over to the mans insurance company. some guy recently hit me in my mums accord euro from the back. we took da car to a prestige place and they did an excellent job. i'd recomment this panel beater to any1. and i also heard this panel beater is 1 of the top 10 panel beaters in sydney. hope u get her back on da roads soon. ohh and an important tip is that wen u take ur car to ur insurance as long as its not ur fault u dont have to pay any exces fees at all.

Edited May 19, 2007 by sinan

[XploShun]

i really want the insurance to get involved...

but i said, alright if he wants to pay cash and get it fixed..... sigh.. i regret saying that... saves a lot of trouble!!!

anyway.. i'll leave my car at my panel beater tomorrow morning.... and he can get his guys to check it out there.

if he tries to fuk me around, saying my panel beater charges too much, i'll just call NRMA and he can get stuffed.

i kept my words and he blew his chance...

btw.. sinan.. wheres this panel beater?? i know its a easier job for panel beaters.. if the car is new and stuff..

my bro had a similar accident on his euro...

it was a good job as well.. even tho i reckon that panel beater is full of *****...

good panel beaters.. i know neK knows 1 as well! :)

CORZZA, i think my steel plate is busted too...

coz my spare wheel cabin is all cracked and stuff on both sides..

so i guess... the steel in between must have bend as well....

should i really get 3 quotes from 3 panel beaters? near my place theres a panel beater for BMW and BENZ.. id like to see their quote!

Edited May 20, 2007 by XploShun

[anthoboi]

farrr michael sorry to hear about ur car dude ..

im not sure what advice i could add buh just dont let him control the situation too much :P cozl ike the guys say .. its ur car n u should be able to take it to where eva u want if ur not dealing with insurance .. buh yeh if he starts whining about the panel beaters u get quotes off .. call ur insurance guys .. :P haha .. or u can just say .. " if ur complaining about my panel beaters im gonna clal nrma .. what would u like to do :P " BRIBE :D HAHAHA

laterz dude .. sorry to hear

anthony

[XploShun]

hahaha im not greedy... bribe me with a levin zr.. that'll do..

anyway.. heres some pic of the damage..(daytime)

[neK]

i really want the insurance to get involved...

but i said, alright if he wants to pay cash and get it fixed..... sigh.. i regret saying that... saves a lot of trouble!!!

anyway.. i'll leave my car at my panel beater tomorrow morning.... and he can get his guys to check it out there.

Michael, have you noticed that NO ONE has agreed with what you have said so far? Sorry to sound harsh, but the reality here is that no one wants to see you getting screwed over. A few of the guys talk from actual experience, so its up to you to believe them.

I know you're a nice guy, but DO NOT feel sorry for this bloke, do not accept his cash. You will only get screwed over.

Once you accepted the cash (or even a portion of it), you've pretty much "resolved" it and you wont have much of a leg to stand.

So if he screws you, and you take it NRMA, its going to become a piece of turd.

He will probably argue/make up that you accepted partial fault hence why you accepted to foot a portion of the bill, which is why he only paid you $1000 instead of $3000. Your story vs his. You will be surprised at how many different variants of the story that can arise from these things, and how messy these things can become (and NRMA wont even want to touch it with a 10ft pole!).

How honest can the guy be if he's in the "car industry" and driving around a "car thats for sale" with "no license", which to me spells "im out to screw you"

Btw, if you really want cash, make sure you get the highest quotes, and DO NOT let him quote it. If he doesnt agree to those quotes, then tell him you will take it through the insurer. Remember his "panel beater" will go there and try to underquote. ie Your quote - $3000. His "panel beater" quote will be $1500. Guess what he's gonna offer to pay. ;)

PS: You can also sue him for damages caused to your neck. I recommend that both you and your gf get checked out by a doctor and get a full written report. If there are potential injuries which the doctor recommends that you take time off work, sue the d!ckhead for loss of income too.

Edited May 20, 2007 by neK