My son's new-ish car was parked on the street (legal, side street) & hit by a hit & run driver. Bad damage. Thinking out loud about next steps with insurance, body shop, etc. and wanted to run by BHers...
Details:
Saturday night, around 10 pm* +/- 30 minutes, son's 2020 Honda CR-V (4WD, base LE model, low mileage, good condition - retail value probably high teens $K?) was badly hit (I'm guessing ~15-25 mph). He did not find out/realize until this morning, around 11:30 am. Son was obviously not in the vehicle, so no health damage to him, thankfully.
* Time verified by folks who had passed the area around 9:30 (no damage) and 10:30 (damage), bracketing the time.
Main damage is to left rear. Trunk bent, plastic quarter panel cover & light assembly ~destroyed, left rear (metal) quarter panel bent, metal underneath the plastic panel (not quite undercarriage, but sort of just behind the wheel well) badly bent up, rear bumper badly scratched up. Left rear door doesn't SHOW obvious damage, but who knows. His car was, in turn, pushed into the car parked in front of him, with some damage to son's front bumper, and what possibly amounts to scratching to the bumper of the car in front (an old beater). I tried to look underneath son's car and didn't see obvious damage.
Car parts, from both son's car and the car that hit him, sprayed across the street. From parts left at the scene, we could roughly identify the other vehicle (2019-20 Hyundai, and I think they figured out the model, but I don't remember what it was.) Son called the police (St. Louis city) who were... disinterested. Took a verbal report (over the phone) and would not even send an officer to the scene. Yay, cops... There might be Ring footage from nearby buildings and so on, but given the deep police disinterest, I told son not to bother trying to find the other party any further - if the cops aren't interested... Area in question is fairly densely populated.
Son has State Farm, $2000 C&C, un & under-insured motorist coverage. Tried to call into SF today but was told lines were busy, do it online instead. Started the online process (and appears to have been approved for coverage, subject to the $2000 deductible), but we kinda froze the process - want to talk to possible body shops and probably S.F. rep, live before proceeding.
Son is 23, just moved out of the house ~10 months ago, is an engineer, can reasonably afford co-pays and deductibles, but not happy about this. I live close by and will help him navigate this situation. I yanked a surplus car from our youngest daughter (at college nearby, doesn't really need it), and will let son use that, at least in the short run.
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So, now we get into my question areas. We plan to talk to our S.F. rep (local office) first thing in the morning and then go from there - either finish filing online, or over the phone, or ??? Then pick out a body shop from SF's list and start that side of things.
I think there's a fair chance the car will be totalled, and a fair chance it won't.
Is this considered as a claim under comprehensive, or collision with/from uninsured/unknown driver?
Will his rates go up?
Is it likely he can get a rental car from SF for a few weeks?
Any real complications for son if the lightly damaged (at most) beater that son's car got pushed into makes grandiose claims against son?
What's the best policy on finding a GOOD bodyshop, from the many on the list? I didn't see any specifically Honda dealers on there. A few body shops were "Honda Certified" or something like that, but I'm not sure how meaningful that is. Clearly if the car is to be repaired, a lot of replacement parts will be needed. I plan to accompany him to whatever body shop we lean towards, and ask lots of questions when we're there, to try to get some feel for competence and quality. But I'm not an automotive expert - just someone who's dealt with more car problems over the years than my son.
I'm worried that, if repaired, the car might have structural integrity issues, other lingering problems, and diminished value. I don't know if the $ value of the claim affects son's rates, or even if we could control/alter much if so (i.e. does a totalled car affect rates more than a $5K claim, if it's not his fault in either case).
Details:
Saturday night, around 10 pm* +/- 30 minutes, son's 2020 Honda CR-V (4WD, base LE model, low mileage, good condition - retail value probably high teens $K?) was badly hit (I'm guessing ~15-25 mph). He did not find out/realize until this morning, around 11:30 am. Son was obviously not in the vehicle, so no health damage to him, thankfully.
* Time verified by folks who had passed the area around 9:30 (no damage) and 10:30 (damage), bracketing the time.
Main damage is to left rear. Trunk bent, plastic quarter panel cover & light assembly ~destroyed, left rear (metal) quarter panel bent, metal underneath the plastic panel (not quite undercarriage, but sort of just behind the wheel well) badly bent up, rear bumper badly scratched up. Left rear door doesn't SHOW obvious damage, but who knows. His car was, in turn, pushed into the car parked in front of him, with some damage to son's front bumper, and what possibly amounts to scratching to the bumper of the car in front (an old beater). I tried to look underneath son's car and didn't see obvious damage.
Car parts, from both son's car and the car that hit him, sprayed across the street. From parts left at the scene, we could roughly identify the other vehicle (2019-20 Hyundai, and I think they figured out the model, but I don't remember what it was.) Son called the police (St. Louis city) who were... disinterested. Took a verbal report (over the phone) and would not even send an officer to the scene. Yay, cops... There might be Ring footage from nearby buildings and so on, but given the deep police disinterest, I told son not to bother trying to find the other party any further - if the cops aren't interested... Area in question is fairly densely populated.
Son has State Farm, $2000 C&C, un & under-insured motorist coverage. Tried to call into SF today but was told lines were busy, do it online instead. Started the online process (and appears to have been approved for coverage, subject to the $2000 deductible), but we kinda froze the process - want to talk to possible body shops and probably S.F. rep, live before proceeding.
Son is 23, just moved out of the house ~10 months ago, is an engineer, can reasonably afford co-pays and deductibles, but not happy about this. I live close by and will help him navigate this situation. I yanked a surplus car from our youngest daughter (at college nearby, doesn't really need it), and will let son use that, at least in the short run.
===
So, now we get into my question areas. We plan to talk to our S.F. rep (local office) first thing in the morning and then go from there - either finish filing online, or over the phone, or ??? Then pick out a body shop from SF's list and start that side of things.
I think there's a fair chance the car will be totalled, and a fair chance it won't.
Is this considered as a claim under comprehensive, or collision with/from uninsured/unknown driver?
Will his rates go up?
Is it likely he can get a rental car from SF for a few weeks?
Any real complications for son if the lightly damaged (at most) beater that son's car got pushed into makes grandiose claims against son?
What's the best policy on finding a GOOD bodyshop, from the many on the list? I didn't see any specifically Honda dealers on there. A few body shops were "Honda Certified" or something like that, but I'm not sure how meaningful that is. Clearly if the car is to be repaired, a lot of replacement parts will be needed. I plan to accompany him to whatever body shop we lean towards, and ask lots of questions when we're there, to try to get some feel for competence and quality. But I'm not an automotive expert - just someone who's dealt with more car problems over the years than my son.
I'm worried that, if repaired, the car might have structural integrity issues, other lingering problems, and diminished value. I don't know if the $ value of the claim affects son's rates, or even if we could control/alter much if so (i.e. does a totalled car affect rates more than a $5K claim, if it's not his fault in either case).
Statistics: Posted by psteinx — Sun Aug 25, 2024 7:03 pm — Replies 0 — Views 41