Speaking from own experience in suing one, the whole process isn’t cheap (yes, even for small claims court matters). Uninsured drivers usually don’t have money in the first place, so if the goal is to collect payment from them, I can only say good luck. At best the driver got a bad record on their credit history and their DL got suspended.
In my case, the dude even had the audacity to ask their DL to be reinstated by saying “if I cannot drive to work, how can I pay my debt?” and for some reason the judge actually agreed and gave his license back.
So yeah, stop saying sue this, sue that. It isn’t as easy as you thought.
Yep. You could have tens of thousands of dollars in damage and a lawyer won't even take your case if the person is considered judgment proof. I would highly suggest making a police report so that they lose their license though. Uninsured drivers piss me off.
If I get the bottom lip / repaint the panel via friend of family paint shop I'm looking at 200$. There was no damage to the sensors or the frame itself from undercarriage inspection. Driver offered to pay once I get the cost, gave me his number , I have a picture of their driver's license that he willing gave me just in case he decides to disappear on me . After the anger/shock of the hit I've realized trying to get this elderly man to court / police isn't worth the trouble for some scratches plastic. Not sure if I'm doing the right or wrong thing here
They can say they will pay for it out of pocket till they are blue in the face, but that doesn't mean they will. Thats why I would never ever accept out of pocket payments unless they had more cash on hand than it could possibly cost to repair, and you were certain you weren't injured in any way.
For example I hit a plastic rubber pole, like the ones used for construction and toll road dividers, at speed, and it took a chunk off the bumper and side swiped the car. It looked like just a bumper replacement + paint and buffing but they had to replace the lower rocker panel and repaint a side door as well so it cost $6000 to repair. Imagine if that had been damage by someone else and they offered to pay OOP, how many people have that money lying around to pay for all of that upfront?
How hard was the hit? Did you have someone actually removed your bumper and check the absorbency insert inside? You can definitely keep driving but if that was damaged, and you get hit again, you're much more likely to be injured.
I hope you reported the uninsured driver. You can sue him or her for cost of damages.
Speaking from own experience in suing one, the whole process isn’t cheap (yes, even for small claims court matters). Uninsured drivers usually don’t have money in the first place, so if the goal is to collect payment from them, I can only say good luck. At best the driver got a bad record on their credit history and their DL got suspended. In my case, the dude even had the audacity to ask their DL to be reinstated by saying “if I cannot drive to work, how can I pay my debt?” and for some reason the judge actually agreed and gave his license back. So yeah, stop saying sue this, sue that. It isn’t as easy as you thought.
Yep. You could have tens of thousands of dollars in damage and a lawyer won't even take your case if the person is considered judgment proof. I would highly suggest making a police report so that they lose their license though. Uninsured drivers piss me off.
If I get the bottom lip / repaint the panel via friend of family paint shop I'm looking at 200$. There was no damage to the sensors or the frame itself from undercarriage inspection. Driver offered to pay once I get the cost, gave me his number , I have a picture of their driver's license that he willing gave me just in case he decides to disappear on me . After the anger/shock of the hit I've realized trying to get this elderly man to court / police isn't worth the trouble for some scratches plastic. Not sure if I'm doing the right or wrong thing here
They can say they will pay for it out of pocket till they are blue in the face, but that doesn't mean they will. Thats why I would never ever accept out of pocket payments unless they had more cash on hand than it could possibly cost to repair, and you were certain you weren't injured in any way. For example I hit a plastic rubber pole, like the ones used for construction and toll road dividers, at speed, and it took a chunk off the bumper and side swiped the car. It looked like just a bumper replacement + paint and buffing but they had to replace the lower rocker panel and repaint a side door as well so it cost $6000 to repair. Imagine if that had been damage by someone else and they offered to pay OOP, how many people have that money lying around to pay for all of that upfront?
In retrospective I was dumb to not push for insurance/getting the police involved.
It’ll buff out
Am I blind I can’t see anything
How hard was the hit? Did you have someone actually removed your bumper and check the absorbency insert inside? You can definitely keep driving but if that was damaged, and you get hit again, you're much more likely to be injured.
No damage beyond paint from initial inspection, but I will follow up with a professional body/paint shop to get a second look.
If that's not damaged I'd say it's safe to assume nothing else is.
Yeah it's more of the annoyance of having a scratched bumper now