So earlier this morning i was driving to work on a backroad to evade traffic, this road is fairly busy and also quite narrow. While driving antother car drove a bit too close and his mirror hit mine. After meeting at a nearby parking lot and exchanging information it was apparant that we both believe the other driver to be at fault.
The damages are minor, the back of his mirror has some scratches on it and my mirror has no noticable damage. I’m not planning to have my car looked at but it seems like he is. So when he contacts me i plan to tell him i don’t want any insurance involved because it would increase both our premiums as there is no proof of who was at fault.
Instead i want to offer to pay half of the repairs assuming it stays within reason (100$ ish). I would ofcourse demand to see a receipt first.
Edit 1:
After a comment and re-reading my post it seemed a bit unclear. But i believe the other driver is at fault and he believes i am at fault.
Also the damage likely does not warrant a replacement, however i would’t mind advice on what to do in case it does
The mirror replacement on my 98 station wagon was $600 just for the mirror, plus installation (my mechanic did the work for free, so I don’t know what they’d charge. You’re not skipping out on this for $100. I suggest you contact your insurance before his does.
You think you can get any bodywork done on a car for $100 (or $200 if that’s pre-split)? You must live in the past. Stay there, it’s not getting better.
Most people have deductibles that make extremely minor dings not worth filing a claim.
NAH. You can ask not to go through insurance, they’re totally entitled to use their insurance.
> assuming it stays within reason (100$ ish)
You either need to commit to the plan or not. It will cost what it costs.
You can’t persuade someone not to go through insurance, then refuse to split the cost if it’s more than you’d like.
Don’t forget some mirrors have electrics going through them now, you’re looking at 300-400 $.
$800 + and $250 for installation… I just checked.
YTA
Why are you worried about him reporting to his insurance in a situation in which you both believe he is at fault?
You have no damage, so you have no reason to report to your own insurance, nor to his.
Nor do you have any reason to pay for any of his damage.
So either you’re lying about who’s at fault, or you genuinely don’t understand how this works.
Sorry if it was unclear but i believe he’s at fault and he seems to believe I’m at fault.
The reason i don’t want insurance involved is that if we both claim not to be at fault both our insurances will pay half meaning we both lose our accident free years (not sure if this is a thing in the rest of the world)
Looks like you’re in the Netherlands (probably worth adding that, as the American prices will be vastly different, and greatly inflated). If it’s similar to the uk, the insurance will consider it ‘knock for knock’ so joint liability.
I’d let him get a quote for repair and offer 50% if it’s likely to be less than the increase in annual insurance premium for having an at fault claim
NAH
That was indeed my plan, i just wanted some perspective to see if it would be reasonable
NAH
I’m impressed you both stopped tbh. I had a mirror hit while I was queuing at a junction last week and the driver carried on. I’ve had that happen multiple times!
Technically yes, they should have stopped but it does seem here, in the UK, hardly anyone ever does. I think we must all drive around with slightly scratched mirrors!
If he’s getting his insurance involved then you should too. Two can play that game and why should your insurance premium suffer when your car was hit as well.
I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that but if he’s unreasonable about it i’ll definetly involve my own insurance
ESH
This is so minor that it’s shameful. In 10 years time, both of you will not give a fuck about this incident. Pay, or don’t pay. It’s so fucking meaningless. Tomorrow might be the worst day of your life, and this tiny thing will seem like a joke in comparison. Let it go.
I mean sure in a couple of years i probably won’t even remember it, and if it where fully up to me i would’t even bother having those scratches fixed. But he probably doesn’t think that way, so i want to meet him halfway.
Also if my insurance premium goes up because he insists on involving insurance, that would be a significant amount of money over the next couple of years. So the main reason i want to know if what i’m planning to offer is reasonable is to make as little a deal out of the situation as possible while hopefully keeping everyone involved reasonably happy.
> sure in a couple of years i probably won’t even remember it
Okay, then why is it now such a big thing? Settle it. Clean your hands of it. Move on as quickly as possible. Future-you will be so happy. What is it that you think you are fighting for? Is it real? Is it tangible? Is it worth the effort?
Tomorrow it will be you, your fault, someone else’s mirror. It will be so stupid and benign. Your car insurance was never designed to squabble over such tiny details. Remember: YOU said that your insurance will change. I didn’t. They didn’t. Your insurance didn’t. Settle it. Let it go. There is nothing more I could possibly say to you. One day you may find yourself at the dangerous end of a law suit that involves motor vehicles and a lot more than a fucking mirror. I wish my Christmas wish for you that this never happens, but should it happen, you will have a lot of discussion with your insurance company, and perhaps your lawyer, and I won’t be there. Neither will *this* version of you.
Listen to me: There was an incident once when I almost had a head-on collision with another vehicle. We would both be at approx 80 km/h. That is a lethal incident. Between my response, theirs, and fate, it ended up with their vehicle spinning out of control, and barely grazing my vehicle. The damage to my car was that one of my doors which had some plastic bumper thingy, was impacted with their front bumper, at ~100 km/h. I cannot recall, nor do I care, what damage the other car sustained. The outcome of this could have been anything *but* less. Unless we totally missed each other.
When I got out of my car, I ran to their car and asked them if they were okay. I then sat there for 30 min telling them that this is the best day of both of our lives.
The small stuff is small. Deal with it quickly and move on. There are so many important things in your life. This isn’t one of them.