To Tell Or Not To Tell--Advice Needed ASAP

[Raub]

I suspect most of us speak from the experience of having 'gone the other way'

LOL! Isn't the truth. :doh: Your parents are never as naive or stupid as you think they are.

[RonBurgundy&Gold]

You did the right thing, my only question is, does your buddy even need to fix a tiny little scrape on a 97' Camry?

My sentiments exactly.

[Sarge]

Go with what everyone else said. I know it seems like a big deal now, but in reality it's just a little scratch.

It really won't be as big a deal to your parents as you think it will, and they'll trust you more if you show your honest

Gotta build those brownie points for when you do something really stupid:laugh:

[Sebowski]

I used to sell insurance and still have an active CA insurance license. A lot of bad info here.

There should not be any points from a parking lot accident ,unless you make a claim.

.

Or even if you do, depending on how much the damage is.

Exactly! That's your second bit of advice. Don't make a claim to your insurance company.

NOT TRUE AT ALL!!!! This is exactly why you have insurance. It probably varies from state-to-stae, but the norm in California, is that if the damgae is under $1,000 your insurance pays it, and YOUR RATES DO NOT GO UP!!!!

Some companies use $750, some $500. Check with your company. This might not cost you a penny.

Ask your insurance compnay, or have your parents ask.

the only tricky part of going through insurance compaines is that body shops charge more if the bill is going to an insurance company (right, twa?)

Not gonna. Thanks.

EDIT: Thanks to both of you...twa and cjcdaman.

Re-think that.

Edit: Don't tell the DMV! That is where headaches begin.

[CoachingWinsChampionships]

You did the right thing, my only question is, does your buddy even need to fix a tiny little scrape on a 97' Camry? I know if it were me, and a friend (or teammate) did that to my car, I wouldn't get an estimate. That's just me though.

I agree, but to be honest I don't know him real well at all. He's a senior, but this is his first year on the team (he'd never tried out before). I've never had any classes with him b/c I take all Honors and AP classes, except gym and art. I don't hang out with any of the same kids he does. So I really have not had more than a couple of conversations a year with him, up until a month ago.

In his defense, he seemed to have no problem whatsoever and when I tried to give him my cell number which he did not have yet, he just said that he didn't really think there was any damage and joked about what a piece of crap his car is. Only after he got home and his dad looked at it did he change his tune. Luckily, since I play QB I was still at school watching film and he texted someone that was in the room with me to ask me to call him.

He made it clear that he wasn't mad and he was still friendly, but he did ask for my insurance info, which I didn't give him at the time. He said something about it his dad worrying about it rusting. I can't very well ask him just not to get it fixed. It's something that only he, well really his dad, can decide to do, and his dad has never met me before, so... here we are.

[cjcdaman]

NOT TRUE AT ALL!!!! This is exactly why you have insurance. It probably varies from state-to-stae, but the norm in California, is that if the damgae is under $1,000 your insurance pays it, and YOUR RATES DO NOT GO UP!!!!

Some companies use $750, some $500. Check with your company. This might not cost you a penny.

Do they have deductibles in California?????

[CoachingWinsChampionships]

I used to sell insurance and still have an active CA insurance license. A lot of bad info here.

Or even if you do, depending on how much the damage is.

NOT TRUE AT ALL!!!! This is exactly why you have insurance. It probably varies from state-to-stae, but the norm in California, is that if the damgae is under $1,000 your insurance pays it, and YOUR RATES DO NOT GO UP!!!!

Some companies use $750, some $500. Check with your company. This might not cost you a penny.

Ask your insurance compnay, or have your parents ask.

the only tricky part of going through insurance compaines is that body shops charge more if the bill is going to an insurance company (right, twa?)

Re-think that.

Edit: Don't tell the DMV! That is where headaches begin.

But I have a good student discount that I'm pretty sure would get taken away by State Farm. My dad pays for my insurance, but he wouldn't if I lost that discount.

What does the DMV do and why would you ever tell them about it?

[cjcdaman]

But I have a good student discount that I'm pretty sure would get taken away by State Farm. My dad pays for my insurance, but he wouldn't if I lost that discount.

You should have a deductible, whether it be $250, $500, $1,000, etc. Let's say you have a $500 deductible. If the damage you caused is under $500, the insurance company is not going to pay for that. I have no idea how they do it in California, but why the hell would an insurance company just say,"Ah, the hell with it. We'll cover that. You don't have to pay anything. And your rates will not go up." :doh: I just don't see how it could be any other way.

[twa]

You should have a deductible, whether it be $250, $500, $1,000, etc. Let's say you have a $500 deductible. If the damage you caused is under $500, the insurance company is not going to pay for that. I have no idea how they do it in California, but why the hell would an insurance company just say,"Ah, the hell with it. We'll cover that. You don't have to pay anything. And your rates will not go up." :doh: I just don't see how it could be any other way.

Actually on liabiliy claims there is no deductible, that(deductible) is only on your own property.

And Sebowski, I charge the same to both, but like I said Attitude affects prices :laugh:

[SWFLSkins]

That is why you ask for more than one estimate,you can't trust those bloodsucking estimators in a body shop...I know, I am one

Seriously,if it's more than $250 ask for 2 or 3 estimates,many times the price varies by the customers attitude :laugh:

Right and you should add to stay away from the dealerships, unless he knows someone. Many times though with minor dents and scratches you could call a "dent wizard" or a touch up company that does the same thing at the dealerships for thier used cars. Anyway the above is true in any case, always check at least three places and do have a good, hey I need some help here attitude. Maybe you could even run into another Skins fan and he would,,,hey wait a minute the last guy TWA is a body shop guy,,,,TWA? Can't you help a kid out? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[twa]

TWA? Can't you help a kid out?

_____________

Not into LONG distance relationships

[cjcdaman]

Actually on liabiliy claims there is no deductible, that(deductible) is only on your own property.

Okay, but still . . . I don't see his insurance company ponying up the money to pay for this while at the same time keeping his rates unchanged.

[twa]

Okay, but still . . . I don't see his insurance company ponying up the money to pay for this while at the same time keeping his rates unchanged.

Oh ,I agree if he makes a claim it will likely affect his rates or discounts, though some have minimal amounts they will pay w/o rate changes...Bloodsuckers :laugh:

He can however ask his agent about it w/o actually filing a claim,which might be a good idea if the estimate is very much.

[Seabee1973]

The best thing toi do is tell them because later on in life something like thios happens it could result in a hit and run even if your friend agrees

[Sebowski]

Okay, but still . . . I don't see his insurance company ponying up the money to pay for this while at the same time keeping his rates unchanged.

Believe it or not, it is true. There is no deductible on liabilty claims and, and your rates don't go up unless it goes over a certain amout.

How they get ya?

When the claim is $1,000 your rates go up $600 for 3 years.

[Coooleeey]

You're young. Tell your dad about it and give him the home number for your friend. IMO let the adults hash this out. Unless your father or his father is being unreasonable about a piece of crap car they should be able to man-up and resolve this quickly.

[DeanCollins]

I have no idea how much it should cost... that's part of my problem. I've heard stories of outrageous prices for seemingly tiny amounts of damage. I've pretty much made my mind up to tell them as the vote seems to be unanimous. Actually, I'm about to walk downstairs right now and tell my mom right now before my dad gets home...she's easier to deal with. Wish me luck.

I guess you've told your parents by now. the dent may be able to be removed by "dent masters" for $50-$75. if the scratch isn't too big or deep, someone could apply touch up paint, wet sand it and buff it. Getting that section of the car srayed maybe $400-$500. No points in parking lots, and you won't be calling your insurance co. the deductable is probably $500-$1000 no worrys there. I'd call the kids parents and appoligize nicely. Everyone gets into parking lot scrapes sooner or later. backing up out of a space is where most of them occur.

[Bang]

Tell your parents.

Odds are your folks have been thru something similar themselves once, and they'll understand, even if they get angry.

You may pay a price, but in the long run, honesty is always the best policy, especially with your parents.

~Bang