Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with insurance and car

Car insurance in New Orleans

goneill — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:24:44 -0800

I bought a car!! It is a 1993 Honda Civic. I need to buy insurance. I will be driving my car about once a week, to buy groceries - otherwise I will be riding my bike around New Orleans, Louisiana. I don't know anything about car insurance. I am 34, have a perfect driving record. Can anyone help me figure out what kind of insurance I should get? I will be fine if the car is totaled or stolen and I cannot ever drive it again. I have health insurance for myself so I do not need to protect myself in that way.

I need help in just understanding the basic terms that insurance companies use, what I should look out for, and how much coverage I should get, and any other information that I'm not thinking of!

Thanks!

Is there any way to estimate what a car & car insurance would cost me if I moved to San Francisco?

scazza — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:16:16 -0800

What are ways to estimate what a car and car insurance would cost me if I moved to San Francisco? I'm looking for what it would cost to have a reasonable, eco-friendly (not necessarily a hybrid, probably not a hybrid) car for 2 people in San Francisco. Something like a hatchback that's 1-2 years old. I live in NYC now so I have no idea how to go about estimating insurance and car loan payments. Resources? Thanks!

(There is a question about this from 2005, but I think things may have changed by now.)

Out of pocket or file a claim?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:35:35 -0800

Car scratch costs $500 to fix. Should I pay out of pocket or make an insurance claim? While pulling into a parking spot, I bumped into a car. This left some slight scratches on the left passenger side door of the other car, and some scratches on my front bumper. I left a note with my contact info and an apology, and the other car's driver took her car to two different auto body shops, both of which gave an estimate around $500 to fix the scratches on her car.

This is an amount that I could pay out of pocket, but since my finances are not great right now this would still entail some belt-tightening. Is it actually still worth it to pay this out of pocket, or should I do this through insurance now? I understand that insurance rates go up after a claim is made -- not to mention the inherent hassle of making the claim -- but I'm having trouble finding information that would let me gauge exactly how big that increase might be. I've sifted through Google and my insurance documents so far, and I've got nothin' conclusive.

My priority right now is just settling this with the other person (incidentally, I have no reason to suspect the other person might be out to screw me whatsoever). I do plan to fix up my own car scratch eventually, since my car is fairly new. But given that this is so cosmetic and that either way I'd end up paying some amount out of pocket anyway for fixing up my car (my collision insurance policy has a $500 out of pocket deductible), this really isn't a huge priority right now.

So, in short, if you were me, would you bother going through the claim process, or would you just suck it up and pay? I'm in Maryland, and my insurance is Geico, if that helps. This is also my first incident of any kind in five years of driving, so I'm a complete virgin to this. Anonymous because I'm paranoid: the throwaway email is asdfdsaf08@gmail.com.

Is it worth a claim?

lizjohn — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:45:50 -0800

Sometime last night someone severely scraped the side of my car while is was parked at my apartment complex. They left no note. What are my options? I'm afraid I'm just going to have to grin and bear it, but I'm hoping there's some recourse I'm not thinking of. I didn't notice the damage until I got to work just a few minutes ago and I remember there was no one parked next to me when I left. It's a long, low scrape starting from the drivers door to the back of the back wheelwell. The bottom panels are pushed in and there is paint residue. It seems to be cosmetic, both doors open and the tire seems fine. Should I make an insurance claim? Do I need a police report for that? Is it not with my premiums going up?

This whole thing miffs me. My husband and I only have one car and we try to keep it nice. I've never had anything like this happen, outside of a few door dings. Sorry if this is rambly.

Help me navigate the DC DMV

Bulgaroktonos — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 07:55:55 -0800

So after three years of living in Maryland, I'm moving inside the District, help me navigate the DC DMV. Right now my wife and I each have a MD driver's license, and we have a car titled and registered in my name alone in MD. From reading the DMV website, and an old thread here's what I know:

1)I don't need to pay the excise tax
2)I need to get the car inspected, before I do anything
3)The wait will be long and I will want to kill myself

Here's my questions
1)When do I change my insurance information? If I change it before the day I go to the DMV, won't my current MD insurance lapse and cause me problems?
2)What is the minimum set of documents I can bring?
3)Can this actually be done in a single trip?

Anyone who's done this who could walk me through the process?

Rental Car Accident filter

spacefire — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:43:10 -0800

Hertz fender bender, do I need to file police report, and am I covered? I backing up out of my parents driveway, I hit my mom's car with the rear of my Hertz rental car. Dents and scratches , but no other damage. I have Liability Insurance supplement but no Loss Damage Waiver as that should be taken care of by Visa since I rented using my Visa card. Should we file a police report?

Another question, related: The liability protection states, quote:
Within the limits stated in this subparagraph, hertz will indemnify, hold harmless....which by definition EXCLUDES ANY OF YOUR OR ANY AUTHORIZED OPERATOR'S FAMILY MEMBERS...RESIDING WITH YOU OR THEM..."
I don't live with my parents, I was just visiting, will the liability thing cover the damage to my mother's car?

What the hail, I'm keeping the car

weathergal — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:45:51 -0800

I'm the owner of a 2002 Toyota Corolla which just hit 107,000 miles. On June 9th while I was at work, my car got hammered by some pretty large hail. The damage was enough that my insurance (Progressive) declared it a total loss. My frugal heart couldn't bear to have them tow away a perfectly drivable car, so I took the lesser payout (just under $5000) and kept it. Now what? Some pics can be seen here, although I had a lot of trouble getting the dents to show up well, and it looks worse in person. There are some cracks in the paint starting to show up near the front fender dent and on the trunk, so PDR won't work in those areas. The windshield was a safety issue, and has already been fixed.

I'm rather confused about getting a salvage title. The guy at the shop where I replaced my windshield said I didn't need to get one, and from my reading of this Kansas statute cosmetic stuff like hail damage is exempt. However, the lady at the titles office in Topeka said yes, I needed to get one, and an insurance agent from another agency confirmed this. I'm hoping to move by the end of the year, so how would a Kansas salvage title affect trying to register the car in another state?

I've already started to put some money into an account for the next car, and my original plan was to bank almost all of the insurance money, and continue to put a small amount in each month. In 2-3 years, the account would be in the 5 figure range and I could get a fairly nice used car for cash.

However, I've started to second guess myself. The insurance agent I talked to above seemed to assume I'd get it fully fixed, as he told me to keep the receipts in case I have to file a claim again with my insurance. There are many "hail specialist" tents around town, and they probably could fix at least a few of the bigger dents for less than my original estimate. Or is this throwing good money after bad?

If I do continue driving it as a dented up car (with a probable salvage title), how much money should I put into it in the future? Obviously, I'd want to keep it road worthy with oil changes and other maintenance, but what about the minor annoyances? For instance, my brake pads that I got replaced last August are squeaking, despite being in for adjustments several times already. Is it worth the time and money to try and get rid of the squeak?

Thanks, and sorry this was so long.

Car insurance coverage with expired tabs

mcstayinskool — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:30:27 -0800

Will car insurance still cover a car with expired tabs? asking this for a friend:

Am I covered by my car insurance if I drive with expired tabs? I recently moved from WA to MN. In the process my vehicle tabs expired and my vehicle title was lost. I can't re-register in WA because I don't have an address there. I can't register in MN because I haven't received the replacement title yet. I realize that by driving the vehicle I am risking a fine for tabs, but if I get in an accident will my insurance still cover me?

Can I / should I accept reimbursement for a car repair I didn't do?

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:40:56 -0800

Is it legal to accept $500 from a car insurance company, reimbursing me for a repair I'm not going to make? If it's legal, should I? Recently my car was very lightly rear-ended. Both I and the other driver are insured. There were no injuries and my car has no visible damage -- I took it to my mechanic, who I trust, who confirmed that there was no damage from the collision. The other driver's insurance company sent a photographer to take photos of my car to check its condition. The photographer reported a small nick in my bumper, and based on this, the other driver's insurance sent me a check for $500 for a new bumper. The nick is almost invisible (my wife can see it, I haven't managed to) and we have no interest in getting a new bumper. My wife thinks it might be OK to just cash the check, on the grounds that the eventual resale value of the car will be lower because it's been involved in an accident, however small. I'm concerned that it might actually be against the law to cash a check for replacing a bumper that I didn't actually replace. I see a few options:
A. Cash the check, pocket the money.
B. Cash the check, replace the undamaged bumper. (Seems like a waste of the world's resources, but maybe I should think of it as economic stimulus?)
C. Don't cash the check, keep it, and if I need to replace the bumper for some other reason in the next year (the life of the check,) cash it.
D. Cut up the check.

We don't want to do anything illegal. So: which of these four options is legal? And of the legal ones, which are ethically OK?
(Anonymous in case the right answer is "A is probably legal but I wouldn't do it if my real name were attached to the general practice in a public place.")

Car Insurance Coverage

Elsie — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:18:31 -0800

What car insurance coverage to I need for a brand-new car? We're haven't had a car for a couple years while living out of the US, but now we are relocating to an area (MA--small town) where we will need one. It's probably going to be a RAV or CRV. We're in our early sixties, have had spotless driving records for decades, never filed a claim, hope not to drive more than 8000 miles a year, and will take $1000 deductible.

In most things, such as insurance, we usually choose at the most conservative end of the spectrum--say 85% of the maximum coverage the insurance company would like everyone to buy. With every contract full of consumer traps these days, what levels of liability, collision, etc. should we buy to have peace of mind?

Paying out of pocket and preventing future involvement of car insurance co.

ecsh — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:57:29 -0800

If I pay out of pocket for repairs to another driver's car, is there a form I can ask him to sign to prevent later involvement of insurance companies? As I was backing slowly out of a parking space this afternoon, I bumped into another car. The other car was driving through the parking lot and not yet in a space.

The collision was so gentle that I didn't actually feel it, and the only damage to my car was a small crack in the paint on the corner of the rear bumper. The other car was a two-door model, and the only damage that we could see was a dent in the panel just behind the driver's door. The dent was about a foot across and looks like something that might easily pop out, but then there's the issue of repainting.

The other car belongs to the driver's brother; it is unquestionably still drivable and both the driver and owner live nearby. I admitted fault, but I pointed out that it was raining and that the other driver had not turned on his headlights, which certainly contributed to my failure to see his car. I'm in PA, where headlights are required when wipers are in use, and it was raining hard enough for that.

Given the headlight issue, I asked that the driver do me the favor of communicating to the owner that I am interested in paying out of pocket and not getting insurance companies involved. We exchanged contact and insurance information amicably, and the driver mentioned it was possible that his brother would decide to let the whole thing go (not that I'm pinning my hopes on this).

1. My guess is that repairs will run $200-400, and in this range I would rather pay out of pocket than report it to my insurance company and deal with increased premiums for years. Are these estimates reasonable?
2. I've never before been in a car accident where parties other than myself and a deer were involved. Is settling w/o involving insurance in any way illegal? If not, is there some standard form I could ask the owner to sign, when I hand over the check, to establish that the issue has been settled and prevent him from seeking money from my insurance company?
3. Would the driver need to sign the form mentioned above? I don't think there are any medical issues, but we did not discuss that explicitly.
4. If costs spiral out of control somehow, and I decide that I would rather have my insurance company cover the cost, how much of a delay in reporting the accident is acceptable?
5. The other car is 15 years old and worth $800-1200 according to KBB. It seems possible that the owner might prefer to have the cost of the repair in cash and either not repair the car or repair it when convenient (since the damage isn't a safety issue). Does offering to write him a check directly, either for the value of an estimate or for a mutually agreed upon amount, change any legal/insurance status?

Please don't tell me that I shouldn't have admitted fault. I think that it mostly was my fault, and paying a few hundred dollars out of pocket is no hardship. I would just rather avoid the insurance hike.

Do I need to let my car insurance company know about someone rear ending me?

ydontusteponit — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:10:57 -0800

I was in a rear-end accident a couple of days ago. I was the one rear ended so it wasn't my fault. Do I need to call my insurance company for any reason? I've already notified the other driver's insurance company. I was rear-ended by another car while I was stopped at a stop sign. Everyone is fine, no injuries, but my bumper was messed up. There is also some trunk damage that prevents me from closing the trunk. It looks to be pretty smushed. Called the Police, they are working on a report. Got the other driver's insurance info and called his insurance company with the info. Took my car to the body shop, where they gave me a loner car to use while they processed my claim. His insurance company called me later that day with a claim number and said that their client was 100% liable for the collision. So my question is, do I need to contact my insurance company if his insurance has agreed that the driver was 100% liable? Doesn't this mean they have to pay for all the damages? We are in Wisconsin.

I've never had to deal with this before. Anything I am missing? TIA

How to manage two consecutive car accidents?

fermion — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:03:28 -0800

My parked car got hit by a truck. Then, before I could get it fixed, it got hit by another truck. How do I handle two claims at once? The first accident was a couple of months ago--a truck hit my parked car and ripped my rear bumper halfway off. The wheels of paperwork have been grinding slowly, partly just because I've been busy, so I'm still working things out with that insurance company and hadn't fixed the damage yet. This morning, a garbage truck hit my (again, parked--I haven't driven it at all for a few months) car and did some damage to the door and mirrors, as well as taking my bumper the rest of the way off.

What do I tell the garbage truck's insurance company about this most recent incident? I don't want to get compensated for the same damages twice, but I also don't want to give them an excuse to claim all the damage was pre-existing. I know that the appropriate actions in situations like this can be counter-intuitive, so I'm hoping you folks can give me some advice.

Potentially relevant info: I'm in Washington State, and my insurance is liability-only (it's an old car) so I'm dealing with the other insurance companies directly rather than through my own insurer.

Please help me reclaim my car.

otis24 — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:53:49 -0800

How do I get my car back? It's still in my ex'es name. I've been giving her $$ for insurance and have been making the payments on it since 2003. I live across the country now and she ignores all my requests to do anything about transferring the title/policy, etc. Here's the situation:
Back in 2003, my then girlfriend leased a 2003 Honda Civic for me (this is in CT). The car was in her name because my credit was really bad. This car is and was always intended to be mine (it's a manual; she doesn't even know how to drive stick). I drove the car for several years and I always made the lease payments, as well as the maintenance and insurance payments (which is in her name; I am listed on her plan). When we broke up, around 2005, we never really officially talked about what would happen with the car. I continued to make the payments, sending Honda checks to Honda, and insurance checks to my ex. I have the account numbers, but no access to the account information.

When we knew the lease was about to expire, my ex offered to 'purchase' the car in her name, but I would continue to own/use/pay for it. It had really low miles and seemed like a good deal. We went down and filled out the paperwork, which I have. The insurance policy remained the same; in her name, but I am listed on it.

Six months later, in 2008, I moved across the country, to California. I quickly settled in with a good job and girlfriend. I drive 100 miles/day for work. I never intended to drive this much, but all is good otherwise. However, my car is not registered in CA (it is current in CT). I also do not technically own this car. Nor do I even know how much I owe on it. I am still on good terms with the ex, but she blatantly ignores any and all attempts to get information about the car, or do what it takes to transfer ownership. To be honest, I don't even know what needs to be done, or what my best course of action is. Additionally, this situation has caused a lot of stress and worry between my girlfriend and I over the last year.

What do I need to do to get my car in my name, legally, in California?

How to get insurance company pay for my car accident?

coolnik — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:57:38 -0800

Car accident insurance filter: Insurance company refuses to provide for rental car before sending me the money. What to do? Details:
My car got rear-ended 14 days ago. No fault of mine--this is confirmed by the police report. I took the damaged car to the body shop. 10 days after the accident I got the rental car, and have been using it for last five days.

For the first time in last 14 days, today I heard from the other party's insurance company. The car is deemed total loss. I have been offered two choices, one of which lets me keep the car, while if I go with the other I will have to say goodbye to my car. Now that I have been "offered" compensation, the insurance company wants to cut-off my rental car within 2 days. The insurance company agreed to pay $30 per day for loss of use for the duration I did not have rental car, but that was only upon my strong insistence.

Here is my problem: How can insurance company cut-off my rental car without sending me the money, or in other words, how am I supposed to buy a new car without having any money from the insurance company, and till then why shouldn't the insurance company pay for my rental car?

More, I have been asked to tell my choice for the compensation within one day, or else (I have been told by the insurance company) the body shop will start charging me for car parking fees and so will be rental car company.

This all seems to me an attempt to twist my arm and make me agree to what they offer. MeFi, please help.

Car Scratch Payment

thrako — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 09:45:56 -0800

Friend scratched a car, needs to pay. A friend scratched a car while parking a week ago. She has sent the owner a check for the damage, but he claims not to have received it. We are going to meet him in person in twenty minutes to give him another check. I will make sure she cancels the first check. Is it possible he will attempt to get the insurance companies involved after we pay him? Should my friend indicate on the check that it is payment for the scratch, in case the guy does try to get the companies to pay? Apparently he is asking for $100, which seems reasonable/low for body work. What would repair typically cost, and how much would my friends insurance go up if it was resolved through official channels? Also, the incident did happen a while ago, when does a incident need to be reported to the insurance company to make a claim?

DMV hearing on fake accident - what to do?

ilyanassa — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:05:41 -0800

Out of the blue, my spouse received a form letter from the DMV claiming that he caused more than $750 in damages over two months ago. He doesn't know anything about this...what to do? He called the DMV and discovered that someone is claiming that he hit their parked car. Though he could have been in that location that day, he certainly didn't hit anyone's car hard enough to cause that much damage. (He doesn't remember anything out of the ordinary happening on that day.) The lady at the DMV told him to return the form letter without including his insurance info and to request a hearing.

What goes on in these hearings? Will it be his word against this random person who is almost certainly lying? Should we report this to our insurance company? We have plenty of coverage but we don't want our rates to go up. We are in California.

Is it worth it?

bob bisquick — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:22:26 -0800

Is it worth it? Mazda Protege vs. Toyota Camry! I currently have a 2000 Mazda Protege. I drive it mostly in the city, so it is a little beat up. It is a manual. It gets about 22 mpg, and has almost 65,000 miles. I could possibly inherit a 2000 Toyota Camry, and I am wondering if it is worth it to dump the Mazda and take the Toyota. It has 80,000 miles, and is an automatic. The insurance on the Toyota is slightly less. Is this really worth the switch? The Toyota is not my dream car, but Toyotas do last forever.

Old car crashed + next car purchased + insurance office closed for the weekend = magical amnesty?

Acari — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:24:12 -0800

Canadian Auto Insurance Question: Nebulous limbo time between vehicles edition. "Everybody Knows" that there is a 14 day grace period to get your papers sorted out. Is there? The precise situation is that one vehicle has just been totalled by a young lady who had insurance under her father's policy [last car in a highway pileup; she says she's okay; she's going to the doctor just in case] and she is now setting up a new policy with the same insurance company for an 18-year-old used car she has just purchased.
Almost everyone that I've spoken to says that putting her old plates on this car and keeping the bill of sale with her will be okay for up to 2 weeks while insurance and registration are negotiated.

This doesn't match well with my impression of insurance companies.

I've already heard enough of "you'll be fine", and I've heard a couple of people say that it's crazy to go for a millisecond without documented everything, but I want to know what the law says.
Can anyone help me look this up?

I ask not because it's urgent right now [it isn't], but because it is the friday before a long weekend and if I *needed* an answer I know I couldn't ask the insurance company until tuesday.

To further complicate the issue, this vehicle has just had a safety inspection [vehicles over 15 years old need this inspection to be insured here] which identified worn brake pads + rotors. The parts have been ordered and I will have them replaced by tomorrow. Does the legality of things change based on this inspection if the vehicle is not insured either way?
And because this is the long weekend, the insurance currently on the vehicle won't be removed until tuesday anyway. Does that count for anything? Or against anything?

And if this mythic 14 day grace period doesn't exist, why is it such a popular answer?

What's the least amount of coverage I need to drive a rental car legally?

nikkorizz — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:08:10 -0800

What's the least amount of insurance coverage I need to drive a rental car legally? Presently, I have no auto insurance and would like to rent a car without getting suckered into paying for coverage that I don't need simple because the sales agent recommends it. Cheap and legal are the keywords here. I have no insurance. Furthermore, I'm under 25(but over 21). I don't have a car and I don't have auto insurance. I live in the U.S., particularly in the western Pennsylvania area, but I will be driving to Ohio during this rental car trip.

With a quick call to Hertz, and some other car rental companies, I have determined that I can drive a rental without personal auto insurance as long as I purchase *their*coverage.

But exactly how much insurance do I need? I'm pretty sure that rental companies will sell me every type of coverage they can, but all that can't be necessary to keep me legal, can it?

On the renter's website I see options for Damage Waiver, Personal Accident Insurance / Personal Effects Coverage, Supplemental Liability Protection. After some research on 3rd party sites, it seems like Liability Protection is all I need. Is that right?

As a side note, I heard over the grapevine that credit cards also offer some coverage. Should I also consider this?

How to get even with my damages?

GrooveStix — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:36:26 -0800

I was rear ended in Michigan (a no-fault state) last week but I still wasn't guilty. Although I don't have collision coverage with my insurance, I have neck pains and my car has been totaled. What are my options here? My accident seems very simple. I stopped behind 3-4 cars that were waiting for the other lane to clear so they can turn left, but the second I stopped I got rear ended by a SUV!!! I don't understand how they didn't see me stop since I own a tiny sedan, the road was flat and this was during daylight so the 3-4 cars in front of my were definitely visible.

At first I honestly didn't feel the crash that badly, because my car didn't move much because I rear ended the car in front of me but I couldn't believe how much it was damaged when I got out. You can see one picture here.
One of the back doors also won't close, and now I posses a hole in my trunk which obviously also won't close. I did an estimation of the damage today and they tell me that the damage is well over $3400 and the value of the car itself, and it is then when I freaked out - I guess I didn't understand the scope of the damage here, but this is ridiculous. I still have neck pains, and this has happened a week ago.

The cherry on the top came from the insurance company (State Farm) of the person who rear ended me, and they are offering to pay me $500 with the mini-tort treatment to pay for my damages.

Is $500 all I can get? I am ready to fight on this one.

Insurance screw-up, who's resonsible for the fine?

spaltavian — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:38:07 -0800

My friend's car was totaled in January by a drunk driver. She sold it back to the insurance company and bought a new car. Somewhere, someone screwed up: her car insurance was never switched from her old car to her new car. She was, however, able to switch her tags to the new car and register it. Nonetheless, until last month, she was paying insurance on a totaled car that she no longer owned. She just got a fine from Maryland Vehicle Administration for 2K+ for having tags on an uninsured vehicle. What should she do? The insurance company is blaming the car dealership, and Maryland just wants its money. Isn't her paying insurance on a car the insurance company owned illegal?

I told her she should get a hold of all the documents- canceled checks to the insurance company, registrations, sales slips- and set up an appointment with a supervisor at the the MVA. If that fails, I told her to lawyer up.

I figure either she won't have to pay the fine, or she'll have to be refunded all her insurance payments since January. However, I am not a lawyer nor have I ever had to tangle with the MVA or insurance companies like this before. Any advice? Thank you in advance.

Car accident/insurance advice

rbellon — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:59:00 -0800

What should I do if I'm not sure someone's after the fact claim about a car accident is actually related to the accident? I recently rear-ended another vehicle in stop and go traffic during rush hour at less than 5mph. We pulled over, and looked at the cars. Both agreed no damage, but wanting to be a good doobie, I gave her my contact info in case something internal came up. I was foolish in that I didn't get her info, or even jot down her car's make/model or license plate number. I have a perfect driving record, and had never been involved in something like this, so it kind of took me by surprise and I wasn't sure what to do in the moment. No insurance information was exchanged and no police report was filed.

Several days later, she e-mailed to say that she had found damage, that she was away for the weekend but could send pics when she returned, and could I please send her my insurance information. I replied requesting that she send the photos, since we had both concluded there was no surface damage.

She subsequently sent two very dark photos of just the damaged area of a vehicle. I do recall that the other vehicle was a large SUV, and it's discernible in the photos that they depict a Ford Explorer. Here's the thing - the rear fender is knocked loose in the photos, and at a downward angle. I drive a small compact car that has absolutely no signs of any damage.

I showed the pics to a friend who works with cars and his take was that there was no way a collision at less than 5mph could have caused the damage in the photos, especially without sustaining serious damage to the front of my car. He also noted that based on the respective heights of the vehicles, her fender should have gone up and not down as the picture shows. Finally, he commented that the only way he could imagine the accident I described "causing" the damage was if it was already quite rusted (and there is some rust visible in the photos).

I found a Ford Explorer in a parking lot earlier this evening to just kind of compare heights, and what he says seems to be true. He suggested being back in touch with her and basically explaining the above, then seeing if she still wants to pursue.

What's the smartest thing for me to do at this point? Be back in touch with her? Call my insurance company? I'm kicking myself because I a) want to be responsible and take care of any damage that I caused, but b) just had a funny feeling when I got her e-mail and saw the pictures, which has only deepened since communicating with my friend. I don't want to be taken advantage of.

Seems like a good idea?

6:1 — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:50:07 -0800

Is LoJack really worth it? We've been quoted $695 (after taking $100 off) for our new vehicle. Does anyone out there have any first hand experience? Thanks.

Because the alternative is to have her drive me everywhere.

sinfony — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:16:53 -0800

Auto insurance in Illinois: what to get, where to get it? Caveat: the car is insured already; I'm not. My SO's parents are giving us their old car, and are very nicely continuing to insure it (and her). I, on the other hand, have no such insurance, and I'm given to understand that I would need some basic level of insurance in order to drive the car. What should I be looking for? All the insurance company websites ask about the car that's being insured when I try to get a quote, and I appear to have lost my phone, so calling up and asking is out. I'm in Chicago, FWIW.

Bonus issue: I also need to pick up renter's insurance as a condition of the lease on the apartment I'll be moving to soon. Any recommendations for a good company for this? Any chance of a discount if I get both types of insurance through one carrier?