Whenever my father's car is in service, he does not hesitate to usurp mine. I usually don't mind for i just take my mom's car and she is happily home bound for the day.
Last night, I got home late from work as usual. Everyone was asleep, most of the lights were off. Saw my r56 in the driveway, I noticed nothing unusual and went to bed. In the morning, however, i discover a nice lookin' dent accompanied by some cracked paint/bumper (I'm not sure which) on my rear bumper. He proceeds to tell me about how some lady gave him a little "tap" on the way home from work , but he got all her insurance info and i shouldn't worry.
Aside from the expected emotional damage of having your mini damaged while not present, my father suggests that maybe i could live with the damage and put the insurance money towards my fall tuition!

 

Poor MINI. Get that thing repaired ASAP, and hope that she doesn't fight the insurance claim. I had an accident in Texas where a teenage girl ran a red light and slammed into the front of my car, she was apologetic and gave me all of her insurance info (but never asked for mine), but the moment my insurance company called, her father (who wasn't even in the vehicle) tried to claim it was I who ran the red light. Luckily I had a witness and they caved.

Good luck with the repairs, hopefully your R56 will be good as new soon.

 

As a MINI driver I can see your reason for rage.

As a Texas father, who's daughter will be attending college next year in Scotland.....

 

Non-MINIACS just don't get it. Same is true for any non-car enthusiast.

Yep, get the MINI fixed, of course. Some people might be able to live with the damage, but most of us... out of the question.

First time I get a door ding, off to PDR we go !

 

Absolutely get it repaired -- while it will degrade the value for having been in an accident, NOT getting it repaired will degrade it even more! It's an investment, afterall!! Not to mention the emotional trauma of having a damaged baby.

And maybe I'm just a cold-hearted witch, but I refused to let anyone drive ANY of my vehicles after knowing how they treated their OWN vehicles -- brother had EIGHT accidents in one year!! He had a red truck and even had a moveable siren (or "woo-woo light") on it, yet still got hit or hit someone that many times. I was a pariah in my own family after that, but at least I knew my "little pets" were safe and my money was being well guarded. I only let the husband drive the truck or the Mini in desperate situations!

 

You should tell your father that insurance does not issue checks to the victims. Her insurance company will have to inspect the damage, then they will give you names of repair shops they deal with then the insurance company will pay the repair shop directly.

If you did want to pocket the money, give the lady three estimates and allow her to pay cash and not involve the insurance company. Living in Los Angeles I have to deal with "little taps" all the time. I always give the other person the opportunity to settle without insurance.

 

Not necessarily true.

We, State Farm, issue checks directly to the claimants or insureds when they choose a body shop not in our Select Service program.

 

Depends. When a woman rolled into my Dodge Neon and punctured my front bumper with her Chevy logo exhaust, her insurance (Safe Auto) told me basically "Get a quote and fax us a copy." So I went to the Cadillac dealer in town for a quote on the repair... Faxed it in and got a check sent within two days.

 

yea my insurance company always sends me the checks too.

 

yeah, we have state farm. But yeah, although its not very noticeable i'm still going to get it repaired. I'll know its there and that'll slowly drive me nuts. Plus, isn't that the purpose of insurance? I dont pay monthly just to have a damaged car and a handful insurance check for every additional ding, you know?

 

Really? An investment?

 

I think of it more as a sinkhole for my paycheck, but a fun one at least!

Better than paying for lap dances...

 

Well, more or less. They only depreciate about $200 a year - there are HOW many cars you can say THAT about? Besides...the investment is normally in your personal stress levels and satisfaction. OR, if you're money-minded, (which I'm not -- give me physics, no problem. Economics, and you're going to make me cry) consider it like this: you pay X amount of money NOW, and your long-term financial benefits tend to outweigh your initial pay-out in gas milage costs, repair costs (if you take care of it), and your insurance costs. This doesn't take into account the OTHER benefits, not financially related. Better parking spaces, better acclaim from jealous SUV types, more room in your garage, more agility in traffic situations, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

Hey - we're rationalizing, OK???

 

Cars are not investments, they are for enjoyment and they are liabilities. Not fixing it will just make it a bigger liability than it already is. I would get it fixed though.