I got rear-ended twice in the span of a few months...need advice

[mgp2675]

I am located in New Jersey.

A few months ago I was rear ended and it totaled the other car. The damage to mine wasn't that bad but I need a new bumper, and the pillars buckled a bit so there is some frame damage. The other driver's insurance company gave me $2600 for the repairs. I have been considering getting it repaired still. The car drives fine and I was planning on having it for a while so I wasn't in a rush.

This week, another car hit me while I was at work, same bumper, and the driver left a note with their name and phone number. My fiance recently got promoted and now has a company car, so we have three cars and we only need two. So now I want to sell my car that is damaged. I went to an autobody shop and they quoted me a little under $1000 for a brand new bumper, paint, labor, etc. They said the damage from the recent accident was at least $500. So I texted the driver of the most recent accident and asked them to pay that amount. They told me they know a body shop that will "touch up" my bumper for cheap, and I told them I do not want to do that.

It seems more likely that I will just want to go through insurance if they aren't willing to pay for the damages they caused. If this is the case, how does this work? I already had an insurance company give me money months ago to fix the damages from that accident, which were much worse. Obviously frame damage and everything else wouldn't come in to play here, but being that I need a new bumper and they very clearly hit my bumper, would their insurance company pay for the $1000 repair?

I know this is a lot of information. If I need to clear anything up, please let me know.

Thanks!

 

[Zigner]

I am located in New Jersey.

A few months ago I was rear ended and it totaled the other car. The damage to mine wasn't that bad but I need a new bumper, and the pillars buckled a bit so there is some frame damage. The other driver's insurance company gave me $2600 for the repairs. I have been considering getting it repaired still. The car drives fine and I was planning on having it for a while so I wasn't in a rush.

This week, another car hit me while I was at work, same bumper, and the driver left a note with their name and phone number. My fiance recently got promoted and now has a company car, so we have three cars and we only need two. So now I want to sell my car that is damaged. I went to an autobody shop and they quoted me a little under $1000 for a brand new bumper, paint, labor, etc. They said the damage from the recent accident was at least $500. So I texted the driver of the most recent accident and asked them to pay that amount. They told me they know a body shop that will "touch up" my bumper for cheap, and I told them I do not want to do that.

It seems more likely that I will just want to go through insurance if they aren't willing to pay for the damages they caused. If this is the case, how does this work? I already had an insurance company give me money months ago to fix the damages from that accident, which were much worse. Obviously frame damage and everything else wouldn't come in to play here, but being that I need a new bumper and they very clearly hit my bumper, would their insurance company pay for the $1000 repair?

I know this is a lot of information. If I need to clear anything up, please let me know.

Thanks!

You've already received $2,600 to repair your car, which you did not do. You're not going to get another $500 to repair a previously busted bumper.

ETA: Trying to collect against insurance could be seen as insurance fraud.

 

[mgp2675]

You've already received $2,600 to repair your car, which you did not do. You're not going to get another $500 to repair a previously busted bumper.

ETA: Trying to collect against insurance could be seen as insurance fraud.

I received $2,600 to repair damages that I had quoted over $4,000. The only reason I didn't do that is because I was afraid that they would total the car in that situation since my car is over 10 years old. That money was for all of the damages to the car, not just a bumper.

After this accident, more damage has occurred. Hence the question. I'm not asking this person to pay for a new bumper. I asked them to pay for the damages they just caused, which the autobody shop estimated would be $500.

 

[Zigner]

I received $2,600 to repair damages that I had quoted over $4,000. The only reason I didn't do that is because I was afraid that they would total the car in that situation since my car is over 10 years old. That money was for all of the damages to the car, not just a bumper.

After this accident, more damage has occurred. Hence the question. I'm not asking this person to pay for a new bumper. I asked them to pay for the damages they just caused, which the autobody shop estimated would be $500.

You mean that they damaged a bumper that was already destroyed, right?

 

[LdiJ]

I received $2,600 to repair damages that I had quoted over $4,000. The only reason I didn't do that is because I was afraid that they would total the car in that situation since my car is over 10 years old. That money was for all of the damages to the car, not just a bumper.

After this accident, more damage has occurred. Hence the question. I'm not asking this person to pay for a new bumper. I asked them to pay for the damages they just caused, which the autobody shop estimated would be $500.

Seriously, the guys insurance company WILL deny the claim because your car has previous damage to the same area, that you did not fix. There is no way to prove that any additional damage was done by their client or how much additional damage was done by their client.

Also, you might want to think carefully about how you drive. The odds of getting rear ended twice in that fairly short amount of time are not high at all. It may indicate a need for more defensive driving on your part. If you have a tendency to tailgate and stop short because you do not have enough time to slow down gradually and therefore the person behind you does not have enough time to slow down gradually, then some of your bad luck might actually be your fault in a practical sense, even if it is not your fault in a legal sense.

 

[HighwayMan]

Also, you might want to think carefully about how you drive. The odds of getting rear ended twice in that fairly short amount of time are not high at all.

In the second incident the car was apparently parked and unoccupied.

 

[Zigner]

The odds of getting rear ended twice in that fairly short amount of time are not high at all. It may indicate a need for more defensive driving on your part. If you have a tendency to tailgate and stop short because you do not have enough time to slow down gradually and therefore the person behind you does not have enough time to slow down gradually, then some of your bad luck might actually be your fault in a practical sense, even if it is not your fault in a legal sense.

I don't entirely agree. It's entirely possible that the OP just had "bad luck" and got rear-ended twice. I don't think a lecture is needed in this instance.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Seriously, the guys insurance company WILL deny the claim because your car has previous damage to the same area, that you did not fix. There is no way to prove that any additional damage was done by their client or how much additional damage was done by their client.

Also, you might want to think carefully about how you drive. The odds of getting rear ended twice in that fairly short amount of time are not high at all. It may indicate a need for more defensive driving on your part. If you have a tendency to tailgate and stop short because you do not have enough time to slow down gradually and therefore the person behind you does not have enough time to slow down gradually, then some of your bad luck might actually be your fault in a practical sense, even if it is not your fault in a legal sense.

You are not tailgating if someone follows you closely... someone following you closely is tailgating you.

The onus is on the person behind you to maintain a safe distance.

I have been rear ended while sitting at a stop light more than once. Should I just run red lights?

 

[HighwayMan]

You are tailgating if someone follows you closely...

That can't be what you really meant to say.

 

[not2cleverRed]

That can't be what you really meant to say.

Oops! Corrected.

 

[HighwayMan]

Oops! Corrected.

As I suspected.

 

[ecmst12]

Get a copy of the estimate from the prior accident. Should be pretty easy to compare the current damage to what was shown there and make a claim for the difference.