Car Accident - Need Advice (Have No Insurance)

Linvader992 on 17/02/2020 - 20:55
Last edited 18/02/2020 - 10:18 by 1 other user

HI guys

Hope everyone is in good health. I need some honest advice as i am stuck in between some unlucky circumstances. i borrowed my friend's car and had a minor accident with someone on the road. It was my fault, the damage was not much, nothing happened to my car and the other car had the paint off from the bumper which was hardly noticeable.i probably hit him at 30 km/h. Even the bumper didn't lose its clips or anything.
Now the problem is , the other person claimed through his insurance and the car i was driving didn't had insurance. I got a call today from AAMi insurance to pay the car i had accident with, its a astra 2005. The insurance company made it a write-off. The problem now is they want me to pay 4500$. which is way too much?!
AAMI insurance claims its expensive to repair the car and that is why they write it off. I have a video proof of the accident site and i took the video for this sake because i know the insurance can be dodgy. My self i am a car lover, and i know what is write off and how this works. I am not familiar with the insurances companies policies. In the report they also claimed the car has light rear damage and wobbling. Now this wobbling is added on top which has nothing to do with the car accident.

My question is how do i deal with this situation? Can i take them to court? how can i save some money on this matter.

Automotive

Comments

  • MS Paint on 17/02/2020 - 21:10
    +26

    Member since 2017 for those that care.

  • Alexander420 on 17/02/2020 - 21:14
    +26

    I have been waiting for weeks for this one. "I hit a car and i didnt have insurance"
    Please show up all of you ozbargain lawyer.

    • iDroid on 17/02/2020 - 21:31
      +32

      There's lots of ways to save money. Skipping car insurance is not one of them.

        • iDroid on 18/02/2020 - 10:35
          +31

          Yes this could save you money in the long run. Alternatively it could ruin you and make you bankrupt.

            • danbal on 19/02/2020 - 11:38
              +2

              @Zachary: I like how you think. Its not "smart" ideas coming from you but think outside the box kind of ideas.

            • funnysht on 19/02/2020 - 12:14
              +1

              @Zachary: and you''ll have zero borrowing power for 5 years but hey you sound financially savy so you'll get by

              • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:19

                @funnysht: So I need to borrow instead of working my own bank up to afford things?

          • cerealJay on 21/02/2020 - 17:48
            -3

            @iDroid:

            this could save you money in the long run

            It absolutely does save money in the long run. A lot of money.

            I've been driving more than 15 years without insurance, and without incident.

            You can save money on insurance by not getting it, but it's not an option for everyone. If you're the type of person who revenge-tailgates someone who cut you off moments earlier, then get insurance.

            • When you've been driving for more than a decade, you develop skill and awareness on the road, and confidence with handling your car in different conditions.
            • On top of that, if you always apply patience, focus, and defensive techniques, it's unlikely you will cause an accident.
            • Learning to spot potential hazards around you is crucial. Knowing when to back off, when to slow down, when to overtake. This skill comes after a few years of driving, you can spot all kinds of things before you're in the middle of it.

            My role on the road is not to educate bad drivers, I let them be, let them in, don't tailgate, avoid raging at them. Raging includes calling people names even when nobody can hear. There will always be bad drivers, you won't fix that problem by getting angry.

            • imurgod on 21/02/2020 - 23:31

              @cerealJay: I hear this story a lot from people trying to tell me how "the guy merged into ME!" or how "the truck overtook ME!". All I can tell you is that no matter how careful you are, that luck will eventually run out in a most spectacular way.

              You have better odds in rural areas though.

            • iDroid on 23/02/2020 - 10:59

              @cerealJay:

              It absolutely does save money in the long run. A lot of money.

              Until it doesn't.

            • ddhar on 23/02/2020 - 11:35

              @cerealJay: You must be one of the lucky few then.

              I have driven for almost 20 years and made a few claims to date. Most of those were for being rear ended, side-swiped and getting hit by a hailstorm while in a gridlock. None of those were my fault and luckily I had insurance to cover the financials & emotionals.

              No way I'm driving out there without insurance, knowing these things can happen out of the blue and instantly.

        • apsilon on 18/02/2020 - 10:48
          +20

          Few people can afford to have a "side bank" that could cover all eventualities. There are a heap of cars on the road that are over $100k these days. They're common. If you had an at fault accident and wrote off a new Merc C63 for example, how long would it have taken you to save that $120k side bank you'd need? What if it was a Bentley or a house?

          Not to mention most people simply wouldn't do it. Too easy to spend the money on a holiday to pimp they're instagram account instead.

          Self insurance can work, but not for many.

            • CMH on 18/02/2020 - 22:14
              +13

              @Zachary:

              Good luck to whoever is trying to scab scrape $170k off me as I won't be able to provide. Goes for crashing into a house or a Bentley, which I'm guessing is an equally expensive car to crash into.

              You know what?

              I wouldn't want to be in your position: broke, penniless and with no prospect of improving. If you have any chance of improving your lot (say, studying at the moment but going to be making it big after) you'll be in for a surprise later :D

              But, it's people like you that made me realise: if someone uninsured like you were to hit me, who am I to blame for the costs on my car?

              Legally you're liable for the damage, but I'd never get any payment from you.

              Therefore it's my own damn fault for not getting comprehensive insurance to cover my own losses.

              So I do not hold any negative sentiment towards anyone who is uninsured (either totally, or just 3rd party for their own losses). You made the decision not to be insured, you will suffer the consequences for that decision be it paying for a Bentley you hit, or a pensioner with no assets that hit your Bentley.

              • meetyourmaker on 19/02/2020 - 17:22
                +6

                @CMH: Wow at the "hahaha I don't care, good luck trying to scrape money off me because i'm broke and think I'll never have to pay it back" mindset… Not surprised that Zachary is the type of person that's born into poverty, lives in poverty and will die in poverty.

                • CMH on 20/02/2020 - 03:09
                  +4

                  @meetyourmaker: Well, some people are just happy to live off government money and complaining all day about all the Ferraris they can never afford because the government never gives them enough money…

                  Usually with a cigarette in hand.

                  • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:41

                    @CMH: I don't smoke…in fact I can't stand the smell….and ironically I'm not living off government money and am not into exotic cars like ferraris either that you suspect I am on or into…. Although I do agree some exotic cars do look nice, old people are usually driving them and not young guys like me….

                • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:33

                  @meetyourmaker: Hey, there are some good aspects of being brought in from a poor family such as being more environmentally friendly by recycling old or unused things for something else, reusing the same thing until it finally breaks to the point that it can't be fixed at all or becomes too broken to use, reducing usage (like turning off all the electrical stuff that aren't being used to save on the electrical bill that would otherwise be ignored since all the rich kids would be like "Yeah that's nothing of a bill to worry about, I can pay that easily") or even avoiding using something completely if I can't afford it which may or may not impact the environment. Some of us can also be resourceful too…..

                  Of course I tend to hoard stuff so that might kinda defeat the purpose of minimizing waste/junk in the first place….

              • DreadPirateRoberts on 20/02/2020 - 12:09
                +4

                @CMH:

                But, it's people like you that made me realise: if someone uninsured like you were to hit me, who am I to blame for the costs on my car?
                Legally you're liable for the damage, but I'd never get any payment from you.
                Therefore it's my own damn fault for not getting comprehensive insurance to cover my own losses.

                I had this happen to me. Guy T-boned my car and said "I don't have insurance. Go suck eggs. I'm gonna say you were speeding" (for the record: no, I wasn't). So this put me in a terrible place because I only have third-party and it's over. You can try chasing them through the courts ($2-3k lawyer fees) for them to turn around and say "Well I can only repay $5/week" and that's it for you. Went through my insurance who will pay me out a little bit and now he's their problem. Comprehensive all the way now, (profanity) people like Zachary. I'm out money, a car, and time for (profanity) like this who don't do the right thing and (profanity) over everyone else.

                • CMH on 20/02/2020 - 18:08
                  +2

                  @DreadPirateRoberts: Dick move, but you just put the claim in and let him worry about the issue.

                  I've personally been hit by an uninsured driver as well. Full comp meant the repairs went swimmingly, don't know what happened to the guy after (seemed like an ok bloke tbh).

                  But that's my point, you can take care of your own crap, no need to rely on others to do the right thing. Which is quite rare these days anyway.

                • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:44
                  -2

                  @DreadPirateRoberts: 😝

                • meetyourmaker on 23/02/2020 - 01:05
                  +1

                  @DreadPirateRoberts: Agreed.

                  It's an absolute shame that we can't also bill people like zachary for our time, money and effort wasted for their absolute stupidity when repairing our cars.

              • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:22

                @CMH: I wasn't broke before….had a job…..just living on my savings now whilst I try to find some money…. Still going to school, does that count? …and what sort of surprise are you talking about….?

            • imurgod on 19/02/2020 - 04:18
              +5

              @Zachary: You're one of those uninsured people who doesn't realise how far insurers will go to recover their money. They don't just go away, trust me.

              • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:44

                @imurgod: NO I don't because I've never been chased up on one….

                • imurgod on 21/02/2020 - 23:36

                  @Zachary: Looks like you'll find out eventually then. Enjoy that lesson.

            • grr1701 on 19/02/2020 - 08:19
              +4

              @Zachary: You are so naive. Insurance companies will pay out the claim and hunt you forever to recoup their money. HAHAHAHA to you.

              • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:45
                -1

                @grr1701: WEll then, I guess I'll find out when I crash into someone's expensive ass exotic car…..

            • LinkJah on 19/02/2020 - 16:29
              +2

              @Zachary: Nek minute, insurance companies recoup by taking any possessions of value and you have to declare bankruptcy as you can't pay the rest of the debt back. Good luck getting a loan in future for a house or car. Not to mention, it even makes it hard to travel overseas.

              https://www.afsa.gov.au/insolvency/cant-pay-my-debts/consequ…

              I'd rather just pay for insurance each year and know the things I've worked hard for are covered.

              • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:48
                -1

                @LinkJah: EHh, I have no interest in overseas travels anyways….my hobbies mainly pertain to going through my backlog of which mainly contains video gaming, watching movies on the screen, and other random stuff…

                I probably have nothing of value that would get back it's purchasing price…..not unless it's some rare collectors edition of some sort of something that someone really really wants and would pay a boatload of money for it…..but I doubt anyone would buy any of my crap stuff…

                • imurgod on 21/02/2020 - 23:40

                  @Zachary: Do you think that they won't tag and take possession of your belongings? That means consoles, TV, PC and anything else you own and you'll still have a judgement against you with a debt you'll need to pay.

                  If you're young, this delays your start in life by up to 10 years.

                  I once worked with a guy who was bankrupt. Shit life. Wages garnished, going nowhere and unable to get ahead.

                  Take my advice and grow up and change your attitude and way of thinking.

                  It's a blink of an eye and you're 45 and struggling to pay for basic necessities.

                  If you've grown up poor, there's no shame in that (my folks were certainly not rich but worked hard). My siblings and I all became very successful because of our mindset. We all started with nothing.

                  • Zachary on 24/02/2020 - 20:14

                    @imurgod: Nuuuuuuu, not my consoles, tv and pc! But they can't, because i own the stuff, that would be called stealing if they took it off me….

                    • imurgod on 24/02/2020 - 22:18

                      @Zachary: No it isn't. It's the sheriff that takes the stuff to sell at police auction to recover the money.

        • imurgod on 18/02/2020 - 15:47
          +1

          Absolutely ridiculous idea. Not uncommon to be held at fault for multiple vehicles. Not to mention having to try to do your own recoveries if someone hits you.

          • Zachary on 18/02/2020 - 21:01
            -4

            @imurgod: As long as you got enough bank to cover the expenses, you should generally be good to go…..maybe have to wait for your car to be fixed if you smashed it up pretty good to the point of it being undriveable….or buy a new car if you have some left over…

            • imurgod on 19/02/2020 - 04:15

              @Zachary: My car costs almost 200k. Think you'll be able to side bank enough to replace it?

              • Euphemistic on 19/02/2020 - 06:57

                @imurgod: $200k? You’d be doing well to do over $150k worth of damage.

                • imurgod on 19/02/2020 - 07:36
                  +1

                  @Euphemistic: A scrape under the front bar and sideskirt and buckled wheel resulted in $11,000 damage. I only use a specialist repairer to work on mine since its high end. A decent rear ender would easily result in a write off since the car has safety features that go off in a decent accident.

                  You don't need to do any more than around 40-50k damage for me to opt for it to be written off and replaced.

                  I settled an Audi Q7 yesterday that shut down from a rear end hit that caused 39k damage and was a write off. Claim cost to the uninsured third party; $136,158.

            • grr1701 on 19/02/2020 - 08:21
              +2

              @Zachary: Says the unemployed bloke.

          • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:50

            @imurgod: Well, I would probably buy a new car if someone hits my car to the point it becomes undrivable….the cost would probably be more than I paid the car for….

            • imurgod on 21/02/2020 - 23:25

              @Zachary: Sorry, are you answering questions nobody asked?

              What are you saying? You're making no sense at all.

              From what I read, you would buy a new car if someone hit your car. Is that right?

              What does that even mean?

              Is there a time machine involved?

              • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 23:46

                @imurgod: uh…..that's a good question… I must have had a derp moment……..huh…..

                I think I must have had a weird 2nd attempt to answering this bit for some reason:

                Not to mention having to try to do your own recoveries if someone hits you.

                …or maybe there was a question that I thought I saw to which that answer was meant for but is now deleted or I was hallucinating….

                Perhaps I should stop taking this seriously and lay off it for a bit….

                • imurgod on 21/02/2020 - 23:47

                  @Zachary: I have them all the time too. No problem.

        • johnno07 on 18/02/2020 - 17:14
          +9

          Third party property can be had so cheap it's not even worth not having.

          • Zachary on 18/02/2020 - 21:01

            @johnno07: And what do you define as "cheap"?

            • johnno07 on 18/02/2020 - 21:26
              +2

              @Zachary: Less than $25 a month? What do you define as cheap?

            • imurgod on 19/02/2020 - 07:41
              +1

              @Zachary: Less than $300 per year if you're over 25 with a good driving record and no convictions.

              • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 23:05

                @imurgod: I can't remember the last time(Or the specific amount for that matter) I had insurance but I do remember the amount would always bankrupt me every time I go to pay it….. Hard to save a side bank if all your money is going to bills….since then have cut back on my bills and spending habits….

                • imurgod on 21/02/2020 - 23:22

                  @Zachary: If $250 is going to bankrupt you, you probably have bigger problems than whether you're insured or not.

                • johnno07 on 22/02/2020 - 08:35

                  @Zachary: At $250-$300 a year, TPP would easily pay for itself even if you made a small claim every decade or so. It's just bonkers to not have it if you have a car on the road. There aren't many insurance products that are good value, but TPP is.

                  • Zachary on 24/02/2020 - 20:18

                    @johnno07:

                    TPP would easily pay for itself even if you made a small claim every decade or so

                    That someone dinged my car door and drove off? Or someone decided to key my car? I thought only comprehensive covers for yourself and that's more expensive to pay than third party which only covers the other driver…..

                    • johnno07 on 25/02/2020 - 08:46

                      @Zachary: Huh? I never said anything about damage to your own vehicle. I was talking about claiming for damage caused to someone else's property. Even if you all you did was make a $3000 claim (small) every ten years, you'd at least break even with the premiums cost of TPP insurance.

          • Gaz1 on 18/02/2020 - 21:07
            +1

            @johnno07: I don't think I do not understand what you are not saying…. :-)

        • edwardcr on 19/02/2020 - 13:29
          +4

          It's beyond me why people don't at least have Third Party Property car insurance - it's cheap and can save lots of headaches.

          A couple of years ago, while reversing into a park I completely miscalculated and reversed into the front of a quite new Mercedes - can't remember the model, but not a small one! Damaged his passenger side headlight assembly, plus a bit a bodywork, so the repair wouldn't have been cheap.

          I drive an early 2000s Astra. The damage to my car - a rear bumper slightly scratched on the corner (which says something about modern Merc build quality).

          I have TPP with APIA, for which I pay $15 a month, and I've paid this for around ten years since I bought the car. When I claimed I had to pay an excess of $500.

          Cost of repairing the Merc? I don't know - they never told me. I just paid the excess, and it was all sorted. But I doubt if it would have been cheap!

          So really - self-financing car insurance? A recipe for disaster.

        • Milk tea on 19/02/2020 - 13:38

          What if you hit a lamborghini? Would your possible car crash money cover 100k for minor damage?

          • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:56

            @Milk tea: What if it hit me for illegal street racing? OH well I guess I would probably be dead if the impact was strong enough….

        • funnysht on 22/02/2020 - 20:38

          PLEASE DON'T FEED THE TROLL

      • Gaz1 on 18/02/2020 - 16:22
        +2

        Aside from the risk & potential costs, one of the advantages of car insurance is that you just leave any accident to them & they will sort it out.

        • Zachary on 18/02/2020 - 21:03
          -8

          Yeah that's true IF the insurance company wants to work with you, if they don't or want to weezle out…well….that's more stress for you…may as well not pay them in the first place if they're not gonna work with you.

          • imurgod on 19/02/2020 - 07:40
            +3

            @Zachary: Why would they not work with you?

            You have a contract of insurance.

            • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:57

              @imurgod: OH well, unless internet posters are trolling, I remember reading some posts where their insurance companies refused to pay out….

              • imurgod on 21/02/2020 - 23:46

                @Zachary: You have a contract with the insurer. It's enforceable like any other contract.

                They can't just decide not to pay.

          • grr1701 on 19/02/2020 - 08:26
            +3

            @Zachary: That’s why you choose a reliable company instead of the cheapest. Does your mother know you’re on ozbargain?

            • imurgod on 19/02/2020 - 17:02
              +1

              @grr1701: I think we're dealing with a person who has either lied on their duty of disclosure previously, has a criminal history or a very poor driving history or something along those lines and is therefore uninsurable.

              What's scary is that there are a lot of these clowns out on the road and they think it's like the old days where they say to a court that they don't have anything and that they'll pay $10 a month. They don't realise how things work these days.

              Just look at that drink driver who killed those kids. No money in the world can fix such a selfish act.

            • Zachary on 21/02/2020 - 22:57

              @grr1701: No she doesn't…

          • funnysht on 19/02/2020 - 12:18
            +2

            @Zachary: well don't buy insurance from "it's not my problem" insurance co.

    • errorlog on 17/02/2020 - 23:35
      +11

      Definitely get an itemised repair quote to check it's not for non specific incident related repairs.

  • Meho2026 on 17/02/2020 - 21:17
    +12

    You’re totally f*#ked.

  • oscargamer on 17/02/2020 - 21:23
    +19

    A 2005 Astra is not worth 4500

    • iDroid on 17/02/2020 - 21:32
      +34

      Oh it is when you bump one.

    • askme69 on 18/02/2020 - 09:39
      +5

      Mine is, That's the inaurance value.

    • Zachary on 18/02/2020 - 10:05
      +2

      what is then?

    • ankor on 18/02/2020 - 14:04
      +2

      It's based on what those autoedge and glasses guides tell us.

  • John Kimble on 17/02/2020 - 21:24
    +5

    Post video please

  • xuqi on 17/02/2020 - 21:26
    +9

    $4500 is way over the top for that vintage Astra:

    https://www.redbook.com.au/cars/details/2005-holden-astra-cd…

    • thatonethere on 17/02/2020 - 21:35
      +3

      I guess he can offer to buy them a replacement one

    • qwerty on 17/02/2020 - 21:49
      +2

      it depends on the model which op hasnt specified but some are over $4500

      https://www.redbook.com.au/cars/details/2005-holden-astra-cd…

      Perfectly inline with $4500 quote

    • spackbace on 18/02/2020 - 01:22

      It's an Astra convertible

      • crentist on 18/02/2020 - 03:34

        I punched an 05 astra convertible into aami to see what they would insure it for (went with the my06 option). expected it to be below redbook but uh..

        You can insure your car for an amount between $4,785 and $8,294

        redbook caps out a 2006 my06 at $5300

  • Seraphin7 on 17/02/2020 - 21:51
    +24

    I need some honest advice

    I will assume the $4,500 is the value the other driver's insurance company has given the car per the policy. It is quite possibly an agreed value policy, but that's neither here nor there really.

    The insurance company has determined it's a write off as the cost to repair (plus a margin for potential rework) exceeds the $4,500.

    You will now need to provide some evidence that the repairs are significantly lower than $4,500 and that the insurance company has wrongly valued the cost of repairs.

    Spoiler alert … the video you have won't cut it.

    Another spoiler alert … start getting your $4,500 ready.

    Save money next time by having insurance.

    • michaelTito on 18/02/2020 - 14:12
      +17

      Every spoiler alert is a knife to his heart

    • [Deactivated] on 18/02/2020 - 21:39
      +3

      I feel a little sorry for OP because it was a friend's car. I once drove my brother to hospital in his car and half way there he tells me it's not insured, AT ALL. I got a damn gover note before driving it home and was really pissed at him he let me drive it without it being insured. I picked him up in my car.

      It's a lesson not just to get insurance, but also to check insurance status before driving a friend's car. Don't assume they're not idiots.

      • crentist on 21/02/2020 - 16:34

        I got a damn cover note before driving it home

        Hmm that's pretty good. I do this when buying cars, but when driving someone else's car I check their insurance to work out if I am able to drive it or not. No insurance no drive. A cover note just to borrow a car hadn't occurred to me.

  • anzacpaul on 17/02/2020 - 21:54
    +1

    A bumper respray on a VF commodore costs under $700 (source, my colleague had it done last week).

    There must be more damage than you are stating, if they want to write the car off.

    • Kkuba on 19/02/2020 - 08:35
      +1

      They state 30 kph, it will most definitely be more damage.

      I was once hit by a car that was stationary behind me, and got hit from behind and pushed into me. Not sure how fast he could have been moving when he hit me, but we were all stuck in stop-start traffic. Thousands of dollars of damage to my car.

  • ProlapsedHeinous on 17/02/2020 - 21:59
    +3

    Brb, popcorns

    • apsilon on 18/02/2020 - 10:50

      You know you can get mircowave pork crackle now. With the number of threads like this on OzBargain I like to have options.

      • ProlapsedHeinous on 21/02/2020 - 02:37

        sweet mother of swine are you for real?

        • apsilon on 21/02/2020 - 05:58

          Absolutely, tried it last week and it's pretty good. Hard to get the timing right as unlike popcorn there's no popping sounds to judge when it's done. For Woolies at least it's in the same place as the microwave popcorn.

  • Hardlyworkin on 17/02/2020 - 22:07
    +6

    Can you take the astra of their hands for nothing and sell it to recoup some of the cost?

    • bmerigan on 18/02/2020 - 23:13

      I've always wondered how that works since he's basically buying it

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