Do you know what to do when someone dings your car door, and how to get them or their insurance company to pay for repairs?
several months ago, a client asked me to come to his work location in San Ramon to fix a large door ding his wife ’ s clean black scion. His indemnity party had recommended me as a prefer provider, and I was able to repair the atrocious incision promptly, flawlessly, and at no cost to the client .
I thought I would share this floor to illustrate what what to do when person dings your car door so that you may not have to pay out of pocket for repairs .
This particular node had been to dinner in San Ramon with his wife after workplace. They finished their dinner and returned to the car, where the customer immediately spotted a ample ding in the passenger side door that he knew had not been there when he closed the car doorway to go into the restaurant. There was a small streak of blank rouge in the dent, which distinctly showed against the glazed black paint of the Scion .
The client then looked at the white mini van parked next to his car. He remembered that the van was parked in a spot that had been empty when he had parked his wife’s car. He noticed that the van was parked hapharzadly, at an angle, and crossing the line into his parking spot, leaving little room for the van’s passenger door to open.
It was obvious to the node that the miniskirt van ’ mho occupants were creditworthy for the door ding in the otherwise showroom-condition Scion. so he began taking photograph of the dent, the van ’ s position proportional to the Scion, and the van ’ randomness license plate–just in case .
He and his wife then decided to wait for the avant-garde ’ south owner to return to the car after dinner .
About 15 minutes after the customer and his wife decided to sit and wait in their car, a family of a ma, grandma, and two children came out of the restaurant and walked toward the mini van. My client and his wife got out of their damage cable car, and calmly approached the family. My client asked the woman walking to the driver ’ south side of the van, “ Were you aware that person in your van dented our scion ? ”
The charwoman darted a glance down at her son, who had gasped and covered his sass with his hands. She looked up and said, “ I ’ m good-for-nothing. My son wasn ’ thymine paying care, and he banged his door into yours. ” My node sedately replied that those things do happen sometimes. He smiled at the boy gently, and then softly, but securely asked the woman for her insurance data. The woman balked at this, apparently regretting her admission of guilt, but it was excessively late. My customer informed her that he had photographed the price and her vehicle license plate, and suggested that they call the patrol to resolve the publish, so the charwoman gave the client her indemnity information and telephone number .
Long history short, my node was able to get the other party ’ sulfur policy company to pay for repairing the car door ding in full. He and the insurance company both chose to have PDR ( paintless dent removal ) service rather of using traditional body shop repair methods because the monetary value for my to repair the dent was far less than a body shop would have charged. The client did not need a rental vehicle while leaving the cable car in the shop, as I was able to go to his work location in San Ramon and fix the indent in about half an hour. And the fomite was literally restored to a flawless, factory finish–that ’ sulfur specially important on a total darkness car, which tends to show every bantam scrape and incision .
I hope this helps you to know what to do if person dents or dings your car–even when their vehicle is not in motion. You do have rights, and if you approach the site a sanely as my node did, you may be able to get the other person ’ south policy ship’s company to pay for repairs in full, with no out-of pocket expenses for you. If you are not able to contact the vehicle owner, or they do not admit guilt, you may however be able to collect. Take as many clear photos ( with time and date stamps ) as you can to document the price, the location, and the vehicle that damaged yours, including the license plates. Ask any witnesses to sign statements and give you their contact information. then call your indemnity company angstrom soon as potential. If you can call your indemnity company from the setting of where the price occurred, this may help them to advise you better .
UPDATE — We asked indemnity agent, Leslie Wolf of Pleasanton, to expand on this subject from her industry know point of see, and here is what she told us :
In the state of California, indemnity goes with the car, no topic who is driving. Points and indebtedness goes with the driver.
Is the deductible ever waived? The deductible depends on who is at defect, whose insurance are you going through and whether you have a deductible. It besides depends on whether both parties are insured by the same insurance company, in which case the deductibles might be waived .
If you know who damaged your car and you go through their policy, you will not have to pay for your deductible. however, if you DO not know who damaged your car and you go through your policy company, then you are subjugate to your deductible .
Does insurance pay if you don’t know who dinged your door? Or is it not covered, like a hit-and-run? Yes, your indemnity will pay for your cable car to be repaired even if you DO not know who dinged your car, a long as you are carrying collision Insurance on your car and the monetary value of repairs exceed your deductible .
Hit-and-runs are covered the lapp as above .
What type of policy covers door dings? Your car policy policy covers door dings angstrom long as you have collision, and coverage is subjugate to your deductible. A bunch of times it is not worth going through indemnity for door dings. It ’ second much better to go through a dent haunt service like Diablo Dents .
Any advice for your insurance customers? For minor issues, try to get a quote first before you put in a title with your indemnity company. For minor dings, a incision repair party is a lot more reasonable than the franchise or a body compensate patronize .
Do you have a client story related to parking lot door dings? unfortunately, door dings happen on a casual basis. Parking spaces have gotten smaller and vehicles bigger. Most people do not do it on purpose.
Do door ding claims count as a point? Yes, it could count as a indicate for the person that caused the damage if the monetary value of repairs exceeds $ 1,000. The person ’ south car that was parked will not receive a indicate, because they are not at blame for the accident .
Is there a law if you dent a parked car and don’t leave a note? Yes. If person sees you do damage to another vehicle or personal property and you don ’ t leave a note with your contact information, you could get a knock on your door from the police and be charged with a reach and political campaign .
If you would like Diablo Dents to come to your home or function to repair your vehicle ’ randomness dents and dings, telephone 925.462.1200 or email [ electronic mail protected ] us today to make an appointee. We work with all major policy carriers .