Lady in SUV backed into me
 

Some lady backed into me this morning in the parking lot at Best Buy. She pulled into a parking space just as I was leaving. So just as I back out of my spot, she realized that the spot she had pulled into was reserved for the employee of the month, put it into reverse and backed on out, right into me. Oh well. This sucks, but sh*t happens. It's kinda weird. I know I should feel pissed off, but I just can't bring myself to get worked up over this. I actually felt sorry for her because this is her first accident ever and she was in tears. Anyway, here are some pics of the damage.

If it weren't for the crack in the clear coat (see pics 1 and 2), I think I could actually get away with popping the dent out with a heat gun and just buffing it. Oh, in case you're wondering, her trailer hitch is what impacted me. Could've been a lot worse.

http://www.the370z.com/members/semte...8-p1000842.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/semte...9-p1000843.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/semte...0-p1000844.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/semte...1-p1000845.jpg

NOOOOOOOOOOo...im sorry man. at least it wasnt too bad. when i first read the title, i was worried ur exhaust got messed up too. its a shame that it has to be painted, cuz it just pops right out. good luck

Well, that sucks...

That sux, but that's very cool that you were level-headed about it.
Can be fixed, and you won't know it was ever there.
Mental anguish will soon dissipate.

Yeah, I got hit the other day myself. Not even sure what it was. But, at least you got her - mine was a hit and run.

Shouldnt be too bad to fix... aftermarket bumper on her dime?

Oh man, that is so shi%@y. I guess it could have been worse. Hope your day gets better.

Thanks guys. Honestly, I know this is going to sound strange, but I barely even care. In fact, I might just say screw filing a claim against her insurance and pay for it out of pocket, because (a) my mechanic also does body work and can knock this out in about 4 hours for $350, and (b) I hate leaving my car with body shops; the interior comes back coated in dust, plus my car's value will be diminished. But the real reason I say I barely even care is, well, considering what happened to my 350Z . . .

http://www.the370z.com/members/semte...re907-oops.jpg

. . . this is nothing to get upset about. Getting into an accident that requires EMTs to extract you from your vehicle on a back board kinda changes one's perspective on things. I just don't sweat the small stuff anymore.

considering it was a SUV, i would say the damaged look minimal. so when will you get that bummer replaced?

I like your attitude!

Sorry about the ding, but at least the lady seemed sorry. Can't be worse than the morons who park 1 foot away from us and put nice dents in our doors at malls or college parking lots without caring. :shakes head:

Yeah, that shouldn't be too bad. It's just the bumper...worst case scenario, just replace it. It's not like a door or quarter panel..

Still though.. At least she was crying and realized the emotional trauma she had caused you.

I'm just waiting for the first nasty scratch/ding/trailer hitch impression myself.

:shakes head:

make that bitch pay!

Employe of the month spots are normaly hella close to the building arent they? like handi cap spots.

Wich means you broke the "forbidden law" Never park the z close to any building. You must park at the back where nobody is parking near you like a outcast while rest of the lazy ones park as close as they possibly can, even if its a compact spot, doesnt matter that SUV is squeezing in there so some fat fluffer [replace with correct word] doesnt have to walk a extra 5 feet.

^^tru. i always park where nobody is. but in a glow in the dark blue like semtex's, nobody should really touch it. that color is like super 3D...pops out haha.

Wow, I thought you got seriously injured when I saw the title!
Glad to hear you are safe and sound!
I really like your positive perspective on life sir!

Actually, I was in a handicap spot. I have a handicap parking permit because I had ankle surgery a few months ago for a torn achilles tendon, so they gave me a 6 month permit as it still hurts to walk. Those spots are actually great as far as avoiding door dings go because they're so wide. But yeah, the drawback is I'm parked up front along with all the other cars. When my permit expires, rest assured I'll be parking out in the boondocks.

Not too bad, always sucks when you car is new though. You go to so much effort to take care of it and random s**t just happens.

I don't mind so much when the other driver is remorseful, it's the parking lot hit and runs that I hate. Every single mark on my last car was careless SUV drivers opening their doors. I really hate SUV's.

^its not about the SUV its the person. i have been looking at this for a while. A lot of people when in the car open the door and then just fling it wide open with their leg. now there is your ding.

semtex, sorry about the damage.

The good news is your ok and it's just a bumper. You already have the pics for insurance. You could wait for them or order the bumper from courtesy nissan who's really good with the parts, and get it painted and put it on yourself. The car is so new and im sure you garage it, color matching wont be an issue.

850 Rear Bumper :: Body(Side & Rear) :: Genuine Nissan Parts :: 370Z Parts (Z34) 2009+ :: CourtesyParts.com

Good luck, I'm very sorry.

Okay, now I hate door flingers and SUV drivers. :)

Would you expect anything different? "Oops this accident was totally my fault, I better shed a few tears!" :rolleyes:

Okay, I don't know who left me this rep point, but it just made me laugh so hard that my drink came out of my nose! So whoever you are -- thank you, I needed the laugh. :bowrofl:

http://www.the370z.com/members/semte...4-01-13-pm.jpg

you have a great attitude. you are going to live a nice, long, happy life being able to shrug things off and smile. you are also very generous being willing to pay the $350 yourself for the fix. I would make her pay it myself, I know its not much, but you could do something fun, buy yourself or your wife something with that money.

I saw a Ferrari 430 in a handicapped spot the other day (they had a permit), those are some great spots. I would say that line from the seinfeld (the episode where they bought the wheelchair) about "you're almost glad to be handicapped" but thats just wrong. really wrong. it was funny on the show though.

Are you really going to pay for the repair yourself? I was being facetious regarding the tears. Wow!

It depends. I've submitted a claim to her insurance company. If they decide to be difficult and tell me I must take it into one of their 'approved' body repair shops then I'd probably just say screw it and pay for it out of pocket. My first priority is getting it done right with minimal hassle. Not having to deal with an interior coated in a layer of dust is alone worth about $200 to me, I reckon (I've have never, ever, gotten a car back from a body shop without the interior being coated in dust. It drives me nuts!). I have a friend who actually specializes in bumper repair and light body work like this for various dealerships in the area. He already took a look at it and says he can do it in my driveway and knock it out in about 4 hours. So I want him to do it. If the insurance company will help me pay for his services, great. If not, then fine, I'll pay for it myself. Either way, he's doing it.

Was she hot?

:icon18: She was cute, but I wouldn't describe her as hot.

okay you get a pass on it this time.

The other thing to avoid is even if you are parking in the boondocks and you see a cart near the spot you want to park or even close, DONT PARK NEAR IT. Some mother beep will joy royide the thing into your car or accidently push it oops and get a scratch that way.

True story has happen to me.

Welp, there's your answer. If she was ugly I bet you'd be pissed.

Sorry to hear that mate. Good to see you're putting a brave face on it.

If you can some money out of her, fix it on your own, would stay off Car Facts history report. Not worth the headache. It's good you have the right attitude about it.

Don't file with your insurance or take it to a body shop that will report it. Once that $hit is on your carfax report, the value takes a dump. I just went through this while trading in my Audi A4 to get the new Z. They saw that some moron hit my rear quarter panel on the Audi (perfectly repaired but showed up on my Carfax report) and suddenly it was "damaged goods." The problem was the repairs cost $1800, but in the end it probably cost me just as much based on how they depreciated the value due to the bad report.

and right when you trade a car in they ask you to sign off that you were never involved in an accident etc.... Bumper is such an easy fix. NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW, except the forum lol.

:iagree: I know exactly what you mean about the back board thing.....happened to me little over a month ago in my (first) 370. Thankfully I was able to replace it with a nice new blue one!

Good man Semtex! Sucks that this happened but your handling it in the best way possible.
Getting all worked up and mad never helped anyone.

Maybe you should have her fix the z even though the damage is minor. It might open her eyes and she'll be more carefull. Now she thinks she is getting off easy and will never learn, she is just lucky nobody got hurt or your z wasn't a hell of alot worse.

Wow, that is almost exactly what happened to me two weeks ago. I was getting ready to trade in my 350 for a new 370 and just after I drove back from Carmax to get an appraisal quote, some girl in an SUV backed up into me in a parking lot. I had just finished pulling out of my space and was about to go forward when she started pulling out of her space on the other side. I must have honked and shouted for 2 seconds but she just plowed right into me. She got out of the car and said, "oops...I always forget to look behind me when I'm backing out." :shakes head:

At any rate, it pushed back the purchase of my 370 until it all got fixed. But I am happy to report that I am now the proud dad of a new 167.2 inch, 3278 lbs baby Z! And she's blue!

Now I just have to avoid entering any parking lots...

Dang that sucks. I know when I get my new ride I will have to park far away from other cars. Hopefully that will help reduce parking lot accidents.

Okay, I have an update on this, and I wouldn't mind some feedback on a dilemma I now have. It's been 3 weeks since the accident, and I just found out today from the lady's insurance adjuster that they're denying my claim. Why? Because even though I was stopped when the lady hit me, I can't prove it and there are no witnesses who can back up me up, so as far as they're concerned I hit their policy holder as much as she hit me and we're equally at fault. In the statement that the lady gave to her insurance company (Liberty Mutual), she stated that she doesn't know if I was already stopped when we made contact, or if I was also still backing up. Now, I can't blame her for saying this, because it's the truth. All she felt was a bump. There is no way for her to know if my car was stationary or moving at the time of the impact.

I talked to my own insurance agent and asked him what my options are. He said that he's seen this thousands of times. He said that the insurance adjuster may even believe that even I'm being truthful and was stationary when his driver backed into me, but he also knows that I can't prove it, so he'll just screw me over without a moment's hesitation, because that's his job. It's his job to not pay out if he thinks his company can get away with it. The amount of the damage is below my deductible, so filing a claim with my own insurance and letting the two insurance companies duke out liability is not an option. My agent told me that at this point, my only option would be to call up the other driver and tell her that I'm going to sue her in small claims, but she can avoid being sued if she calls the adjuster back and tells him she's changed her mind and knows that she was at fault for sure.

Well, that doesn't sit well with me. That sounds like bullying, and that's just not me. But here's the dilemma. As much as I don't want to bully the other driver, I feel like her insurance company is bullying me, and that's just getting under my skin right now real bad. If I just let the issue drop, then I feel like I'm not standing up for myself and rewarding their bullying behavior. It's not about the money. As I've already stated earlier in this thread, I'm actually fine with paying for the repairs on my own. It's the principle of the thing -- I don't tuck my tail between my legs and back down when someone tries to bully me. What sucks is that in order to stand up for myself, I have to bully the lady who hit me. I have to be vicious to her as a stepping stone to get at her asinine insurance company.

So I'm torn. I do not want to be a jerk and bully this lady. My brain is telling me to just let it drop and walk away, especially seeing how money isn't the issue. But my gut is telling me to get nasty and fight, because that's my instinct. In fact, my gut is telling me to make the insurance company pay in some other, non-monetary, 'extra-cirricular' way that I won't detail because . . . well, it's not legal. I think of 'First Blood' and 'Falling Down' as inspirational films. I'll just leave it at that.

So what do you guys think? Just take a deep breath and let it go? Honestly, that's what I'm trying to do. But how do I shake this feeling that I'm just backing down and letting some jerk walk all over me and not standing up for myself? I try to be easy going. I'm the kind of guy who can shrug things off all day long with people, no matter what they do to me, so long as I know that it was accidental. But the moment I think someone is trying to screw with me intentionally, all bets are off and I go to war.

At least she was genuinely sorry and didnt just hit and run like the guy who did it to me. Insurance companies are feeling the pinch of the economy too, so any chance they can get to screw you over, they will take. Its a tough situation, and I dont think the insurance company can be touched. you COULD demand to talk to his supervisor, or request that your claim be handled by someone else.

I have the same instincts as you. If i get bullied, I wait until the bullier turns his back and I strike back, often 10 times as worse.

In this case, the woman was genuinely remorseful and its the insurance company who is screwing you over. You could take an in between path, call the woman up, and tell her the circumstances, and ask if shes willing to split the cost of the repair with you.

that way you dont incur the full cost, you dont have to bully her, take her to court, or anything else. You will still have to pay, but you are asking her nicely to help you out.