A plea to my fellow mazda owners...

[TKDoyle]

Hi all, been a while since Ive actually made a post here, usually just lurk around. But I have a major dilemma that I need some advice on. I was rear-ended on October 27th this year and the guy who did it admitted 100% fault at the time and said he wanted to pay out of pocket to avoid his insurance premiums going up. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but if that were the case, I wouldn't be making a post about this now would I? We exchanged information and I went and got an estimate to the tune of 550 dollars. I told him I wouldn't charge him for my rental car I would need to take to work while my car was in the shop as long as he got the money to the shop in good time. Well long story short, its 3 weeks later and I still haven't gotten money from him. We were in and out of contact through the entire 3 weeks, until recently; he's pretty much avoided contact with me and refuses to return my calls.

So Im going to try to go to the police station tomorrow and see what they can do for me, if anything. I have pics from the accident, his insurance card with his name and VIN on it, and several phone numbers he's given me. I know now (hind sight is 20/20 right?) I should have called the police in the first place and filed an accident report, but I (ignorantly) thought this would just be over with as fast as it happened.

My question to my fellow Mazda owners is, what should I say to the police about this and what should I expect their reaction to be? I mean I know it's a civil thing now, but by me not calling the cops he avoided a wreckless driving ticket, his insurance going up and whatever else would have come with that. Did I just majorly screw up here by NOT being an a-hole and stiffing this guy? I would like to think the police will be understanding of me and my situation and return the favor of good-will that I extended to the guy in the first place.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and give me your thoughts or input. I'm open to other suggestions as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

[.paul]

Here where I live they don't do anything but show up and issue a ticket and leave..MAYBE put in a report. If you call even one hour after the accident they won't do anything, however, this is just (un)fairfax county, va. I'm not sure how things will work for your place, but it's worth a shot, but I wouldn't put much faith in the police.

I guess if the police don't do anything you might have a civil case, but it's weak I suppose since it's just 'he-said-she-said' even though you have all that information, but I could be wrong.

 

[nonameheroes]

call and report it to his insurance company and explained what he told you and that he has failed to pay. screw his premiums going up...why should you have to pay out of your pocket for expenses that you shouldnt had to have accrued?

 

[Cellerator]

yeah, I'd say since he hasn't called you back and refuses to answer your calls, call the insurance and make him pay premiums.

 

[.paul]

Insurance companies aren't really in the business of being benevolent, so I'm not sure they'd be willing to take on that cost given that regular accident reporting procedure hasn't been followed.

But, I dunno.

 

[TKDoyle]

Insurance companies aren't really in the business of being benevolent, so I'm not sure they'd be willing to take on that cost given that regular accident reporting procedure hasn't been followed.

But, I dunno.

Thats what I had figured, that I would need a police report or something in order for his insurance to go through...If I would have thought this woulda worked in the first place, I would have called them weeks ago. Thanks for the input, any other ideas?