[MrBBQwer]

What to do , when there was a car reversing very slowly and then hit my bumper, there is a crack on the bumper. then the guy ran off.

I chased him, and get him to step aside. I told him, you hit my car when you reversed before. he said: i didnt know that , i dont even feel it

I got his NSW D/L , name, contact number, forgot to check address, i got picture of his plate as well.

he also said, what can we do, he didnt even feel hit my car ? so we just shake hand and off you go? I was like what the hell !!!

i dont have insurance, even if i do im not going to go by my insurance.

so what options do I have here?

thank you

[kaishang]

Originally Posted by MrBBQwer

i dont have insurance, even if i do im not going to go by my insurance.

You have a BMW which is a maximum of 5 years old... why don't you have insurance?

[Dec540]

without witnesses / damage on his car its near on impossible to prove such a small accident.
When something like that happens your best off snapping a pic of the plate / writing it down and looking for witnesses rather than following him. You then call the cops and they chase him down for fleeing the scene of an accident.

[bcoz]

Originally Posted by MrBBQwer

i dont have insurance, even if i do im not going to go by my insurance.

If you had comprehensive car insurance and can identify the party at fault (which you can), then you can put a claim with your insurance company. They will fix your car and attempt to recover damages from the other party without it affecting your excess or No Claim Bonus (if applicable).

Unfortunately you don't have insurance.

In any case, it may be a good idea to report the minor "accident" to your local police station (go there and fill in a form). I'm not too sure of the details, but it used to have to be done within 24 hours (?) of the minor accident.

[johnnydad]

Use the money saved on insurance this year to fix it yourself and profit. And if you are stressing about a cracked bumper then perhaps you should get insurance!

Similar happened to me outside work - I knew who it was but even so the insurer said I'd be up for excess if the other party denied it. Luckily he didn't.

[MrBBQwer]

Originally Posted by johnnydad

Use the money saved on insurance this year to fix it yourself and profit. And if you are stressing about a cracked bumper then perhaps you should get insurance!

Similar happened to me outside work - I knew who it was but even so the insurer said I'd be up for excess if the other party denied it. Luckily he didn't.

Very good point here, I would call it as bad luck today. and not to worry about it. it is minor crack.

my car is 3 years old, bought brand new. never have insurance so far, due to under 25years old. Allianz gave me quote about 6000/year ( 3 years ago ).

[s4008616]

Use the evidence you have got (ie other dude's driver license details, photo of damage etc...) to launch a claim through the tribunal.

In Victoria it is called the Victoria Civil and Administrative Tribunal. There should be an equivalent in NSW.

Don't bother about witness as the fact that that guy gave your his licence details meant he admitted his damage to your vehicle. Judge in the tribunal has common sense.

It is a low cost option in recovering your loss and they should have a special department which deals with motor accident claim.

I used it before and won my claim although it is not motor or accident related.

[Ninjaoz]

you should at least take out 3rd party insurance..if it is your fault, you are not liable for any damages besides the excess. just imagine if you hit a ferrari or a porsche.

as for your incident, the only option is to:

1) Write a letter of demand to the at-fault party, google it..there should be plenty of sample letter. eg. demand payment within 14 days, otherwise commence legal proceeding etc.

as what s4008616 has suggested, you can file a claim in small claim tribunal, the process is pretty straight forward you dont need a lawyer or anything as long as you get your facts right.

2) fix the bumper crack out of your own pocket without going through all the hassle

Don't bother with the police at all, the dude did supply his driver licence details etc..the cops aint gonna do anything.

[makammo]

How can you not have insurance?

I thought you were legally required to have at least third party or third party fire and theft.

That is utterly ridiculous.

(Brit)

[MrBBQwer]

Originally Posted by marlonmarc

How can you not have insurance?

I thought you were legally required to have at least third party or third party fire and theft.

That is utterly ridiculous.

(Brit)

CTP is a compulsory, surely I did pay for this one. otherwise wont be able to renew rego.

but I dont have comprehensive car insurance.

[kaishang]

Third party injury is the only insurance compulsory in Australia.

Third party property (ie damage to other vehicles) is not compulsory.

However before you get too worked up comparing it to the UK system, overall I would much rather have the Australian system:

- you can use your no-claim discount on multiple vehicles even if you have only ever owned one vehicle at a time before, unlike having to build up a NCD on more than one vehicle in the UK.

- insurance generally covers any driver (or any over 25yo driver) so you can lend your car to someone and it will be *comprehensively* insured while they are driving it; unlike the UK where if they aren't a named driver, they aren't insured.

- overall there is less of a tendency for Oz insurers to try to weasel out of claim payments

OTOH there are some downsides, like for example every time I drive on the motorway in the UK, I get up to around 170km/h and plenty of other people do the same every day without having an accident, infact I've even overtaken on several occasions a marked police car with the police car doing about 140km/h, in a line of other vehicles doing about 150km/h in the UK. Whereas in Oz doing that I would have the licence instantly suspended and maybe even make it onto the evening news.

And as I think I've mentioned before, a 3-series will cost about 30% less in the UK and a 5-series about 40% less than Australia.

Originally Posted by marlonmarc

How can you not have insurance?

I thought you were legally required to have at least third party or third party fire and theft.

That is utterly ridiculous.

(Brit)

[MFKN3]

Originally Posted by johnnydad

Use the money saved on insurance this year to fix it yourself and profit. And if you are stressing about a cracked bumper then perhaps you should get insurance!

Similar happened to me outside work - I knew who it was but even so the insurer said I'd be up for excess if the other party denied it. Luckily he didn't.

+1 Word!

You are running the legal and financial gauntlet not having any insurance MrBBQwer Try AAMI, they tend to be quite competitive.

Ironically though, in this case you'd be better off either paying for it yourself (than affecting supposed insurance premium) or using legal channels to pursue the offender. Probably start with the latter; but know you may be up for the repairs if that doesn't work out.

[GT1977]

My two cents worth... If you can't afford the insurance, you sholdn't buy the car.

I've read some stupid things in my time, but owning a BMW and not having it insured it right up there at the top of the list. At the very least, get third party, fire and theft.

We all think we are excellent drivers, but accidents can happen. If you hit someone else in a high value car, you might very well be bankrupting yourself before the age of 25.

[Ninjaoz]

Originally Posted by MrBBQwer

CTP is a compulsory, surely I did pay for this one. otherwise wont be able to renew rego.

but I dont have comprehensive car insurance.

CTP only covers if you run someone on the road...it doesn't cover any damages you caused to other motorists. besides comprehensive car insurance, there is another product called 3rd party ppty and theft for ppl doesn't give a crap about the car

have you considered registered yoru car under your parents name? the premium should be lower though you'll have an age excess.

so jealous kids can afford to drive a E93 325i nowadays!!!

good luck

[cruvon]

maybe someone here might be having an OEM bumper to sell if they replaced theirs with a M-tech one etc., I would suggest you put up a WTB ad for a bumper mentioning your cars colour in the classifieds section and if you lucky you could get a similarly coloured one for less than repairing/painting the one you have. Was sure brave of you not taking out atleast third party just in case you got into a dalliance with a Rolls or something more exotic. Offcourse, I would give the Administrative Tribunal route and making a police complaint mentioned by some above a try since you have nothing to loose trying. I think if you make your case strong by writing a nice convincing letter with the facts and details clearly spelled out with pictures of your bumper attached(would have been good if u snapped his bumper on your mobile phone but never mind) you could win this one!!

[WOPALX]

I'm sure we would all be surprised how many owners of expensive cars, boats, houses etc are either not insured or under insured.

FYI even a simple tap in the rear of a BMW is an expensive fix, I had a young guy tap me in a car park, cost was over $1500 for the repair to my car (and there was hardly a mark) so to be uninsured is plain stupid.

Luckily for those of us that are insured we would be covered and our insurance company would chase you for the cost.

This guy is selling an E93 body kit, might suit you http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...80#post7951880 . But you'd be better off leaving the existing damage and buying an insurance policy.

[Spikey]

To the OP;

This has happened to me as well (in the car before my beemer luckily) in a car park. Had full comprehensive insurance and called them up straight away after i got all the other person's details. The insurance company said they'd follow it up, which they did. However, they then called em back the following day stating that the other driver denies it and in most incidences like these ones, it's "owner bears own costs" which i was fuming about...

So i guess unless you have witnesses and a police report there's nothing that can be done as the other person (unless they're super nice and admit to fault) will deny liability. Oh and with the cops.. they're useless cos they won't handle anything unless damages exceed a certain amount? 2K/3K not sure?

[cruvon]

Originally Posted by WOPALX

I'm sure we would all be surprised how many owners of expensive cars, boats, houses etc are either not insured or under insured.

FYI even a simple tap in the rear of a BMW is an expensive fix, I had a young guy tap me in a car park, cost was over $1500 for the repair to my car (and there was hardly a mark) so to be uninsured is plain stupid.

Luckily for those of us that are insured we would be covered and our insurance company would chase you for the cost.

This guy is selling an E93 body kit, might suit you http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...80#post7951880 . But you'd be better off leaving the existing damage and buying an insurance policy.

Had the same experience too, some student who must admit I felt sorry for, tapped the rear of my bumper and though was a very small scratch it cost his third party insurance about $1500 to fix but he also had to pay an excess of $600 I learnt. I was by myself and the other party were two of them in the car but I made sure I calmly took pictures of the accident from my mobile phone (of both cars), pictures are worth a thousand words. I sent out a detailed write-up and pictures of the incident (I do have comprehensive cover with Pay as you Drive that was a bargain compared to the big ones) and my insurance company sorted it out with the other parties insurance in my favour.

Just as an aside, the other party tried resolving the issue without going through insurance by calling me up and making a $300 cash payment if I could live with the scratch or do a touch-up job off the record but although felt for the student thought better of accepting that offer since I didn't want a shoddy touch up job and had a lifetime guarantee on the job through my insurance. The $1500 that it cost to fix was a big surprise though (thought would be something like 800max) because the scratch was hardly noticeable.

[bcoz]

Filing an accident report with the police is just a formality (the police won't do anything unless there has been serious injury), but it may also be required if pursuing other options like lodging a claim in a small claims tribunal.

Furthermore, although contact details may have been exchanged, there's nothing to stop the other driver from still denying liability (or even turning the tables around and claiming the BMW hit his car from behind, rather than his car reversing into the BMW).

[John_01]

Interesting to read all the replies here. It seems quite useful advice. The best thing about comprehensive car insurance is not having to to persue this issue though the legal system. If you are hit by someone who is not insured and also broke it would be even more difficult, being without insurance yourself. I can understand not wanting to pay $6000PA for comprehensive insurance, but I can't imagine driving around without being covered for third party property.

[johnnydad]

22 yr old, clean record, mid-risk Sydney suburb, no insurance history. E93 MY09 325i valued at $85,000. Annual premium $2812 online with AAMI. Less than a year's fuel perhaps?

$441 for third party property....

[Dec540]

Originally Posted by MrBBQwer

Very good point here, I would call it as bad luck today. and not to worry about it. it is minor crack.

my car is 3 years old, bought brand new. never have insurance so far, due to under 25years old. Allianz gave me quote about 6000/year ( 3 years ago ).

Have you ever lost your licence? I take it you can't have had many or any claims in the last 5 years due to not having any insurance.

I just did a quick quote for a 22yr old living in sydney CBD with a 2009 325vert and it was like 3500... Obviously if you live away from the cbd, are older and have a 2007 model its going to be even cheaper again. Try the buzz insurance. It takes less than a minute to do a quote. Suburb car and DOB is all thats required.