Press charges?

[One-Off]

So last night we had just gone to bed when we hear this really loud scraping sound. We jumped up and opened our front door. Normally my vanagon is parked right out in front. It was gone. Then we saw it. It had been pushed back about 15 feet and was up on the curb. The guy who hit my car was trying to drive off, but his hood was crumpled and there was smoke coming out of the engine compartment. He made it to the end of the block and made a right turn but stopped there. My neighbor, who had been on the sidewalk talking, got a photo and called the police.

The the police came to take the report. The officer asked me if I wanted to press charges. I asked what for and he said, "hit and run." I didn't know how to answer. I said, "Well, he didn't get away." I was only interested in making sure my vehicle would be covered. Shouldn't it be the city/law enforcement that presses charges if they determine it was a hit and run?

The other guy's car was probably totaled. Mine had a crumpled bumper, front and side panel. But what worried me was after I drove it off the curb and around the block I found the steering is fukkt up- loose and the steering wheel was at 90 degrees while going straight...and I couldn't go very straight. It was wandering all over. This morning I could see the wheel was canted in by about 10 -15 degrees and toed in about 5-10 degrees ( I only know the fin set up terms, not the auto alignment ones).

Would pressing charges make any difference in how the insurance gets settled?

PS it was a drunk 20 something in a Lexus that hit my car. Got taken away in cuffs.

 

[VonMeister]

No

Get a copy of the police report and you're good.

You don't need to press charges. They have al the evidence they need. You weren't even a witness.

 

[keenfish]

Insurance will handle it. You are all good. Let them take care of it.

 

[ringer]

If that at-fault driver is insured, it doesn't make any difference from an insurance perspective whether or not you press the criminal charges.

 

[drainer]

Yes, press charges.

It's a special kind of person who hits and runs - in my personal experience very likely to repeat the behavior.

Hit and run is a huge problem in my neighborhood (very steep hills and lots of drunk 20-somethings) and can cost you thousands and thousands of dollars. Often so costly to fix the vehicle you might as well forget it.

Several neighbors have had vehicles hit so hard they're essentially totaled.

Usually the culprits are never caught - pressing charges makes an example to the people they associate with.

You are very lucky the cops got your guy - hope he has insurance

 

[Why_was_I_banned]

Absolutely.

You press charges if asked to protect the next victim.

Obviously he has no conscience and we aren't safe

 

[doc_flavonoid]

probably not i your case, since fault is not in question.

i was hit on a narrow (basically one lane) windy road. i was traveling up hill, guy came wide around a blind turn, locked em up slide into me. no witnesses. he bailed, but not before i got a photo of his plate.

did about 6k worth of damage to my truck. probably could have been construed as no fault given the circumstances, but once he made it a hit and run it automatically became his fault as far as chp and the insurance companies were concerned.

 

[Leaverite]

Pressing charges will help if your insurance company flakes and doesn't cover the full cost of replacing your vehicle if it's considered totaled.

It is absolutely frightening these days to see what is considered a total with new cars and all of the systems/tech they have. And it sounds like your car has a lot of damage.

And one question you didn't answer was if the guy even had insurance? Or if his insurance company is the same one you have?

 

[GWS_2]

I shot a man driving a Zagato just to watch him die.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Yes, press charges.

It's a special kind of person who hits and runs - in my personal experience very likely to repeat the behavior.

Hit and run is a huge problem in my neighborhood (very steep hills and lots of drunk 20-somethings) and can cost you thousands and thousands of dollars. Often so costly to fix the vehicle you might as well forget it.

Several neighbors have had vehicles hit so hard they're essentially totaled.

Usually the culprits are never caught - pressing charges makes an example to the people they associate with.

You are very lucky the cops got your guy - hope he has insurance

why would it cost you thousands and thousands of dollars?

 

[HarryLopez2]

Same thing happened to me. Woke up suddenly, don't remember the actual crash sound. But then, heard some hissing, got out of bed, went to front of house to see a Porsche flipped over right on the sidewalk in front of my house, which was right behind Triangle park. Road was a cut through road and guy looked like he overcorrected coming out of the turn, or was veered off the road. Tore out a big bougainvillea bush, and smashed my 4" cmu mailbox. Guy was okay, but disappeared quickly somehow, before the cops showed up. Still got his insurance somehow. Looked like a rich Kahala haole. Insurance ended up paying, but always a hassle to get full price. I'll look for the pic, but his tire imprint on the driveway clearly showed his tire brand.

 

[drainer]

why would it cost you thousands and thousands of dollars?

As far as insurance goes it's going to depend on your state, your deductible amount, and your level of coverage.

In some instances you can count on your insurance going up if you make a claim.

Then your car is going to be sidelined, sometimes for a considerable amount of time. That means you're likely paying for a rental car. Some insurance covers that - mine doesn't.

Bodywork is not cheap - bumper replacement and what looked like some minor damage to the side and rear of our 2010 Honda cost us around 5K last year at a reputable body shop.

Not to mention the hassles.

If you drive an older vehicle I'm curious how keen your insurance is paying out for say... $8K of body repairs on a vehicle worth $4K.

 

[Leaverite]

As far as insurance goes it's going to depend on your state, your deductible amount, and your level of coverage.

In some instances you can count on your insurance going up if you make a claim.

Then your car is going to be sidelined, sometimes for a considerable amount of time. That means you're likely paying for a rental car. Some insurance covers that - mine doesn't.

Bodywork is not cheap - bumper replacement and what looked like some minor damage to the side and rear of our 2010 Honda cost us around 5K last year at a reputable body shop.

Not to mention the hassles.

And having your car repaired with cheap, aftermarket components vs.genuine factory parts. The resale value will go way down.

 

[_____]

And having your car repaired with cheap, aftermarket components vs.genuine factory parts. The resale value will go way down.

I'm guessing there can be a case for demanding factory parts (?) but resale, isn't that what gap insurance is for?

 

[Leaverite]

Years back I was coming home one late summer morning from a surf trip up to Ano. If you know HWY 1 up there. From The Waddell Creek parking lot up the hill to where Big Creek Lumber is. The HWY goes over a little bridge and goes up the hill.

Now if you drive south on HWY 1 that whole stretch has "No Parking" signs along it.

Not so back then. A sunny summer day and there were 30 cars parked along the HWY. I was cruising home and some dickhead in a Porsche 911 decided to just pull out on the hwy. Didn't even look.
All I could do was lock up and hold the wheel. Oncoming traffic in the northbound lane. I put his rear engine into his back seat.

Rear ender, automatically at fault. Right??? He sued me personally on top of it. My insurance company went to bat for me. About 6 month later they took sworn depositions from me, everybody involved. Turned out Porsche boy and his GF had a picnic on the beach with a couple bottles of wine.

Case thrown out and dismissed.

 

[Duffy LaCoronilla]

I don’t see why you would even have to press charges. Hit and run is illegal whether you’re ok with it or not.

 

[doc_flavonoid]

I'm guessing there can be a case for demanding factory parts (?) but resale, isn't that what gap insurance is for?

theres a law in california that body work paid via claim through insurance must use new oem parts if work is done less than 24 months from vehicle manufacture date. after that insurance can use the cheapest parts available, including used parts.

course you can always pay the difference for new oem direct to the body shop if its important to you

 

[silentbutdeadly]

As far as insurance goes it's going to depend on your state, your deductible amount, and your level of coverage.

In some instances you can count on your insurance going up if you make a claim.

Then your car is going to be sidelined, sometimes for a considerable amount of time. That means you're likely paying for a rental car. Some insurance covers that - mine doesn't.

Bodywork is not cheap - bumper replacement and what looked like some minor damage to the side and rear of our 2010 Honda cost us around 5K last year at a reputable body shop.

Not to mention the hassles.

If you drive an older vehicle I'm curious how keen your insurance is paying out for say... $8K of body repairs on a vehicle worth $4K.

I think you live 5 minutes from me? My truck got hit a few years ago. Deductible, rental car etc paid by other party. Insurance wasn't affected. Another case I got hit by debris on freeway. I paid my 500 dollar deductible and that's it. insurance not affected one bit.

I think you may need to shop around for a different carrier. I have AAA for all three of our vehicles and my boat. No issues whatsoever.

 

[Leaverite]

I don’t see why you would even have to press charges. Hit and run is illegal whether you’re ok with it or not.

If you end up having to file a personal lawsuit it helps. The more official documentation the better. So this dude wrecked your car, he may have fvcked up your garage door, your yard, ect.ect...

 

[One-Off]

I don’t see why you would even have to press charges. Hit and run is illegal whether you’re ok with it or not.

That's what I thought- that the police would charge him. Why do I have to step up?

My insurance (AAA) said I have a $250 deductible but most likely the other driver's insurance would cover it. My worry is that my car is 1985 vanagon. It was in pretty pristine condition and has a newer Audi engine with low miles. The previous owner was a retired JPL engineer who did the install himself and all the mechanics who've looked at it mention what a clean install it is. Thing is, no paper work. I'm worried they will call it totaled. Today I collected a couple of comps online for $26,000 and $29,000 (same engine conversion). Hoping for the best.