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Insurance: options when hit by uninsured motorist

159 messages,  Last post on May 05, 2013 at 2:22 PM

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Messages Page 13 of 16

#120 of 159 Re: help [kim23] by tidester

Aug 23, 2007 (4:50 pm)

Replying to: kim23 (Aug 23, 2007 12:38 pm)
the car i wrecked was probably worth about $800
 
You didn't wreck the "new" car. You wrecked the "old" car. The old car was worth $800 when you wrecked it. You owe her $800. You might also consider tossing in a little more for the aggravation and inconvenience you caused your friend - along with some very sincere apologies.
 
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

#121 of 159 Re: help [kim23] by dtownfb

Aug 23, 2007 (7:54 pm)

Replying to: kim23 (Aug 23, 2007 12:38 pm)
I'll start off by saying both marsha and tidester are right. But I'm having a tough time with this.
 
You two are friends and you accidently wrecked her car which is worth about $800. Sure you didn't pay her the full $800 but you did pay for her replacement car. A car that she chose to buy before you paid her.
 
I don't want to seem like a snob or uppity but we are talking about a $800 car. I've seen $800 cars. Most of the time if they are totaled, you are upset not because you lost a great car but because you have to replace a car which you paid for. Most of the time it involves a monthly payment or something. She replaced it with a $500 car...which you gave her the money for. Maybe if you had totaled a $5000 car and only gave her enough for a $2500 car, I can see her anger. But we are talking about $300...maybe!!! From both sides, I don't see losing a friendship over this. Or going to court.
 
Offer to fill up her gas tank a few times. Or take her out to a nice restaurant. Or just give her the money. Friends ar hard to find, esp. when you get older.

#122 of 159 Re: help [dtownfb] by jlawrence01

Aug 23, 2007 (8:48 pm)

Replying to: dtownfb (Aug 23, 2007 7:54 pm)
You two are friends and you accidently wrecked her car which is worth about $800. Sure you didn't pay her the full $800 but you did pay for her replacement car. A car that she chose to buy before you paid her.
 
Let me put it in a little different terms.
 
I have a beater that is worth $1000 on the market. It is a car that I have owned for a long time, taken care of the vehicle very religiously, and plan to keep the car for another 2 or 3 or maybe even 5 more years.
 
You plow into my car and total it. Your insurance company pays me $1000. Legally, you are off the hook.
 
However, I am pretty ticked off. Now i have to go all over town and find a new ride. (And that takes a minimum or two weeks for me.) Then I either have to reach for my wallet to buy a new car or get into payments - which, by the way, wasn't in my budget because PLANNED TO KEEP THE CAR FOR A FEW MORE YEARS.
 
To YOU, it was an old beater, to me, it had a value beyond its book value.

#123 of 159 dtownfb by marsha7

Aug 24, 2007 (8:58 am)

I can see your point, but I do not know the financial status of these two people...for some, $300 may be a major expense, and while a friendship may not be worth losing over $300, it still stands as owed until the "lender" says it is not...
 
One could also be the friend by not shorting her the $300 to begin with...

#124 of 159 Re: dtownfb [marsha7] by dtownfb

Aug 24, 2007 (10:58 am)

Replying to: marsha7 (Aug 24, 2007 8:58 am)
I completely understand your point marsha7. Legally, the OP owes her friend $300.
 
but when dealing with friendship, you take into account the other person's situation (personal and financial); the fact it was an accident; while yes your property is gone, you have a suitable replacement that did not affect you financially. I'm saying this $300 should not have ruined their friendship. Yes $300 is a lot of money for some people. But the OP came up with $500 to pay her friend and the friend came up with $500 for the replacement car. If the OP can't afford the extra $300, then can't they compromise. Is it really necessary to sue your FRIEND for $300 esp. when it doesn't adversely affect you financially? Personally, I would be upset cause my car is gone but I have replacement car (that I chose) that is paid for. Some things you simply write off. You're aren't happy about it but you write it off because your friend did pay you for the replacement car.
 
I guess I'm just naive. hang a big L on my forehead and send me on my way.

#125 of 159 Re: help [jlawrence01] by dtownfb

Aug 24, 2007 (11:18 am)

Replying to: jlawrence01 (Aug 23, 2007 8:48 pm)
Jlawrence01: what you are using as an example is not what happened here. No insurance company involved, just two friends. The friend found a replacement car for $500 two days after the accident. She did not have to incur any car payments and obviously she was able to reach into her wallet (or someone else's) and pay cash for the car. The OP PAID her the $500 for the replacement car so the friend did not incur any financial burden because of this accident. No car payment, no change in budget, nothing. All she lost was sentimental value, if this car had any. I'm guessing it didn't since she was able to replace it within two days with a cheaper one. Of course we don't know either one's financial situation but I would think if the owner of the car could not afford to buy another, she would have waited for the OP to cough up the $800 before purchasing the replacement car.
 
Like I mentioned earlier, legally marsha7 and tidester are absolutely right, the OP still owes her friend $300. But friends should be able to work it out. Of course, I suspect that these two weren't really good friends and there are other things going on.

#126 of 159 Re: help [dtownfb] by jlawrence01

Aug 24, 2007 (12:03 pm)

Replying to: dtownfb (Aug 24, 2007 11:18 am)
But friends should be able to work it out. Of course, I suspect that these two weren't really good friends and there are other things going on.
 
Or the "friend" has acted rather flippantly about wrecking an older vehicle.
 
Your story struck a raw nerve in my personal life. I lent a car to a "friend" in need. He tore it up in the month that he had it. Didn't really cost me anything ... it was the principle involved.

#127 of 159 Re: help [jlawrence01] by dtownfb

Aug 24, 2007 (1:23 pm)

Replying to: jlawrence01 (Aug 24, 2007 12:03 pm)
I'm simply giving my opinion on the OP story. Sorry if it struck a nerve. Based on what you are saying about your friend, I can see why you were upset. That is just wrong.

#128 of 159 dtownfb by marsha7

Aug 24, 2007 (7:11 pm)

On one point I do agree with you, and that is that I would think it was not the best thing to file suit...and, forgive me, sometimes the posts go back far enough that I only remeber the point that I made in response, forgetting some of the other pertinent points...
 
So, while the $300 was owed and should have been paid, I think filing suit may be over the top, but, alas, we REALLY do not know just how good these friends actually were...maybe it WAS worth filing suit, as there may be facts you and I simply do not know...
 
I can atleast assert this: I would not have consented to be retained to file suit for the $300, but that is why we have the People's Court......to keep the damn lawyers out of it...

#129 of 159 Re: dtownfb [marsha7] by dtownfb

Aug 24, 2007 (7:38 pm)

Replying to: marsha7 (Aug 24, 2007 7:11 pm)
Send them to Judge Judy. She'll set them straight.

Messages Page 13 of 16

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