Someone hit my wife’s new Jeep today, while it was parked.

[bdex75]

So she drives to work. Just a dusting of snow, nothing to worry about. She parks in the lot at work (the kids HIgh School) like she does every day, in her normal spot.

Mid day she gets a call from the school resoirce officer (a town police officer) telling her that she needs to come to her car in the parking lot that it rolled out of her parking spot and hit another car. She immediately calls me as she is waking outside and tells me this. I ask her how this could have happened. She states maybe she was distracted and left it in neutral???? I explained to her that in a brand new Jeep that is almost impossible as she would have to manually unlock the doors and the radio would not have turned off etc. She gets outside and finds this.............


The police officer looks at her and says your car rolled out of its spot and hit this Jeep. To which she responds, that is not my car, but it is my Jeep and WTH happened???? He proceeds to explain to her that the red impala was in a spot across the way. A student saw it start to roll on its own and proceed to hit her Jeep. The car is in neutral, the radio is on and the ignition is in the accessory position, no keys. She said the police officer just looks baffled.

Then the lady who owns the car comes out and proceeds to ask the cop what happened. He informs her and tells her to move her car. She tried to start in and no dice. She puts it back in park and starts right up, moves it back.


Officer asks the wife what she wants to do. Settle it between the two parties privately of have him write a report. She calls me as I am traveling for work, as usual. I say write a report as at the time I have no idea what we are dealing with. Wife is telling me the taillight is in pieces and on the ground and the bumper is popped off. Cop proceeds to get the info and says if it is over $1000 he has to write a report anyhow (Which I have never heard). Cop says he will get the report done by the end of the day and that both parties are required to notify their insurance companies. Which I think is BS.

She and the other party get called to the office at the end of the day. Officer has the report written. Before he signs it and gives it to them he advises the other party that they may want to see how much damage there is to our vehicle (compared to their deductible with State Farm) because with what he had to put in the report (car was left in neutral) and the video they will likely be found at fault by the insurance companies. But he can only hold report until Friday. Other driver admitted fault as the car was her husbands and she apparently wasn’t familiar that N doesn’t mean P in a Chevy. She is supposed to talk to her husband and let wife know tomorrow.

So poor wifey gets to go to body shop in the am on her day off to get an estimate to fix her new Jeepster. Not a happy camper. If bumper cover is salvageable I imagine it will be well under $1000 but who knows these days.

Bottom line. Put yo car in park in the parking lot people!!!




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[520Matt]

Bummer. Hopefully it goes smoothly from here

[RW16610]

Man, people never fail to amaze me... Thankfully nobody was hurt by that vehicle as it rolled away! My fingers are crossed this all gets sorted out as quickly as possible. It's always the other folks on the road (or in the parking lot) we need to worry about most it seems.

[Rogdogg]

Unfortunate incident but just be happy that's all that happened. If that's the worst thing that happens to you guys this year you're doing okay. Everything will be made right again.

[1st amg]

What crappy luck....just an observation, but is the exhaust tail pipe also crooked? maybe its the angle of the pic.

[TK-710]

Originally Posted by bdex75

Cop proceeds to get the info and says if it is over $1000 he has to write a report anyhow (Which I have never heard).

This is pretty standard.

In my state the law states:
"You must report within 10 days any accident occurring in New York State causing a fatality, personal injury or damage over $1,000 to the property of any one person. Failure to do so within 10 days is a misdemeanor."

In NY accident reports are actually filed with the DMV. The reporting agency completes, reviews and then submits. If you want a copy you are supposed to get in through the DMV not the agency. This is supposed to insure that the vehicle's history is known and not falsified upon sale to another.

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by 1st amg

What crappy luck....just an observation, but is the exhaust tail pipe also crooked? maybe its the angle of the pic.

I thought that too. I will send her a text to make sure the body shop looks at that this am. I hope it is not because then this will go to the report and insurance. That exhaust is not cheap for the Hemi. I have been looking at aftermarket cat backs for it. $1700.

Originally Posted by JES77

This is pretty standard.



In my state the law states:

"You must report within 10 days any accident occurring in New York State causing a fatality, personal injury or damage over $1,000 to the property of any one person. Failure to do so within 10 days is a misdemeanor."



In NY accident reports are actually filed with the DMV. The reporting agency completes, reviews and then submits. If you want a copy you are supposed to get in through the DMV not the agency. This is supposed to insure that the vehicle's history is known and not falsified upon sale to another.

And the police officer did say that they would suspend your license if you didn’t report to insurance and the vehicle history report thing seems accurate.


I am just glad the student that saw it wasn’t in the way and no one was hurt. It just bothers me that we are always so cautious and careful and err on the side of caution as to make sure our things stay nice and other people just don’t care at all. This lady was very apologetic and admitted that it was her fault to the officer. But he did mention that with two unoccupied vehicles like this insurance will be a difficult road to go down. Which I doubt as there was obvious negligence that is written in the report (if we go that route).

I was in the car insurance business years ago but sold my practice when I got into the financial planning and Life/investment business and I really don’t recall these minor details from my claims paying days. We have liberty mutual and they have State Farm. In the past liberty mutual claims always fed State Farm their lunch in my experience. Hope it doesn’t come down to that.




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[Ripcode]

Originally Posted by bdex75

wasn’t familiar that N doesn’t mean P in a Chevy.

Does N = P in any make of car??

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by Ripcode

Does N = P in any make of car??

My point exactly.

She initially blamed it on the fact that it was her husbands car and she wasn’t familiar with it. Not sure what car out there would have neutral and park be the same thing.

What is more odd is that this is a console shift. A column shift I could almost understand. But with the console just push all the way forward.


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[cop414]

Brandon, this certainly sucks but no one was hurt and the damage looks minimal. I’ve seen much worse with these types of situations, cars rolling through yards narrowly missing people. I hope that the operator of the other vehicle was cited.
I’m sending you a pm, story that I can’t share here that should lighten the mood.

[1st amg]

Cat back exhaust is the way to go on the hemi! Do it anyway Brandon!


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[SDRider]

I can almost guarantee you that is more than $1000 in damage. My advice would be to let your insurance company handle it. They will pursue it with the other party's insurance, this shouldn't cost you a thing.

[tbonesteak]

My advice:

Your car was parked, you have zero liability here, and I would not do anything through my own insurance company. I would get the other driver's information, get the police report (which should state somewhere in there "your car was parked, unoccupied, & stationary), and get in touch with the other driver's insurance.

Sorry, this sucks.

Also, being a brand new car, take it directly to Jeep and let them do the work (being that you shouldn't be coming out of pocket anyways).

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by Ripcode

Does N = P in any make of car??

Military humvees and a few trucks have no P. Did she just get out of the Army?

[BNA/LION]

Dang! Sorry to hear about this. Best of Luck moving forward.

[dddrees]

Sorry to hear but I am not surprised. My latest experiences all other peoples faults have been rather problematic. Police no longer are required or are reluctant to write reports especially when it occurs on private property such as store parking lots. Once the officer offered initially to do so and then later told me he wasn’t going to after the husband and wife who hit me where called back to the scene of the hit and run. My car was parked and I was inside when it was hit and they left. Luckily the person collecting up carts captured the license plate. Later store security reviewed their tape and called the police who then ended up writing the report.

My wife has been involved in two accidents one which the lady who was driving a rather dinged up Lexus claimed she didn’t run a red light resulting in a she said she said accident. Another where the insurance of an individual who couldn’t provide his insurance at the scene, but we were lucky to track it down later had done their best not to pay full restitution. They initially stone walled us for months and then under bid the damage. They wouldn’t even guarantee a rental while the car was in the shop. Then because the car had to be in the shop for them to inspect in person and approve the amount didn’t show until I called them a second time when they tried to claim they had no knowledge it was in the shop.


It seems that you once long ago you could plan on settling these things but now I wouldn’t be surprised if i have to be prepared to pay even when it’s not my fault.

[Lol-x]

Anyone heard of a hand-picked....

Open and shut case.

[rubb3]

The owner of the Toyota must be a pretty lucky man cause it seems like it would have headed directly for his car all the same glad this is all that happened and no major damage was done.

[superdog]

This sucks to deal with.

But sounds like you are going to be made whole.

[breitlings]

bdex talk about a freak accident. the first scratch is the deepest.

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

Military humvees and a few trucks have no P. Did she just get out of the Army?

Interesting, I have been thinking about buying a hmmvee surplus/decommissioned, looks like they are about 30k + need a new tranny and engine from my research (but that was a few years ago). Any thoughts?

[Andad]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

Anyone heard of a hand-picked....

Open and shut case.

Yes, this would be one of your easier cases Stav.

[cjohns]

I work at an ice arena here in the state of Hockey an I'll tell you this I interact with HS students on a daily basis... dam near all of them couldn't pour piss out of a boot if it had a hole in the toe and directions on the heel !! But they all can fix your Iphone !!!!

[mannyv11]

Originally Posted by cjohns

I work at an ice arena here in the state of Hockey an I'll tell you this I interact with HS students on a daily basis... dam near all of them couldn't pour piss out of a boot if it had a hole in the toe and directions on the heel !! But they all can fix your Iphone !!!!

How does this have anything to do with high school students?

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by breitlings

bdex talk about a freak accident. the first scratch is the deepest.



Interesting, I have been thinking about buying a hmmvee surplus/decommissioned, looks like they are about 30k + need a new tranny and engine from my research (but that was a few years ago). Any thoughts?

ITAR requires tactical vehicles to be demilitarized. That means cut up.

[77T]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

ITAR requires tactical vehicles to be demilitarized. That means cut up.

That depends - I agree if the unit has been “armored up” and is overseas - but most of the National Guard units are already onshore and have been using subcontractors to “demil” them. Then you buy at auction. Lots for sale around Georgia.

No further work on buyer’s part but is required to submit an End-Use Certificate (EUC) to be reviewed prior to removal of the vehicle.

First-time buyers of Demil items may experience an extended review period in the Trade Securities approval process.


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[kearez]

I actually witnessed something exactly like this, at a hospital. Car slowly rolled out of its parking spot and into another car. Looked like it caused the same amount of damage as well, dented bumper etc.

My view on these things is that to forget to put the car in park, these people are normally very stressed and under a lot of pressure. Hopefully their insurance company will take care of all your damage.

[brandrea]

Bummer

I hope it all works out for you

[GB-man]

I would let insurance handle it. This one is in your court and you just can’t trust people enough to do it off the books. Sad but true. You handled it well.

[datejustrms]

Sorry to see someone hit your new Grand Cherokee. You may want to look at filing a "Diminished Value claim". If the accident shows up on Carfax when you sell or trade in the Jeep it will affect the value. There is a lot of good information on the Internet about it. Hope it all works out.

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

Anyone heard of a hand-picked....

Open and shut case.

Turns out yes. Update below

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

Military humvees and a few trucks have no P. Did she just get out of the Army?

She was wearing combat boots! Hmmm. You may be on to something here.


Update: We went to a local reputable repair shop as our Jeep dealer does not have a body shop to do the repairs. The estimate was $1050 and there may be more that they cannot see. We had the police officer file the report as he was obligated to when he saw the estimate.

We provided the other individual a copy of the report and they decided to turn it into their insurance company, State Farm. State Farm called the wife yesterday and accepted full responsibility for all the damage. They sent her a link to a site to upload photos in lieu of sending out an adjuster. They claim that the repair shop we went to is not a “preferred partner” of theirs and that once their automated adjustment software assigns a dollar amount to the claim that one of their “preferred” facilities will honor that amount. They implied that if we want to go to a non preferred place that we would be responsible for the difference in cost. Which I will fight if need be.

We are planning on having the repairs done while we are on vacation in a couple weeks so no rental car would be needed. Not sure State Farm really cared.

Pleased thus far with with process as the police officer was sure we would have issues with insurance as the vehicles were unoccupied and on private property.


Bad news is that theJeep is at the garage as the air suspension is having issues that they cannot seem to sort.





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