Side swiped by a taxi while turning. Major body damage.

[army_men]

Worst day ever.

Getting a quote from bodyshop right now. F/R Fender panels, rocker panel, Door Panel all need to be changed. parts in Canada aren't exactly cheap.

[jparnes1]

Oh man that's awful. I really feel your pain. But why worry about cost if it's the taxi's fault?

[VailM3]

What do you mean by not cheap? Insurance ??

[SchweiZ4]

BTW, nice wheels!

[Nkc]

Sorry about your accident but that is far from calling it "major body damage". Any decent shop can actually fix your panels in a heartbeat. Depending on the workload of the shop, you'll probably be able to pick up your car in less than a week.

Here's an example of "major body damage" for the side.

[supakornl]

Originally Posted by army_men

Worst day ever.

Getting a quote from bodyshop right now. F/R Fender panels, rocker panel, Door Panel all need to be changed. parts in Canada aren't exactly cheap.

Sorry to hear about the accident. That appears to be just a skin deep. Good news is that those panels are bolted on which can be easily removed and replaced.

[jparnes1]

It'll be good as new - maybe better if you had some dings or scratches on those panels.

[keepittrill]

Shiiiiiiiieeeeeeeet.

[rking117]

theyll replac emost of the panels. door, rear fender rocker panel and front fender. the hood needs realignment if it is not damaged. it looks skewed so it there is no damage to it then it will be realigned otherwide they may replace it too. I dont think the damage is extensive from what i can see but man that taxi needs to watch ts step. not cool sorry man.

[army_men]

Problem is I'm not going to be filing insurance claim this time. I'm paying out of my own pocket. I was turning right in a congested intersection, from the middle lane of a 3 lane avenue when the taxi sped up to hit me from a few car length back.

The whole thing looks very bad for me, the taxi driver had a witness on the side walk who insists it was me who was at fault for "cutting the taxi off", even though he was stopped before I turned in. It's just been a bad day for me, after doing the number works, I have calculated 5300 dollars in repair for my car.

It sucks being a young adult driver in Canada, insurance would love to find an excuse to raise the premium for me for the next 5 years, where I'm going to have an at fault accident. I'm just going to pay that away this time and hope I made the right choice.

[jparnes1]

Originally Posted by army_men

Problem is I'm not going to be filing insurance claim this time. I'm paying out of my own pocket. I was turning right in a congested intersection, from the middle lane of a 3 lane avenue when the taxi sped up to hit me from a few car length back.

The whole thing looks very bad for me, the taxi driver had a witness on the side walk who insists it was me who was at fault for "cutting the taxi off", even though he was stopped before I turned in. It's just been a bad day for me, after doing the number works, I have calculated 5300 dollars in repair for my car.

It sucks being a young adult driver in Canada, insurance would love to find an excuse to raise the premium for me for the next 5 years, where I'm going to have an at fault accident. I'm just going to pay that away this time and hope I made the right choice.

Is it possible that your insurance rates would cumulatively add up over 5 years to the cost of your repair? That would seem like a pretty big increase. You might want to ask your insurance agent what the anticipated increase might be per year and do the math again.

[army_men]

Originally Posted by jparnes1

Is it possible that your insurance rates would cumulatively add up over 5 years to the cost of your repair? That would seem like a pretty big increase. You might want to ask your insurance agent what the anticipated increase might be per year and do the math again.

if i was over 25 years old with more than 5 years of driving experience, no it wouldn't, and I will file insurance at a heart beat. right now it's very possibly around the same or more.

[ManiacGT]

Do you not have to disclose that you had an accident to any future insurer even if you didn't claim? You do in the UK. If I had an accident and paid myself, I'd still have to disclose that to a future insurer as they'd consider me a higher risk.

[tranquility]

Aw man, that sucks. Be careful on the roads, there will always be crazy stuff happening but sometimes things could be avoidable. Take care dude.

[rking117]

well most certainly the taxi driver will report it to your ins co. so why would you go that route? it doesn't make sense to me. i f it wrote me I would report it and let them pay.

[CedarZ4]

Originally Posted by army_men

Problem is I'm not going to be filing insurance claim this time. I'm paying out of my own pocket. I was turning right in a congested intersection, from the middle lane of a 3 lane avenue when the taxi sped up to hit me from a few car length back.

The whole thing looks very bad for me, the taxi driver had a witness on the side walk who insists it was me who was at fault for "cutting the taxi off", even though he was stopped before I turned in. It's just been a bad day for me, after doing the number works, I have calculated 5300 dollars in repair for my car.

Unfortunately, regardless of an eye-witness, you would be at fault. He has the right of way, even if he was stopped before you made the turn. You went into his lane, and looking at the damage, he was clearly right next to you when you merged into the lane (probably blind-spot?). In regards to filing a claim... I agree with RKing. The taxi driver is going to file a claim on your insurance company, and your premium is going to go up regardless. Might as well file your damage as well and have it go up a bit more (and I can't imagine it being a lot more since the initial hike from repairing the other person's damage will be the greatest).

Sorry for your accident. Good news is, it just looks very bad because it is black on white, but as someone has mentioned, the damage to the sheet metal itself is not that extensive, rather just the paint. If you do decide on paying out of pocket, I would consider a dent repair and respray before changing out the parts...

[Vintage]

sorry army men - that is terrible

[nicknaz]

if your lane was a "straight or right turn" middle lane and the taxi was in "right turn only" curb lane then I would consider lawyering up

One last thing since you are in canada you should be careful that the insurance cos do not declare you were "street racing" because you had performance enhancing products like black paint on your wheels

if you were in a middle lane that is not a valid right turn lane, that's another story...

either way, glad you are ok. an even worse scenario would be if you were on a sport bike instead of a car....

[Mayhem]

Unless you also plan to pay for the damage to the taxi in cash, you might as well report it to your insurance. What did the taxi driver tell you he was going to do?

[rezok]

Don't worry about it - you're ok, you have a mad ride and you live in a first world country.

I'd be making a claim given the taxi will too - take the hike, write it off to experience and you'll live to fight another day!

[Kessler35is]

Do I see airbags deployed?

How many of those went off? In the US normally laws require seat belts to be replaced if the impact was strong enough to set off the airbags. Not sure about Canada.

Sorry to hear this happen, but all of the comments about the other person having the right to make a claim against your insurance is correct if Canadian insurance laws are the same as in the US.

But, even with eye witnesses the officer has the right to place blame in any percentage he chooses, it could be set as 50/50 where you could make a claim on his also.


Ride it out, and follow up with the officer to find out how he writes it up. You could always go to court to challenge it too. That is if the driving laws are simular to the US.


Look at it this way. If the rates over 5 years go up and cost you the same as the repair, you would have kept that money in your savings over the course of 5 years and could collect intrest on it. If you pay it out of your pocket and they still jack your rates your are out of your savings and the increase.

[jparnes1]

[QUOTE=Kessler35is;14277729]Do I see airbags deployed?

Good catch about the airbags. Those are rather expensive to replace (and the seat belts to boot). Def get the insurance company to pay for this.