Hit-n-run in my Caddy - rant of sorts

[turbojimmy]

Man am I pissed. Both at myself and some stupid b*tch that hit my Caddy and took off.

Flashback to a few months ago, I got rear-ended by a VW Beetle (or bug, or whatever they're calling them these days) in my Cadillac DTS. Now, the bumper had some prior damage that wasn't fixed properly. The damage this girl did would've just required a re-paint on a good cover. But, mine wasn't a good cover. One could easily make a case that she caused what was actually prior damage, but I knew she didn't. So, being a nice guy and knowing she was paying out-of-pocket I agreed to accept the estimate for the paint ($500) and paid for a new cover out-of-pocket (another $250).

So yesterday I replaced the water pump cover on the car (it had been leaking for a year now). I needed to drive it around a bit to make sure the new coolant gets to all the right places. I decided to run out to the grocery store to pick up dinner and some beer.

Cruising along the main road through the mall I see a Mazda Tribute waiting to make a left at a stop sign (ahead, on my right). I only noticed it because a co-worker that lives in town has one. Realizing it wasn't her I turned my eyes back ahead. When I'm like a couple of feet from said Mazda it pulls out in front of me. Knowing a front impact was imminent, I swerved left to avoid it. She hit the back of the Caddy pretty hard. I stopped for a sec but she kept going and hung a quick left. Like an idiot, I assumed she was pulling into the McDonald's parking lot so we could exchange information. There was too much traffic to turn around so I swung down a side road through the parking lot in her general direction.

Of course when I got to the McDonald's she was nowhere to be seen. I asked a couple of people who witnessed the accident where she went. They said she had cut through the McDonald's parking lot and darted onto the highway. The only reason I knew it was a 'she' is because the witnesses told me, I didn't even see the driver so I didn't even have a plate #. I felt really stupid for not pursuing her immediately.

Feeling totally helpless I hit the OnStar emergency button and they knew right where I was and patched me through to the local police. Within about 2 minutes 2 cruisers went screaming down the highway but they didn't find her. The actually did briefly detain someone who fit the description but it wasn't her.

So my brand new bumper cover is toast. The good news is she did no metal damage - just raked the front bumper of her vehicle down my new bumper cover directly behind the right rear wheel and tore the paint off of it. The impact was pretty hard so there's probably stuff busted up underneath there. You can see it was compressed and popped back out.

I've been dwelling on it for the past 20 hours or so. It really pisses me off. People just suck. The car is 5 years old but I keep it looking new. I keep it clean, waxed, etc. I detailed the engine yesterday while I was under the hood swapping the water pump cover.

I guess there's nothing I can do about it now other than shell out another $500-$1,000 to get it fixed. Best case is a $500 respray. Worst is a new cover and support. I have a friend of mine (runs a body shop) coming up to look at it today.

Jim

 

[gn85]

Sorry to hear that. I'm sure she had some damage. Wonder if she frequents that area. Quite possible you could run into her again. Not literally, of course.

 

[Yedi]

$500 to paint a bumper cover?! wow. Man, I do body work and painting and also worked at a GM Dealership for a while. Then again I'm In Wisconsin, but that just seems high to me. Sorry to hear about what happened, you never know the cops might just find her. Or just keep your eyes peeled for that Mazda w/ some damage on it, hell might even have a little of your paint on it.

 

[its turbo time]

My brother had a similar type of situation when a guy backed into his front bumper filler and tore it all up. He claimed he hit the bumper on the other side and it was dark so my brother didn't see anything and didn't think much of it but found out later that he tore the filler, and he had his license plate number but insurance said they couldn't do anything about it, so if you find her don't just get her plate number, wait for her to stop to confront her about it.

 

[turbojimmy]

It was $540 actually. It's a three-stage pearl (White Diamond) which requires a little more material and labor. A lot of the $540 was R&R of the cover. This time, since I'm paying, I'm going to remove and re-install it myself. It really needs removed in order to do it right. I think it's going to be around $200 to prep and paint it again. They'll put color back on the damaged part and re-clear the whole bumper.

They do good work - they were able to match the White Diamond bumper to the original paint on the 1/4s without having to blend it.

I still can't believe she took off. I guess I give people too much credit.

Jim

 

[BuickMike]

Even if you got her license plate it would be your word against hers. Most cops are too lazy or don't have the resources to get a warrant to investigate the other persons car.

My wife had a similar thing happen, but with a different outcome.

She was 7 months pregnant with our son and was sitting in the left lane at a stoplight when someone bumped her pretty hard. She immediately saw a blue Nissan Pathfinder driving past her in the left hand turn lane, so she followed it. My wife pulled up next to this lady who was ignoring her and lighting up a cigarette. My wife was honking and yelling, but this lady still would not acknowledge her and started to speed up. My wife just took not of the license plate # and went to work to call the police. The lady actually bumped the left rear quarter of the bumper with her tire, so the damage was minimal. When the cop came he told my wife that an off duty police officer witnessed the whole thing and wrote a very detailed report as he followed the 2 of them.

The lady refused to show her car to the police basically stating the "she didn't have it" and that the incident never happened. They got her insurance information and my wife made a claim. The insurance adjuster gave an estimate and turned it in, but we were not getting a call from the agent. My wife called the agent who stated that her client said it never happened. My wife asked the agent if she had read the police report yet and she said no. Ten minutes later the agent called my wife back stating that she just read the most detailed police report of her life and that they will be cutting a check. I'm sure that they were happy that my pregnant wife was claiming vehicle damages only.

My wife even got to go to court and testify. By now this chick was whining that she is a single mother and asked the court to take pity on her because she cannot afford an accident. Needles to say she got slapped with a big ticket with a huge fine and of course her insurance will go way up. after it was all over my wife told the lady that if she had pulled over that my wife would have just let her go because our car was a beater.

After it was all over we ended up pocketing the insurance money because I was able to buff 98% of it out.

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I thought you'ld like to know that some people do get caught.

 

[Yedi]

Well if it's the Tri-Coat pearl, I can understand that. Very nice color, and actually one of the easiest to match. ( painted a 2005 Bonneville a white gold tri-coat) It's pretty rare that a body shop would blend the fenders for a bumper cover, almost never. You would be smart to remove and install it yourself too, save a good amount of money for a pretty easy job. good luck man.

 

[turbojimmy]

Well if it's the Tri-Coat pearl, I can understand that. Very nice color, and actually one of the easiest to match. ( painted a 2005 Bonneville a white gold tri-coat) It's pretty rare that a body shop would blend the fenders for a bumper cover, almost never. You would be smart to remove and install it yourself too, save a good amount of money for a pretty easy job. good luck man.

Yeah, it doesn't look that bad to remove. If I had known that I'd have saved the bux last time this happened. I just didn't think about it.

They were afraid that they'd have to blend into the 1/4s because they said tri-coat is tough to match. I guess that's not really true. The old cover had been repainted in a couple of spots and whoever did it did a horrible job. There was a lot of goldish/brown tint to it. Probably mixed the wrong color or something. The car's been hit and repainted on both 1/4s (and the nose too, actually. That's the trouble with buying salvage cars sight unseen) so they had their work cut out for them as far as matching goes. It came out decent - I hope they can do it again.

I just want to keep the car looking decent since I plan to be driving it for a long time. It's tough when people keep ramming it, though. I also take it personally because I spent over 100 hours restoring that thing from a flood (twas a flood total).

Jim

 

[turbojimmy]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread to report that I have been hit again in my Caddy. This time I got hit HARD. Rear bumper cover is flattened, trunk popped open and won't close, tail lights are out of whack and one of the 1/4s buckled. I don't think it's a total but it's going to be an expensive repair.

Dude was insured, so no worries. Just need to find time to get some estimates.

Jim

 

[gnxtc2]

Jim...get rid of the Caddy:tongue:

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[John Larkin]

Put a few stick-on antennas on your trunk. No one wants to hit a cop car.

 

[turbojimmy]

I was standing there talking to the guy that hit me, telling him how this was the 4th time and he said the same thing "Dude, you need to get rid of that Caddy". I think he needs to stop ramming people with his Dodge.

It was crazy - the ash tray flew out, sun shade popped open and the knee bolster on my side popped loose. A lot of forces at work.

I think I'm going to beat on his insurance company for a rental car. Something nice. Hertz is renting C6s as part of their "Fun Collection"....

Jim

 

[corsair231]

I was standing there talking to the guy that hit me, telling him how this was the 4th time and he said the same thing "Dude, you need to get rid of that Caddy".

Are you sure your brake lights work?????:biggrin:

 

[faster]

Same thing happened to my dad (who was 81) in his then new 06 Caddy DTS.

Man was he pissed as he told me this story before the cops call and tell him they have the guy in custody.

Some guy comes flying out of a parking lot by the mall and hits him in the right front fender and takes off thinking this old fart will panic and not chase him. Dad is not afraid of anybody and chases the dude down through traffic on the divided six lane in front of the mall and got his tag number as the guy was getting on I-75 here in Gainesville Florida.

Mom (at 78) was in the car and I can just hear her yelling "Tom, are you crazy it's only a car" to my dad.

The cops find this guy and dad gets his car fixed.

Mikey

 

[turbofish38]

Hertz is renting C6s as part of their "Fun Collection"

The Ins.co is only obligated to give you a rental at a fixed amount which is usually an average of what a compact is going for in your area. About $30 a day in other words. It's going to be hard to come up with the other $200 or so a day dollars. Bonus for being creative though.

Now you guys didn't hear this from me. Claim you got hurt. I'm in a FL and it's No-Fault down here. I've been in a few fender bangers and my wife makes out pretty clean with a check with the ins.co. I never bother with it since I'm the man and not supposed to feel pain. Although I'm still paying on the last one since it F'd up her back and neck pretty good. Where's Karma when you need it?

 

[turbojimmy]

The Ins.co is only obligated to give you a rental at a fixed amount which is usually an average of what a compact is going for in your area. About $30 a day in other words. It's going to be hard to come up with the other $200 or so a day dollars. Bonus for being creative though.

Now you guys didn't hear this from me. Claim you got hurt. I'm in a FL and it's No-Fault down here. I've been in a few fender bangers and my wife makes out pretty clean with a check with the ins.co. I never bother with it since I'm the man and not supposed to feel pain. Although I'm still paying on the last one since it F'd up her back and neck pretty good. Where's Karma when you need it?

I know they don't pay much. I figure that as long as I'm getting a rental I may as well make it fun, if only for a couple of days and then go to a 'plain' rental. Actually I'll have to see what the rules are in NJ. I need to be compensated for my loss. I'm a businessman. I can't go from a DTS to some little sh*tbox. I need to lug clients around.

It sounds stupid, but my neck and back hurt for the next couple of days. Not severe, all day pain but when I move a certain way.

Police report is done but I need to go pick it up to get the ball rolling.

Jim