I'm spewing, but I'll try to keep this to the point...
An uninsured driver ran up the back of my kombi when it was stopped in traffic recently.
Firstly she didn't have her licence on her so she walked home to get it and came back before the cops arrived.
She admitted fault (a good start) but after I asked her said she wasn't insured and she didn't have the money to pay for the damage to my van.
Cops attended and were thoroughly useless. One of them even said that her ctp would cover my damage.
After cutting off the fanbelt and jumpstarting the cracked battery I was able to limp the van the 5 odd km it was to my place and it hasn't moved since. Because all cars were "driveable" she escaped a neg driving ticket. Lucky her.
I have had a professional quote for repairs to the damage and it was $8011. Both chassis rails are twisted so you can imagine the damage. The engine seems untouched which is fortunate.
She claims now that she was only doing 20kmh which is BS since she managed to hit hard enough to push it into the towbar of the car in front and bend it, bend both chassis rails and both rear quarter panels, and even crack some of the wooden cupboards inside.
The kombi is sadly written off...I'd have put it's value at 4-5000 before the accident.
I told her this and she said she refused to pay for my entire car when she was only doing 20.
She wants me to drive to a chinese panelbeater that is 40km away to get another quote. I said forget it unless you pay for the tow which she refused.
That was a couple of days ago...
I love my kombi but not enough to cut and shut another rear onto it...so I guess it's curtains for the camper.
It has a pretty mean exhaust note now though...
Smiley ·
That really sucks man. It's sad to see another one of these old beauties off the road. I hope you manage to get something out of her.
eraser ·
I gotta say it will buff out, its a pain in the ass however. you may want to talk to a lawyer or something or just get a lawyers header.
On the crash repairers side, you can choose who you want to do the fixing.
type3lover ·
I can't help it...the b#$%h even said that because it was so old that she doubted it would have made it 40km anyway! That pissed me right off. I'd bet a ball that it would make it around Oz without any probs actually!
If it goes to court and she says she can only afford $20 a week then that is all i will get for the next whatever weeks... 👎 Don't want that either!
Time to play hardball...any ideas?
I did download a template letter of demand and have it and my quote ready to hand deliver this weekend.
silver ·
Take her fishing
or give me her address
I will charge 30%
pod ·
did you have full comp insurance??,cause if you do, have the insurance company go into bat for you,but yes its sad to see a bent kombi👎
type3lover ·
You're funny 😂😂😂
type3lover ·
Hey Pod
Given the value of that car and that I've never had full comprehensive in my name before I decided it was not worth it due to having a 0% ncb!!
I've heard that some 3rd party policies pay for your car if you're not a fault in an accident.
Unfortunately that didn't apply to me.
And yeah, spewing...I bought this with my wife when we married to do up and trek around Oz.
If it were a 58 samba if just *might* be worth fixing...but it ain't.
pod ·
no probs mate ,i feel your pain,looks like court will probably be your only answer and time to find another body
silver ·
pod wrote:,looks like court will probably be your only answer and time to find another body
call Silver, they never find the Body
Mrs I ·
Take her to Small claims court !
squizy ·
That looks like more than a 20kmph hit! I think you need to engage some sort of legal help, to assist in her remembering why you need full comp insurance.
type3lover ·
20k's....😂 tell her she's dreaming!
ya reckon!?
trickysimon ·
Dam man, that really sucks. Hope that bitch gets whats coming to her 👎
VWCOOL ·
If she could see she was doing 20 kays, why didn't she see a Kombi?!
dAVo ·
Any money she was bloody on the phone texting someone or some crap. How can you not see something as big as that in a colour that bright?!
Ok so I have an idea but it's probably pretty stupid and more than likely won't work. So the repairs will cost 8k? Will you be able to have your insurance company squeeze the 5k out of the idiot lady that the van's insured for and then you personally take her to court for the extra 3k to make up the 8k? I know that you can't get money out of someone who doesn't have any but insurance comepanies don't care about that. Panel beaters are normally pretty easy going so you may find one nice enough who will do an "insurance quote" for your insurance company to see and a "real quote" for you. At least that way your van won't be written off and most of the repairs will be covered. Worst case you can just fork out the extra 3k if you can't get it out of her. At least that way you get to keep your van and will be a lot cheaper than getting another one. Unless of course it can't be repaired safely.
I had a 94 Statesman that a drunk lady ran up the arse of causing nearly a grands worth of damage. Insurance took care of the lot and I even got a letter in the mail about three months later saying that I may need to attend court because she still hadn't paid. So in the end she paid for it one way or another even though she had no money. Might work with you too.
Hope that made sense. It's pretty late.
winerot ·
get a lawyer take her to court tell her with accident expert advice you can prove her lying about the speed
then you will sign an affidavit that she went home to get her licence thats a fine for her.
im going through this now & have been adviced that the old $20 a week payment is not on nowadays plus you can end up with the sherif going around & claiming property of hers to pay.
you don' have to go to any but your own panelbeater for a quote.
sue the arse off her disrespecting your bus.
another thing get the solicitor to demand payment with a suggestion she has to get a loan to pay for damage or when you do or if you do take her to court you will claim for stress, demurrage, full repair cost & court/solicitors cost plus whatever else comes up.
go to police now & report she did not have her licence
kombivw ·
Third party only does make it hard, when have fully comp this is all done by your insurance company. But you do need to take her to court for sure. Ive been backended once in a previos car and since then I always installed a tow bar. Rarely use it but makes a good back bumper IMO
silver ·
Your all too nice!
dAVo ·
winerot wrote:get a lawyer take her to court tell her with accident expert advice you can prove her lying about the speed
then you will sign an affidavit that she went home to get her licence thats a fine for her.
im going through this now & have been adviced that the old $20 a week payment is not on nowadays plus you can end up with the sherif going around & claiming property of hers to pay.
you don' have to go to any but your own panelbeater for a quote.
sue the arse off her disrespecting your bus.
another thing get the solicitor to demand payment with a suggestion she has to get a loan to pay for damage or when you do or if you do take her to court you will claim for stress, demurrage, full repair cost & court/solicitors cost plus whatever else comes up.
go to police now & report she did not have her licence
Throw in a sore neck as well lol.
But yes I definately think you need to take it further. I wouldn't let anyone get away with something like that. I'd have no sympathy for someone like that. People like her shouldn't be driving a car in the first place.
VWCOOL ·
dAVo wrote:
winerot wrote:get a lawyer take her to court tell her with accident expert advice you can prove her lying about the speed
then you will sign an affidavit that she went home to get her licence thats a fine for her.
im going through this now & have been adviced that the old $20 a week payment is not on nowadays plus you can end up with the sherif going around & claiming property of hers to pay.
you don' have to go to any but your own panelbeater for a quote.
sue the arse off her disrespecting your bus.
another thing get the solicitor to demand payment with a suggestion she has to get a loan to pay for damage or when you do or if you do take her to court you will claim for stress, demurrage, full repair cost & court/solicitors cost plus whatever else comes up.
go to police now & report she did not have her licence
Throw in a sore neck as well lol.
But yes I definately think you need to take it further. I wouldn't let anyone get away with something like that. I'd have no sympathy for someone like that. People like her shouldn't be driving a car in the first place.
That looks to me like a 20km/h impact. Try reversing as a fast as you can into a low brick wall and it still isn't 20km/h. Not having scored a Neg Driving might make this a difficult one to take to court but definataly have a go with whatever legal or other methods you deem appropriate
Yogie ·
Just because she wasn't charged with negligent driving doesn't relieve her of responsibility. She has hit your vehicle from behind and has admitted it. It is now her responsibility to reimburse you for your damages. It will then be up to the court to enforce it if she doesn't do it voluntarily. This "I don't have the money" is a crock of shit and she can borrow it if need be. That will teach her to drive without any insurance at all. If, as you appear to believe, your vehicle isn't valuable enough to insure for itself, you at least need to cover yourself for others property which is what you have done. That is responsible which is something she needs to find out.
Don't try and do it yourself though or it will drag on forever. Go straight to a lawyer as she will take that letter more seriously than one just from you.
Yogie
eraser ·
Even if you have 3rd party you normally have access to their legal section and they can help, perhaps give them a call.
stevosky ·
I only had 3rd party insurance on a car that was rear-ended and written off by an uninsured driver.My insurance paid me $5000 for it because the other driver was uninsured. I got the wreck as well. It wasn't what the car was worth but it was better than nothing at all. It was with RACQ. Maybe see if your insurance has anything like that?
RED62E ·
If your car was not driveable the Police would have investigated and taken action. The fact you drove it home makes it a self reporting accident where no investigation by Police is required. Not a matter of them being useless. As for the CTP remark snot everyone understands insurance.
You may have done this, but if not, ask your insurance company for advice on how to proceed and also go and speak with the Chamber Magistrate at your local court. They will provide frewe advice on how to get things going.
If you have NOT made a report call 131444 and make the report.
Sorry to hear about your hassells.
Bizarre ·
Are you with NRMA??
They have a free legal aid service if you are
h ·
yeah dont take it lying down.. get on to it and make her pay..
i cant believe she left the scene.. guilty!
type3lover ·
Hang on a tic...I didn't say I had 3rd party. Guess that makes me no so responsible. Sorry if I gave that impression!
The car was not a daily driver. It did maybe 40km a fortnight and I keep it in good mechanical order.
That's no excuse I know, so go ahead and flame me it you feel the need. 😘
My daily is comprehensively insured (EDIT: It's in Dad's name still - max ncb for life)
I should not have driven the van home...most ppl wouldn't have. 2 reasons I did are:
1. The towie wanted $280 to tow it to my place (Pennant Hills to Dural). He reckoned it was a statutory rate...yeah yeah.
2. The police would have issued her with an infringement notice...I tried to avoid that occurring. After all I want to get paid.
Thanks for the encouragement and the sympathy. I think she will "find" the money. I just need to apply a bit more pressure.
She just needs to be educated that it's pay now, or pay a LOT more later.
I still think it would have to be more than 20 kays, although her air bags didn't go off?
h ·
so you say you had no insurance whatso ever independently taken out on the bus then?
fully comp or 3rd party?
old bugger ·
a little bit of insurance goes a long way, but there is always silver!
kroozzn63 ·
maybe you should take it to the chinese panel shop at least shes favored that and she can pay him "longtime" and you can over look the repair
type3lover ·
It won't go far with no fanbelt and no way to fit a new one!
Also, the engine's gonna burn itself up sucking all that hot air isn't it?
She can have it towed if she wants.
Silver...any movement on the 30% possibly?? 😂
VDU.88A ·
type3lover wrote:It won't go far with no fanbelt and no way to fit a new one!
Also, the engine's gonna burn itself up sucking all that hot air isn't it?
She can have it towed if she wants.
Got any telegraph pole near your house back up to one put a chain around t and around the bit pushing on the engine withthe help of a mate drive forward enough so it pulls it off engine. Drive it to chinese panel beater to see what they say. Take pics before you do this also.
Even though you got your car driveable i would have calimed it couldnt be driven so she got the neg driving charge. Push it off road etc and waited till cops and she went home then drove it. At least then there would have been some record of the incident (cops if they attended may have a incident report number ring them and ask for it). If it ever happens again get out and take as many pics as you can of your car there car people near by get witnesses etc time . Send her a letter of demand 2 times etc then as suggested take her to court for damages. The more info pics witnesses etc you have the better you are.
It a bit unfortunant neither of you have insurance I'd say silvers 30% might be a good option
type3lover wrote:Also, the engine's gonna burn itself up sucking all that hot air isn't it?
arhh no thats a fairytale..
if anything it will run cooler in the driest continent
hmmm a mythbusters episode in that
eraser ·
yep tie it to something put it in first and accelerate and pull the metal out. i did this with my beetle
type3lover ·
h are you taking the piss mate? It would be like running a type 3 without an air bellows I'd reckon, or a beetle without the back tinware.
Pulling it out would get it driveable...have done this before after some pissheads let off the handbrake in my ex's '76 convertible and it rolled back into a brick wall.
Nothing like a chain and a sturdy tree to sort any door alignment issues hehe
I would have done this by now but have been reluctant to touch anything in case it affects a second or third quote etc
h ·
no.. runs cooler with more hot o2 escaping the motor area..
type3lover ·
Well I did write that letter of demand and delivered it to her place. Got a call the following day...funny how that goes.
She asked me to take it for one more quote at Pennant Hills...back to the "scene of the crime" which I did.
The guy there let slip that he knew about the accident and that a friend of a friend her referred her while we were chatting.
He didn't even bother with a quote. That was yesterday.
I called her today and let her know. She asked if she could meet me at my place with her hubby. I said sure.
Anyhow tonight i get a call saying she is at the local KFC carpark and can I meet her there? Classy.
Armed with the trading post she proceeded to show me late model transporters for $4k and how mine was just so old.
It took me a while to try to school them on classic volkswagens...waste of time.
After about 20 minutes of "debate" we finally agreed to a bit less than I wanted...I took the money.
Right this minute I feel very lucky that she wasn't a total scumbag after all and that she did the right thing.
Every now and then humanity shows a brief glimmer of decency...
The kombi is done for however and I'll be cashing in the rego, ctp etc tomorrow.
If you need anything for your bay kombi I'll be posting items for sale shortly, or you can PM me.
One less aircooled vw on the road is sad...but at least the parts can be used to keep others alive!!
Long Live the Volksies!!!
silver ·
good outcome I'd say!
I'll save the roll of carpet for another day!😎
type3lover ·
Thanks silver, at least now I know who to call when I have a "problem". 😀
pod ·
i`ll second the good outcome,time to find another one to live your dream of trekking around oz in a kombi camper😁
winerot ·
good outcome, love it when they bring the paper to show what your
rides worth.,
am going through the same now actaully i won he is too scared to go to
court as its damage cost im going for plus demaurage of $25 a day since the
accident which is 10 months now.
10 months of demaurage plus repairs scared the crap out of this bloke so now paying.
h ·
winerot wrote:good outcome, love it when they bring the paper to show what your
rides worth.,
am going through the same now actaully i won he is too scared to go to
court as its damage cost im going for plus demaurage of $25 a day since the
accident which is 10 months now.
10 months of demaurage plus repairs scared the crap out of this bloke so now paying.
If your in the NRMA roadservice (IAG insurance) they have legal advice that could help.
The same thing happended to a freind, he was awarded payment by the courts and somehow the Sherrif got involved, they removed items from the other driver house to the value of the damge
Steve
squizy ·
squizy wrote:
type3lover wrote:Well I did write that letter of demand and delivered it to her place. Got a call the following day...funny how that goes.
She asked me to take it for one more quote at Pennant Hills...back to the "scene of the crime" which I did.
The guy there let slip that he knew about the accident and that a friend of a friend her referred her while we were chatting.
He didn't even bother with a quote. That was yesterday.
I called her today and let her know. She asked if she could meet me at my place with her hubby. I said sure.
Anyhow tonight i get a call saying she is at the local KFC carpark and can I meet her there? Classy.
Armed with the trading post she proceeded to show me late model transporters for $4k and how mine was just so old.
It took me a while to try to school them on classic volkswagens...waste of time.
After about 20 minutes of "debate" we finally agreed to a bit less than I wanted...I took the money.
Right this minute I feel very lucky that she wasn't a total scumbag after all and that she did the right thing.
Every now and then humanity shows a brief glimmer of decency...
The kombi is done for however and I'll be cashing in the rego, ctp etc tomorrow.
If you need anything for your bay kombi I'll be posting items for sale shortly, or you can PM me.
One less aircooled vw on the road is sad...but at least the parts can be used to keep others alive!!
Long Live the Volksies!!!
Was it the Penno KFC or Dural? I'm only 5 mins up the road from the Penno KFC. We could have gathered troops and explained "true value" to them.
bajachris88 ·
I think i'm crazy, but i have this confidence in being able to graph on the rear decklid surround and bumper.
i must be crazy...
But u wouldn't be scared to give it a go.
But surely someone could repair it. (As in sell as whole)
winerot ·
i think you will find he has said the chassis is bent taking the full force & going by the carpboards inside i would have to agree.
type3lover ·
Yep, both rails are bent - the body deadener near the bumper mounts has cracked and lifted and both rear quarters are buckled.
Someone else suggested that I try to sell it whole with rego...I'm confused! 🤪
Just had new narva blue H4 bulbs, bosch regulator and centre pin done and has 6 months rego and it still drives great. You want to have a crack at it Chris?
Was dural KFC Squizy...I live at Round corner... do u live in Penno?
bajachris88 ·
ah righteo...
I didn't look that deep into it obviously...
Thats very unfortunate mate 🙁
surely her car musta had some serious damage too, taking into account wat its done to classic hard as metal. Hopefully she learns something from this situation.
type3lover ·
Yeah Chris you'd think her car would have been trashed, but it wasn't! At least it appears ok but u never know what's behind all the plastic bumperbar crap.
Most of the damage happened to my bus I think because it was the stationary object....kinda like when u headbutt someone 👍
eraser ·
oh well its bad.. but its good pitty about the bus, one more MIA.
winerot ·
stationary car will cop the most damage as proof with my bus was with hand brake on & in gear but was still pushed
halve its length on top of structural damage.
maggot driver of the ford longreach had a busted plastic bumper & damaged radiator oh did i say maggot, its a well deserved description of the idiot.
he hit me doing around 90 k,s but braking 20 mtr's before impact & slid into me (full story another day in members ride)
VWCOOL ·
winerot wrote:stationary car will cop the most damage )
sorry but the laws of physics don't agree with you: each object will absorb exactly half the crash energy. If one object crushes or is damaged more, it's because it is damaged easier by X energy 🤓