Minor accident in a parking lot

[b1st]

I'm relatively new to California and it's been at least 15 yrs since I'd been involved in an accident so figured I'd ask for pointers.

Basically my X5 was hit by some guy while parked in a parking lot and while I was in a store. Damage isn't too bad: the rear bumper paint scratched off throughout the width of the bumper, the metal guard underneath is bent, and some paint transfer (~$2k in damage perhaps) Thankfully the guy admitted fault and gave me all his insurance info and the claim is going through.

My question is basically if I can/should insist on getting it repaired at a BMW facility and/or a shop of my choosing? Also what kind of car rental can I ask for while the X5 is in the shop? Is the insurance company required to give me a comparable rental or am I gonna end up w a Corolla? These laws vary state-to-state so let me know how these things work in California. Any other pointers/advice are welcome.

[Flacht3]

To the first question, I'd always go to a BMW Certified repair shop. Even for minor damage. It's your choice of shop so there's really no reason not to.

[joegie]

you can take the car to whatever body shop you choose to take it to, not too sure about the rental, depending on insurance company you can ask for a check for the rental car even if you don't use it.

[msmching]

Same thing as what they mentioned above.

You choose the body shop that you want to go to.

Rental, depending on how much your rental rate is on your insurance. They are not going to give you something similar to X5, that's for sure.
If you know you bought rental coverage, but don't know how much, then most likely, yes, you'll end up in a corolla size vehicle.

[Jeef]

Like the previous posts mentioned, you can go to Any body shop you want.

As for the rental, if you paid for higher rental coverage you can get a nicer vehicle. It all comes down to how much you want to pay on top of what insurance covers.

[elinstylez]

BMW certified repair facilities are not necessarily better than some more reputable privately owned shops. I would shop around for the best one if you're going through insurance.

[aajjcc]

If you want the best head over to c&c collision. Warning: it's expensive.

[b1st]

I'm not going through my insurance at all. In fact, they have no knowledge of it. Since it's entirely the other party's fault and they admitted to it, I don't see the point of telling my insurance company about it. They might raise my rate for no reason? Do you see a reason to tell my insurance company about it?

Their insurance company, Alliance United, told me that I'd get a rental from them. Their estimate is that it'll require 3 days in repair so I guess I don't really care what I drive for 3 days.

[joegie]

as long as they cover the repair bill there is no reason to contact your insurance company, even if you do contact your insurance company you are not at fault so your rates will not be affected. also if the other insurance company lags on having the repairs done you can have your insurance step in and take over. you will have to pay the deductible but you can have your insurance company go after the other party to get it reimbursed to you.

[omega2733]

After going through this in the past with other vehicles, I recommend going through your insurance company. I've spent 2 years fighting with the other insurance company to get depreciated value, whereas if I went through my insurance it would all be settled in a few weeks.

Let the insurance company you pay for deal with it and get you a check while they get their money back. They have lawyers for that reason and know the game.

[b1st]

Originally Posted by omega2733

After going through this in the past with other vehicles, I recommend going through your insurance company. I've spent 2 years fighting with the other insurance company to get depreciated value, whereas if I went through my insurance it would all be settled in a few weeks.

Let the insurance company you pay for deal with it and get you a check while they get their money back. They have lawyers for that reason and know the game.

Did you try to go through your insurance company after, say 6 months in, you've realized that the other party's insurance company was d*cking you around? If so, were you not able to involve your own insurance company at that point?

Perhaps it differs by state. Where I'm from, Virginia, even if you're not at fault if you report an accident, your insurance company will mark it as potential claim and your rates will be affected in the future. Anyone know for a fact that this will not raise your insurance score in California?

[omega2733]

Even since I had to go against the other parties insurance, they still got me marked in their insurance database for "having a not at-fault accident".

[b1st]

" they still got me marked in their insurance database for "having a not at-fault accident"."

They= their insurance company or YOUR insurance company?

[psun786]

Someone rear ended my Mercedes a few months ago. I had the option to either file a claim with my insurance or other party's insurance. My insurance said my premium won't increase or have to pay deductible since the other party admitted fault. They will go after other insurance company to pay for my repair.

The difference is I won't get car rental since my policy doesn't cover it. If I want a rental I need to deal with their insurance directly, which I did. The repair took six weeks and car rental alone is $2000. Also, your insurance company may not pay for OEM parts (check policy term) so it's always better to file claim with other insurance company. Because you can sue them if don't do something. I

[joegie]

what insurance does the other driver have? if you're worried about getting marked for having an accident why don't you give your insurance agent a call?

[b1st]

Wanted to close the loop here so that I contribute to the forum a bit. All in all, it's been the best experience, as good as it gets for getting your car hit. Here are the facts and what happened.

The faulty party's insurance company is Alliance United as I previously mentioned. They were straightforward with everything, no run-arounds, they answered my call every time, etc. They gave me a check for $1000 initially and I took that to New Century BMW Collision Center. NC BMW told me that it's probably not enough, I thought the same, and wrote a new estimate after taking everything apart for $2600.

Alliance United sent a check for the difference, $1600, to NC BMW directly and they got the job done in just 3 days after the new estimate. I got a Charger R/T (Hemi) as a rental from the nearby Enterprise and Alliance United covered the rental for the 5 days that the car was in the shop.

I just picked up the car and they did a great job. It was annoying that I had to go through this process but it went as well as it possibly could have. I also never engaged my own insurance company, which I believe was the right call. Perhaps if the damage was greater and/or I had been hurt, I may have. However, in this case, there's just no reason for my own insurance company to be involved since it doesn't concern them
- it was not my fault and I was not making a claim. Thanks everyone for your help and Happy Thanksgiving!

[omega2733]

Originally Posted by b1st

Wanted to close the loop here so that I contribute to the forum a bit. All in all, it's been the best experience, as good as it gets for getting your car hit. Here are the facts and what happened.

The faulty party's insurance company is Alliance United as I previously mentioned. They were straightforward with everything, no run-arounds, they answered my call every time, etc. They gave me a check for $1000 initially and I took that to New Century BMW Collision Center. NC BMW told me that it's probably not enough, I thought the same, and wrote a new estimate after taking everything apart for $2600.

Alliance United sent a check for the difference, $1600, to NC BMW directly and they got the job done in just 3 days after the new estimate. I got a Charger R/T (Hemi) as a rental from the nearby Enterprise and Alliance United covered the rental for the 5 days that the car was in the shop.

I just picked up the car and they did a great job. It was annoying that I had to go through this process but it went as well as it possibly could have. I also never engaged my own insurance company, which I believe was the right call. Perhaps if the damage was greater and/or I had been hurt, I may have. However, in this case, there's just no reason for my own insurance company to be involved since it doesn't concern them
- it was not my fault and I was not making a claim. Thanks everyone for your help and Happy Thanksgiving!

That's awesome to hear! To close the loop on what I mentioned earlier, their insurance company had still disclosed a non-at fault accident on my record (which appears when searching for insurance). Just because you didn't go through your insurance, doesn't mean it's not recorded unfortunately.

[bmrwrld]

Defiantly notify your insurance company regardless who is at fault. Yes on BMW certified shop. Comparable meaning you will not get a BMW rental so don't hold your breath.

[Eric S]

Originally Posted by b1st

I'm relatively new to California and it's been at least 15 yrs since I'd been involved in an accident so figured I'd ask for pointers.

Basically my X5 was hit by some guy while parked in a parking lot and while I was in a store. Damage isn't too bad: the rear bumper paint scratched off throughout the width of the bumper, the metal guard underneath is bent, and some paint transfer (~$2k in damage perhaps) Thankfully the guy admitted fault and gave me all his insurance info and the claim is going through.

My question is basically if I can/should insist on getting it repaired at a BMW facility and/or a shop of my choosing? Also what kind of car rental can I ask for while the X5 is in the shop? Is the insurance company required to give me a comparable rental or am I gonna end up w a Corolla? These laws vary state-to-state so let me know how these things work in California. Any other pointers/advice are welcome.

rental should be something similar as an SUV is needed for daily life to be the same

BMW certified means nothing, Ive seen some very terrible work from a "certified" shop near us. My painter will match better than other "certified" shops simply because he cares more and tries harder. We have a YAS blue at his place now, and then it will come back to us for new PPF after the accident repair. He has done Sakhir orange, Tanzanite blue, and BSM for me...damn near perfect match on each. (nothing is perfect)

[THEROK]

Santa Monica Body Craft

C&C Collision (but they don’t accept State Farm claims because they’re hard to deal with aka super cheap)