That is an excellent idea, and that is exactly what I do, even though it frequently results in a longer walk to the store.
What TRULY fascinates me is the phenomenon of people who don’t do that, return to their car to find that there is nobody parked in front of them, but they still BACK out of their parking space.
One of the Magliozzi Brothers used to say something along the lines of… Independent of the thought process!
If there is nobody parked in front of you in a parking lot, why would anyone with a fully-functioning brain choose to back out of their parking space?
I think I paid $50 from Rockauto for an after-market mirror. It was a perfect match to OEM. Even a new door skin is easy peasy to replace and a lot of them are just glued on instead of welded. Or last time I priced a junk yard door it was $350. Then just painting. That’s why there are so many body shops or take the money and use this to learn body repair.
I too look for a pull through parking space. But oddly, when I was assigned to Patrick AFB in Florida in 1977 we were informed at the newcomers briefing that was not allowed on base. That may have been Air Force wide or only a local prohibition, I never heard it at any other base. I might go to Patrick once a year, now the parking is all diagonal.
Wow! You’re right! Never knew RockAuto had “knockoff” mirrors that cheap! Less than $30! This Impala has power, but not heated mirrors (I don’t think).
Body panels too??? I’m doubting that one. I’m betting these are welded doors, but we’ll see. My brother said Insurance quoted just under $1000, and he was taking it to a local body shop to see what they said.
Can’t believe these people hit the car! But then again, over the years they’ve hit my parents’ cars at least twice, and my sister’s Protege once - only admitting to one instance!
If the other person backed into the vehicle and left a note why is their insurance not taking care of this. Your brother getting an estimate is a waste of time .
It’s too hard to explain but I drove my Riviera up onto a similar type of curb. No damage because there was a heavy plate underneath but had a little trouble getting it off of there again. It was a dark and rainy night and I was tired. Happened to be a police officer at the store too at the time. I thought he wanted to check my breath for contraban but just wanted to know if I was alright. 'Spose he thought I might have had a stroke or something. Didn’t even have his gun out.
Of course, nobody would want to drive over one of these, but they are almost never used in my neck of the woods. How do you explain people who pull into huge, nearly-empty parking lots totally devoid of those objects, park in a “rear” space with nobody in front of them, return to the car to find that there is still nobody in front of them, and yet they choose to back-out of that space?
There’s quite a few of them in my neck of the woods . . . and I’ve seen more than a few people mess up their vehicles driving over them
Before I even THINK about driving forward out of a parking spot . . . I actually walk to the front of my vehicle to make sure there isn’t one of those concrete blocks
In my area, the only places where you will find those “tire stops” is directly in front of convenience stores, and at the front of handicapped parking spaces. There are no mall or supermarket parking lots in my area that utilize them for the remaining 99.9% of the spaces.
Of course, they make a lot of sense when placed in front of convenience stores, but that still doesn’t prevent a few elderly people per month from accelerating over them and crashing into the front of those stores. The ones placed at the front of handicapped parking spaces have probably spared a few of the posted signs from being run down.
Exactly! I don’t know what the h*** they’re doing up there. This is Massachusetts. So the repair estimate came to just under $1000 and my Mom just got a check for just under $500 from HER insurance company. And now it’s expected that the neighbor will pay the rest!
HUH??? I always thought if someone wrecks your car, THEIR INSURANCE covers the WHOLE D*** THING, and your insurance never even gets involved!!
Now - with no police report to speak of, how will my Mom’s insurance company get their money back through subrogation?? I’m guessing they won’t be able to … the neighbor will end up paying the difference in CASH (so it won’t even go through THEIR insurance), and my Mom could be left with a claim on HER record!!! This is absolutely crazy!
Anybody here from Massachusetts who can chime in on this? Is this the way it works up there now?? I can’t believe it is!!!
UPDATE:
Now my brother’s saying “no police report needed for damage under $1000”, and that the body shop said my Mom’s Insurance contacted the neighbor, and to “give it a few days”.
No police report for damage under a certain amount is normal . Your mother calling her insurance instead of having the person who caused the damage call theirs just made things complicated .
All I can think of is for you to call your mothers agent and get the real story and this is not something a web forum can solve.
Sure, but what the H*** is my mother’s Insurance company doing sending out an Adjuster to estimate the damage, AND cutting her a check that isn’t even enough to fix the damage!!
They should’ve told her to go through the neighbor’s Insurance for the entire payment (or helped her to do that by contacting the other Insurance Company)!
This is so stupid! And I’m sure it’ll come back on her somehow - like appearing on a CarFAX (at the very least), and increased premiums. THAT would be the motivation for my Mom’s Insurance Company to get involved, for sure.
It’s important to note that Massachusetts’ no-fault car insurance system applies to injuries caused by car accidents, but not to vehicle damage claims. A claim for damage to (or [total loss of) a vehicle can be made against the at-fault driver in Massachusetts, with no limitations.
Did your mother provide the other drivers name, insurance company policy number, vehicle description and license plate number to her insurance company? If not they may have treated this as hit and run damage.
The neighbor provided a note admitting the damage, and this information was given to my Mother’s Insurance Company (or so my older, wiser brother says)…
But as you can see from that “No-Fault” website article … my mother’s Insurance Company didn’t need to be notified. I think the neighbor is just trying to “pay out of pocket” without it being reported to her Insurance Company.
Now … let’s hope the next thing isn’t … “WHAT DAMAGE???”
Well, I’m not there. I didn’t see the note, either. But the initial report I got didn’t mention any Insurance Company other than my mother’s. I don’t think that information was in the note. But it must’ve come later because my brother claimed the Body Shop said my mother’s Insurance Company had contacted the neighbor’s Insurance Company.
But who knows if that’s even true!
Poorly handled all around. Two weeks now the car has been undriveable.
