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Just had a car accident: what should I do?

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Asked by Gilda on Apr 06 2010 at 5:09 PM
I was involved in a small traffic accident a couple days ago and I am not at fault. Nobody got bruised but my car may be beyond repair. I did not file a police report at the scene...

This is the 1st time this happens to me and I'm not sure how to handle the situation. What should I do?
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Hi Gilda -

I wish I replied earlier to that one. I wonder where you stand now with this problem. Hopefully everything went well for you.

I actually experienced the same ordeal last year early in 2009. I was rear-ended while waiting to make a left turn at an intersection. Nobody got hurt but my car was deemed a total loss. I did not call the police; as a result, no police report was filed. It was a mistake on my part, but I felt completely confused at the moment. I just took the other person's information, his license plate number and drove home to lay down and rest.

Later that day, when filing for my claim, I dealt with no one but my own insurance. I never called (or even heard) from the other person's insurance. I was kind of clueless about that but it turned out to be a good choice.

I was declared "0% at fault" in this accident. The insurance company bought my wrecked 1997 Maxima for its fair NADA value (about $3,600). I was without a car for a couple weeks but benefited from full rental coverage for that amount of time thanks to my insurance contract. Living in LA, I had no choice but to go out there and shop for a new car as soon as possible.

Having a fair amount of savings comes in a handy in situations like these. Within a week I found a good 1-owner used car equivalent to what I had before (I did not want to downgrade my daily driver). I paid cash for it since I'm allergic to financing depreciation-prone consumer goods like cars.

As stressful and time consuming the car situation was, in hindsight I consider it got quickly solved after all. The real problem was my upper back: it felt uncomfortable since the accident. I was bothered all the time, and my neck and shoulders felt stiff.

I started to visit a local chiropractor on my own dime. Several of my friends that had been in similar situations told me I shouldn't have to pay for anything medical; they claimed the other party's insurance should have contacted me and offered to pay for whatever treatment I was seeking following the accident. I explained I had never heard from them. Even though I was not seeking reparation or any kind of additional monetary compensation at that moment, I was starting to resent spending time and money to make up for a mistake that was not my responsibility.

...This is quite a long (and still incomplete) answer... I decided to share the whole experience in a regular post.
Answer by fabient on Jun 22 2010 at 2:35 AM

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It would be better if you have get a car insurance but if not, it's okay then. Some might think you can only get loan refinancing on mortgages. That is not true. Auto loans could be refinanced too. In fact, pretty much any large loan can be refinanced.

I found this here: Auto loan modification could be a good option

In fact, right now might be a better time than ever to refinance car loans, as rates for automobile loans are lower than they have been in a while. Act easily enough, your auto loans could be low interest loans, or at least lower than to start with.
Answer by KaydenQ on Sep 01 2010 at 3:33 AM

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