Am I an a**hole? Why do I feel like one? (Reporting door ding to insurance)

[SignMD]

Not sure why the husband didn't just give you $100 in cash and be done with it, why would he want to submit a claim? Flo would be pissed. BTW, that will take the PDR guy 1 min to fix.

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[Neil4Real]

Here in California at least, the cost has to be a certain amount for it to raise your rates. I think it’s somewhere around $1,500 to $2,500. She doesn’t have to pay a deductible and it is a very, very slim chance it’ll raise her rates.

 

[21st Century Pony]

With the bulging sides on all the MMEs we own, door dings are unfortunately to be expected... once I got my 1st door ding, I used it as a locator for the black door strips. Have received several hits since (I can often feel them with my fingertips until they eventually rebound and the added door strip is smooth again). Your judgment whether the look enhances the car.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

BTW, that will take the PDR guy 1 min to fix.

Door dings along the crease in an MME are not easy to fix. There’s a steel cross member directly behind those creases that make it extremely difficult to get a tool in behind the dent to properly fix it. The one on my driver side door took about an hour and wasn’t an easy fix. It was also pretty small. But a good PDR person should be able to get them out.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

As a general rule of thumb, when someone asks if they're being an a$$hole, it's usually a pretty good indication that, yes, they are.

This is not one of those times. Someone thoughtlessly damaged your car and didn't own up to it. You holding them accountable doesn't make you a jerk.

 

[Jonno21]

I think you did the right thing. It was someone being careless. If there had been a gust of wind and the door blew out of her hand then it's just unfortunate. Her attitude without even an apology just made the situation worse.

I remember a time when I'd parked in a supermarket (2005) and I'd had the car 2 weeks (Seat Leon Mk 2) and a couple pulled up at the side of me and I was still in the car at the time. The man got out and really slammed the door into mine and my car shook with the impact. I instantly got out and yelled at him as what did you do that for. He instantly denied it even though there was a big dent in my door with his paint on it. Trouble is he looked a bruiser and his female partner look like a bruiser. (I think evolution had taken a step backwards). They wouldn't care about their car as it was an old beat up Vauxhall Cavalier with numerous dings and scratches. What made it worse as he walked away he got his keys out his pocket and draped them over the bonnet as he was walking along causing scratches staring me out.

I was actually scared of him and I'm 6 ft 2. I parked elsewhere in the car park while I waited for my wife. I don't know if there was CCTV at this time but it would be my word against theirs. I got it fixed on insurance.

 

[generaltso]

For anyone concerned about door dings, the DentCARE coverage offered by Ford is inexpensive. You can get 5 years of coverage through Granger for $145 or 8 years for $195 (or use FordPass points if you still have them). One PDR will likely cost close to that, if not more.

https://fordprotect.ford.com/dentcare

 

[JDrazMME]

I got dinged in the front and lost a little paint. Took the guys info just in case. Went to a body shop and the estimate was $1300! They have to take off the front, match the paint, reset all the cameras and sensors when the put they front back on etc. So yeah, I went the insurance route. Before you feel like you're doing something wrong, wait until you see what it costs!

 

[RickMachE]

The title of this thread is beside the point. Another car caused damage. The owner takes responsibility, and gets that damage repaired. How they accomplish that - out of pocket or via their insurance company - is irrelevant to the person with the dent.

 

[MachLovin]

She thoughtlessly smacked your car and didn’t even apologize? Have her pay to fix the ding and don’t feel at all bad. End of story.

Agreed.

 

[yngwenli]

I don’t think you’re wrong for taking her info, but a $100 repair seems overkill for insurance (what if it goes up?), she wouldn’t just slip you a hundred?

Not sure about OP, but CA is a fault state so you'd go after her insurance for the ding and that has no affect on your rates (unless she's uninsured which is illegal in CA). For her though, maybe that'll teach her if her rates go up.


This is one reason I sorta have trouble babying or doing much to care too much about a car. It'll get dinged, it's in the rain/snow/mud/whatever and it'll get all messed up no matter what.

Unlike a collectible that's stored in a climate controled, sealed environment and never taken out into even the sun, a car just goes under too much abuse for me to over baby it.

I had this door ding happen as well to some young kid and the dad saw it and apologized and stuff, but it is very annoying. I just moved on since it didn't look too bad and I figured it'll be dinged up eventually too much.

I agree with everyone else that yeah, almost everyone should go after stuff like this, but it's a hassle and sometimes, might be confrontational (as Jonno21 mentioned) in this messed up world climate.

Most people in society just suck.

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