Yes, I agree. I think this could end up more than $1k...easily.

Yeah, I fully expect that this could end up being more than 1k. Especially given that I'm pretty sure they will request everything be repaired with new manufacturer parts (which seems reasonable to me on a new car, to be honest).

Any thoughts on emailing the lawyer tonight to initiate conversation on how to resolve this quickly and amicably? Or should I shut up and call my insurance guy in the a.m.?

I guess I could be inclined to agree with this, assuming I got a good read on the other party and didn't get the vibe they were trying to **** me over.

The fact that the guy's already attempted something really shady and weird makes me very hesitant to do business with him in this way.

scalp - I would initiate contact immediately. I think it shows right away that you are a stand-up guy and are truly committed to working this out. And I hope the lawyer would appreciate that as well.

Maybe others would disagree on this and it would somehow be too risky? No idea.

An accident I had where some guy hit me and offered to pay for all of it out of pocket he contacted me the next day and I appreciated that. Then said he had a friend with a garage where he could swing a better deal for himself to pay for my repairs and asked if I minded using that one which I said was fine.

Anyway, if you do contact him I would keep it brief and not say anything that he can use against you later. Have to be careful with that since he's a lawyer and all.

Two sentences to say, "My apologies again for the accident earlier. Wanted to touch base with you as soon as possible so we can get this solves quickly and with minimal hassle for either of us. We can talk today or tomorrow about estimates and whether to involve the insurance companies or not, etc."

Something like that maybe? Seems like you have a good head on your shoulders about all this. I don't think it's a mistake to display that.

If they go all bonkers in the emails like they did when they were screaming at you in person then re-evaluate at that point and call the insurance companies or do whatever.

Yes, I agree. Hesitancy and caution is good.

But I do believe that approaching them with right amount of politeness is still best strategy. Maybe there was some weird instinctual angle/play being made right there on the spot. But if he's offering to pay for whole thing right up front and continues to be a good guy through it then hopefully they aren't total blood-suckers.

If he gets all defensive or goes all "there's no f'ing way I'm paying for your deductible you douche-heads" then that is going to bring out the killer instincts in them way faster. There's a chance they can temper their "let's play an angle and destroy him" lawyer instincts if he overwhelms them with good-guy/non-suckiness.

Maybe I'm believing too much in the general goodness of most people...especially lawyers?

But even then, I don't see the harm in trying one time to make it work...and then bailing on that plan if they get weird about it.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong and if there is a real risk to going about it that way.

Risk of what? His insurance has lawyers for a reason. If the situation gets ****ty he just stops talking to the other party and refers them to his insurance company. His insurance doesn't want him talking to the guy, admitting guilt or offering to pay for anything as it is.

I don't see any criminal risk, and the only risk I see is that they take OP's money and then make an insurance claim to boot.

There's a good chance you may be right though Bob. I'm torn. I like the idea of email because it's documented hard evidence if an agreement is made, however I also like the idea of attempting to arrange a face to face meeting too.

I think the chances are good the shock has worn off, everyone has calmed down, and it may be possible to work something out. I'm just very untrusting in these types of situations, and if you don't immediately strike me as someone I can trust to do business with, I am always very quick to call the police, get an accident report, and file it with insurance.

Some well-meant, but bad advice in this thread.

Attorney here, 10 years experience in insurance defense.

Do not contact this guy, do not offer to pay for anything, do not admit fault in any way shape or form (even if it's patently obvious). Do call your insurance company. You are almost certainly obligated to inform them if you are in an accident. If you fail to do so, you risk voiding coverage. Once you contact your insurance carrier, they will negotiate directly with the "victim's" insurer. Unless they need a recorded statement, they will take care of everything else without your involvement. If you need an attorney, they will assign you one and pay for it.

I know that some people prefer to pay for repairs out of pocket in situations like this to avoid an insurance rate increase (as has already been suggested), but unless you are in danger of being dropped by your insurer (extremely unlikely if you don't have multiple at fault accidents) this is high risk, low reward. Think about how much your insurance would have to go up to balance a $1000+ repair bill. Now add in the risk that this guy screws you and reports the claim anyway. Or if he just decides to be shady and inflate the repair bill. Once you go that route, you are left w/o recourse if he tries to screw you.

This is precisely why you should not try to negotiate directly with the other party. If you do not report the accident, it's quite likely that your insurance company will refuse to defend the claim and you will not have the benefit of its attorneys. Instead, you'll be paying an attorney out of pocket and will likely be looking for a new insurance company after your coverage is dropped.

You should call your insurance guy now. I can't imagine there are any insurance companies that don't have 24hr call centers these days. If you've stopped checking this thread for the night, then yes, contact them asap tomorrow.

I missed something--what part of this accident was "strange"?

The part where people are paying for insurance coverage yet want to negotiate the particulars of an accident without involving the insurance companies?

This is the only advice you need to take from this thread.

Doesn't the insurance on the rental come from your friend's insurance policy since he was the one who rented it?

A couple quarter panels are going to be well in excess of the threshold of using insurance (paying deductible) vs paying cash for repairs.