Minor accident. Other party promised to make it right, disappeared
Back in February of this year I was involved in a minor accident in my vehicle. I was following a half-ton truck on a highway on-ramp when a mattress in their truck bed flew off, clipping the front corner of my vehicle. The damage appeared minor, with the glass on my passenger side headlight assembly having broken.
I stopped and spoke with the driver. They did provide their insurance information, but said their husband was a mechanic and could make things right without having to involve the insurance companies. The driver of the vehicle had some health issues, and I felt bad for them. I agreed that if their husband got in touch with me by the end of the day and made a firm plan then we could avoid the insurance involvement.
The husband contacted me that day, asked for some details and ordered a part. I followed up a few times as things seemed to be taking a while. Additionally, water ingress into the housing fried the lights on that side and they no longer work.
Back in March he let me know the part was in and to come to his shop. I did, and unfortunately it turned out that he had ordered the wrong part. He let me know he’d order the right one and get back ahold of me.
After a month, in April, I followed up by text and was told he hadn’t tracked a part down yet.
This was the last I heard from him.
I recently began to research replacing the part. It turns out that there’s a significant difference in price between the part that he’d initially ordered (Halogen assembly at around $300) and the part needed (LED assembly at around $2000).
While I know this is in part my fault for not going through the insurance in the first place, I don’t accept that I should be on the hook here and want to know where I stand legally.
Relevant info:
- I have video of the incident
- I have text message exchanges of the pertinent details of them agreeing to fix the car and replace the part
- I have a copy of their insurance information
Any advice appreciated. Thank you!