r/caraccidents

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Accident in FL, hit a concrete culvert at about 50mph, went slightly airborne & then went into a ditch which the Front passenger wheel sheared off on impact. Was towed to a USAA preferred repair shop. After 9 days its just been sitting in the lot as they don't have an available lift yet to put it on. The visual estimate just on arrival from tow is $7500 thus far which the shop said it's only at about 25% loss. We want it to be a total loss, the manager said because the miles aren't that high, & it's a newer car, it would take a lot for USAA to total it out. I called my USAA adjuster to ask if I could request an appraisal because the car was previously in an accident last year & I don't think the body shop took that into consideration with the valuation as they only do the valuation off of the VIN. She said no that the shop makes that call to bring an appraiser in if once they get started tearing down & ordering parts that it's getting close to 80% they'll stop the repair process. We have no clue what's underneath, but the manager seemed pretty sure of himself that when they get it on the lift it'll be repairable.

It's a 2023 Dodge Challenger RT manual transmission with 49K miles. The body shops valuation is at like $29,000 which seems high considering the previous major accident. When I factor in the previous accident on Carfax, the value is coming in moreso around $26,600

What do you think?

Today, I met with an accident near Kolte Patil Life Republic, Pune, and honestly, the entire experience has left me extremely frustrated.

A white car was speeding, and while trying to avoid it, I ended up hitting an auto-rickshaw. I'm still not sure whose fault it was, and I am not claiming that I was completely blameless. Accidents happen, and I was willing to pay for the actual damage caused.

But what happened afterward was completely unacceptable.

I was still lying on the road after the accident when the first thing the auto-rickshaw driver said to me was, "10,000 de mujhe." Instead of checking whether I was okay or discussing the damage reasonably, he immediately demanded ₹10,000.

His minor son also started hurling abuses at me while I was dealing with the situation.

I clearly told the driver that I was ready to pay for the damages. I was not refusing responsibility or trying to run away. I simply wanted the damage to be assessed fairly.

However, he insisted that I leave my bike there and accompany him to a garage. While we were on the way, he threatened me, saying, "₹6,000 de, warna maarunga." When I said I would call the police, he threatened to gather local auto-rickshaw drivers and get me beaten up.

At that point, I was more concerned about my safety than arguing over money. Eventually, I paid him ₹6,000 just to get out of the situation.

The irony is that I wouldn't even have minded paying ₹8,000 if a garage had properly inspected the damage and given me a genuine repair estimate. I was willing to compensate him for the actual loss. What I objected to was being threatened, abused, and pressured into paying an arbitrary amount.

The only reason the amount eventually came down from ₹10,000 to ₹6,000 was that I called a friend who has a heavy voice and knows the local area. Only then did the situation calm down enough for us to settle the matter.

But the damage to my day was already done.

I was on my way to an important business meeting. This entire episode wasted nearly 50 minutes of my time, and the person I was supposed to meet became frustrated and cancelled the meeting. So, apart from losing ₹6,000, I potentially lost a business opportunity as well.

Afterward, I contacted my third-party insurance provider to understand my options. They told me that since I had already paid the money, pursuing the matter would require a police complaint and potentially a court case, which could take at least 6–8 months.

So now I'm left wondering whether pursuing this is even worth the additional time and stress.

My point is simple: I am not saying that I should not pay for damage if I am responsible for an accident. Of course, genuine damage should be compensated. If I had been given a reasonable estimate from a garage, I would have paid it.

But why should anyone have to tolerate verbal abuse, threats of physical violence, and intimidation just because they were involved in an accident?

Why should someone be forced to pay money out of fear rather than through a fair assessment of the damage? And when someone threatens to gather a crowd to beat you up if you refuse to pay, what are you realistically supposed to do in that moment?

I could have insisted on calling the police right there, but I was alone, my bike was involved, the situation was getting aggressive, and I had legitimate concerns for my safety. Paying the money felt like the quickest way to get out of the situation.

Honestly, the ₹6,000 hurts, but losing my time, missing my business meeting, and being threatened when I was already dealing with an accident frustrates me even more.

I'm not trying to escape responsibility for an accident. I'm simply frustrated that a situation that could have been handled calmly and fairly turned into an intimidating experience.

Sometimes, it's not the money itself that bothers you the most. It's the feeling that someone can threaten you in broad daylight, force you to pay under pressure, and walk away while you're left dealing with the consequences.

Just needed to vent.