Monday, October 31, 2005 - 02:08 pm, by: Adam Sanders(Abz)
Last night a guy tried to turn left into a road from the middle lane while i was in the left lane. He hit me i mounted the curb , hit a brick wall and came to a stop.
My Front bumper and 2 front guards are stuffed, plus my wheel is like hanging off and i am assuming both front air shocks are gone also front headlights and corner lights
He admitted fault and wrote a small note out saying so and said he would ring his insurance however I rang NRMA who he said he was insured with and they have stated he has none.
At the moment he is not picking up any calls does anyone have any suggestions what to do.
Monday, October 31, 2005 - 02:12 pm, by: David Vaughan(Davidv)
Very sorry to hear that Adam. What information do you have? Name? Vehicle description? Registration number? Witness? I am taking it that you did not get to see his licence. Easy to forget in the situation, unfortunately.
Monday, October 31, 2005 - 02:33 pm, by: David Vaughan(Davidv)
You are insured are you not? If so, let them do the work, and if not then it will take longer and be messier but you are not required to be a one-person charity merely because he drove you off the road.
Pension or not, he was driving a car and therefore should have resources with which to meet his debt.
Sorry if I sound unsympathetic to the other party but you are not responsible for his driving failure.
Monday, October 31, 2005 - 03:55 pm, by: David Vaughan(Davidv)
Unsure about that because I have never claimed on one of those in the brief periods I have held them. Did you damage any third party property which might be a claim against you? The brick wall?
How are you off for legal resources? Since you ticked other boxes I assume the police have a report. Lean on them and on court officials to help you out with routine forms or proper avenues, but at this point the basic step is to get an estimate of repair cost and write a letter of demand. You may wind up with payment over time but try to get it up front because time payments can become a whole series of separate demands lying unpaid.
The problem is that it sounds like the damage will be above the limit for the small claims court which is otherwise the cheapest and fastest way of dealing with these things. That consigns you to real lawyers or doing it yourself. Well defined short consultations (i.e. know your agenda beforehand and get answers on which you can act) with a real lawyer comprise a good option if you can afford it.
Monday, October 31, 2005 - 04:50 pm, by: David Vaughan(Davidv)
Depends where you think you can get the parts. Who would be doing the work for you? Your claim should be for a mechanic to do it with imported parts, e.g. Niall. That gives you some negotiating room at least. If that is more than the new value of the car, ask for write-off value (i.e. equivalent replacement). You are not then obliged to replace it but it does put a reasonable ceiling on what you can ask.
Time for a caveat: Please remember I am not a lawyer and am giving advice in good faith based on lay experience and for no reward. That is, I have no wish to be sued either!
Monday, October 31, 2005 - 07:56 pm, by: Ian Johnston(Ted)
Third party property insurance only covers the other blokes damage if it was your fault. You have no claim on your insurance company. I dont want to sound like a preacher, but it amazes me how people say they cant afford comprehensive insurance. I know it is not cheap, but the sooner you start the cheaper it becomes. These cars are not cheap, so why throw money away by not haveing some coverage. I am sure people can afford a few beers a week, and a packet of cigs, petrol to cruise, so why not cut down in some of these areas and get some insurance. Sorry for the rant, but I cannot afford to NOT have insurance!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005 - 01:04 pm, by: Damien Smith(Damien)
Yes, this happened to a mate of mine who got knocked off his bike when he only had 3rd party property with NRMA and the other guy wasn't insured. NRMA took the bloke to court to get the money to repair his bike. Worth asking as Jeff says.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005 - 10:36 pm, by: Daniel Ribarovski(Danielribo)
Depending on who you're insured with you'll probably have an uninsured drivers extension on your third party property policy. This means that if the other party isn't insured, they will pay up to $3000 in repairs. I don't know how much the repair job will be, but if it's going to be a battle to get the money its an option to consider.
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: Please remember I am not a lawyer and am giving advice in good faith based on lay experience and for no reward. That is, I have no wish to be sued either! 
