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High school parking lot fender bender - insurance question
yesterday, another student clipped my daughter's car in the parking lot.
Both cars faced forward to pull straight out of spots
Other driver was parked next to her, on the driver side
As other driver pulled out, she turned right, but cut it too hard and clipped the front driver side
My daughter came out a few minutes after, but other driver still there and said what happened - no doubt about who was at fault as our car was legally parked at the time - other driver and her father agree with this.
Damage seems to be mostly cosmetic to front bumper. Scrape, and knocked of a piece of front spoiler that was part of bumper. No dents or damage to lights, but bumper got pulled out of attachments, and hangs down a little bit. I pulled back up so it's almost flush again, but it will have to be re-attached on that side by someone more skilled than me.
I talked to other dad last night - nice guy, concedes that his daughter was at fault and wants to make it right. She was driving on older car, and no damage at all to hers - just a smalll scrape on the side, but he says barely noticeable so he's leaving it as-is.
Both of us have USAA.
He mentioned trying to get it fixed without a claim, which I think will end up costing him more.
Questions:
Should I tell USAA now, knowing that he may come back and say he wants to pay out of pocket?
I don't want to take it all over for estimates, and I definitely don't want it fixed by a fly-by-night place that does all repairs for $195. I want it to be a certified shop...
I don't know what his deductible is, but my guess is they'll come back and say I need a new bumper b/c of some BS reason, and it will be at least $1000.
I'm writing from a MAC, I have no pictures of drivers (shun!), and I drank heavily last night...
thx
Posted: 01/14/2026 at 09:02 AM ET
Thread Replies (24)
High school parking lot fender bender - insurance question
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-- Dan1993
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:02 AM ET
Dan1993
•
01/14/26 09:02 AM ET
Update - other dad called me and we agreed he'd file claim
-- Dan1993
Jan 14, 2026 at 11:35 AM ET
Dan1993
•
01/14/26 11:35 AM ET
Other dad's biggest concern is probably his insurance for his daughter
-- Late 80s Hokie
Jan 14, 2026 at 10:04 AM ET
Late 80s Hokie
•
01/14/26 10:04 AM ET
Just follow the Golden Rule don't do unto others as you don't want them to
-- jdkhokie
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:47 AM ET
jdkhokie
•
01/14/26 09:47 AM ET
Couple things. 11 year old car, look out for it to be "totaled" by USAA if
-- RhinoVT
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:45 AM ET
RhinoVT
•
01/14/26 09:45 AM ET
from quick research, car is valued at 6-8K, so hopefully cleared on that
-- Dan1993
Jan 14, 2026 at 10:01 AM ET
Dan1993
•
01/14/26 10:01 AM ET
He pays for your rental. It's part of liability coverage. **
-- RhinoVT
Jan 14, 2026 at 10:05 AM ET
RhinoVT
•
01/14/26 10:05 AM ET
Get an estimate. See what father says/does. If waffles, then contact USAA. **
-- Stork
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:44 AM ET
Stork
•
01/14/26 09:44 AM ET
I know you were in the business, but I'll ask anyway. If you get an
-- PhotoHokieNC
Jan 14, 2026 at 10:04 AM ET
PhotoHokieNC
•
01/14/26 10:04 AM ET
If just getting estimate to see what amount is, then no problem with that.
-- Stork
Jan 14, 2026 at 10:09 AM ET
Stork
•
01/14/26 10:09 AM ET
Yeah, it gets dicey.**
-- PhotoHokieNC
Jan 14, 2026 at 10:15 AM ET
PhotoHokieNC
•
01/14/26 10:15 AM ET
This ^^^ Why bring in USAA unless you have to. If he's willing to pay, let
-- cincyhokie
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:54 AM ET
cincyhokie
•
01/14/26 09:54 AM ET
Had a similar experience about 30 years ago. I had just pulled into a
-- MikeVT85
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:37 AM ET
MikeVT85
•
01/14/26 09:37 AM ET
That was the young girl who grew up & sued McDonald's for the hot coffee.**
-- PhotoHokieNC
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:41 AM ET
PhotoHokieNC
•
01/14/26 09:41 AM ET
1992, Stella Liebeck . . . that's her!
-- MikeVT85
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:55 AM ET
MikeVT85
•
01/14/26 09:55 AM ET
Option C...get a high estimate...
-- JoesterVT
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:27 AM ET
JoesterVT
•
01/14/26 09:27 AM ET
^^^somebody who uses 'audio' as a wordle starter^^^**
-- PhotoHokieNC
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:34 AM ET
PhotoHokieNC
•
01/14/26 09:34 AM ET
There's no harm in having a USAA appraiser review the damage. It's
-- PhotoHokieNC
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:14 AM ET
PhotoHokieNC
•
01/14/26 09:14 AM ET
thx - should have mentioned my car is a 2015 Camry.
-- Dan1993
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:17 AM ET
Dan1993
•
01/14/26 09:17 AM ET
Hate to mention this, since I've sought help from it ....
-- PhotoHokieNC
Jan 14, 2026 at 09:23 AM ET
PhotoHokieNC
•
01/14/26 09:23 AM ET
But now I have a whole new section in my resume.**
-- PhotoHokieNC
Jan 14, 2026 at 11:12 AM ET
PhotoHokieNC
•
01/14/26 11:12 AM ET