Q. Money for Car Repair: My neighbor reversed into my car and caused a minor damage. I got the quote to fix it and he says it’s not worth going through insurance, so he is paying me directly. My car is old and I don’t care about having it repaired, but I could do with the money. Would it be dishonest if I took the repair money but used it to pay some of the balance on my credit card? He does owe me for repairs anyway.
A: Yes, he does owe you for the damage to your car and you can use the money from the damage he caused to fix the damage you’ve done to your credit score. If you would prefer not the fix the car then sell it later at a discount because of the damage done to it, that’s your choice. Let’s hope the neighbor never says anything about the lack of repair and does a better job looking both ways.
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
How much money are we talking about? From the sounds of the letter it is only a couple of hundred dollars. If it is that minor and does not affect the driving or control, why not just let it go? The guys are neighbors after all.
If he takes money for car repairs, it should go to repairs.
If it were me, and I had no intention of getting the car fixed, I would decline the money for repairs saying I was not worried about getting it fixed.
If I were the neighbor, and was told not to worry about it because they were not getting it fixed, I would still give him the money. It's the right thing to do. And then he can use the money however he wishes
I think he can use the money however he wants. Even if he doesn't put it to repairing his car right now, he will eventually have to, or will have a lower resale value when he sells it.
Take the money and use it however he wants. My guess is the car is worth very little and the owner is just driving it until it dies so there is no sale in the future. My son had a car once he bought for $800. He ended up in similar situations a few times and made back more than what he paid for the car.
ETA: It doesn't matter what the neighbor thinks. He damaged property and should pay for it regardless if the property is fixed.
-- Edited by I know what to do_sometimes on Thursday 19th of February 2015 05:22:11 AM
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
With it being a neighbor - I would fix the car since he will see it everyday and it might lead to awkwardness. BUT, what he should do is use the cash to pay his credit card, and then charge the repair on the same card. It gives him a month off of payments and credit card protection on the repair. I ALWAYS pay stuff like that with a credit card.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Ehh, old car, minor damage. Take the money and spend it anyway you want.
It is a win for both, IMHO. The neighbor doesn't get an accident report against his insurance and the guy can do what he wants with the money.
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I drink coffee so I don't kill you.
I quilt so I don't kill you.
Do you see a theme?
Faith isn't something that keeps bad things from happening. Faith is what helps us get through bad things when they do happen.
Spouse was driving an old Chrysler that she loved, didn't care that it was showing its' age. DS age 2 was in his car seat.
She was stopped at a stop sign, attempting to turn left onto a major road. She wasn't sure how fast cars were approaching from the right, so she was waiting.
Man in a Cadillac behind her was impatient and honking. She wasn't going to let him bully her into taking a risk.
He decided to pass her (on the left) rather than wait for her to go.
His right front bumper clipped her left rear.
It would have been nothing, but ...
He jumped out of his car, ran up to her and started yelling at her.
When he calmed down a bit, they exchanged information.
(fwiw, he was in a business suit, driving an expensive car, and yelling at her for damaging his Cadillac.)
She told me the story, and I took her car to our body shop. They said it would be about $100 if we wanted to repaint the bumper cover, but they didn't think it would do much for the car. (They had already replaced the rusted out front floor panels so it wouldn't be a "Flintstone" car.)
I told them about the jerk who hit her because SHE could see the approaching traffic, he couldn't... and our baby was in the car.
The "estimate" went up to $850. Which I submitted to his insurance ... Allstate.
Allstate sent me to THEIR body shop, and their estimate was about $250. Which I accepted.
We would have just ignored it if he hadn't yelled at her.
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
