I Am Beside Myself -Long Long Rant

[octavio3311]

Forgive me for my rant - but I have to vent.

Me and the familia are coming home from a wake last night, actually coming home from the after wake get together. It's about 9:45pm. Come up to an intersection - I'm am in the left lane as I will be making a left - light turns red - I am the first car at the light - 2 lanes to my right are occupied as they also have red light. And across the intersection, here comes this huge line striping truck. He proceeds to set up on the line, 2' from my car. The guy driving the truck is way behind me now - I look up at the kid sitting on the trucks tail that controls the pumps and the flow - he smiles at me and proceeds to start pumping. Keep in mind - red light, 2 lanes to my right are full - I've got nowhere to go.
Yep - my wife's brand new (3000 miles new) white 2014 Subaru Outback Limited get splattered from front to tail. Bumpers, hood, wheels, doors, headlight, fog light - the entire drivers side is covered in yellow splatters. MOTHERF&CKER!!!!

Light turns green - I pull over. Damage was done. That shit gets HARD fast. Flew home (5 minutes) - acetone didn't work, paint thinner didn't work, Goof Off - nothing!

Woke up early. Went to Subaru - they tried but nope. Then went to 2 different detailers and they tried - nope. Then went to 2 body shops. 1st gave me an estimate of $5600 and the 2nd gave me a $5850 estimate. They both explained that the black trim (Limited Appearance Package) all has to be replaced, all the white painted panels have to be stripped and repainted (pearl white) and the wheels can be re-finished. WTF???

Spent hours on the phone with CT DOT and then went to the local DOT office. I have to file a claim, submit it and then wait for approval - which can take up to 3-4 months. I am sick. This is a brand new car!

I called my insurance co just to run it by them. If I claim it -
1) I'll have to pay my deductible, and
2) my car will have a CarFax report. Any time a car gets painted thru insurance - CarFax will consider it involved in an accident regardless if it was an accident or not. Which affects u on trade in or resale.

I don't want to go thru insurance. Then again - I don't want to lay out $5800 and then wait the 4 months for a maybe reimbursement, or partial. But I certainly don't want to look at a yellow poka dotted f'in car either for the next 4 months.

I was furious. But I had my wife and kids in the car - so I had to "be cool".

This F'in BLOWS!!

Sorry for the long story.

 

[96Pirate]

I commend you on your composure. I am not sure that I would have handled it that way under the situation.

As much as I would have hated to do it I'm not sure I would be doing anything on the car until I find out something from DOT. But I would be pushing the issue hard to get resolution. You might want to go back and get pics of the area where the splatter crossed over on what was your lane. If it ends up being that much and DOT doesn't rectify the situation I would definitely be going through insurance. If you are going to hold onto the car for awhile, and you get dinged by Carfax, I don't think that would result in a $5k+ difference. Unless you plan to sell in a year or 2.

I wonder how many other times this has happened.

Anyway, I feel for ya and I hope things work out for you the best that they can.

 

[octavio3311]

Trust me - I've been known to have a short fuse. And if I was alone, I would've reacted much differently - and that probably wouldn't of been good either. But I don't wanna be like that with my kids around.

 

[bigwoo]

here in NC and SC a lot of private contractors do jobs for dot . You didn't see any company name on the paint truck did you. And they always have signs out letting you know not to follow to close. I guess they been through a lot of law suits because of getting paint on cars. But in the summer heat its dry in seconds after hitting the ground.

 

[octavio3311]

There were no signs, no flag men, no police - nothing. And like I mentioned - I was sitting at a light when the truck came thru the intersection, going thru a red light he had on the other side, and proceeded to set up right next to me, and start pumping. I couldn't believe it. I was dumb founded.

 

[Geiger41]

If you cant identify the vehicle, then I think it is a no brainer to go through insurance. The carfax wont lower you cars value by 5K.

 

[Gym]

There were no signs, no flag men, no police - nothing. And like I mentioned - I was sitting at a light when the truck came thru the intersection, going thru a red light he had on the other side, and proceeded to set up right next to me, and start pumping. I couldn't believe it. I was dumb founded.

I would have called 911 as that's the same as a hit and run. He caused damage to your vehicle and took off. Have whoever repairs your car write a detailed estimate as to the SURFACE damage and take pictures. Keep that with your car title. If you sell the car privately that documentation along with pictures should assure the buyer that it was not involved in an accident. If you trade the car in I would do the same with the dealer. Usually if a car is more than 4 years old the dealer will sell it to auction so the car fax would not be an issue.

I had similar damage from a landscaper. I ended up paying the deductible with the insurance company's assurance that I would get it back when they subregate to the landscaper's insurance. I figured that was bs and I was out my deductible. Six months later I got a check for the full amount of my deductible. Congrats on keeping cool @octavio3311 .

 

[4x15mph]

@octavio3311 , that's a bad situation and you handled it well. I am guessing you have young kids and/or girls. My older sons would have made me get out of the car and fix the situation.

Good luck and that is definitely an insurance claim. I can tell you that if I was buying the car and you told me that it was repainted, I would just want to make sure that it was a quality job. I think the resale would suffer less than the cost to fix this on your own ($5K). Its a Subaru so in 15 years, your kids will be driving it anyway.

 

[Bousbous55]

The city should be responsible and they are the ones that should pay for it.

 

[sysinu]

oh man, that sucks. You handled that SO MUCH better than I would have and, honestly, I think you made the right decisions. I really hope your dept of transportation handles this for you. My suggestion would be to explain to them what you posted here (that your options of going through insurance vs other stuff are very painful for you) and that it is their responsibility to make this right.

 

[GTBRMC]

The city should be responsible and they are the ones that should pay for it.

Yes - Go after the municipality that maintains the road. You would be shocked at how often they get sued and settle. They are responsible for their contractor (in most states, anyway.)

I have family members that have been long-time road commissioners and private practice attorneys, they all say the same thing.

 

[davel501]

You need to file a police report. Make sure to include the guy was smiling as he did it and push for criminal charges. It sounds like he did i

Yes - Go after the municipality that maintains the road. You would be shocked at how often they get sued and settle. They are responsible for their contractor (in most states, anyway.)

I have family members that have been long-time road commissioners and private practice attorneys, they all say the same thing.

...and they always deny the first claim. That is just how they open negotiations.

 

[Jim Robeson]

@octavio3311 ... you might also talk with the local news paper about this. Sometimes the extra attention will push them to settle the matter quicker. I'm really sorry. I kind of know how you feel. Watched a teenager key my wife's new Lexus RX350. Luckily the mother made it right. Really sorry.

 

[octavio3311]

Just filed a police report. I now have a case # for the insurance company.

 

[Evil Sports]

I was gonna call y0u today to check in, good thing I got busy

 

[octavio3311]

@Evil Sports - If it was just me and you in the car, we would've dragged that punk off the truck, and then had a few beers afterwards.
But then we would've had other troubles.

 

[Evil Sports]

I know its easy to say this from here but I would have had the wife taking cell video for Pruff

 

[Brad_Ct]

I had a car sand blasted by a crew sand blasting a bridge to prep it for painting, at least that was an accident your problem sounds intentional.

 

[Evil Sports]

Brad, dont feed the bear

 

[0627Devildog]

Trust me - I've been known to have a short fuse. And if I was alone, I would've reacted much differently - and that probably wouldn't of been good either. But I don't wanna be like that with my kids around.

You sound like a brother from another mother. . . . . This sucks, sorry for the struggle.