Auto Insurance Claims: getting repairs without going through insurance, cell phone number, jump start a car

Question
Hi,
I was helping a friend jump start his car today on a city street when another driver attempted to get around my car and broke my side view mirror. My friend's car was parked on the street, so I had pulled my car as close to him as possible, leaving as much space as I could for other cars to pull by me. Some small cars managed to squeeze by, but there was not enough room for larger cars. The driver who hit me saw someone make it, but his car was too big. I told him he would have to pay for the damage--I had my hazard lights on and was obviously helping jump start a car. If he tried to get by, he was doing it at his own risk. The driver did not argue, but said he would rather have me get the estimate from the shop so he could pay me for the damage directly. If we went through the insurance company, he was afraid his rates would go up too much. I understood--we live in New Jersey, after all. I got his insurance information and his license plate number just in case, but took his cell phone number and told him I would call with the estimate. A police officer came later and helped with traffic as we finally got the car to start, but I was thinking about getting my car out of the way and completely forgot about getting an accident report. My question is, how do I go about getting the estimate and the repairs now to make sure that, if the other driver does not come through with a check as promised, I can still get his insurance company to pay for the repairs?

Thanks!  

Answer
Hi Stephanie,

You simply need to go to a body shop of your choice and have them write a repair estimate and provide you a copy. If the shop askes you if there is insurance involved, tell them no you are going to pay out of pocket. Once you have a copy of the estimate call the driver of the car that hit you. Tell him the cost of the repairs and ask him when you can expect to get the money from him. If at any time he seems to try to wiggle out of anything just remind him that he gave you his insurance information and that if he does not come up with the money in a reasonable time frame (say a week) that you will report the incident to his insurance company.

If that does not work, you can tell him you will send over a black cadillac to collect, which he should understand since you both live in New Jersey, after all. (just a little humor) I'm originally from New York.

I hope this helps
Happy Hollidays
Richard Hixenbaugh