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Yesterday at 3 am I was woken by the sound of a woman in a Yaris crashing into my car parked outside my house. She hit it so hard that it shunted 5 metres and hit my pickup. Her claim was 'I didn't see the car'.

I called both my insurance companies as a precaution. However my car that was damaged only has Class 3 insurance. After 20 minutes it became evident she was not insured at all. My insurance guys took pictures etc. but advised that it was pointless calling the Police as a 'Moo Baan' is not counted as a public road and therefore the police wuld not get involved

The woman's father came and has offered to come back in the morning to discuss paying for the car. I kept hold of her driving licence.

So this morning my wife went to the police station to obtain some form of written record from the police (just to see if we could get one). She was told it's none of their business and that it's a private matter. The police man she spoke with told her to get a signed letter from the offender stating that they will pay for all the repairs.

Needless to say the woman's father refused to sign. It seems he does have the intention of paying, however I called an accident repair shop that I normaly use and they gave a rough quote of between 80-100k to fix the car. (This is an old Cefiro I paid 190k for). The father has said that there is no way he is paying that much and tomorrow is bringing a mechanic he knows to have a look.

The damage I can appraise without lifting the car up is:

Body bent so much rear doors cannot close and roof panel is buckled

Fuel tank is crushed beyond repair

Suspension has gone on the rear left and potentially rear right

Rear axle has twisted

Boot/trunk, rear bumper etc totally written off

Front bumper cracked and shunted into front wing/fender

My concern is that fixing the car for any less than 80k will result in a car that still has defects.

As I see it I have 2 options. Take what he offers after his mechanic has given a repair cost, take it to a place I can rely on, and pay the difference in price so I know the job has been well done.

Or refuse and take him to court.

My lawyer has said there is obviously a case, but that this can take 3 to 12 months to be dealt with through the courts.

My question to anyone who can help with advice is:

would the threat of legal action carry any weight when arguing over the amount that needs to be spent on satisfactory repairs?

if not, should I just go ahead with the legal action?

or should i just take what i can get and be thankful (in which case will have to follow up with some justice of my own at a later date)

Any help gratefully received as show down is tomorrow morning at 10am.

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If you are a farang and she is thai be very careful.I would take the money and pay the difference or accept the fathers mechanic repairs.When you say mechanic,you mean he is going to check the price or do the work,because its not a mechanic job and he may not know the cost of paint work,new panels etc.

Sorry to hear about your plight,in most other parts of the world she would be in big trouble without insurance.she hasnt even got the 3rd party government insurance???

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she hasnt even got the 3rd party government insurance???

The mandatory 3rd party gov't insurance only covers personal injuries... not vehicles.

I'm surprised that the Yaris is not insured... they have only been on the road for a couple of years, so it has to be relatively new. If it is less than a year old, Toyota would probably have "included" the first year of insurance in the deal. If they financed the car, I believe first class coverage is a requirement of the finance companies.

Have you tried all of the options with your insurance company? Usually they are good about handling these things. Our old car was third party insured only, when some uninsured guy backed into me in the parking garage of our building. (Same situation as your mooban.) Damage was minor- scratches on the hood of the car. Our insurance rep negotiated the deal on the spot, and made the guy who hit me go to the ATM and get the $$ before any release was signed. The insurance guy made it plain to him that it was indeed a police matter if he didn't solve the problem immediately.

I'd get quotes from three different established / reputable repair facilites, regardless of what the other side says.

Your Cefiro sounds like a write off to me- after an impact that has buckled the roof and frame to the point that the doors are fcuked up, it will always be weak. It might look fine, but I wouldn't trust it in the event of ever being in another collision.

Imagine a nice fresh sheet of aluminum foil off the roll. Scrunch it up, and then flatten it out again. You will never ever get the creases out of it and get it flat and smooth again. The next time you scrunch it, it will fold along the previous creases first.

I'd be going to court if the situation was not resolved promptly with a fair offer based on real estimates. In fact, I'd let the lawyer do all of the talking. Let him figure out the "legalese", things like "loss of use" IE make them pay for a rental car while yours is being repaired by his backyard mechanic with junkyard parts. A good letter like this from a good lawyer would probably cause them to cave in before you actually had to file a suit.

Considering that it was 3 AM, had the woman been drinking? If she was, are there any witnesses to this (beyond yourself and your wife)- neighbors, etc? Maybe there is some leverage here?

Threats are useless unless you're absolutely sure and 100% ready to pull the trigger. I'd talk to a lawyer, clarify your position and have your ducks in a row before threatening the guy with legal action, and I'd let the lawyer make the threats in writing instead of verbally in the heated environment of trying to negotiate a deal.

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Sounds expensive to me, best bet would be to get some more quotes for the repairs (not just on the phone). You say she was not insured at all, do you mean she doesn't have 3rd party insurance or she doesn't even have the compulsory government insurance? As already mentioned, even if she was fully legal with just the compulsory insurance, you still wouldn't have received a payout as it only covers injuries.

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Take the money what they offer you. no repair, try to get cash from her father. It's not only the money from repairs. A wrecked Cefiro still about 60k worth, just for parts only, or even a Thai guy will fix and drive it again, or they use the "blue book" for some other cars, What ever. Take the money and sell your wrecked car, tohether you have a new amount of money and buy another one. Next time you schould buy a 1965 landrover or something strong. Remember: we are foreigners and we have absolutely no rights overhere, with the exeption to pay and lose money. I had simular troubles in the past.

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Thats a hel_l of a lot of damage for a "Mooban" collision indicating a fair amount of speed was involved. Would be interesting to hear what the damage was on her car !

You state you kept her driving licence, does that mean she was able to drive her car away from the scene ?

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Can they pay you?

is he willing to pay you?

if it goes to court, can you afford the best lawyer?

try to be nice and listen to what he will offer. just state that you want the car like it was. he might agree with you and pay. does he have any power in the political areas? he can create many problems for you. be carefull...

the guy that hit me did not have an insurance either, but we worked it out and he came through and fixed my car.

Let him save face by fixing your car is a nice way, make him lose face and problems might arrise, even if this is not your fault.

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You are in the situation that every Thai that is involved in the case will believe that you have money coming out of your ears so do not need to recieve as much as one statang for the damage caused to your cars as it was your fault for leaving them there, Thai logic.

The police would best be used to 'encourage' payment from the woman or her father, but you will probably have to pay for their time.

Chasing the money through the courts will be the only way to get the money out of this family - however it is unlikely that it will get that far - the verbal 'threat' of court action is nothing, you need to be seen to be doing it. Taking steps to build the case.

Get a local lawyer to attend your house, explain the situation and your desire for the repairs to be paid for by the women and if nessasary by placing a claim on the car she was driving (even the finance company itself 'owns' it) I would expect that she has a duty of care to the car by having insurance on it she will be getting herself in trouble with the finance company for not doing so. She might want to protect her credit status there so that is an angle to investigate. get the lawyer to pursue the finance company.

Ensure the lawyer is seen visiting you and taking pictures, measuring the scene of the accident etc etc.

I'm not sure the 'advice' not to call the police at the time of the accident was in your best interest.

If possible have your lawyer and a paid police 'helper' in place for the 10am meeting, you don't know who the other side is bringing to the party - so go loaded for hunting bear !

Wise to get the village head man involved as well - he will like the involvement. And if the police do not wish to have the formal involvment, it will fall to the village head to judge the case anyway.

If you are seen to fail to pursue this case you will be labeling yourself as an easy touch when it comes to such situations within the village, don't doubt that all village eyes are on you and how you respond to this case.

Good luck with this difficult situation, let us know how it progresses.

Edited by Cuban
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I would tend to leave my wife to make a decision regarding this. She is Thai (I assume) and would probably know the best way to deal with it. Pursuing it the farang way, though the courts could create more bad blood and not really solve your problems. You don;t need those issues in your village.

I can see 80-100K being too much to fix a car of this value and vintage. If the chassis is bent it should be written off anyway. Even if it can be fixed (and fixed will), it won't be as safe or drive like before. Perhaps just take what is offered, and sell the car to buy a new (second hand) one.

You can't give her much credit for intelligence - a new car and not even insured! What's the damage on the womans car? It much be pretty severe, and that will cost them a lot to fix. Not that you or I would have any sympathy for them:)

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This is why I make my wife park her car outside and mine is inside nice and safe..... :D

this is one thing I cannot stand about this part of the world. you damage someones property then you pay for it to be fixed, no questions aked. :o

I hope her car is wrecked.

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Thanks for all the responses. To cut a (very) long story short I settled for a cash payment so I can get the car repaired at a shop of my own choosing. Depending on how much extra i fork out over what they will pay me, will affect the amount of brake fluid that will mysteriously rain down on her car at night... :o

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Depending on how much extra i fork out over what they will pay me, will affect the amount of brake fluid that will mysteriously rain down on her car at night...

Just forget about, you just had a bad experience, it happens to all of here at some time or another

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Thanks for all the responses. To cut a (very) long story short I settled for a cash payment so I can get the car repaired at a shop of my own choosing. Depending on how much extra i fork out over what they will pay me, will affect the amount of brake fluid that will mysteriously rain down on her car at night... :o

Brake fluid is for wusses!

Paint stripper is what you need, nice industrial strength.

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Much more fun than brake fluid/paint stripper et-al is to ram a potato up the exhaust pipe. Use a broom handle to get it well up there so it won't come out. Hours of fun watching them tryng to work out why it refuses to run for more than a second or two :o

Edited by Crossy
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A small amount of battery acid in a syringe squirted up the exhaust pipe will corrode the pipe within a few weeks and leave no evidence (Potato = Man Farang!).

Repeat at regular intervals - but don't let this issue turn into a war.

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Well all you pussies who would just let them get away with it - shame on you. I hope you are next in line for a shafting.

Plod will get involved if approached the right way. Go kill someone in your car on a moo bahn and tell the cops to bugger off !

Likely she had been drinking, too late now for a test.

If all negotiations failed I'd sue them in the courts. Thais don't like lawyers or the like but no way would I settle for being out of pocket. To do so is just letting the little buggers screw you over.

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Again, drive old clunkers, strong metall, no "plastomat cars" So you never have a real problem. A 66 Landrover or a 72 australian Valiant, or even a 30 year old Toyota Crown, would never let you in troubles, because they wreck theyr own cars first, before they gonna harm yours.

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Thanks for all the responses. To cut a (very) long story short I settled for a cash payment so I can get the car repaired at a shop of my own choosing. Depending on how much extra i fork out over what they will pay me, will affect the amount of brake fluid that will mysteriously rain down on her car at night... :o

How much did you end up getting from them?

And you make it seem like their car is fine (that you would need to vandalize it?), surely the Yaris is already f*cked up?

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Sounds to me that the Yaris is a very strong car... Or he is Exaggerating on his own damages... Either way, if you accepet their offer, why are you looking for revenge???

That should mean the case is closed...

If you think they gave to little, why accept???

Sour puss...

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Was the girl ok?!! The damages that you described would have caused some serious injuries to the girl. You said your fuel tank was "crushed"... was it really?!! Do you know what it takes to crush a fuel tank?!!

Dude... if the girl wasn't hurt, then she was seriously drunk... she may even have serious internal injuries!!!... given that 4 days have now passed, have you seen her around?

Hold off on the revenge... justice may still be yours.

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