Fender Bender Extortion

[razer4]

I hit a parked 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe the other day.
Here is the extent of the damage:
://imgur.com/9SdIpUX

Since the damage seemed so minor, I thought it would be best to handle the situation outside of insurance. My driving record is accident free, and I'd like to keep it that way. My deductible is $500, which I thought was more than generous enough to cover the damage, so I didn't see the point in going through insurance.

The lady I hit got two estimates for the damage. They both came out to around $1,500, which I thought was ludicrous. I asked for some paperwork, and she gave me these:
://imgur.com/V3guMH5
://imgur.com/pZAjucJ

You can clearly see that the estimate includes repairs for pretty much the entire car. Her car was pretty scratched up already. I plan to get my own estimate, and to follow-up with the places she got her estimates at to see what the **** she actually asked for.


My ideal course is to pay her for the damages and have this ordeal done and over with. I have no interest in dragging this out any longer than it should be.

Here are my questions:
1. Could I be misinterpreting the information or are people actually careless enough to do **** like this?
2. What are my options from here?
3. Is her claim considered extortion, and are there legal measures I can take against her?

 

[BlockO]

I wouldn't know how to pull up any of the images you posted.

but it all boils down to this: will you pay more for paying out of pocket vs. paying more for insurance premiums, now having an at fault accident on your record?

do the math, and then figure it out...... btw, the $500 deductible doesn't apply to liability claims. deductibles only apply if there's damage to your car.

 

[RicFlairII]

OP,

I would just turn it in to your carrier.

They are experts, they will not let the person pull one over on
them. Especially if you give them forewarning of their intent when
you turn in the claim.

It will be very hard for you to mitigate the estimates that the person
submits to you personally, as well as it is a lot of hassle dickering
around with them.

Best just to let the carrier handle it.

 

[razer4]

I don't meet the minimum post requirements to share a link. It should work if you prefix the link with "http"

 

[LGilmore]

You'd be surprised how much a small dent or scratch costs these days. I put a quarter sized scratch in an old car and it was 2k. 2k for something I could cover with a quarter......

costs included paint drying time, rental car and so on....

I would turn it into insurance and if you have nothing else on your insurance you may be ok for cost.

 

[INSUREGEEK]

Based on the photo, I'd question the repair to the front door, and why are we painting the roof rail? I'd need a better photo of the damages to justify those costs. Otherwise, it's a pretty solid estimate.

My ballpark price (which I hate to do, but sometimes I have to) is $500 for every panel I touch = this estimate touches 2 doors + a quarter panel = $1500 easy.

I can also tell you that my shop gets this situation A LOT! About 95% of the time it goes through insurance. The payer is always shocked at the cost, and as the shop I'll only take payment from my customer - the owner of the car. That means you pay them - they pay me. That seems to be a dealbreaker most of the time.

Good Luck!

 

[InsCommentary]

You're lucky she's not complaining of a cervical injury. The reality is that you're NOT accident free. Read your insurance policy...it undoubtedly requires you to report accidents. Don't take that contractual requirement lightly. What appears to be minor often turns out not to be and by failing to report the claim by now, you may have breached the insurance contract and have no coverage for this claim.