Just after the new year, a young motorist still covered under their parents’ car insurance navigated the parking lot of a small local shopping mall. They accidentally backed into another car, which was parked unoccupied. What started as a friendly exchange, though, suddenly turned into a nightmare scenario…and the at-fault driver is asking what to do.

The driver got out to assess the damage. Contact occurred above one of the parked car’s rear wheels, but there weren’t any visible marks. “I waited a bit for the owner to come outside. They did not come out for a while,” the driver recounts, “So instead I went to each store to ask if anyone owned that vehicle and eventually found the individual.”

“They came outside to look at the damage, didn’t see anything, didn’t take any pictures, didn’t exchange anything (plates, ID, insurance).”

Instead, the owner thanked the driver for their efforts to communicate the slight tap. They only asked for a first name and cell phone number, which the driver gave. After that, the two peaceably parted ways.

Weeks later, though, the incident came back to haunt the young motorist…and possibly wreak havoc on his parents’ insurance premium.

Now, there’s “something wrong with a sensor”…and it’s thousands to fix.

Randomly, after about two weeks of silence, the other car’s owner called up the at-fault driver. They took their vehicle to a shop, which diagnosed a faulty sensor. Weird, considering the area the driver contacted was above a rear wheel well…seemingly away from any sensors.

Still, the driver offered to pay to fix the sensor. Shockingly, the repair estimate was $2,000. 

The car’s owner said they wanted to file an insurance claim against the driver, which means a collision payout on their parents’ policy

“I am not trying to avoid paying him, I am just a bit skeptical — I also feel guilty that my parents rates will go up with a claim (for something really minor) due to my negligence,” he explained on Reddit. “I am also questioning whether I should continue speaking to him directly for legal purposes.”

The driver says they even contacted the police, who recommended they tell the car’s owner to get lost.

Since the driver doubts the level of damage presented in the estimate, I’d recommend the following:

• Stop speaking to the other owner,
• Tell the parents what’s happening, since the vehicle is covered under them. If they want to let the owner file a claim, fine.
• They can also wait for the owner to file a claim on their own insurance policy if it’s so important to fix. Then, the other insurance company can attempt to seek repayment via legal action…which they might not pursue.

Of course, this is all in the name of protecting oneself from fraud. If the bottom line is that this motorist truly caused $2,000 in damage, well, that’s something that should be made right.