Rant over fender bender [plus collision advice na din]

[OTEP]

Just doing a lil bit of ranting. As some of you guys know, I accidentally backed into my cousin's '01 Civic as I was backing out of the garage (it was parked directly across the street). The car was dark colored, the street was not lit and the weather was bad at the time.

My left bumper corner hit the point where the Civic's bumper, decklid, and right outer taillamp meet. The bumper got scratched when my rear bumper overrode it, the lower lip of the decklid got pushed in a bit (less than 0.25" inwards), same with the sheetmetal at the base of the taillamp. The right outer taillamp's lower edge was shattered, however. My rig was undamaged.

I did recognize my fault. Initial plan was to have insurance handle it and I just supply a taillamp to lower the participation cost.

I'm just ranting because now my cousin texts me that a surplus taillamp will not be good enough since it has small scratches and imperfections [even a brand new lamp will not stay perfect for long once exposed to the elements, right? And how perfect was the 5-year old lamp I broke?] and that the insurance accredited repair facility is not good enough for them also.

What they want is a brand new taillamp and the seemingly minor repair to be done by ALEX Car Restoration (one of the most expensive shops in the area). And ALEX wants Php12k to do the job. Unfortunately, the insurance only sees the damage as worth Php6k and that's just how much they gave my cousin as their cash settlement. So now my cuz wants me to cough up the difference.

It's not really the money that irks me. Nakakaasar lang kasi parang hindi kami closed knit family (dalawang families na lang kaming naiwan sa 'Pinas). Ang dami kong kakilalang shops who would do the job for even less than the insurance estimate and still do a good job. Still they insist dun pa sa pinakamahal dalhin. It's just a minor rant but it was something I didn't expect especially coming from close relatives. The vehicle isn't even anywhere near mint condition to deserve Alex's work.

Ayun lang, sana pala winasak ko na lang para mas sulit ang bayad sa Alex...
Hindi naman ata nagmamadali sa bayad, medyo nagulat lang ako sa pagpa-pagawaan.

***btw, this thread might be deleted in a few days...

[Horsepower]

Hmmm baka mapakiusapan mo pa.. 5yrs na pala yun eh dapat 5yrs old din palit mo bakit bnew hinihingi??? parang ginugulangan ka na nun ah

[OTEP]

Ayoko namang isiping ginugulangan.

Pero siguro kung sasakyan ko naman ang nabangga nila with the same level of damage, hindi naman ako mag-iinsist na sa mahal pa ipagawa using all brand-new parts. In all probability, I'll just have my vehicle repaired sa shop na kakilala para hindi magastos. Pumayag nga akong gawing DIY project ni chieffy yung bumper ko back in his Caltex days [salamat nga pala ulit, chieffy].

Nung nasabit ng Patrol ni odell Pajero ko, hindi na din naman ako nagdemand ng malaki sa kanya. Pambili lang ng pintura at konting pang-abot sa pintor nagka-ayos na kami.

[NightRock]

ganyan talaga hindi lahat ng tao katulad at kasing bait mo Doc Otep.. charged it to exp. nalang.. pero ang mahal naman ng atras mo 12k hehehe

[CaRGirL]

oh well... you really can't expect much from a family member, no matter how close you are...

[Trajano]

it's harder to settle trouble with a relative kasi mas alam nila ang capability mo to pay. nangyari na rin yan sa akin. like what you said mas mabuti pa na winasak mo na lang, mas sulit pa. pero syempre talagang nakakaasar pero sa bandang huli you would still love them. dahil sabi mo nga dalawang pamilya na lang kayo na nandito sa pinas. lambing lang nila sa iyo yan, yon na lang ang isipin mo.

[BoEinG_747]

tama ka ,hindi ang pera or gastos ang nag papasama ng loob mo

kundi iyon pag balewala ng pagiging mag kamag anak ninyo .
lalo na ilan na lang pala kayo natitira dito sa pinas na mag kamag anak
na dapat nag dadamayan at nag uunawaan ,
sad to say hindi pa nila naibigay sa iyo

wish lang sana hindi yan ang pag umpisa ng pag ka roon nyo ng alitan
at mag bago sana desisyon nila sa ipagawa sa mas cheaper na shop or sa kakilala mo

[the_wildthing]

What do the old folks say?

Legally there's no escape, but if treated as a family matter, maybe the parents/grand-parents can help straighten things out.

[Trajano]

well, if you're capable to pay the damage, then do so with much gusto. that way, they won't see you so-so. there's a lot of juice in you than them. at least now, you already know those relative of yours who are worthy of you favor.

[ian_rex]

sir otep, supposed you give in to their demand. ok lang yun. pero next time ingat na lang. saby biro: "that wold be the last time you can rip me off". tapos iwas ka na lang. nakakalungkot lang kasi may mga taong ganun...

[oldblue]

biruin mo na lang sige bago na kabit natin pero pakainin mo ko sa contis ha

[RedHorse]

pahirapan mo syang maningil...

ie, pumayag kang pagawa sa alex, then ibitin mo bayad, di naman nya mapapa-release yon. he he he

[alwayz_yummy]

ang masakit nga dun ung somewhat "inconsiderate" na kamaganak.......ko sanay na, di naman ko close sa relatives ko sa father side...come and go lang naman sila pag dadating dito,e...matagal na ang 30 mins...and to think galing pa sila sa atimonan,quezon(177km from manila)..ang maganda lang dun, less gastos for pakain, kasi ayaw din naman nila dito kumain...

[swordsman]

doc, bawi ka na lang pag nagpa-opera sayo...hehehe. joke.

yan ang nakakasama ng loob, yang mga ganyang kapamilya. you would expect them to be more considerate, pero minsan kabaligtaran. di mo naman mapalitan ang kapamilya mo. dyan nag-uumpisa yong pagkakawatak-watak ng mga magkakamag-anak most of the time. bigay mo na gusto kung kaya mo ng matahimik na, but don't ever forget about it.

sabi nga: God gave us friends, to make up for your family (or something like that). Kaya andito kaming lahat na friends mo, sumusuporta

[mazdamazda]

OTEP... for the meantime siguro just give in to his "demands"... for the sake of the family.

But be wary of your demanding cousin in the future. Kung ganyan kaliit na fender bender eh ayaw nya mag compromise... paano pa kung bigger issues in the future (lalo na ang mana).

[chieffy]

12k kalahating presyo na iyan ng pagpapahilamos...di talaga lahat ng tao kasingbait mo 'Tep kaya isipin mo na lang na di bale nang magpalugi nang husto, kamag anak naman...

bawi ka na lang sa kanya sa ibang bagay next time...

[Chip]

think of this as an early warning na ganyan ugali nya.

pay up, then steer clear of this guy in any family business. mas maganda nang nalaman mo tunay na kulay nya with a small thing such as this, rather than duke it out in court over larger property later.

[johnart]

otep,
Its a better to pay it up and let them sign that they recieved the cash and quits na. Better fix up the problem this early because this is where families start to quarrel because of really small petty things.

[falken]

IMo, give in to his demands na lang, iba ibang ugali kasi ng tao kahit magkakapatid pa minsan may di nagbibigayan.

[BlueBimmer]

look at the bright side, now you know his/her true colours