[leasehackr]

Hey Guys

My lease car has three months left. and is supposed to return in Dec.

Yesterday uninsured motorist hit me in the mall parking garage when I was waiting to exit. My car was straight, waiting for other cars to go, and this guy started backing from his stall, not realizing I was still standing, and hit the bumper on the right side.

Only 3-4 paint scratches as I was standing still. No bumper damage or light glass damage.

The irony is this guy was 18 and had no US/State ID/license. No car insurance. The car is registered to some other guy in IL state.

He has his International Ukraine ID and Ukraine driving license. No United States residence address/Official ID proof like an apartment or college ID card. Keep telling me he is a student.

I called the cops, and they said just take all of his ID pictures and file an Uninsured motorist claim with my insurance company.

Yes, that is fine; the paint damage is very minimal. 3-4 paint scratches that can be fixed by touch-up paint from the BMW center before I return the lease.

My question is, should I file an uninsured claim for this minimum paint scratch? Will that increase my insurance premium just because I'm filing a claim despite no fault of mine?

See pictures, please.

[eelnoraa]

First thing is to file a policy report. Without that uninsured motorist claim may get rejected. This happened to my parents last year. Their forester was hit my someone with a Hunduras license, car registered to someone else and obviously no insurance. My dad didn’t call police or file report. Claim was rejected.

[TurtleBoy]

Your insurance rates should not increase due to you filing a claim but obviously they can always come up with a reason to increase if they want to.

Assuming you have collision, your Uninsured Motorist coverage does not come into play since that is for bodily injury and not property damage (should note that states have different rules, for example, some don't allow uninsured motorist property damage). You will file the claim under your collision coverage. Depending on your deductible it may not be worth filing since the damage is fairly minimal. May just want to get it fixed and then sue the driver in small claims court for the damage if he doesn't pay for it when presented the bill.

[drich]

I would go to a good body shop and get an estimate. If its under or around your deductible I wouldn't file a claim. It looks very minor.

[leasehackr]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

First thing is to file a policy report. Without that uninsured motorist claim may get rejected. This happened to my parents last year. Their forester was hit my someone with a Hunduras license, car registered to someone else and obviously no insurance. My dad didn’t call police or file report. Claim was rejected.

Yes, I called the cops and they came. Since it was underground mall parking, he told me they can't write report due to incident on private property. He said if it would have been on city road then he would have write it. I asked for one when I told them this guy doesn't have US ID, no insurance, no address.

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

Your insurance rates should not increase due to you filing a claim but obviously they can always come up with a reason to increase if they want to.

Assuming you have collision, your Uninsured Motorist coverage does not come into play since that is for bodily injury and not property damage (should note that states have different rules, for example, some don't allow uninsured motorist property damage). You will file the claim under your collision coverage. Depending on your deductible it may not be worth filing since the damage is fairly minimal. May just want to get it fixed and then sue the driver in small claims court for the damage if he doesn't pay for it when presented the bill.

Thanks TurtleBoy Yes the damage looks very small. 3 minor circle with paint gone and it's less than 1 inch in diameter. I think I can fix this with BMW touchup paint and clear coat. and then buff with polish. The thing is this guy gave me his apartment complex address and no apartment number. Probably he is illegal in the United States and doesn't want to pay anything.

Originally Posted by drich

I would go to a good body shop and get an estimate. If its under or around your deductible I wouldn't file a claim. It looks very minor.

Yes correct, my deductible is $250 for everything. Looks very minor 3 paint scratches. I can fix in less than $50 buck.

Thank you all for the advice!

[bagd0003]

Originally Posted by leasehackr

Hey Guys

My lease car has three months left. and is supposed to return in Dec.

Yesterday uninsured motorist hit me in the mall parking garage when I was waiting to exit. My car was straight, waiting for other cars to go, and this guy started backing from his stall, not realizing I was still standing, and hit the bumper on the right side.

Only 3-4 paint scratches as I was standing still. No bumper damage or light glass damage.

The irony is this guy was 18 and had no US/State ID/license. No car insurance. The car is registered to some other guy in IL state.

He has his International Ukraine ID and Ukraine driving license. No United States residence address/Official ID proof like an apartment or college ID card. Keep telling me he is a student.

I called the cops, and they said just take all of his ID pictures and file an Uninsured motorist claim with my insurance company.

Yes, that is fine; the paint damage is very minimal. 3-4 paint scratches that can be fixed by touch-up paint from the BMW center before I return the lease.

My question is, should I file an uninsured claim for this minimum paint scratch? Will that increase my insurance premium just because I'm filing a claim despite no fault of mine?

See pictures, please.

If each scratch/scuff is smaller than a credit card, BMW wouldn't care on a lease return. Since you are 3 months away, you can swing by the dealership and have them do a pre-inspection and you can ask whether or not you'd need to fix those. Plus, if you leased 3 years ago, most likely you have equity in your car and if there is a small repair needed to fix that prior to a lease return, you could negotiate with the dealer.

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by bagd0003

If each scratch/scuff is smaller than a credit card, BMW wouldn't care on a lease return. Since you are 3 months away, you can swing by the dealership and have them do a pre-inspection and you can ask whether or not you'd need to fix those. Plus, if you leased 3 years ago, most likely you have equity in your car and if there is a small repair needed to fix that prior to a lease return, you could negotiate with the dealer.

That standard is two inches, perhaps the short side of a credit card. The paint is gone on the OP's scratches so those must be fixed prior to return. That said, it wouldn't hurt to do a pre-inspection to get an idea of the cost.

[arRod1981]

This might be helpful.

[leasehackr]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

That standard is two inches, perhaps the short side of a credit card. The paint is gone on the OP's scratches so those must be fixed prior to return. That said, it wouldn't hurt to do a pre-inspection to get an idea of the cost.

yes, paint is gone. Have to fix with touch up paint and clear coat.

[leasehackr]

Originally Posted by arRod1981

This might be helpful.

Thanks for this

Unfortunately paint is gone and need touch-up paint. very less than 1 in diameter. Will post before after pictures after fix.

[leasehackr]

Originally Posted by bagd0003

If each scratch/scuff is smaller than a credit card, BMW wouldn't care on a lease return. Since you are 3 months away, you can swing by the dealership and have them do a pre-inspection and you can ask whether or not you'd need to fix those. Plus, if you leased 3 years ago, most likely you have equity in your car and if there is a small repair needed to fix that prior to a lease return, you could negotiate with the dealer.

Correct, planning to get new 2024 X5 + 2024 ix or 2024 X5 + 2024 X5 after returning current 2021 X5 and 2021 530i.

Both current cars have 20K miles on it. How do I calculate equity and get rolled into the new leases cap cost?

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by leasehackr

Both current cars have 20K miles on it. How do I calculate equity and get rolled into the new leases cap cost?

You have no equity in a lease as it belongs to BMWFS, unless you are buying it to sell or selling to a dealer. What can happen though is some dealers recognize the vehicle is worth much more than what they will be paying for it so in order to get the vehicle they will offer a discount on a new vehicle, or even buy it for more than the RV. You will need to check with the dealer to see if they are willing to do anything. To give you an idea use KBB, CarMax, etc. to get an estimated value and compare that to your RV.

[bagd0003]

Originally Posted by leasehackr

Correct, planning to get new 2024 X5 + 2024 ix or 2024 X5 + 2024 X5 after returning current 2021 X5 and 2021 530i.

Both current cars have 20K miles on it. How do I calculate equity and get rolled into the new leases cap cost?

Get 2-3 trade-in/buy quotes from other dealerships ( don't have to be BMW) and use the best one to negotiate with your dealer.

[dan1495]

Based on my recent experience I wouldn’t file a claim. After having State Farm insurance for 47 years at the last renewal the rates went up so much I switched to Progressive. It was cheaper but it would have been even less except for a $275 claim we had 2 years ago. I won’t file a claim for anything less than $2,500 in the future.

[Nikita44]

Originally Posted by leasehackr

yes, paint is gone. Have to fix with touch up paint and clear coat.

a good detailing shop can make "good enough" for turn in. Don't go through insurance, it's not worth the potential monetary impacts (insurance etc)

[leasehackr]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

You have no equity in a lease as it belongs to BMWFS, unless you are buying it to sell or selling to a dealer. What can happen though is some dealers recognize the vehicle is worth much more than what they will be paying for it so in order to get the vehicle they will offer a discount on a new vehicle, or even buy it for more than the RV. You will need to check with the dealer to see if they are willing to do anything. To give you an idea use KBB, CarMax, etc. to get an estimated value and compare that to your RV.

Make sense

couple years ago when I turned in x35i X5, dealer offer some credit and offered me lease of 530e for $400 including tax for 68K MSRP.

[cobramite]

Get one of those those scratch or chip fixerupper guys to come to your house and handle it. Dirt cheap and it will be impossible to detect.

[leasehackr]

Originally Posted by bagd0003

Get 2-3 trade-in/buy quotes from other dealerships ( don't have to be BMW) and use the best one to negotiate with your dealer.

That sounds good, thanks for the advice!

[bagd0003]

Originally Posted by leasehackr

Make sense

couple years ago when I turned in x35i X5, dealer offer some credit and offered me lease of 530e for $400 including tax for 68K MSRP.

And if you lease return with thousands of miles under the agreement, you will also get some money back from BMW later. When I turned my leas in this summer, it was about 5k under in mileage. BMW credited me back about $250.

[slicky]

Deffinetely dont file a claim. You will pay for most of the cost after your deductible and get a hit on your insurance record resulting in higher prices. Just take care of it on your own buck. Sometimes it sucks like that, but is the most logical thing to do.

[calbears]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

That standard is two inches, perhaps the short side of a credit card. The paint is gone on the OP's scratches so those must be fixed prior to return. That said, it wouldn't hurt to do a pre-inspection to get an idea of the cost.

For damage on the leased vehicle, the max charger per panel is $400. A small scratch/dent (2 to 4 inches) is $100, large scratch/dent is $400 (4-8 inches). Anything over 8 inches will be a third party inspection.