My first car accident

[DGuller]

I'm coming home from the dentist cleaning appointment.  I'm out of the Battery Tunnel, driving along the West Street in Manhattan.  I see the yellow light for quite a while, so I brake at reasonable rate to a stop.  Next thing I know, I hear a loud THUMP, and feel my back of the head hitting the headrest. 

After taking a second to gather my thoughts, I get out of the car, and to my shock, I only see a deep ding in my bumper.  The girl in the car behind me asks me if I'm OK, and I ask her back.  We're both OK.  Her Scion didn't fare as well as my Jetta, though, but the damage to it wasn't fatal either.  It basically had its grill knocked in.

As it happens, we crashed right in view of the Port Authority Police SUV.  One of the PA cop motions us to pull off to the side.  He then makes sure we're both OK, and tells us to talk things out and see if we can settle this.  We both take pictures of each others' cars, I make sure to also take a picture of her license plate.  She then asks me if we can settle this without getting insurance involved, and has her mom talk to me on the phone.  Her mom tries to sell me the sob story, but I don't promise anything.  It does seem like I only have a deep gouge in my bumper, but you never know, especially with German cars.

I also come back and talk to the PA cop, and ask him if there needs to be a police report.  He says he can do it if either of us ask, but then insurance company would be involved.  He says that I can still file it within 10 days.  I take a photo of his identification, in case I need him as a witness, and decide against filing a police report.  The accident wasn't that serious, and it really seems pretty clear cut.  He again suggests that we don't get insurance involved, but also insists that we exchange our insurance information just in case (the girl was quite hesitant to do that).  We do, and we also exchange phone numbers.  We then shake hands and drive away.  The girl was cool-headed, and she did apologize a couple of times, so I have nothing against her.

So, I have a couple of questions.  Did I handle this situation the right way, or did I do something that might get me screwed?  Also, how do I go about estimating the damage?  Do I just go to my dealership?  Also, is it a good idea to not report the accident to the insurance company for me, since I'm clearly not at fault?  I've never been in an accident before, so I wasn't quite sure what the right thing to do was.

[Barrister]

You did just fine.

Yes, making an insurance claim will affect your insurance, even if not at fault.

Just take the car to the dealership or your favourite autobody shop.

[DGuller]

By the way, is a deep gouge in a bumper even worth fixing?  Could I just estimate the loss of resale value to my car, and ask for that from the girl?  I already have some minor damage on my car anyway.

Here is the bumper:

[Maximus]

Give it a couple days to make sure you're not hurt. A hit from the rear can be especially bad with neck injuries. Wouldn't surprise me if a medical insurance company would refuse to pay for treatment, claiming her liability should pay for it. Insurance companies are like that.

[DGuller]

That's it, that's all the comments Languish has about my near-fatal accident?  I'm just going to assume that you all were disappointed when you got to the end, and found out that I made it out alive.

[Admiral Yi]

You should have blackmailed the chick for trim.

Beeb, where did you get that you shouldn't report a not at fault accident?

[Maximus]

Hell you didn't even flip the car.

[MadImmortalMan]

We need pics of the girl before we can comment on how you handled the situation, of course.

[garbon]

Hell you didn't even flip the car.

Yeah this is pretty lame.

[Eddie Teach]

We need pics of the girl before we can comment on how you handled the situation, of course.

Well, he got her number at least.

[Berkut]

I would have thought your expertise from the college racing club would have made any advice I could give seem pathetic anyway.

[DGuller]

You should have blackmailed the chick for trim.

Beeb, where did you get that you shouldn't report a not at fault accident?

I do recall a discussion that I overheard in my office, from the personal auto people, several years ago.  As I gather, the data showed that even no-fault accidents in driver's were indicative of higher risk, by a not-insignificant amount.  It wouldn't surprise me if no-fault accidents can be counted against you when it comes to premiums, if the law allows, though I would be surprised if that's the rule rather than the exception.

[DGuller]

I would have thought your expertise from the college racing club would have made any advice I could give seem pathetic anyway.

Well, it did make me better at braking, evidently.

Anyway, the point of posting this thread was to make sure that I did everything correctly, and that I didn't screw myself by doing anything (like not getting a police report on the spot and such).

[Grey Fox]

Not at fault? I'm pretty sure you were at fault, mister I slam the brake the second I see a yellow light.

Francis, Insurance Rep.*

*not really.

[DGuller]

Not at fault? I'm pretty sure you were at fault, mister I slam the brake the second I see a yellow light.

Francis, Insurance Rep.*

*not really.

I was in the middle lane of a three-lane street.  The cars to the sides of me also stopped rather than went through the light, so I couldn't have been that unreasonably cautious.