Minor car accident - advice?

[Renault78law]

About a month ago, I'm in the middle of making a 3-point turn in a residential neighborhood, and get hit by a car. It was totally his fault. He was going pretty slow: it's just minor damage. I get all his info (except his insurance because he didn't have his card with him), and all is well.
The estimate turns out to be about $700. I've been calling, but I can't get ahold of him. This, in itself, doesn't really worry me because I have his driver's license number and his tags. I can always call my insurance company to file a claim, and THEY can track him down. The thing is, if I get it fixed, it'll take at least 4 days, and I'll have to foot the rental car cost (because it's not covered in my policy).
I don't really care about my car, it's a POS anyway - is it worth it to pay the rental car fee? I'm thinking of letting the accident slide, but on the other hand, I feel like I lost something. Any ideas?

 

[vero_group]

Count your blessings if you get your car back in four days -- I got hit April 23 and I am finally getting my Audi back from the body shop tomorrow. It's been fixed for three weeks, sitting in the body shop's parking lot; it was the other driver's insurance company that dragged its feet in paying the body shop. I rented a car from an elderly friend and I will be submitting an invoice to the insurance company for the maximum they reimburse per day for a rental car. We'll see how long they take to pay that bill...

If your car is truly a POS, why get it fixed and suffer through all the headaches and insurance bureaucracies? If you do get it fixed, you can rent a car for about $25 per day if you get a small deathtrap on wheels kind of car. But, what's four days in a tiny car. No biggie. And it's only $100. Maybe $150 will all the taxes and insurance added on.

If you're intent on getting it fixed, keep hounding him for about 5 more days. Then, give up and file with your insurance company. But, don't expect either insurance company to move very quickly or provide very good customer service to you as your claim is processed and your car gets repaired. Using an attorney throughout the process could help give you some more respect from everyone, but it will cost you more than the claim itself most likely.

Finally, if you were making a three-point turn, weren't you impeding his right of way? Shouldn't you have waited until he passed before making your turn?

 

[GQ Lawyer]

You can always have your insurance agency contact his insurance. I have been able to negotiate free rental cars with the opposing driver's insurance company before. It is worth a shot.