Car show disaster

[chargerdon]

My auto club the PiedmontCCC held its annual fund raiser car show for all cars/trucks over 25 years old this past Saturday.   The show was held at the Midway Baptist church which donated the use of their huge parking lot for us.  PiedmontCCC members do not compete but bring our classic cars and park them along the side of the parking lot which is tiered as the parking lot itself is very steep and paved.  The event contestants after getting their car picture taken park in the tiered lots with two cars to every three spaces.   

The Parking lot is so huge that the Church owns and loans out its 4 passenger extended length golf cart and it was driven by one of our PiedmontCCC members to bring spectators to the end of the lot where the vendors were located and the Porta Potties.

At the end of the show after the 25 different trophies were handed out the driver of the cart went stopped it at a 45 degree angle on the steep driveway to let out a person to near their car, and got out of the car without Properly setting the parking brake (its just a push down step on the normal brake to lock it in place).   He then got out of the cart to get something and predictably the cart rolled backwards down the steep driveway and struck my 74 Challenger in the drivers side front fender/bumper doing considerable damage.  I believe the fender will need to be replaced as well as the lower valence and the side marker light and the turn signal in the valance.  In addition the piece called the front outer grill header panel which surrounds the headlights on both sides and is one piece made of fiberglass is broken around the fender and cracked in the middle will probably need to be replaced and the only ones i can find for it are hand formed in canada.  Lastly the bumper seems ok but is shoved about a half inch or more towards the passenger side.  I presume that the bumper supports and bent and will need straightening.  All told i guess about $1500-2000 worth of parts plus labor and of course painting.   I am so worried about the painting as its Plum Crazy (FC7) and ill bet it is super difficult to match !!  DAMN

Ill post pics later today...

I called the police to come in and provide a report and now the fun begins. First the asshole who left the cart there didn't even have the decency to come to me and say sorry.  Instead he says i did nothing wrong.  ASSHOLE.   A NC State Trooper came and was very nice and of course wanted to know who hit it and when told it was the 6 passenger golf cart and no one was in it he then said well who owns the cart.   I told him it belongs to the church and they allowed it to be used by us for the show.  He said then he needs the contact information of the church as they will be held liable.   Our club president states NO NO i don't want the church involved as they didn't do anything and we don't want to jeopardize the using of the parking lot for next years car show.  I said well then i want the Club to be responsible do we have insurance for this kind of problem and got vague we think so responses but EVERYONE thought that since i have Haggerty insurance for the car to just put in a claim and they will take care of it and recognize that since it wasn't a moving violation that they wont even raise my rates.   I think i have 500 deductible and if necessary the club would cover that.   Hmmmmm   

Lastly, there was a County Deputy Sheriff offduty there who said tell the state police that you don't want an accident report filed as if they do that report will go on the cars title as being in an accident and would hurt the resale value of the car.   Jesus..  The state trooper said that he can hold the report in his system for up to a week and i could call them if i wanted the report entered.   He had printed off a copy of the report for me but said its worthless unless he files it.

Monday i will contact my insurance company who is the bearer for the Haggerty insurance and see what they think.   My believe is that Haggerty is going to want to know who is at fault.  Well who is a fault is the asshole who put the cart there and got out without properly setting the brake.  But being that it wasn't his car he would be personally liable and i doubt that he is covered by anything and trying to get him to pay would be difficult to say the least.   I also don't want the Church to be involved but i have to protect myself first.     HHHMMMMMM   

[Brads70]

Ah man , so sorry to hear this. I'll be very shortly getting mine back from the body shop after an accident that happened almost 2 years ago now. I had trouble finding someone to work on it till last Feb. I also have Hagerty and they were really great to work with.
AS for the header panel out of Canada , if its this place  showcars-bodyparts
I'd suggest looking else ware.... they have a horrible reputation. Find a good used one!
Sucks that this happened but at the beginning of car show season too is a real kick in the pants!

[chargerdon]

here is the picture

[dodj]

Well that's a pain in the a$$. Hope whatever path you choose it works out. No easy choices there.

I have a header panel that it not in good shape,  but if you end up repairing your existing one,  it may be able to donate a section.  I'm in Canada though. Shipping is a little high when you cross the border.

[chargerdon]

yes, its showcarsbob  as the vendor.   Darn...  i dont see any used ones on ebay...any suggestions where to look ?   I dont want to have to go to Carlisle ... 

[JH27N0B]

Man that's terrible.  I'm sure Hagerty will take care of you but it still sucks.
Insurance companies try to recoup losses on claims, and will go after the owner of the golf cart and/or whomever authorized the careless driver to use it.  I hope that doesn't jeopardize future shows there, but that's just how it works with insurance claims.
I go to a lot of car events and get nervous about damage.  Last year I had two close calls at cruises.  First one, I arrived and entered behind a high end custom car owned by a well known custom shop.  He crept along with me behind him, people taking pics and such as we slowly wound down the aisles in the lot.  We get by the DJ who yells to the guy he saved a spot for him.  The guy then pulls off to the right, at the end of the aisle, I proceed left to continue seeking a parking spot.  Well he pulls up 50', the starts backing up.  Tiny rear window and no one guiding him.  I'm like oh sh!t he's going to back into me!!  I gunned it, I'm in my vert and I can see all the spectators jaws dropping watching the impending crash.  I kept going, no one in front of me.  Somehow he missed me thank goodness. How could he be so careless not having anyone guiding him in a car with next to no rear visibility??
Then a few months later an old codger in an ancient Model T arrives at a cruise, seems to be having trouble with the clutch and steering.  Starts backing up jerking and heaving, backing right toward the rear quarter of my convertible.  I yelled Stop and he did, he apologized and was more careful then getting his car in the spot.  Makes me think it's too risky to take my car to events!

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Sux big time... sorry

[71vert340]

It looks from the photo that the header panel might be able to be repaired. I'd take everything apart once you make your decision on the report filing and with the insurance company. Decide what can be repaired and what must replaced, then go from there. You may be able to do a lot of it yourself. Youtube can be your friend in the repairs if you tackle it yourself.
 Terry W.

[RUNCHARGER]

Terrible day. Header panel can be repaired. If car club doesn't want you to file a report then they should do what a car club is supposed to do and band together to help you out, otherwise do what you have to do. Golf cart driver deserves to be taken out back and dealt with. I think the police should be involved, reports made above board and things will fall where they will.
Sorry for your trouble.

[Jay Bee]

Awful situation to say the least. Unfortunately it would seem there's no getting around to having the church involved. Either Hagerty approaches them, they're mentioned in the police report, or you telling them.

[70pumpkin]

So sorry to hear - that totally sucks.  I hope everything works out.

[torredcuda]

Wow, that sucks and even worse the AH didn`t come say sorry! Call Hagerty and tell them exactly what happened or you risk being caught lying and that will just complicate things. Accidents happen and whoever is liable should pay, trying to be nice will only get you screwed so let Hagerty do thier job and figure that out. Header panel can probably be fixed but just have whoever is going to do the work make that determination.

[YellowThumper]

Wow so sorry to hear this.
Unfortunately the sole liability will fall on the Church.
Dude who was driving should stand up and help out. But we all know that is unfortunately a lost commodity.
Good luck with insurance.
Other option would be to personally go after him.

[tparker]

I have a hard time believing the man that was driving the golf cart would NOT be held  accountable. If I drive another persons car in California and smack something, I can't just walk away. If I disapear, like I car jack the car or something, then  the owner can be held  liable. I would talk to the insurance and see what they say. Not sure how things are are where your at, but fender  benders  arn't recorded  on the car. DMV doesn't get a  report of a scratch or crushed front end, that is between you and the insurance company. You may get points taken off your record for a crash but they don't know  the details. I find it odd that a record would be maintained.

In any case, I hope you get it resolved  with minimal pain.

[torredcuda]

I have a hard time believing the man that was driving the golf cart would NOT be held  accountable. If I drive another persons car in California and smack something, I can't just walk away. If I disapear, like I car jack the car or something, then  the owner can be held  liable. I would talk to the insurance and see what they say. Not sure how things are are where your at, but fender  benders  arn't recorded  on the car. DMV doesn't get a  report of a scratch or crushed front end, that is between you and the insurance company. You may get points taken off your record for a crash but they don't know  the details. I find it odd that a record would be maintained.

In any case, I hope you get it resolved  with minimal pain.

I don`t think too many states track and record fender benders on older vehicles and even if they do so what- it`s an old restored vehicle so unless you are claiming it`s all original panels no one will care.