Sorry about your luck, things like this happen. You should feel good about yourself for stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing. But...you wrote. "But I'm scared of getting ripped off by these car body shops who'd take down and repair a car in a way that's more costly than it should end up being." What more needs to be said? Fixing the car right, which means doing what is necessary to restore it to pre-accident condition means the shop does NOT cut corners to save on cost. If there is one thing that needs to be addressed here it is the near impossible demands of making the car right, and trying to do it "cheaper". The other party deserves to have the car repaired correctly. You, doing the right thing have taken the proper steps to see that this is getting done, and you should be commended for that. But then right away starting to fear a rip-off, when you have never seen the shop, or met the people that work there is an attitude that needs some correction. The other party wanted to file a police report, but have taken your word that would not be necessary. Treat the shop they choose with just as much respect. Now as far as the cost. Accidents happen, we all (well all of us that know we need to do the right thing) pay for and have insurance to help us out during these (hopefully) rare events. Get the estimate, and then decide if it's to your advantage to turn it into your insurance. If it is, then do so. If not, then rely on the shop to fix the car correctly, and then pay them for doing so. Then move on. Besides, you never know you just may have found a good body shop that you werent aware of previously. You never know when that information could come in handy for you, or a friend or relative. The bottom line, if my car gets damaged, and I am going to have it repaired by a pro, I know several that I would take it to in a heartbeat. They have the correct tools, the high tech paint booth, and the color paint blending equipment etc. right on site. These guys, everyone of them are easily NOT the cheapest I could go to, but then again doing the job right is what counts. They will do that without question.

You didn't say if there was any damage to her car as well. Based on your account, and IMHO you are both responsible for the accident. you left it in gear and she should've checked or gotten into the car before releasing the E-brake. Christopherh: depending on where they are located and what their deductibles are, going through the insurance company may be more expensive then just paying out of pocket. Everyone is lucky no one was injured. Maybe you should cash the check for $100 because I don't think you're going to get much more out of these folks.

When my house almost caught on fire because of a pot left on the stove, the firemen were very apologetic in their note to me about having to axe my door down. It was a pot of beans on the stove on new years eve, and I forgot about them and went bowling with my neighbor. It was the first year for me living in this house all by myself. I could not have been more grateful and sent a thank you letter to the station. They save my home and the lives of the animals in it at the time. I will never forget that in all of my life. Trin

"His theory was if the other person claimed that you had insisted on not calling the police a walk-in report would contradict this." I'm not sure in what circumstance this would ever show up or matter. Insurance companies do things sometimes to support their positions should there be a subrogation *issing contest, which is how many of them turn out. I don't think an insurance company would dismiss what its own customer tells them. "His other piece of advice were to never state you leave your car unlocked." He suggested lying? Someone with that kind of attitude isn't anyone I'd want to do business with or get advice from. Maybe factor this questionable outlook into the first bit of advice, I'm not sure this guy was a knowledgeable source of information.