A couple things to think about... First, the minimum auto insurance coverage in PA for property damage is something like $10K. I would be surprised if this guy has more than that. So his insurance is only going to pay that $10K to your insurance...your insurance is on the hook for over that. And if they end up stiffed, your premiums might go up. Yes it's unfair. But I'd ask up front about that, before you get too far down the road. Second, I'd be surprised if they pay to put the porch back exactly like it was. Unless you have a super spankin' top of the line insurance policy (generally offered for historic homes where the millwork is custom and hard to replace), they're going to fight tooth and nail to just build it to "standard workmanship" - meaning a concrete block foundation, standard off-the-shelf columns and balusters, etc. You can try to get what you want, but I wouldn't be surprised if you get big pushback. We used to live on Swede Rd in a 200 year old former-mill that was about 6 ft off the road. While we lived there, a car hit the stone wall in front of the house and demolished part of it - his auto insurance paid to fix and we had a friend of ours who was a mason do the work. But after we sold it, a landscaping truck skidded out and took out aqbout 100 ft of wall and the corner of the porch. They fought with the insurance for about 3 years before they got the wall rebuilt - the insurance company pushed back hard against paying for the stone wall to be rebuilt using the original stones. And I think they ended up using new columns and new porch floor that wasn't an exact replica of the original. You can go in demanding what you want from the insurance company, but realistically, I doubt you'll get it, and the process of fighting them could take years. And yes, I know that sucks because it totally wasn't your fault that any of this happened (but having been on the victim end in more than a few auto accidents, I've learned that insurance companies pretty much don't care.) Since you're planning to sell the house anyway, maybe this is the time where you pick your battles (definitely hold out for the paint job, but maybe give up on the custom millwork and just do everything new with standard components). Good luck!

Have you contacted your homeowner's insurance? If not that should be your next call. They will step in and make sure the driver's insurance pays, but liability limits are often not all that large on cars. Many people would be in real trouble if they hit a Bentley or other very expensive car (the owners usually have uninsured/under-insured coverage for just this case). If you are liable for more than the policy amount, then you may be on the hook for the balance. How it proceeds depends on how much money it is and how much the insurance company thinks they can try to squeeze out of you. A judgment against someone with no assets that can be attached is not worth all that much (think 'law suit proof').

(((alisande))) Here, I'll make it the third one? Maybe. I was driving home the other day, and I had a blowout! Not just a flat tire. We heard BANG! and I said, what was that? He said maybe we ran over a rock? And then the car started to try to swerve. I did keep control and then I heard it--a flat tire. As I pulled over, it was smoking! Smelled like burned rubber to me, and it practically welded the tire to the axle?! What's worse? I just got the car in July (used, it's 18 years old) and I hadn't checked the spare to make sure it fit and was in good shape :O The equipment to change the tire didn't really fit or work well :( The jack would only turn a half turn at a time. The tire iron was too long? It kept hitting the ground. What was cool though? Someone else had fixed a flat in the exact same spot, and accidentally left a tire iron-that fit my bolts. I had another shorter tire iron, but it too, did not fit. So it took three tire irons, a lot of turning for the jack, and holding my breath for the tire to work. Yep, the tire turned out ok. I had planned to buy new tires next month, but now, I will have new tires this weekend. Two more days instead of two more weeks... hurray! Back to normal then. Whew. Now, we don't need a third car incident. How's that for closing the loop? Well, I tried!

I rarely notice vehicles of any kind backed into spaces so I paid attention while we were out running errands today. We were at Costco, Home Depot, the grocery stores, a large medical complex and went out to dinner before heading home. All total, I saw four vehicles backed into spaces and all were full size pickups, which is pretty much what I observe anytime I'm out. It makes me wonder if backing into a space is a regional practice not seen in my area or if most people tend to pull forward into a space when parking. Now, what really gets my goat is someone with a large full size pickup or SUV pulling a long trailer who takes up two+ spaces when they park due to the combined length of the vehicle/trailer. It's not the two+ spaces that bugs me; it's that they generally insist on parking near the store entrance and taking up two+ spaces with the butt end of their trailer blocking most of the lane between rows of spaces making it impossible for anyone trying to find a space to drive down the lane. These people are being rude and need to use the rarely used spaces at the edges of the parking lot so that they don't cause parking lot jams. Grrrrrrr... Edit to add that we own a full size 4x4 pickup, but always try to be polite about where and how we park. Hubby is good at backing into tight spaces, but I am a complete and dismal failure especially if any distance is involved.