My GTI vs. University Golf Cart PICS

Hi Everyone,
I'm new here so I will first introduce myself.
I am from Italy. Born and raised in Florence. I came to the U.S. back in 2012 cuz I was accepted into a Uni to do a 4 year undergraduate bachelor's in Finance.

Here is what happened, I parked my Black 2010 GTI in a safe spot (or so I thought) in the back of my Uni. I went to work out and once I'm done, as I walk back to my car, I notice a paper on my windshield... the first thing I think is " Shot not another ticket from public safety! lol" but as I get closer I see that that is definitely not it, the paper is too big and is taped on the windshield. I get close enough I start reading it and it says:" Sorry to inform you, but your vehicle was involved in a motor vehicle accident. If you could please contact public safety upon your arrival back to your vehicle" I freak Out I run around the car looking for the damage and then I see it, GEE the passenger door was smashed and my rear rim was scratched I go to Public safety they tell me to call my insurance!!:iono: I tell them I want to talk to theirs instead. they tell me I should call back tomorrow during business hours. I then tell them I want to report the accident to 911 they said they already filed a report and there's no need to call 911. I never had any accident in the U.S. before. I'm not too sure how the system works. Also I don't know how bad the damage actually is. My Car has exactly 95K miles on it. Can anyone tell me how I should go about all of this, and how much you guys I should expect to receive for the repair. Thanks in Advance to everyone that took the time to read this and answer me! :thumbsup:
See pics below.

911 is for emergencies only. You do need to file a police report - that's generally required by insurance. You can call the insurance company and they will tell you what you need to do if you're not sure.

Rims can usually be fixed up rather easily for pretty cheap. I'm sure you can find a rim repair guy around you... they do good work. For the passenger door, I'm feeling that's going to be an expensive one as shaping that metal back can be tough (if not impossible)... so you may need a new bare door.

Every US state has a minimum damage requirement in order to file a police report. In NJ, it's $500. I'm nearly confident the damage to your car is over that, so find your nearest police station and report it asap. They may or may not give you a report number (sometimes it takes a number of days/weeks). If they do, you'll need to give this to your insurance.

I'm not sure how your insurance will handle this, but do give them a call and report it. Where ever you parked, see if there is a local business nearby... if so, they usually have cameras and most companies will gladly show you their footage so you can grab some information. If you do know who did it though, this isn't needed as they already admitted fault.

Hope that helps.

Tjasko,
I didn't file a police report cuz my uni's public safety told me they handled everything and filed a report themselves.
Camera wise I don't think there's any available cuz i was parked in my uni campus behind the gym.
An employee of my university crashed into my car with a golf cart...
I will be selling my car in 1 year. is my carfax and therefore car value going to be affected by this accident? I also have a water pump leak (GTI's curse), Can I add that into the repair cost? lol

Just because your Uni's public safety filed a report doesn't mean much. Did they file an internal report for themselves OR did they actually call the police to file a police report? The two are very different. You need to find out which and still call your insurance.

I'm personally not sure about carfax but you can't add the waterpump to repair cost. there is also no need to because your car has a service bulletin for the waterpump and will be replaced for free if you bring it in.

Yep go to your university and request a copy of the report they have. If it is not a actual police report your insurance company will most likely require that.

As others have stated call your insurance company and ask how you should proceed. they most likely will be rather helpful and do it as you arent at fault, assuming your car was parked in a clearly marked parking spot.

If you can prove "diminished value" you can claim that as well. It can be difficult but if you are persistent it can be done. We made a claim when my wife's car was hit. You have to deal directly with their insurance company. You need to prove the car cannot be sold for what it was worth prior to the accident.

Follow-Up:
Yesterday I was in NYC driving when the Low Oil Level engine off light goes off on the dashboard, so I pull over turn off the engine and let it cool! Could It be that the oil pan is now leaking after the impact? I had my service done a week ago. SMH

theres no way a dented in door would cause an oil leak. check for leaks under the car. the place you took it to may have messed something up.

If you just got a service my guess is a loose drain plug bolt or filter... Those pics look like less than a 5mph collision and shouldn't be any way it would cause you to loose oil.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS file a Police report, they will tell you if there is one filed or not...
I didn't file a report for a minor fender bender, one of those exchange insurance info and move on, well the asshat that hit me never replied or answered the insurance companies requests for information and so they denied my claim, and I had to file it under mine, and I have a $500 deductible....

If there was a police report, then his insurance company would have paid for it, no deductible. So from now on, the police are always involved.

epat said:

ALWAYS, ALWAYS file a Police report, they will tell you if there is one filed or not...
I didn't file a report for a minor fender bender, one of those exchange insurance info and move on, well the asshat that hit me never replied or answered the insurance companies requests for information and so they denied my claim, and I had to file it under mine, and I have a $500 deductible....

If there was a police report, then his insurance company would have paid for it, no deductible. So from now on, the police are always involved.

Click to expand...

This even if you have to wait in a scenario like a hit and run or something always get a report