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I know weird stuff goes on in California but marrying your son sounds more like West Virginia.

And then while your wife’s mother watches sounds more like Florida??

Only if they are over 250 pounds

OK, I lose.   My wife did bark at my son to stay put as I was skidding towards them, she did her part to protect bambi. Since I wrote that she was driving at that time, or since he was driving and she was the insured I may have been thinking of that possible issue being in print? I probably decided since she made the call to protect Bambi she should be blamed. I will stick to that. My son was home on leave from the Army, Germany at that time, he drove up and joined us for the last day of that lake trip.
That is why we had two cars and my wife chose to drive with him on the way home as I followed.   My other son was about a mile ahead of both of us, if he had stayed with us we could have wrecked his car too!

Someone needs to pull an engine out and create a distraction quick.
Not sure what state that would cover.

Ken0 - are the rumors true that you always write in the "real" price of cash exchanged on the title (or typed up bill of sale) when buying from an individual? Please say it isn't so

burban65 wrote: Ken0 - are the rumors true that you always write in the "real" price of cash exchanged on the title (or typed up bill of sale) when buying from an individual? Please say it isn't so

Sadly for me, they're true

Since I live in the "Live Free or Die (and pay no sales tax) State" it really doesn't matter, but like Gary said they get you other ways.

Now whatever somebody does and decides to put on the internet for the world to see, well that's up to them I guess   

For everyone that scams the system someone else is picking up the slack. Do your part.

Geesh, you guys are sure throwing Mark under the bus....

I did not consider it fraud, it just allowed us to proceed without needing statements from my son as he was headed back to his assignment in Germany.

I had to pay $1,000 deductable on my boat and the wifes BMW, I put a new rear bumper on the Tahoe myself but I could have left it, it just had a scratch in the Chrome, was not even bent, I caused the wreck and I was responsible for each, and I owned each.   So no benefit was taken or needed in this case.
I was really wishing I had not chosen the $1,000 deductable option that day!

With that said, I was rear ended in my 3/4 ton Suburban while at a stop, A car plowed into us going 50 MPH +, my wife was injured badly, spine damage in 2 areas. By the time I finished checking on her and got out of the car the people that hit us had all jumped out of their car, which was owned by the grandfather who was not there, two people gathered empty beer bottles out of that car and ran and jumped a fence and then continued running away. I saw them but could not leave my injured wife and chase them. One stayed and claimed to be driving. He was younger and sober, I know he got out of the back seat.   I told the cops, showed them the dumped empty beer bottles and they showed zero interest in chasing them or pursuing drunk driving charges, they had a driver or at least a person claiming to be the driver and would not pursue anything.
My wife ended up needing a surgery on her back, has nerve damage and will never be 1/2 of what she was before this wreck and these drunk kids got a free pass.
I saw one of them that escaped being treated the hospital. They had his shirt off and he had a seat belt bruise from his neck to his belt line.   Cops did not care.
So no, I do not feel any guilt for simplifying my form and taking responsibility for the costs.
It is not like someone else picked up my bill or did the repairs.

I'm kinda curious what Grandpa's car was that these drunk kids were driving since it could ram into you at 50 plus mph and they could quickly get out and be able to run away.

It sounds like the world's safest car

McD: At least you had insurance. Here in the west, there is a significant problem with people operating motor vehicles with no insurance. The illegal alien community (I refuse to refer to them as "undocumented") is a major contributor to the uninsured motorists problem. I was rear-ended by an "illegal" driving a p-o-s pick-up. No insurance. No legal drivers license. The dude was shocked when I spoke to him in Spanish (I'm fluent in Spanish and Portuguese). Señor Illegal Alien admitted that he was from El Salvador and was living in the US "on the sly". I was forced to pay the deductible on MY insurance to have my wife's Suburban repaired.

Back to insurance...At the end of the day, insurance is designed to restore you, as close as possible, to your previous state. Insurance companies just love to find ways to deny a claim so as to avoid payment. That sux. They certainly didn't deny taking your premium payment and depositing it in their bank. To me it looks like McD was simply hoping to avoid any unnecessary complications on what appears like a legitimate claim. I say "no harm, no foul".

JQ

I hope you guys did not think I was yelling at anyone, I was not offended by the statements above but I am still embarrassed that I took time to look at a deer running by when I should have been on my brakes, the wreck was my fault. Snow Ski season is in full tilt in N Calif and I work Ski Patrol on weekends as a volunteer.   I depart at 5:30 Am and get home at 7 -7:30 PM. It is fun but at my age I am tired at the end so did not hit the computer at all.

Ken, the car that hit us was a Ford Tempo, they are not big cars and the Engine on the tempo hit solid on my trailer hitch on the Suburban so the trailer hitch and frame took the impact, the body of the Suburban looked almost un hit, close inspection showed a ripple in the Roof and down one side but it was hard to spot but it was still totalled. The Tempo was crushed nearly to the windshield.
The Suburban took the hit well but the main impact on the frame transferred a lot of the impact to us inside, we would have been better off if the body crushed and absorbed the hit. My wifes passenger seat broke so she was damaged more.   If you have not ever been rear ended it is hard to explain the damages. For about a year I could not control my right hand due to nerve damage, I would pick up a cup and it would fall out. It is good now but I never got back the ability to sign my old signature, I can get close but don't have the dexterity any more. Hung my Christmas lights last week and it causes a major headache to look up.   I got off easy these are not issues that affect my life. My wife took the brunt of it and was badly damaged. The Gandpa had insurance which was about equal to my wifes medical bills. He got the short end of this. The grank kids scated.

JQ, sorry about the impact you had, fluent in 3 languages is impressive, I had 4 years of Spanish and at 21 could read, write and listen well but never could speak at a level that was considered good, after 40 years without use it has all faded away. Good for you for mastering.   Went to Europe once and I was amazed that nearly everyone could speak multiple languages.
California made it legal for illegals to get a legal drivers licence? Only in CA would this idea pass. They thought it would help illegals get legal insurance. It just makes it easy to look like a legal citizen.   They even give the test in Spanish to help them pass. Oh well, we still have a lot of uninsured and it is not just Spanish or illegals, I bet 35% of cars in CA are not insured.

Ken, before you state someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes maybe you should just ask for more facts. I am not an engineer and never did any calcs to verify or check the speed but I can tell you what I know.
It was at night, Thanksgiving night, we were trying to merge onto HWY 50 at Watt ave Eastbound from Watt Ave South in Sacramento about 10 PM. The merge is very odd because this onramp separated from the Fwy by the curb that was between 1/4 mile and 1/2 mile long.   They have changed that on ramp some since this accident. Cars come around the on ramp about 30-35 MPH and accelerate to merge on the Hwy where speed limit is 65 MPH.
We were taking the on ramp, at night, I got up to about 40-50 and suddenly saw a black Honda in my lane dead, no lights with a young man pushing the car. At night and in the rain he is pushing a black Honda. I slammed on my brakes and stopped.
Just at this point there was another car on the side of this same onramp broken down and a Wrecker was there hooking up this car with all his Lights Flashing. It was Damn good luck that I saw the Honda in spite of the Wreckers Lights flashing. The Honda was bout 100 yards east of the Wrecker on the same road.
I could have gone off the road and around the Honda and proceded home.
I felt the young man would have been killed by the next car to come along because of the wrecker distraction and black car at night. I told my wife we need to stay behind him till he gets the car off the road and out of the way. I turned on my flashers and did this.
I am about 20 feet behind the Honda.   I told my wife to lean back we are probably going to get hit when I saw the Tempo come around the off ramp.   He was about 1/4 mile behind where I was parked.   The Tempo kept coming and accelerating.   I was pumping my brakes and still had the flashers going trying to get the Tempo to see us, My Suburban was White and big, I had 285 - 16 BF Goodrich tires on it so good traction but it was raining.
The Tempo kept coming showing no sign of seeing us, I assume because of the wrecker and his flashing lights.   I told my wife again and for a third time, he does not see us lean back in your seat which is exactly what I did, never heard any brakes at all but it was raining, he slammed into us, thank God it was a small car. The Suburban lifted in the rear and slid about 15 feet forward, I am pretty sure of this because I was about 20 feet behind the Honda blocking for the guy pushing his car. I stayed hard on the brakes trying to keep the Honda driver alive.
We did not hit him but were within 5' or so when I stopped.
After the hit a Caddilac came blasting past us at about 65 MPH swerving around the Tempo, the Suburban and the Honda, he went out on the dirt, around us and back on without crashing or stopping. if one of us had opened a door it would have been ripped right off, If he had hit the Tempo we would have been in big trouble and hurt much worse.
4 cars on the freeway side of the 6" curb divider were looking at our accident and slammed into each other so now we had 3 different accidents and a Wrecker still loading a car in pretty much the same spot.   It was a mess.
So how fast was the Tempo rolling, how the hell would I know exactly but it was fast and accelerating. The 2,800 pound Tempo totaled my 6,000 pound Suburban by bending the Frame and flexing the body leaving a crease accross the roof and down one side.
The Crease was hard to see but I have to believe it takes a lot of force to hit a frame and bend a Suburban body enough to leave a crease behind.
I have mentioned I told my wife to lean back in her seat 3 times. Absolute fact I told her 3 times.   Where was she when we were hit.   At the moment of impact she decided that so much time had gone by that I must have been wrong and she twisted in her seat and looked back right when we got hit.   The result was a lot of damage to her Lumbar region and more damage to the Thorasic region of her spine.   They fused 3 vertebre in her Lumbar and said it was far too dangerous to try and fix her Thorasic region so it will remain damaged for her life. Prior to this she was a dang good athlete.   She is alive and needs medication every day to function at a semi good level had to retire from work due to injury.. On a good day you would think she is fine, on a bad day she sits in pain her face is grey color and does not even wish to converse.   She is tough and still threatens to kick my butt if I get out of line. And still hard headed but I like a spunky woman.
My estimate is more than 50 MPH at impact. I am sure they were distracted by the Wrecker, the night and the rain, the fact they had booze open in the car probably played a part.
I think the Engine Block of the Tempo hitting my trailer hitch may have helped by letting the entire engine cradle and support help stop the car. Maybe the Rain and slick street helped absorb some of the impact. I know the Suburban slid forward and I was very afraid I was going to crush the guy in the Honda.   Later after the police conversation the Honda driver came up and Thanked me, said I had saved his life seemed very concerned about my wife and then asked to borrow $20 to get home. I did it and gave him my business card so he could pay me back.   HE NEVER DID and I did not get his name. I am still mad at him for first causing this and then stiffing me for the $20.
He opened his trunk to grab something and I saw he had a large Nitros bottle plugged into the back of his Honda so he was a Racer, the Nitros bottle might have helped make a large explosion if he was hit. There should be laws about how and where those are mounted.
The Grandpa had insurance and those reps started showing up at our house within 3 days asking us to settle. I will say they were professional and nice but they were trying to avoid a lawsuit because my wife was hurt badly.   We had to get an attorney and the insurance did pay out 100% of policy value but it was barely more than her Medical bills and attorney costs and did not begin to approach her actual damage.   I do not recommend going through one of these situations.
Now that you know the details Ken, please calculate the exact speed because I am not sure how to do that..

Mark, I must say that you are an absolute gentleman.