Other driver backed into me in a parking lot — their insurance stalling. Fix it now or wait?

Went through almost the exact same thing last year — stopped car, someone reversed into me, no police report. I went ahead and got the car fixed because I needed it, kept every single receipt and photo I had. When they finally accepted liability about three weeks later they reimbursed me but they came back and said one part of the repair wasn't "related to the loss" and tried to knock some off. I pushed back with my before/after photos and eventually got the full amount. Moral: document EVERYTHING before the shop touches it.

That word "consideration" is doing a lot of heavy lifting and it's 100% intentional. Adjusters are trained to use language that sounds promising without actually committing to anything. If you get it fixed before they accept liability, they can use that as leverage — suddenly they want to dispute which damage was "pre-existing" or argue your shop overcharged. I'm not saying don't fix it, just go in with your eyes open and get as thorough a damage documentation as possible before any work starts.

I used to work on the inside and I'll tell you honestly — the "30 days to investigate" window is real but it's also sometimes used to see if claimants just get frustrated and go away or settle for less. The preferred shop thing is mostly a myth when it comes to liability claims on someone else's policy; they can't really force you to use their network in that situation. What they CAN do is dispute the labor rate if your shop charges more than what they consider "reasonable and customary" in your area. Get a second estimate if you can, just to show market range.

A few practical things worth doing right now regardless of when you fix the car:

1. Send the adjuster an email (not just a phone call) summarizing everything they told you about fixing it anywhere and submitting receipts. You want that in writing. 2. Ask them directly in writing whether using a non-network shop will affect reimbursement. 3. Have the shop do a written pre-repair inspection with photos attached to the estimate — some shops do this automatically, some you have to ask.

Not legal advice, just stuff that tends to matter if this ever gets disputed.

Here's the blunt version: if you need the car, fix the car. Just don't let the shop start work until you have your own thorough photo documentation — every angle, close-ups of every scratch and dent, and ideally a video walkthrough. Once metal gets straightened you lose your evidence. After that, get everything in writing from the shop and keep copies of every invoice.

Off the car stuff for a second — did you get checked out after the impact? Even low-speed parking lot hits can do weird things to your neck and shoulders that don't show up until a few days later. If anything starts aching, don't brush it off. Getting it documented medically early matters a lot if symptoms linger.

Quick question — did you actually get anything from his insurance in writing confirming what the adjuster told you about submitting receipts? Because verbal promises from adjusters have a way of getting "misremembered" later. Also, do you know for sure the other driver has active coverage? Sometimes people give you an insurance card and it turns out the policy lapsed.

Not legal advice, but one thing worth knowing: in most states, the at-fault party's insurance owes you the reasonable cost of repairs and a rental or loss-of-use compensation for the time your car was out of service — even if you didn't actually rent a car. So document how many days your car was undrivable either way. If this drags on or they deny liability despite clear facts, a free consult with a PI attorney costs you nothing and can clarify your options quickly.