SpinninAgain!

What???? That makes absolutely zero sense.

Collateral is something of value you can legally sell to recover losses if someone who owes you money defaults on their obligation. Your RX-8 is collateral for the bank that gave you the car loan. Your parent's house is collateral for the bank that wrote their mortgage. Your grandfather's gold watch is collateral for the money the pawn shop owner lent you for it.

How is somebody else's driver's license collateral? You can't sell it (legally). If you try it's certainly a NY state criminal offense and, these days, probably a federal offense too. You should not have taken it. You should have insisted that she stay put until a police officer arrived, or reported her for evading responsibility (a felony in most states) if she refused.

Having her license doesn't prove anything. She could have called the DMV the next day and reported it lost. If you showed up in court claiming, "I have her driver's license so that proves she hit me.", they'd be LOL for a week.

You have three choices:
1) get a report from the police officer who saw the scene and go after her insurance or,
2) rely on her honesty or,
3) pay for repairs yourself, with or without your insurance, if neither of the above works out.

Good luck. I hope it works out. But always get a police report after an accident. (Unless you were at fault of course. In that case, just give them your driver's license and leave before the cops arrive!)

rx8cited

Does driver's license as collateral evidence work for you?

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Collateral :

Serving to support or corroborate: collateral evidence.

SpinninAgain!

It would, if this were a murder case.

But for a fender-bender that's just academic. No big city traffic court judge is going to waste time reviewing "collateral evidence" in the absence of a police report. Without that there's no accident to corroborate, with that there's no need to corroborate. You have to be practical.

SilverEIGHT

slllygrl10, You need to add your vote to the "Color of wrecked 8" poll thread:

https://www.rx8club.com/polls-70/color-wrecked-rx8-46877/

slllygrl10

Collateral didnt come out from my mouth hers! Ok now come down people its all getting take care of. If she has no insurance then my insurance will pay. I got an estimate its 725. Just need to get a new rear bumper and I think the license lamp or something its also broken. I have full coverage. I will leave it to my insurance company to hunt her *** down.

rX8rEdLiNe

Silly Gurl, sorry to hear about all your troubles. I hope everything gets straighten out for you very soon. Maybe she was mesmerised by the gorgeous rear view (The RX-8 I mean...although maybe you do as wel...pix?l =) like a deer seeing headlights?