I had this very strange small car accident and I’d like you to tell about it. Collisions sometimes do have a happy ending. This could only happen in Costa Rica.
I went to buy some medicines in a Farmacia (Drug Store) in Rohrmoser. This place is at least 50% or cheaper than many others. The price differences are incredible and well worth finding out despite the parking problem. The pharmacy is located on a busy Rohrmoser Boulevard with two lanes each way.
Backing out
I parked normally and went to leave. I had to be careful backing out onto this busy road so I wouldn’t have a car accident paid all my attention to checking the cars coming east to west down the boulevard. Of course, I did not expect to back into a taxi. The taxi was double parked (parallel parked) in the middle of the road and the small car accident happened.
It is so hard to imagine what he was doing there. He must have double parked waiting for a client and stayed there when the other car left. The taxi driver of course apologized.
The red car is the taxi and the black car is mine. It is hard to understand the location!!!
The police
We called both the Transit police and our insurance guy who came and took pictures after checking driving licenses and car papers. The taxi driver was not the owner of the taxi. My wife who is Costa Rican was with me and the car is in her name. They now do not take any statements anymore after the car accident.
The damage
After we split the cars up and moved them and the cop’s motorbike away from the traffic, we could see the damage. The taxi had a very small bump on his plastic bumper. My car had the bumper pushed in and had come out to the side.
All cars these days are mainly plastic unless you pay probably over $80,000 for a luxury 4×4.
Procedure
The policeman spoke to us about procedure and suggested we settle amicably with the owner or
- This goes to court in few years and both parties would probably have to pay a fine, especially me ($400).
- There would be a lien on the vehicle so you cannot sell and this lean would show in the registry even after the court removes it so future buyers could assume a very bad crash.
- The judges would probably just tell each party to repair their own cars anyway.
Our options
We then looked at using our insurance and the traffic policeman advised otherwise. From another experience when in a car accident, I know we would have to pay a deductible of $500. The bumper costs $800 which has to be bought from the dealership. Then an INS insurance approved repair shop would charge approx. $600 for a 20-minute job. You know the type of repair shop they wear uniforms and have clean hands. No real mechanic has clean hands ever!! As a result, our insurance may go up. This is a terrible system and all take advantage. We would also have to wait for months for the spare part.
The best repairman
We continued chatting with the traffic policeman who suggested we fix the car ourselves. He told us that he had worked before in a “Taller”. He then got under the car in full uniform and started banging and pushing the plastic. This was then followed by pushing and banging on the side panel with his hands. In 5 minutes he had it fixed. The bumper was almost as new, until the next car accident. He then drove off on his motorbike with many thanks from us.
ONLY IN COSTA RICA.
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Author Barry Ashworth is our affiliate Partner at Westside San Jose real estate specialist covering Sabana, Escazu, Ciudad Colon and Santa Ana. Barry has over 20 years of experience selling Costa Rica real estate in the area and thousands of satisfied clients. Barry Ashworth is British and after working 15 years in England and other countries, had the great fortune to discover the paradise of Costa Rica.
