Naive 86-year-old scrapes couple's car in a supermarket lot, he offers $50 cash to settle it, repair estimate comes back at $2,000: ‘He wasn't trying to get over on me, I think he really thought it was about $50.’

• 01
  
  via Getty Images

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• An old man drove into my car, then offered, "How about I give you $50 and we call it a day?"

  “As we were walking from the supermarket to our car, we watched an elderly man try to maneuver his 26 year old Buick into the space next to our car. We watched as he scraped past our car. Then, he got out, looked at our car and offered $50 to cover the damage.”

  -Durhamfarmhouse

• 02
  
  via Claudio Alba

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• There are moments in life that happen so slowly you have time to watch them unfold, register exactly what's occurring, and still be completely unable to stop them. This was one of those moments.

  A couple walking out of a supermarket on Long Island watched an 86-year-old man attempt to maneuver his 26-year-old Buick LeSabre, a four-door boat of a vehicle that had clearly been in contact with other cars before, multiple times, over many years, into the parking space next to theirs. They watched him scrape past their car. They watched him keep going anyway, as if the sound of metal on metal was just part of the parking process. They watched him get his car into the spot, realize he couldn't open his door because he'd parked too tight, and then begin backing out again, nearly hitting their car a second time.

  And then he got out, looked at the damage, and offered fifty dollars.

  Not fifty dollars as a starting point for a negotiation. Fifty dollars as a final offer. Fifty dollars delivered with the complete sincerity of a man who genuinely believed that was a reasonable number for what had just happened to someone else's car.

• 03
  
  via Centre for Ageing Better

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• "I took the car to a recommended shop near me. He gave a rough estimate of $2,000. I'm in NY and they don't require a police notification for property damage only. The auto shop owner handled the entire issue through the old man's insurance company.

  One of the worst things was watching it happen, literally in slow motion, as he just forced his way into the space. Even when he started hitting my car, he just kept going."

  -Durhamfarmhouse

• 04
  
  via - Kenny

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• To his credit, and there is credit to give here, he cooperated fully when asked for his insurance information. No argument, no drama, no suddenly remembering a very important appointment. He shook hands when they parted. He wasn't trying to get away with anything. He just had a fundamentally different understanding of what body work costs in 2024, and he was operating from that understanding with complete confidence.

  The repair estimate came back at $2,000. The auto shop owner handled the entire claim through the man's insurance company, which is exactly how it was always going to end once the information was exchanged.

  The part that stays with you is the slow motion of it all. Watching it happen. Watching him keep going even after the scrape started. The particular helplessness of seeing something bad unfold in real time and knowing there's nothing to do but stand there and document it.

  He was 86, driving a car that looked like it had been through some things, in a parking lot that's notoriously difficult to navigate even for people with full spatial awareness and a vehicle that isn't the size of a small boat.

  His family should probably get him a smaller car.

  But he shook hands and gave his insurance. That counts for something.

• 05
  
  via Erik Mclean

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• "After getting his car in the spot, he couldn't get out of his door because he was too tight on his side so he started backing back out, almost hitting my car again. I had to jump in and move it out of his way quick.

  He was 86 years old driving a 26 year old four-door Buick LeSabre (a boat). His car was really banged up. Looked like he's been hitting and scraping cars for a while. This was a supermarket lot on Long Island which is a pain in the as* to park normally. His family should really consider taking his keys away (or at least get him a smaller car!)"

  He wasn't trying to get over on me. I think he really thought it was about $50. He cooperated fully without issue when I asked for his info. We shook hands when we parted. If I was driving a shitbox (which I've driven my whole life) I would've took the $50 and walked away but we just bought this car last year and it was in great condition. It's just a huge inconvenience thus "Well, that s*cks"

  -Durhamfarmhouse

• 06
  
  via Yunus Tuğ

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• getting_ridiculous

  How about you give me your details and we'll call it a day

• vtec_go_brrr16

  Had an 88 year old woman drive through a stop sign and nailed the front end of my car, she just kept driving. I honked multiple times. We followed her for probably 2 or 3 miles until the cops made it to us and she didn’t even realize they were pulling her over, she just turned into the shopping center and parked at KFC like it was a normal day. The cops had to go tell her she’d hit a car, she was like “Oh… I thought it was a curb…”

  There seriously needs to be an age restriction where you have to regularly get retested for your license. I keep hearing about more and more incidents like this, it’s crazy

  EDIT: i believe the police did take her license and reported to the dmv that it needed to be officially taken/suspended/whatever they do lo

• Beepis2

  I hope you declined the offer

• Stormbreaker44

  I had a similar experience. Woman, 65 or so, rear ended me while I was stopped at a red light. She did a lot of visible damage to my 1 week old car. She offered me a random HomeGoods gift card, refused to provide insurance and then stated that I probably stole the car 😂. I had to call the police and she refused at first to provide them a license and of course we found out she was uninsured which is illegal in MA.

• mazurbnm

  I hope you pointed out that 50 bucks doesn't cover the cost of the body shop to take your phone call let alone replace the bumper and then make sure it fits. That's at least 2 to 3k damage.

• jefbenet

  Sure thing Gramps, can I borrow your Time Machine to back when that was actually a worthwhile value of money?

• delet_yourself

  Old people are dangerously delusional about the price of things nowdays

• Gloomy-Restaurant-42

  To be fair, when he was your age, $50 bought a 2,200 sq. ft. rambler in the suburbs.

• CrazyButRightOn

  That’s about $2500

• Fun_Incident1902

  Old man did a similar thing to my car. He asked me how much? I told him minimum $500, he balked, so I suggested we go to the body shop down the street.

  Estimate was $2500 to fix the panel, which his realtor wife wrote me a check to cover.

  Lol @ $50.

• reshun9

  He's definitely still stuck somewhere around in the 1970s

• Minimum_Sugar_8249

  MORE zeros, Buddy!

• 0xdippo

  If the bumper clips aren’t broken, could probably get it down for around $1k, but $50 won’t even cover misc materials

• Suitable_Payment6633

  No, $50 does not cover this damage—probably not even 10 percent of the damage!!

• DarkAndHandsume

  Maybe in the 1950s $50 would’ve worked but it’s 2026 and this is gonna be easy 3 to 5K fix

• QuantumPhysics996

  Wow that would have been an amazing amount and more than sufficient to cover all costs in 1962

• FloatnPuff

  Someone rear ended my 911 a few months ago and was like "it looks ok; we good?" Turns out he had no license or insurance.

  Like, no, dude. You just rear ended a 911. Ended up costing about $4k for a little tap in a gas station parking lot.

• Anarkhia00

  Did you call it a day?

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