Someone hit my car in my parking lot and left a dent but no note... What do I do?

the_grimace

the_grimace

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Well, unfortunately some time between Friday night to Saturday morning, someone ended up hitting my car in my apartment parking lot. They left a sizable dent in the back end, and I am not happy, especially considering they didn't leave a note...

At this point, I'm very confused on what to do. Many have said to make a police report and make a claim with my insurance, but honestly I question if the size of the dent makes going through all the trouble worthwhile. Just making the claim itself would not be worthwhile since because it would come out of my insurance, I would need to pay a $500 deductible and I would probably end up paying the repair all out of pocket anyway.... The police report may help, in finding who hit it, and I can ask my landlord if there are security cameras in the parking lot, but I do not think there are any...

I guess I'll ask you guys, if someone left this dent in your car.... (see pics below) what would you do? Leave it.... or go through the trouble of filing police reports and what not?

IMG_0244.jpg


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apparently you should find a red car in your parking lot that has a dent, wait for the person to go to their car and kill them. I recommend an axe since it's messy and satisfying. Listen to some Phil Collins while you're doing it for extra credit.
 
I feel for you. A long while back, somebody smashed into my car and rendered the driver's side door inoperable. Left without leaving a note or anything despite being in front of a video store with only a dozen cars in the lot. I'm usually calm about things but my friends could tell I was livid; not so much about the damage but at somebody not owning up to their mistake.

File a report anyway in the event they actually find the bastard; it's stress relief if anything else. If you're fine with the dent, I wouldn't do much about it since it's cosmetic and not affecting anything critical to driving. However, if you ever see a driver of a red car with some tan scratch marks near the right front bumper, kick their ass and make sure to not leave a note. Street justice.
 
Honestly, it looks like that dent could be pulled out. I'd need clearer pictures, but I would recommend looking around/calling people in your area that pull dents. I got one pulled a few days ago for about $75 and you can't even tell there ever was an issue.

Is there any cracking of the paint, or is it just a straight up dent? It's pretty hard to tell from that pic. It looks like there might be some red paint on there as well? Maybe keep an eye out for cars in your area that are red that have a dent in them?

Other than that, you're pretty much SOL. If you file with your insurance, you're going to have to pay a comprehensive deductible. It might be cheaper to fix it out of your pocket.
 
At least the damage looks reversible, like it was mentioned before, look around to see if anyone can pull out the dent. I used to do that back in my auto body class days, it's not difficult in the slightest.
 
File the report with the police regardless. If by some miracle you find the other driver, it'll be useful if your insurance company has to go after the other party if they have no insurance. Might be why they left the scene without leaving a note.

You may want to be on the lookout in your apartment complex for a car that has a similar dent and if you do, take down their license plate and have that available if you need to find the other party.

I'd still contact your insurance company and have them do an estimate on the work, since it won't cost you anything to just find out how much it'll be to get it repaired properly. The estimate would also give you an idea if having that repair fixed would cause you to get surcharged or not if you file it with them. Having the cost of the repair gives you something to base it on if you go fix it yourself.

If the car is drivable, and from the photos it should be, you may not get it fixed because it doesn't look like it's broken the paint or exposed metal.
 
Like a poster said above, it looks like that dent could be pulled out and there should be a number of specialty places in your area that'll do it pretty cheap. If you can pay for it out of pocket it might be worth it. Reporting it to your insurance is just helping them raise your rates one day even though you weren't at fault.
 
Update: Well, it looks like I'm sort of stuck with it anyway. I looked over my insurance policy and see I opted out of getting collision coverage (basically it just covers hit and runs, or any damage I cause myself like hitting a tree/guardrail etc) I opted out because with a $500 deductible it was another $280 per 6 months... which is like 75% of my current policy. $250 deductible was well over $500 extra per 6 months...

It made me a little scared considering if someone totaled my car (hit and run) I would be fucked, but that is just too much to pay, and even in this case, I would probably end up paying the whole repair based on my deductible anyway, so what good is it?

Really what needs to be done if I want to do anything is find out who did it.... Even if they were uninsured, my policy covers that with no deductible as long as someone admits to it....

Like most have seemed to say though, it probably won't happen, but I think I will file the police report for the hell of it. It looks like I might be stuck with the dent though. I'll look into getting it pulled out too, so thanks for that suggestion. I have to look closer to see if the metal or paint cracked, but I do not think it did when I first inspected it, so I might just leave it be.... though I HATE THE EYESORE! GAH
 
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fucking Illinois drivers.:bomb::D Someone hit my wife's car at Old Orchard, so I went home and tried my best to get the scrapes out of the paint as best I could.

Judging from the height of the dent on your car, it looks like someone with a red truck or SUV might have hit you. Watch for a vehicle of that type in your parking lot this week. But make sure you have back-up if you decide to confront anyone with a suspect vehicle.
 
Wait, Illinois? Apartment parking lot? What city? I just heard through a couple of coworkers about someone I know who hit-and-ran. In Illinois. In an apartment parking lot. Over the weekend. This would be some strange coincidence if it was the same one.
 
You should contact your insurance agency and put in a claim and at the same time make sure to file a police report...
 
[quote name='bcoakiot']Wait, Illinois? Apartment parking lot? What city? I just heard through a couple of coworkers about someone I know who hit-and-ran. In Illinois. In an apartment parking lot. Over the weekend. This would be some strange coincidence if it was the same one.[/QUOTE]
and the plot thickens!
 
I live in Champaign. Honestly I don't think anyone has a red car that lives in my apartment, but the paint looks like it sort of might have been white, (though the pictures definitely make it seem like it was red... but I do see some white but that may be my car underneath the tan...) and there are quite a bunch of white cars. There are also construction workers that are in and out of the lot daily since they are working on the building, so it could have been one of them. There is also a group of troublesome college kids living in a unit as well, and they always have tons of guests over, so it's possible that a guest might have caused the damage as well. I'll have to look more when I get home from work. Point is, it's possible the damage was caused by someone that doesn't even live in the apartment... :(

As for cameras, I know we have them in the building, but I do not think there are any in the parking lot. I'm going to call my landlady to find out. Ughhh
 
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[quote name='the_grimace']I live in Champaign. Honestly I don't think anyone has a red car that lives in my apartment, but the paint looks like it sort of might have been white, (though the pictures definitely make it seem like it was red... but I do see some white but that may be my car underneath the tan...) and there are quite a bunch of white cars. There are also construction workers that are in and out of the lot daily since they are working on the building, so it could have been one of them. There is also a group of troublesome college kids living in a unit as well, and they always have tons of guests over, so it's possible that a guest might have caused the damage as well. I'll have to look more when I get home from work. Point is, it's possible the damage was caused by someone that doesn't even live in the apartment... :(

As for cameras, I know we have them in the building, but I do not think there are any in the parking lot. I'm going to call my landlady to find out. Ughhh[/QUOTE]

A fellow CAG from Chambana. :) Well, given the fact that you live here, I'd say it's pretty good change that it was some random half-drunk student who bumped into your car. Unless you have security cameras there, I doubt you're going to catch him. I would just be glad that it looks like the dent can most likely be pulled out. It sucks that it happened, but not much you can do. :bomb:
 
When this happend to me about 6 months ago we filled a police report over the phone. Drove out to an Allstate office a few days later and they cut us a check for the damage. Said we could fix the car with the money or do whatever we wanted.
 
[quote name='Access_Denied']A fellow CAG from Chambana. :) Well, given the fact that you live here, I'd say it's pretty good change that it was some random half-drunk student who bumped into your car. Unless you have security cameras there, I doubt you're going to catch him. I would just be glad that it looks like the dent can most likely be pulled out. It sucks that it happened, but not much you can do. :bomb:[/QUOTE]

I'm just moved here, but I'm surprised there's actually some CAGs in the town. At least they seem to be finding me on my blogs or anytime I mention I moved to Illinois. I guess it is a pretty populated town, but it seems small to me. haha.

I agree with you that it was probably a college kid. No way to really tell, plus it doesn't help that there is snow on the ground. The sad part is though that this occurred on Friday or Saturday, and it was WARM here those 2 days. In the 40s and much of the snow was melting, so no excuses..

I've felt the town is pretty safe, but from people I met that attend UIUC, (I didn't attend, i moved here for work) say that the areas around campus are terrible with crime and trouble. They have a ton of police officers and my friends tell me that there's several police reports made a day. I hear there's far too many drunks/drinking as well.. Guess there's not much you can do about that though... it is college.... ughh

[quote name='eldergamer']When this happend to me about 6 months ago we filled a police report over the phone. Drove out to an Allstate office a few days later and they cut us a check for the damage. Said we could fix the car with the money or do whatever we wanted.[/QUOTE]

That's pretty generous... My insurance only covers hit and runs under the very expensive "Collision Coverage" which I opted out of because it was so expensive, and it comes with a hefty deductible, unless you want to pay even more ridiculous amounts to have the coverage without the deductible... I even called my insurance, to ask their opinions on what I could do, and they said if I thought I could find out who did it, then to file a police report because even if the person was uninsured, my insurance policy could cover it with no deductible... If no one admits up to it though, it falls under collision... which I don't have on my policy.

I'm going to find out if there's cameras.... if there are, I might have a reason to file the police report and find out who did it. Otherwise, there's not much of a point.
 
[quote name='the_grimace']I live in Champaign.[/QUOTE]

There's ya problem

Carbondale > Champaign
 
[quote name='strongpimphand']There's ya problem

Carbondale > Champaign[/QUOTE]

honestly, I really don't like the town too much. It's alright, but there's not much of a scene here I can enjoy (big scene is bar, cafes, and coffee shops) and there's not many geeky things to do around here. I'm only here because I'm pretty much willing to do anything to get my career off the ground. Once I have a few years experience, I definitely plan to move. I also just hate the cold too much to stay here as well.

My company is great, but the town is very "meh" to me and I am really hating the cold right about now. (I moved from Arizona... cold there is like 50 degrees. haha)
 
Dang. Was really hoping it was the Bloomington/Normal area. It would have made my day if it would have been the same guy. I don't really like him.

BloNo is another college town, which up until this year, has been ridiculously crime free. This year, though, there have been a ton of muggings and break-ins. I don't know why this happened all of the sudden.
 
Look for a red car nearby with scratches at the same height as your dent, only if you are confident it is them, report to police a hit and run with their license plate then contact your insurance. The people that hit you park nearby if you're in an apartment complex, especially if you know you received that while you were at home. What can they say to dispute your assertion at that point?
 
the tides are getting interesting!

Like I said earlier, I do not remember there being any red cars in my lot, but lo and behold, I got back from work today, and there was a red SUV! I remember who the driver is too, and she's the bitchiest college blonde I've ever seen. (she lives in the troublesome unit with 3 other college guys) It was too dark out to really check out her car, plus her car was dirty as hell, but come morning if its there I will inspect closer. Regardless, this gives me validity to push a police report, and get this covered by insurance. I tried finding out if they have security cameras in my lot, but was unable to get through to my landlord.

I would really love to see this girl pay though if it turns out it was her, she is such an absolute bitch. One night she locked herself out along with some of her drunken friends, (my apartment complex has outside locks to get into the building) and I was taking the trash out so I opened the door for her... WELL I couldn't even get halfway out the door before she literally PUSHED me back inside, and barged in. She literally pushed me up against the wall, and she didn't even say thanks or anything! The only guy that said thanks was a dude in a t-shirt that looked drunk as hell, and was holding his side and I seriously thought he got shanked, because it sure as hell looked like that and he walked with a limp.... Christ. I will be so happy if it was her and I could prove it. :D
 
I am an insurance agent in WA state. Insurance differs from state to state, so my adivce may not apply. I definately recommend looking into Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. This coverage protects you and your car in the event that someone hits you and they do not have coverage (or enough coverage) to cover your injuries/repair. This coverage also protects from hit and run, like the situation here. In WA, uninsured motorist property damage has a $300 deductible to hit and run, and a $100 deductible if you get the persons info. The cost is usually a lot less than collision coverage.

In WA if someone hits your car and takes off, and you dont have uninsured motorist coverage, yuo can still get the damage covered if you carry collision coverage. You have to pay your full $500 deductible and it may have an effect on your rate at your next renewal. I always recommend getting a police report done. When you get a copy, hold onto it in a safe place for 5 years. That way, if you change insurance companies down the road and they see that there was a collision claim in your past (which usually means an at fault accident) you can prove that it was a hit and run.

Give us an update once you check out that girl's car.
 
[quote name='PapaJoeBear']I am an insurance agent in WA state. Insurance differs from state to state, so my adivce may not apply. I definately recommend looking into Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. This coverage protects you and your car in the event that someone hits you and they do not have coverage (or enough coverage) to cover your injuries/repair. This coverage also protects from hit and run, like the situation here. In WA, uninsured motorist property damage has a $300 deductible to hit and run, and a $100 deductible if you get the persons info. The cost is usually a lot less than collision coverage.

In WA if someone hits your car and takes off, and you dont have uninsured motorist coverage, yuo can still get the damage covered if you carry collision coverage. You have to pay your full $500 deductible and it may have an effect on your rate at your next renewal. I always recommend getting a police report done. When you get a copy, hold onto it in a safe place for 5 years. That way, if you change insurance companies down the road and they see that there was a collision claim in your past (which usually means an at fault accident) you can prove that it was a hit and run.

Give us an update once you check out that girl's car.[/QUOTE]

I have underinsured and uninsured coverage, which is why I really just wish I could find out who did it. Unfortunately, my policy for my state does not count hit and runs in either category. Hit and runs are only in Collision Coverage.

I do not have collision though, (because it's ridiculously expensive) and like you said that pretty much covers hit and runs almost exclusively, as well as other stuff like running into stuff yourself, like hitting a tree, or a guardrail.

UPDATE:

I filed the police report and the officer came quickly. Unfortunately, there are NO cameras in my apartment lot. The police officer also attempted to inspect the red car, but like I said, it was too dark and her car was covered in snow and was a mess. He also said he really just can't start interrogating people without a very valid reason, like security footage. Yes we both know its very plausible that that red car was the one to hit mine, but essentially he could not do much without security footage.

So that's about it. I'm stuck with it, unless by some miracle the police report could end up proving she did it. FML I guess...

I would have so loved to see that bitch get what was coming to her too.... oh well. Maybe another time... :lol:
 
[quote name='the_grimace']I have underinsured and uninsured coverage, which is why I really just wish I could find out who did it. Unfortunately, my policy for my state does not count hit and runs in either category. Hit and runs are only in Collision Coverage.

I do not have collision though, (because it's ridiculously expensive) and like you said that pretty much covers hit and runs almost exclusively, as well as other stuff like running into stuff yourself, like hitting a tree, or a guardrail.

UPDATE:

I filed the police report and the officer came quickly. Unfortunately, there are NO cameras in my apartment lot. The police officer also attempted to inspect the red car, but like I said, it was too dark and her car was covered in snow and was a mess. He also said he really just can't start interrogating people without a very valid reason, like security footage. Yes we both know its very plausible that that red car was the one to hit mine, but essentially he could not do much without security footage.

So that's about it. I'm stuck with it, unless by some miracle the police report could end up proving she did it. FML I guess...

I would have so loved to see that bitch get what was coming to her too.... oh well. Maybe another time... :lol:[/QUOTE]

Sucks to hear that a fellow CAG going through it. What you should do is take her out, get her nice and drunk and give her a pearl necklace. Then every time you see her you can smile and just think...I gave her a pearl necklace. Because once you see her, every single time you will laugh, I know I have. :lol:
 
[quote name='bcoakiot']Dang. Was really hoping it was the Bloomington/Normal area. It would have made my day if it would have been the same guy. I don't really like him.

BloNo is another college town, which up until this year, has been ridiculously crime free. This year, though, there have been a ton of muggings and break-ins. I don't know why this happened all of the sudden.[/QUOTE]You are from Bloomington/Normal? My family was going to move there over 15 years ago because my Dad got transferred. Eventually he got transferred back so we stayed. However, I did travel to the area many times when my Dad went on business trips. I do remember it having next to no crime.

I always wanted to move to IL (big fan of the sports teams and everything), but ended up on the East coast instead.
 
[quote name='The Mana Knight']You are from Bloomington/Normal? My family was going to move there over 15 years ago because my Dad got transferred. Eventually he got transferred back so we stayed. However, I did travel to the area many times when my Dad went on business trips. I do remember it having next to no crime.

I always wanted to move to IL (big fan of the sports teams and everything), but ended up on the East coast instead.[/QUOTE]


Bloomington/Normal is only about 45 minutes away from Champaign, and as quite a lot of very attractive girls as well (with ISU being there) It's a pretty nice town, and I've been there a couple times since 2 girls I dated lived there.

[quote name='crunchb3rry']Go out there and ram all the other cars. The guy that doesn't pound on your door is the one that did it.[/QUOTE]

This made me literally laugh out loud so much. Thanks for cheering up my day. :bouncy:
 
OP, I would go out there tomorrow morning when it's light outside and check out her car for any signs of damage. I'd also bring a camera and take some pictures of her vehicle.
 
You are from Bloomington/Normal? My family was going to move there over 15 years ago because my Dad got transferred. Eventually he got transferred back so we stayed. However, I did travel to the area many times when my Dad went on business trips. I do remember it having next to no crime.
Click to expand...

Let me guess... Your dad works in Insurance?

Bloomington/Normal is only about 45 minutes away from Champaign, and as quite a lot of very attractive girls as well (with ISU being there) It's a pretty nice town, and I've been there a couple times since 2 girls I dated lived there.
Click to expand...

I love it here. And yes, the quad at ISU is great in the summer time for the sights. But I'm kind of surprised to hear that from someone so close to U of I. I think that's like comparing Hooters to the Playboy Mansion.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']OP, I would go out there tomorrow morning when it's light outside and check out her car for any signs of damage. I'd also bring a camera and take some pictures of her vehicle.[/QUOTE]

Great advice, listen to Shrike. I'd be up at dawn checking her car out if it was me. Make sure to get your camera and take pictures of her car, any damage you find, and her license plate if you find scratch marks. And if she comes out to see what your doing snap some of her too. Ask her for a profile shot so she can get used to posing before they arrest her! :)
 
[quote name='shrike4242']OP, I would go out there tomorrow morning when it's light outside and check out her car for any signs of damage. I'd also bring a camera and take some pictures of her vehicle.[/QUOTE]


I would do it, but at that point its starting to be a little more trouble then it's worth, with me probably having to go to court for something like that. Like I said, the police officer said that even if he did find scratches, it's still almost impossible to prove the case without a witness and/or security footage, as it's essentially her word versus mine. That's why it would probably end up going to court. Would I win? In front of a sane jury, most definitely, especially if she had paint that is my color car in the very spot where she probably hit my car. The point is, do I really want to go through the hassle of going to court for this? Sure I would win, but its a lot of hassle.

And to make matters more difficult, checking her car may be a little difficult in the morning, as she parked right into a large bush in front of her car which is now covering a good portion of her front end. Not only would I need a camera, I would need some hedge trimmers and gloves to dig her front end out of the bush!!! :lol:
 
^ There wouldn't be a jury, it would be small claims court. Probably wouldn't really be that much hassle.
 
That dent can easily be pulled out by a local body shop. Try stopping by a few and walk over to the guys in the garage and ask if they have the hand-held suction cup thingie that pulls out dents. They should be able to pop it right out..and will probably do it for free if you find someone cool (it only takes 30 seconds). You'll probably end up with a tiny crease where the metal was bent, but it won't be nearly as noticeable.
 
[quote name='dmlopr']She has the bush covering her dent?[/QUOTE]

:applause:Nice.

I told you it was a red SUV, OP. If she won't fess up to the damage, I'd offer to take her out, get her nice and drunk, then back-door her.
 
[quote name='shieryda']:applause:Nice.

I told you it was a red SUV, OP. If she won't fess up to the damage, I'd offer to take her out, get her nice and drunk, then back-door her.[/QUOTE]

[/thread]
 
Be lucky it's just a dent. My car got stolen about 5 years ago. I went out for lunch and a little shopping with my wife, came back and my car was missing from the street, right in the middle of the day. I filled a police report, they came pretty quick but didn't do much besides file paper work. Long story short they find my car in an abandoned lot 25 miles away. It was towed and impounded at the most getto-ass place I've ever been to in my life. I get there to find my car completely striped, everything inside was gone. The car was already 15 years old so I considered it a complete loss. The people who worked there were rude unsympathetic assholes (especially this fat ugly bitch behind the counter) To add insult to injury I had to pay $500 to impound it, just to get rid of it. One of the worst days of my life.

About a month after this disaster getto-ass towing calls me up saying I have to drive down there and sign some papers, I told them to call me back. I checked my documents, called a few people and came to the realization I owe them nothing. They call back, I told them I don't own the car anymore, they do, I'm not signing shit so fuck off. They never called me back. I don't even remember what they wanted me to sign but I knew it was BS.

Bottom-line is when it comes to car troubles like hit n' runs, theft, etc, justice rarely gets served.
 
[quote name='strongpimphand']There's ya problem

Carbondale > Champaign[/QUOTE]

I lived there until I was 23. Carbondale is a shithole. It's only saving grace is Quatro's.

Someone hit my car in an apartment parking lot once. Fortunately, he left a note saying "Sorry I scraped your car." The "scrape" dented the rear passenger door and quarter panel in addition to thrashing it. Did over 2k in damage. Some scrape.
 
[quote name='the_grimace']I would do it, but at that point its starting to be a little more trouble then it's worth, with me probably having to go to court for something like that. Like I said, the police officer said that even if he did find scratches, it's still almost impossible to prove the case without a witness and/or security footage, as it's essentially her word versus mine.[/QUOTE]

Happened to me twice. Green paint on my car, found a green volvo with scratches and a busted headlight. i waited for the owner and confronted her. she took off running. I called the police, they measured the heights of the scratches and found my guess to be reasonable. They went over and questioned her and mentioned that hit-and-run is a criminal charge, whereupon she admitted to hitting me. Second time, the guy wouldn't admit to hitting me, saying that i hit him. police came by, he was drunk, and offered to drop the dui charge against him if he admitted fault.

tldr: you need to get her to admit to it if you dont have witnesses.
 
[quote name='V3rtigo']tldr: you need to get her to admit to it if you dont have witnesses.[/QUOTE]

I hear that sodium penothal works wonders in this type of situation.
 
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