About a week ago I noticed a new dent in my car. After seeing it, and the damage to my bumper, and the cracked lense casing, I remembered hearin some car alarms going off a few days before. I didn't think much of it becasue the alarm of the car that parks next to me goes off all the time.
My aparntments offer covered parking (think carport) to residents, for a price. The covered stalls are super skinny, and It's tough getting my minivan in there. I always pull in to my spot, and the vehicle next to me always backs in. The damage to my van is the corner that the other one would back straight into.
I've taken pictues of the damage to MY car, and the other one. The height of the minor damage to their car matches the height of the sizable damage to my car.
My husband is being of little help in this situation. At first he said he'd go talk to them, but now he's leaving everything in my court to deal with. I've written a letter to the other people and plan on asking the apartments to deliver it for me.
Do I confront them? Do I go through insurance (I only have liability)? Do I file a police report?
A couple points of clarification are needed I guess. (Writing this after Mom2KCK's comment)
1) It's NOT a new car. It's a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan
2) It happened MAYBE 2 weeks ago, more like a week and a half. I have a tendency to fly off the handle about things, so I was trying to take some time and let cooler head prevail.
3) I DO have pictures of the damage to MY car, with a measuring tape in frame, and pictures of THEIR car, with measuring tape in frame. The damage, and paint transfer line up almost perfectly.
4) I don't know who they are at all. They live in a different building that I do, and I've never seen them.
I don't think you can prove anything at this point.
(Why would you only have liability on a new car???)
A week ago? Really you've got nothing if you didn't witness it or they didn't fess up to it. You've got a tough road ahead. Don't confront anyone, people are nuts.
The apartments won't deliver a letter for you, why would they get in the middle?
And liability won't fix a thing on your car, regardless. Liability is the minimum coverage required by any state so you can drive.
you can't prove the damage was done by their car, unless of course you have their paint on your car. That would mean they are missing paint as well.
You can file a police report - but they might sit back and ask what took you sooo long to report.
If you want to confront - confront. Show them the pictures of the cars and ask if they did it. Why be passive-aggressive and ask the apartment manager to do it for you? Just go to them. Ask.
Good luck!
We went to dinner one time and came out to a dent in my husband's truck. We had to file as a hit and run because the person who did it was no where in sight and could not (would not) provide any information.
You can say something to them, but if they deny it what are you going to do? Police may get involved, but that will make your living situation less than enjoyable. I think if it's bad enough to warrant repair, I would mention it to them. If it's not too bad, let it go.
Have you had the damage looked at yet and gotten an estimate? It might be less cost than you think and might not be worth confronting them. With no witnesses, you would have to get the police involved, unless these neighbors are really nice and say, "Gee, we didn't realize we hit you at the time but obviously we did so let's work it out." If that's not the reaction -- and sadly, it likely won't be -- then you need to weigh whether it is worthwhile to pursue this. If the damage is cosmetic it might not be worth the hassles.
But you need to get the car seriously checked out; sometimes what looks like minor damage can mask more serious damage underneath. In that case you certainly might need to first talk to the neighbors and then possibly to the police. The police probably won't hassle you about waiting a week but they might question it if you wait a lot longer. And the other drivers could fix their own car's damage and then you'd have nothing to point to if the cops ask.
My car was hit while it was parked in a mall garage -- someone backed into the front bumper then sped off. I wasn't there but found a note on the windshield from a wonderful person who witnessed it and gave me her contact info and the other car's license plate number. Long story short: I did involve the cops since I had a good ID on the car but the cops could never trace the car (it was registered to a business that didn't exist, at an address that didn't exist, basically. Nice!). My insurance covered it as an "uninsured motorist claim" and I was very glad it did because there was underlying damage -- the outer damage was very, very minimal (bent plate, scraped bumper) but beneath, the foam that provides the real protection under the bumpers was damaged and had to be replaced. That's why you need to get it checked and not rely on someone just assuming it's purely cosmetic damage.
I know you only have liability insurance, so this is a moot point this time, but if I lived in a place where I had to share parking all the time with other tenants, I would probably see about finding some better insurance that helps with this kind of "mystery damage" claim.
Do not contact your ins. co.
Many companies file inquiries as claims.
Contact the driver with the evidence and several estimates.
If they refuse to cover damages, take them to small claims as needed.
Don't bother with the housing complex, contract probably states not responsible for damage...
Having been through the same experience, I can tell you that there is nothing you can do unless you have proof. My husband had someone bang in the door to our silver Honda at work. Huge dent with paint scraped all over it and even our paint was missing in places. We found the culprit in the parking lot, parked WAY in the back with our silver paint still on the edge of the door. We called the police, showed him both cars, including the red one, which had even been seen parked beside ours.
We, with the police officer, confronted the woman. The woman denied it. The end.
That's how it goes, and it sucks. Ironically, my husband said the saw the same car getting towed from the lot about 2 mos later after it broke down in the pouring rain. You know what they say about karma...
This happened in your apartment parking lot which is private property. I doubt that the police would get involved.
I would talk with the people in person. Surely you know them a little since you park side by side. At least enough to have an idea about how they will react. Just tell them both cars have damage that would appear to have been caused by their car hitting yours. Are you absolutely sure you did not unknowingly hit theirs?
Don't accuse them. Tell them what you see, ask them to come look and then go from there. Allow them to save face by suggesting they didn't know they'd hit your car.
Do not send them a letter. If they did hit your car and are avoiding responsibility they will not respond. If they didn't hit your car or are unaware that they did they may respond in anger. Face to face in a respectful manner is more apt to get their cooperation.
Doesn't sound like you have a case, sorry! It does suck since it was not your fault.
Maybe if you had acted earlier and filed a police report right away... but since it has been weeks it's your word against theirs... and well your word is pure speculations since you didn't actually see them do any damage.
Lets be realistic here: this is not CSI. It's not as if the police would send out a forensic technician to match the damage and paint transfer on the car you suspect of doing the damage... it's just not worth the effort and cost for a dented bumper and a cracked lens case.
If your neighbors were decent people they would have left a note on your car when the caused the damage. They obviously have no intention of paying for it, so I don't know what your goals are for writing them a letter or talking to them.
If you do not have collision coverage your insurance won't pay for the damage and may still increase your rates if your report it... better to just get it fixed out of pocket.
Good luck.
I think I would forego your apartment's covered parking. Sounds like you're paying for the privlege of getting hit multiple times.
I don't think that you have any recourse because there are no witnesses and unless you can have forensic work done on any paint between the two cars, you have no evidence either. Even with evidence, it would probably only be circumstantial.
If you want to continue parking there and you don't mind confronting the driver of the car, you could just tell him or her point blank that you believe they damaged your car and that it's costing you a lot of money to fix it. You could tell them that you expect them to park a lot more carefully from now on. They might not like what you have to say, but I'll bet that they will be more careful. And check your vehicle EVERY TIME you come out there, have your cell phone with you to take pictures, and if their car is still there when you see damage, call the police. They might be more willing to do forensics if you are calling right away.
Its up to you and what you can prove.
A few months ago I had parallel parked at an upscale shopping center. I always park carefully because I drive a high end sports car. I park far away or in a good spot. I had left plenty of room and as I walked out of a store, I noticed a wan give up on the huge spot in front of me.
I never put 2+2 together until I was at my car wash and they discovered the damage. They even went to cameras to make sure they didn't do it. I knew I hadn't hit anyone. Then it clicked... The woman was peeling out because she bumped me.
I didn't file a report. I have a guy who does cosmetic car work on the side since it was simply cosmetic. Cost me about $300 but then I see him about twice a year to make sure everything is touched up and in perfect order.
I'd never be able to "prove" the other person did it. Unless your development has cameras and you see it, your probably out of luck.
Best wishes!
The police can get involved even if it is on private property. We were at a farm once and someone hit our car. He didn't want to give his insurance info, but the farm operator called the police.
I don't know if you can do anything about it. They'll likely deny hitting it and may even retaliate with further damage.
Kind of have the opposite here. This woman said I hit her brand new car (bought the day before) in my work parking lot and scratched her bumper. She said it was my license plate holder that damaged her car. I noticed some other scratches on the front left bumper. Anyway, she took my plate number and demanded my insurance stuff. She was insistent. I turned it over to my insurance company. The agent used a tape measure and showed that my license plate wasn't the same height as her scratch, in fact my bumper curved down & away and couldn't make contact where the damage was. It turned out that one of her kids had done it with their bike in her garage and she was trying to pin it on me, make me repair something I didn't do. A real sorry situation.
You can confront them by asking if they know anything or have seen anything. Maybe they are one of the few good people on this earth. If you only have liability, your insurance will not cover your damages. You can file a police report, which will only serve as documentation.
I am not certain any of it will do you any good. What every you decide to do, I wouldn't wait any longer.
