S: Neighbors hit my car

[mcs328]

I live in a condo and we have assigned parking spaces. On Saturday morning, noticed there a yellow streak where someone obviously hit my car either parking in or leaving. It's my reasonable assumption that since it's an assigned spot then the owner or one of their guests did this. We got no note or anything. We didn't do anything because we had no real proof. What should have we done?

Now fast forward to this morning. As I leave to work to go to my other car I see that my neighbors car has returned. I walk up to it and I see that it's been recently car washed. I would expect damage to the front bumpers but nope. However on the side of the car are recent scratches and lo and behold, a paint chip that matches the color of my car. I took a picture with my camera phone.

What should I do now? Confront the neighbor and ask did anyone hit my car this weekend. show the scratches and the paint chip. call the insurance company. call the cops and report a hit and run. do nothing since my car is a piece of crap anyways.

Things to consider...I'm getting married next month and expect wedding gifts delivered to my door. It matters because I expect possible retaliation by them stealing wedding gifts based on my view that *******s will be *******s. The car they hit is really crappy and I let 3 days pass without saying anything not because I didn't want to but the offending car was nowhere to be found. I could only deduce it was a neighbor that day and have I guess circumstantial evidence this morning.

[cheapie]

post the camera phone pic and let's see how damning it is.

[mcs328]

My camera phone pic isn't that great so it would be hard to tell. This paint chip on their car is like 1/4" x 1/2" oval. I called the insurance company to see if it's even worth it the option they told be was call the police and have them determine if a crime was committed or not. In either case file the report and have it go under uninisured motorist which won't count against us.

[kgsilvas]

Your insurance company's suggestion sounds like a good course of action to take.

It seems hard to believe that they didn't notice the scraping when it took place, they probably just ignored it and figured that you'd ignore it too since you mentioned it was a beater of sorts.

Confronting them now would probably just result in a denial, so you're probably better off not contacting the neighbor.

[mcs328]

Seems almost not worth the trouble. If I do though I am thinking about doing this though.

http://www.spytown.com/doorpeepcam.html

[clutchy]

it's a sad state of affairs when someone won't do the right thing. Then someone who is wronged has to expect retaliation for reporting someone who wronged them...

i'm sorry man this is just a ridiculous situation.

[zero2dash]

I'd call the cops and tell them and see what they suggest; you could also report it to the condo manager and see what they say (tell them you have an idea it was your neighbors that hit the car and they may not know it 'cause they haven't said anything).

Personally I think you should have something done about it...your neighbors that did it sound like a bunch of a-holes if they didn't leave a note or something, sounds like deadbeats to me. You'd confront them or do something if your car was a $30,000 car right? Hell I'd do it if it was a POS because it's still the principle of the matter IMO. That's a pretty un-neighborly thing to do...hit your car and not report it to you or at least the management to find out who's car it is they hit.

[Memo]

I guess how bad is the damage? Did they just remove some paint off your car or is there a dent?

Personally, I think it sounds like it may be a lot of work only to get nothing out of it. It's just gonna be hard to prove that they did it and not some other car unless they confess to it, which seems unlikely since they're trying to cover up the fact that they did it in the first place.

[mcs328]

I came home early and the car is gone. It's just the paint. I called the condo people and there's nothing they can do. I would do it out of principal but I have to think about the retaliation against my fiance because if it was just me then I say BRING IT!! But I have more to lose in the long run.

[RoniMan]

You could always "coincidentally" meet them out in the garage as they're leaving or coming back from somewhere, and just happen to strike up a conversation about how you got hit (don't mention that you know it was them). Let them know that you're very upset b/c the car was a present from your dying grandmother. If they have a hint of a soul, they should apologize. If not...kick them when they turn around, b/c as bas rutten pointed out "Everyone underestimates the kick to the groin..."

[brainsmile]

I'd still call the police... it's hit and run

[Sirrich3]

Call the police...I do agree with above.

[sizemic1]

The police won't do anything. All they'll do is take a report over the phone.

[mcs328]

The police won't do anything. All they'll do is take a report over the phone.

Basically we have no direct proof and we would just use the case to send to the insurance company and then the deductible makes it hardly worth it.

[TofuNinja]

I'd report it..... hasn't the stolen sidekick webpage taught you anything, it is about what is right and what is wrong.

[Pemolis]

Buy a bottle of Soda and Pour it over their hood :-)

Don't get mad.. get even!

[brainsmile]

what does that do?

[guiseppewv]

I am guessing if it is coke then it might damage the paint. :shrug:

[clutchy]

Buy a bottle of Soda and Pour it over their hood :-)

Don't get mad.. get even!


well you're a bastard...

Watch the name calling. Not allowed. While GAM agrees that his situation is major suckage, GAM doesn't endorse any of the revenge options listed or approve of name calling. :)

Carry on.

-Got Apex Moderator

[BigJon]

Slap some balogna slices on their hood.

:shifty: Errr....or just call the cops and report it.

[zero2dash]

Well now I feel your pain, mcs...someone recently scraped the crap out of my rear bumper 'cause they couldn't park worth a *#@^ :censored: :censored:

Aargh :angry:
No way to find out who did it either; we know it wasn't where we live 'cause we have a driveway in front of our home and never park out on the public street; it was obviously some idiot in too big a hurry to get to either Shop N Save or Walmart (the two public places we go to the most) that they didn't pay attention when they were pulling into the parking stall next to ours. And I know it was a car because the marks/paint breaks are too low and too long to be a runaway shopping cart. Grr man just AAARGH :mad: :banghead: :johnwoo2:

[cadetevon]

Aww man MCS, this is major suckage. I'd report it, but I'd not be beyond the cola thing either.

[cadetevon]

So, any conclusion to this?

[mcs328]

None. I'm going to let it go until after I get married and we aren't expecting packages to our condo. However I'm not beyond random vandalism if I get upset enough. My idea involves the glass etching solutions you can buy at AC Moore and Michaels or any other craft store.

[Airencracken]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d8/The.Big.Lebowski.1998.Screenshot.2.jpg/350px-The.Big.Lebowski.1998.Screenshot.2.jpg

I guess that's what happens when you **** a neighbor in the ass.

[Houdini]

Buy a bottle of Soda and Pour it over their hood :-)

Don't get mad.. get even!

Brake fluid works better. Eats right through to the primer. Or thermite. Eats right down through the engine block.

-H <---not suggesting, just informing. :)

[welfareloser]

you know, it depends on your state law... in illinois, fi you're pissed off, go ahead. in michigan... i tell you, it matters not how much damning evidence you have and how perfectly you line up your ducks with police reports, etc, etc, there's a "no-fault" law that somehow contributes to jack SQUAT happening to the caught-red-handed offender. i could tell you my story... but it'd just piss me off all over again remembering it :P

you know, i've found that letting it go is often the best solution, because your time is worth more than your beater car. heck, i have a reasonably nice van right now, and i got hit once last winter at a stoplight, it was icy, it was totally the other guy's fault, but the damage was cosmetic and not worth my time... i told him to have a nice day, let's go home; he gave me a huge hug, and we both went home feeling good instead of spending hours filing a polcie report, talking to the insurance agents, spending hours on the phone when the inevitable minions don't follow through with their scutwork, yadda, yadda...

and nobody wins a neighbor war. ever. if just dropping it feels like something you could do, i'd go with it.