Aggro_Al

Just wanted to vent and find out what my chances of busting this guy is. So here's the story.

I was heading down to the parking garage after work today and noticed a car I wasn't familiar with parked in one of our visitor and employee parking spots. There weren't any clients in our office at the time and it wasn't and employee car. It was Friday afternoon at an investment firm. Fridays after market close the office is usually a ghost town. As I got closer, I saw that the guy had parked nose in way past the end of the parking slot into my slot. His front end was pressing in on my front bumper and the bottom of his bumper was sitting on top of my front spoiler. I am all WTF and pissed. I get in the car and back up a little bit so that I can check the damage. I see that there are two dents in my front bumper just above the grill and my lip spoiler had seperated a little bit from the bumper. I went to see if there was any damage on the other car but it was too dark to tell and the car was dark blue. I had a camera on my Sony PDA so I took some pictures of the other car, like the plate and showing his car way into my parking slot next to mine. It wasn't very bright and my PDA didn't have a flash but I had enough light to get some okay pictures of his car. Unfortunately, I didn't think of taking a picture of the cars while they were still in contact. I backed the car away a little bit to check for damage. I went back to my office to get a notepad so I can leave the guy a note but in the few minutes it took me to go upstairs and back down the guy had left already. I called my insurance company then took pictures of my damage outside in the sunlight.

What are my chances of busting this guy?
Here's a description of the car and plate.

Dark Metallic Blue Lexus SC430
with CA Dealer Plate 15299

Narcosynthesis

You should have just thrown a brick through his windown and called it a day.

EnthuZiast

iTrader: (4)

I would be checking the local Lexus dealerships.

Aggro_Al

Maybe I should of threw a brick through his window first then go to the local Lexus dealership to look for the SC430 with the broken windshield that I didn't break.

nitrousoxidex

iTrader: (4)

I would expect more care for a person owning a nice car.

samw1978

I first thought it's some POS car, but it was an SC430!!! Damn ,how can people with that kinda car so careless?
Hope everything works out for you and the guy pays for everything

Aggro_Al

It may have been a loaner car from the dealership while his actual car is in service because the plate had April 05 registration tags.

omen68x

I would definitely file a police report since this was a hit-and-run! They should be able to track down the person for you by contacting the dealer. I don't know if the dealer themselves can be responsible. In any case, if you have unisured motorist coverage, your deductible should be waived.

Aggro_Al

I called my insurance company and they didn't say anything about filing a police report. Can an insurance company file one on the insured behalf if necessary? The person that took my statement said that I would have to take up the details with the adjuster who should be calling me on Monday. If this goes against my insurance or if I have to pay an unreimburseable deductable I'm going to be fuming!

superstuddc27

iTrader: (1)

man.. the thing that would make me mad if that happend to me, is that USUALLY, only about ummm ..... i don't know... 100% of the time! when you run into a car while ur parking, you can tell. and he had the guts to feel the car jerk, get out, look at his bumper over on top of your spoiler, and then say "eh, he won't be back, i'll be back in a good ol' jiffy" not even caring to back up or anything..
i say take it to court ahah

samw1978

yeah I feel the same... say... if I WAS the one who hit your car, I'd at least move my car somewhere far away from your car...

midfla 350

yea man i would have called the cops as soon as i saw it. Once the cops arrived they would have sorted it out and if he left before they arrived well then that is considered leaving the scene of an accident. Either way with the pictures you have, you rightfully would have them by the *****. When in doubt call the cops, that is what the get paid for. Good luck man

Lerxst

iTrader: (2)

This guy sounds like an a$$... if you take him to court, he'll probably say you hit him.

I know, why would you take him to court if you were at fault. However, it would then come down to your word against his. Be prepared for this.

Good luck.

John

iTrader: (17)

Wishful thinking. Police are not required to fill out a police report for damage that seems to be under ~$1000 (at least that's the case in most states). Unfortunately, it's up to the discretion of the officer.

To the author, unfortunately, I doubt the police will do anything. Unless you have a witness and / or a photo with the cars making contact, there is nothing they can do.

Aggro_Al

Yeah, my mistake was not taking a picture of the cars while they were still in contact. But the pictures I did take clearly show him way into my parking slot. I backed up just enough to see my damage and the photo show that after I backed up that my car was only 2/3 the way into my spot after I backed up. Who the hell only parks part way so that your rear sticks out. I know if insurance tracks him down he'll try to say he was there first. But, I can prove I was there before him because I work there and the time logs will show that I only left for lunch. The logs will show that I was there from 6am to 4:45pm. The space he parked in was a 30min slot designated for office and the rest of the parking is 2hrs max unless you have a permit. His car wasn't someone I work with and we didn't have any clients at the time. If he was there longer than me he would have got a citation he may have gotten away with parking there up to 3hrs max before getting a citation which still wouldn't put him first. In our area there are a lot of popular restaurantes, cafes and a bar. I'm thinking this guy started happy hour early on Friday and went to the bar by my office to continue it. Because our garage just happens to be next to the restaurantes, CalTrain and other local businesses people are always trying to park down there because street parking is kinda tough.

ares

iTrader: (2)

call a lexus dealership, any dealership, see what they say. well actually, dont dealer plates say what dealership they originated from? call that dealership and ask them. make sure this is worth it first... theres the whole "principle" but then there are deductables, rate increases, and general headaches that might not be worth the 100$ to fix it or whatever. just a thought.

PS. my mom drives a blue SC430, but she hasnt been in CA

Aggro_Al

According to the picture. The licence plate frame says Mission Viejo Lexus. If this car is really from Mission Viejo. CA that is around 450 miles from San Francisco, CA. My insurance company says that if they aren't able to get the A$$ to pay. It will be a $500 deductable. Talked to some one who knows body work and he said that it will probably cost around $3k if the bumper isn't cracked. Just had someone hit and run me back in April and now I got to go through it all over again. At least this time I got pictures and I know who did it.

BDM

Disclaimer: The following is based on FL laws.

Police are not required to write reports on civil traffic accidents if it seems like the damage is less than a certain amount (I'm sure the amount varies from state to state and agency to agency). However, the moment the other person left the scene without leaving all the information required by state statute a criminal offense was committed. Therefore, the officer would have investigated the accident. But, once you left the original scene of the accident in your car without calling the police, you pretty much screwed yourself out of that (at least based on the procedures of a local law enforcement agency that I'm familiar with).

Aggro_Al

Damn, that sucks. My insurance company didn't tell me that. I was still at the scene when I called them.

MonkeyBoy

In CA, the value of damage where a police report needs to be filled out is $500 or greater.