Ok, here's my situation:
Thursday I get home from work and park outside on the street at 6:45 pm. There was a car in front and behind me, but there's plenty of room.
I leave the house after dinner at around 8:30, and the car in front is gone. What's there is a Toyota Tacoma parked less than 6 inches from my front bumper:
SO I check out my bumper, and this is what I see:
It's pretty obvious the damage was done by the guy's tow/trailer hitch, and luckily I had my camera handy, as you can see. I couldn't wait around to find the guy, however, so I take off. When I came home later that night, I leave a note on the truck, hoping to resolve this civilly with the guy before I file a claim.
He calls me back Friday morning denying that he hit me, but agreed to meet with me Saturday to check out the damage and what-not.
Saturday comes, I'm at work, and he calls me again. I answer and the first thing he says to me is "You're full of $h*T!" And proceeds to colorfully accuse me of extorting him, kicking his truck in revenge and threatening his family. I can't even get a word in and he hangs up.
Naturally, I'm pissed as heck and file a claim as soon as I get home. Here's where my dilemma comes in:
1) I'm fairly new to how claims work (this is the first one I've ever filed...). Based on the picture evidence I have, do you think I have a good chance of winning the claim?
2) The guy's obviously guilty and he's trying to scare me off. I'm not afraid of him, but he lives in my neighborhood and, based on the way he's acted, it's not too difficult for him to vandalize my car or even worse if this ends badly. I live in a townhouse community, and I basically have to park on the street, so my car is totally exposed. I have an alarm, but that can't stop him from trashing the exterior. What can I do to protect myself?
I know a lot of you NICO hotheads are real vigilantes when it comes to situations like this but I don't need any violent suggestions or talks of revenge, however enjoyable it might be . I'm pissed, but not stupid. I want to catch him if he tries anything. I've even looked into getting a phone recorder in case he comes calling again once he finds out about the claim.
It's just so stupid that he would let a scratch turn into this. It's really hard to give people a chance when there are guys like him out there.
What else can I do?
Call him back one more time and be calm about it. Say you guys can either deal with this now or you will call the poilce, get a report, and get insurance companies involved. Tell him its a small scratch, and he should just own up to it before it becomes a bigger problem for him with all the insurance/police/claims involved. Be calm, and if he flips out again then you know what the next thing to do is.
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mrbean
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Re: (fiznat)
Well, I heard back from the insurance company. As it turns out, my parents only put liability coverage on the vehicle, so basically since I can't prove he ACUTALLY hit my car, I'm screwed as far as insurance is concerned. Unfortunately, the same thing will prolly happen if I go to the police. All my evidence is circumstantial, however good it is. It looks like he's gonna get away with it..
Well, at least I have some drifter friends with lots of spare bumpers around...
Well, at least I have some drifter friends with lots of spare bumpers around...
call the guy back, be calm about it and say lets settle this, come up with a reasonable price. If you say too high he will say no and you cant go to the insurance company so you are screwed. Also dont tell the guy your insurance company said you want get anything, bc you can still say you will go to the insurance company and it will cost you hundreds of dollars. You just have to think it through and come up with a reasonable offer, get estimates and be reasonable. Dont try and rip the guy off and dont get ripped off either, just try and break even. And also you alreayd have damage to the front bumper so its gonna be hard, but good luck, and be reasonable.
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NIGHTfall_240sx
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mrbean
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Well, the way it was explained to me by the insurance agent is that I can't actually prove HE caused the damage. I don't know who was driving, and I didn't actually see the collision, no matter how obvious it is.
Since I don't have collision coverage, the cost of repairs will not be covered in this case.
I only have liability coverage, meaning I'm covered if it's my fault or if I'm hit by an uninsured driver. Neither of which really apply in this case I guess...
Anyways, I know the damage is minor, and since my bumper is already damaged, it's not a huge deal. But it's the fact that he's obviously decided to flat out lie about it that pisses me off...
About the link in my sig, I've had it there for quite a while now, and no one, including the mods, have given me any flak about it. I figured since it was a 240 specific site, it compliments more than competes with NICO. Anyways, if any mods have a problem with it, I'll remove it.
Since I don't have collision coverage, the cost of repairs will not be covered in this case.
I only have liability coverage, meaning I'm covered if it's my fault or if I'm hit by an uninsured driver. Neither of which really apply in this case I guess...
Anyways, I know the damage is minor, and since my bumper is already damaged, it's not a huge deal. But it's the fact that he's obviously decided to flat out lie about it that pisses me off...
About the link in my sig, I've had it there for quite a while now, and no one, including the mods, have given me any flak about it. I figured since it was a 240 specific site, it compliments more than competes with NICO. Anyways, if any mods have a problem with it, I'll remove it.