Hit and Run Caught on Dash Cam - Need Advice!

[shiv.nandak]

So it happened... again. After my first parking lot hit and run, i decided to invest in a dual channel dash cam. The investment might have just paid for itself after someone backed into my car and fled the scene. I called the police and filed a hit and run report. I also found the same car the next day with damage to their bumper (dirt has been wiped from the bumper at the location of the damage). I called the police again and told them where the car was parked, but they just told me to call back the next morning and ask for a detective with all the evidence.

The annoying part of all this is that since the person fled, i was forced to create a police report. Which means that this "accident" will definitely be on carfax. Also, until the police track this person and find their insurance - i cannot get my car fixed. If i create a claim through my insurance, it will be considered a claim from me.

I have a few questions regarding this whole situation and would appreciate some input:

- I have been researching and found multiple sources stating that the factory paint is much more durable than a paint job from a body shop. Should i be worried about rock chips after the fix? Can it be repaired without respraying the entire bumper?

- Since a police report was created and bumper needs to be taken off and repainted, its reasonable to assume that the resale value of the car goes down. I was planning to buy the car after the lease, can i possibly expect a diminished value check from the other party's insurance?

- Will the body shop have issues with dealing with an after market carbon fibre splitter attached to the bumper?

The video below is edited with the youtube editor to blur the license which converted it to black and white for some reason.

[jdog0411]

Man that pisses me off just watching it. Have you thought about leaving a note or other means of contacting the owner of the other car and telling them you have them on camera hitting your car? Ask if they would like a chance to settle things with you amicably and avoid things getting nasty.

[M-Pilot]

I wouldn't assume that it's going to be on CarFax just because there is a police report. I had a hit and run with my previous F30 and filed a police report. Never showed up on my CarFax but the repair was less than $2K. So my guess is that it might also depend on how costly the repair is.

[Flacht3]

If it were me, I'd have a buddy join me (as a witness) and confront the person and tell them you have video evidence and you're giving them ONE chance to own up and make it right. I wouldn't jump to an aggressive tone...keep it cordial but be firm and lay out the facts. If they are combative in any way or don't comply, call 911 right then and there and tell them there's a dispute and you need an officer to come. Perhaps it's not the BEST approach, but if the police aren't being super helpful then getting someone onto the scene might be best.

Side note, do you both consistently park in the same garage? Is it work, home, etc? I would be a bit sensitive about how you escalate things if you'll have to co-exist (or if your car needs to co-exist) on a regular basis. I'd still try talking to the person and feel them out a bit, but again I'd definitely bring a second person as a witness with me.

[mm767cap]

If you haven't yet called your insurance company, CALL THEM NOW. Alert them to the incident and provide them with the video. Inform them you have a police report, and then let them do the work for you. The guilty party's insurance will end up covering the entire event, so you shouldn't have any "claims" on your insurance. Let them do the work for you about contacting the other party's insurance and settling the issue. That's what you pay them for. And 100% insist on FACTORY OEM parts and paint. Ask your dealer where you should take the car. Good for you for catching this on camera. Just makes my blood boil for you.

[Dranter]

1. You need a full front bumper respray.

2. Paint will completely match and you wont be able to notice a difference unless it was a really bad body shop.

3. Clear coat is possible to be on the weaker side depending on what products they use. Thats not ideal, i know but if you are worried about rock chips in the first place having the original paint wouldnt have made a difference.

4.Invest into paint protection film on front side of the car a month or so after the respray atleast as to allow the paint to cure.

5.You need to accept the fact that your car isnt a museum piece. Its just another vehicle on the road albeit a really nice one and road rashes are a natural thing.

[4everkidd]

Originally Posted by stealth70mde

Oh man... That pisses me right off... F*cker.

In that kind of mood I would just smash the shit of that piece of Sh*t car.
And if someone would come and ask me if I did the damage in retaliation I'd say yes with a smile.

People are so f*cking careless and dishonest, it's just beyond me...

you're a little guy aren't ya

[Wah]

Sitting there worrying about the paint job and if the incident will or will not show up on carfax is pointless. It happened, the police report has been filed, its done... just get the car fixed through insurance and move on. If you go to any half decent body shop, they will fix it and you won't be able to tell there was a scratch at all. No point in driving yourself crazy over something that was out of your control.

[bmrwrld]

Any new paint on plastic is not detected on the paint meter thickness scale, only works on metal. Will most likely not even show up on car fax, to minor to even report.

[Draper]

A hit and run report will appear on a CarFax. I had a similar case with my E90 M3, and was surprised when I went to sell it and it no longer had a clean title.

If you own the car and are worried about CarFax, approach the person directly and ask that they pay out of pocket for the repair. A respray will likely barely be over their deductible anyway (if they even have full coverage). The alternative is reporting them for a hit and run, which at least in Colorado is an automatic 12pts which equals a suspended license. This gives you a fair amount of leverage in case they want to jerk you around.

Also, it's very possible they may not have realized they hit you, or only realized it well after the fact - so I would approach them with a calm 'it's a bummer this happened...' and 'I don't want to report you...' kind of attitude.

Good luck!

[jailonacs99]

Bummer on what happened, glad you got it on video.

+1 on the folks who have said you need to call your insurance company to get this sorted, and follow up with the police with any additional info. If you try to confront that person, you have no idea what may happen or how they'll react. You hunt them down to do it you run the risk of becoming the aggressor/bad guy and they have a counter case. They could say they didn't realize, but suddenly some angry guy and his friend is confronting them in a parking lot. At most, leave a note on their car that they hit you, you have it on dash cam, and they need to contact you.

You have the plate, but unless the video shows who was driving the other person could deny it was them in the drivers seat, and you end up with a you said/they said. Follow through with the detectives. They will likely just convince the person to come clean so their insurance (or they) will cover it and you drop the charges. That's how they'll want to get it off their docket and make it open/shut. Notify your insurance ASAP so they can either back you with the Police or they'll pursue the other vehicles insurance company themselves. Even if the driver someone disappears, you've got solid video and if you have a good insurance company and coverage they would pay for it under uninsured motorist.

I think you're mixing up your priorities by worrying about the Carfax. The damage is done, it needs to be fixed. Unless you plan to lie to any future buyers, you've got a pretty clear way to communicate exactly what happened and the minor damage to anyone interested. It's the next buyer after that who'll have nothing but a Carfax notation to speculate on what may have happened.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by mm767cap

If you haven't yet called your insurance company, CALL THEM NOW. Alert them to the incident and provide them with the video. Inform them you have a police report, and then let them do the work for you. The guilty party's insurance will end up covering the entire event, so you shouldn't have any "claims" on your insurance. Let them do the work for you about contacting the other party's insurance and settling the issue. That's what you pay them for. And 100% insist on FACTORY OEM parts and paint. Ask your dealer where you should take the car. Good for you for catching this on camera. Just makes my blood boil for you.

I agree with this. Maybe things are different in PA, but I was involved in a hit and run with no video so other driver was never found. My insurance paid for the repairs (over $20K) and it never affected my insurance rates. Additionally, tell your insurance company to pursue a diminished value claim against the other driver since you know who it is.

My initial reaction was to leave a note and try to resolve it amicably with the other driver, but I thought about it and changed my mind. They drove away so they don't have much integrity and it's hard to resolve issues with someone like that. Just get your insurance company to pursue the remedy for you. You pay them premiums so let them work for you.

[FC]

I'm no expert, but my understanding (and having been to the factory and seen the paint process 1st hand), the paint you want to worry about is paint on the metal. That gets baked at temperatures you could never match at a body shop.

Plastic parts (bumpers, rockers) are painted separately and installed. Don't know what process they specifically use at the factory, but I know they use different paint on those parts and they are plastic, so they cannot be baked. You will be fine with a bumper repaint job. I would not sweat that at all.

Oh, and yeah , call your insurance co. and have them deal with this. It's their job. You have video. Done.

[afadeev]

OP,
I sympathize with your situation (BTDT multiple times with vandalism in NYC).

However, you have massively unrealistic expectations on how much the rest of the world cares about your bumper scrape.
Sorry to be blunt, but that's what this is about.

Originally Posted by shiv.nandak

So it happened... again. After my first parking lot hit and run, i decided to invest in a dual channel dash cam. The investment might have just paid for itself after someone backed into my car and fled the scene. I called the police and filed a hit and run report. I also found the same car the next day with damage to their bumper (dirt has been wiped from the bumper at the location of the damage). I called the police again and told them where the car was parked, but they just told me to call back the next morning and ask for a detective with all the evidence.

And that is just about as much love as you are going to get from the police.
What did you really expect them to do?
Drop everything, and rush to setup a sting/trap over a $500 scraped bumper?

Realistically, police have nothing to do here.
This is an civil/insurance dispute, and you should handle it accordingly.

Also, you just publicly admitted that you had previous parking lot accidents / damage.
I would IMMEDIATELY delete your post!

Else the other party, or his/her insurance, will be able to claim that the damage was inflicted by prior encounters, and not by the video that you shared with us (which, BTW, is inconclusive, since it doesn't show the area in question before/after the incident).

Originally Posted by shiv.nandak

The annoying part of all this is that since the person fled, i was forced to create a police report. Which means that this "accident" will definitely be on carfax.

Actually, no, you were not forced to create a police report.

You chose to do that of your own volition.
It has served no useful purpose so far, has it?

Originally Posted by shiv.nandak

Also, until the police track this person and find their insurance - i cannot get my car fixed. If i create a claim through my insurance, it will be considered a claim from me.

News flash - police will not be tracking anyone here.
Your insurance might, after you file the claim with them.

It will start as a comprehensive claim, subject to the deductible.
Once (if) they identify the culprit, and if they deem him/her to have actually caused this damage, and if he/she actually has insurance, and if his/her insurance agrees that their driver cause that damage (if it's Geico - they virtually certainly will not) it will get reclassified as a collision claim.
Then the other party's insurance will pay for the repairs, and you get your deductible back.

Otherwise, it will remain a comprehensive claim, and if your deductible is $500 or above, you will pay for the repairs out of pocket.

Originally Posted by ItIsChrisM

If it were me, I'd have a buddy join me (as a witness) and confront the person and tell them you have video evidence and you're giving them ONE chance to own up and make it right. I wouldn't jump to an aggressive tone...keep it cordial but be firm and lay out the facts. If they are combative in any way or don't comply, call 911 right then and there and tell them there's a dispute and you need an officer to come.

You guys don't get it - misc property crime doesn't begin to register on the police radar.

If you initiate a confrontation in the parking garage, and police gets called, the party to get chewed out, if not arrested, for causing the confrontation, will be you and your buddy !

a

[MLAW702]

You have great restraint i am pissed watching that

[Audio Fan]

Originally Posted by 4everkidd

you're a little guy aren't ya

Best laugh I've had today.

[BMWFanatic2008]

Police won't do much here. Your only hope is that your insurance company will make the offender's insurance company to pay. That's a big if, of course. Hopefully, your video recording will help the case.

As far as this incident appearing on your carfax goes, it isn't the police report but filing a claim through your insurance company.

[shiv.nandak]

Also, you just publicly admitted that you had previous parking lot accidents / damage.
I would IMMEDIATELY delete your post!

The previous incident damaged the rear bumper. It's been documented and I don't see any reason to remove this post. I think you are thinking too much into it.

[STR8-6IX]

just key the shit out of his car and get that scratch fix.

the whole bumper wont have to be repainted for that. $300 fix.

you will lose more then $300 from filing a claim. its not worth it bro.

[Who's on first]

Do you have uninsured motorist? Varies state to state.

In MD, $250 deductible... that's it. Cannot legally effect your insurance rates.

It's very simple really.

Maybe a nice polite note, with a still photo of them hitting it. Say something (BS) maybe they didn't notice it... I'm sure it was innocent.... whatever. Non aggressive tone. Tell them you'd like to give the the opportunity to resolve this without the police and or insurance.

Provide your phone number.

Then... if nothing.. they're a loser..

Get it fixed and move on.

[sandjam]

What's funny about that video is they bumped your car and then slowly pulled forward, and slowly drove off. They weren't trying to get away fast. Some people actually think that bumping into a car is just part of driving and no one cares. I mean they parked in the same area again, not trying to hide. You may be just dealing with a simple moron.

[faiz]

Sorry to see this happen OP. Did this happen at the Gold's Gym downtown? I have seen a SO M4 there.