Sorry to see this Mike. That just plain sux!

Good post.
Leads to an age old question of human nature: Hobbes vs Locke: State of Nature - Philosophers

last time i left a note, the owner of the car absolutely HOSED me.. it ruined me.

sorry this happened to you. sucks. but it can suck both ways...

How?

A few months ago I was backing myself out of a parking spot down the street at the donut shop on the way out for the day. I hear and feel the scraaaaape! Figured it was bad, was in the cayman. There was a work truck parked crooked next to me and I had hit the corner of the low bumper with my wheel. Nice scrape. But just damaged my own car.

I waited for the owner to come out. Turned out to be my neighbor a few blocks down, bob. I dp said bob, I hit your truck with my car. He looked at my car and said "oh no!" Showed him, he laughed and said he was sorry about my car. We laughed, I went to work, etc.

Looks like whatever backed into you had a a towbar and the ball did the damage.
Happened to my Renault Espace once, they bodywork is sheet moulded composite and a towball punched a neat hole through a doorskin, and then in pulling away from the impact the doorskin was half torn off the frame. Funny thing, a Landrover with a towbar was parked in a driveway opposite. Confronted him, he denied it, so I measured the impact height then snuck in to his driveway to measure the height of his towball then reported him to the cops for failing to report an accident.

As I was going around a high speed elevated entry to I-475 around Toledo and saw a big scraping dent on the inside gaurdrail that had obviosly come from a slip and slide accident that left the front license plate of the offending car lodged in the gardrail, I had to laugh.

Sucks really. I see this the same as stealing from someone.

It happened to my car years ago. Someone backed into the side of my car. It cost me a $400 "excess".
I made a claim through my insurance company. ($2,500, 2 news doors and paint)

Neighbor kid's dumb friend parked illegally across from my driveway (partially blocking two driveways) I backed into his Civic when leaving for work at about 5 am. One of those habit things, nobody ever parks there because they shouldn't. I left a note and called my insurance to admit fault, they made a claim, no big deal. I don't think my rates even went up. The kid's dad called me to personally thank me, which was nice. What really got me was that the little moron was parking there again after his car was fixed.:rolleyes:

How? I barely tapped a car. My hitch put a tiny square shaped impression on the bumper. I took a photo and left a note. This was a beaten down integra. I got a claim person selling me I did $2500+ worth of damage. They got a check to fix all the front end damage and a clunk in the drivetrain. They were neighbors!!! They took the money and bought a dirtbike. And did nothing to the car. Drive it as is. With the new tow receiver impression. Those aholes wanted to show me the motorcycle.

My premiums went up big time.

Oh. My memories are coming back. They called me first!!!! They said a good friend who owns a body shop gave them the estimate and I could settle it without the insurance. Just give them the cash. I told them to go eff themselves and I referred it to my insurance. Thinking foolishly that the ins co would filter out the bullchit. Nope.

Man that really sucks Mike. Sorry to see that.

People working the insurance scam are numerous. Years ago I merged right and barely touched a car that was in my blind spot. My fender had a tiny crease the size of a deck of cards with no missing paint. Her car had a minor dent to the front fender. Her insurance claim came back at $5K - they must have repainted her entire car...

My daughter did the same...put a tiny scrape in the door of an old, beat up Honda parked in the street across from my house (trailer hitch from my truck). I told her to leave a note. Told them I would pay, no problem, just get it fixed. The pictures my daughter sent looked like about a $400 repair. The bill from their "friend's" body shop was $2700. Full paint job for entire car plus some interior work. Made the old beater look like a new car.

Yeah, now I have to figure out where to take it. Dealership or the regular shop I've used in the past for my other cars?

Got clipped by a woman who lost control on ice and crossed into oncoming traffic. She grazed me as she went past.

Messed up the bumper cover on my Starion, purely cosmetic but it needed to be replaced.

Take it in to have her ins adjuster look at it and he noted the lower valence was cracked with a piece missing. I'd hit a chunk of hard pack slush a couple of days earlier.

He makes note of it and I told him that was already there.

He looked and me, shrugged and said "you want it replaced?"

Lower valences were almost unobtainable at the time and very expensive so I said "sure".

If her ins company was willing to take care of it I was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I backed into someones Nissan something or other, cracked tail light and plastic bumper cover. I went inside pharmacy, found the hunched over older lady and we exchanged info. I felt good. Few weeks later she hadn't been out to get estimate/get it fixed. I reminded her to go ahead and I would pay.
Few weeks later I get a call asking who I am, my name was part of their mothers things and she died. Kids taking over estate so I explained situation to them.
Long story short they were hostile and protective from the beginning. Would not get quote(s), went right to fixing it, cost almost $5,000 and didn't even want to send me final bill assuming I would use it to fight them somehow. I paid to be rid of them.
I'd do it again too since my honor is worth far more than that, but I'll take pictures next time and strongly consider waiting for police report, insurance to handle.
If you leave a note and go you open your wallet.

In my case I just handed it over to insurance. That's why you have it, right?

Damn Mike, that is a big hit.

My accident story for the thread--was rear-ended while I was stopped at a red light in my F250. Younger girl in a Jeep GC, phone in hand--was probably texting since I was in a line of cars at the light and had been stopped for some time. Exchanged info, her grill/bumper cladding was punched out--no rad damage, my receiver was hit and the trailer plug busted(ball and hitch were NOT on truck), and rubber step below lic plate. Her adjuster came out, looked it over, wrote up the quote, new plug, rubber step cover and receiver. I told the adjuster the receiver looked fine, he stated that it looked tweaked to him and they didn't want the liability if it was, not repaired and something happened while I was towing--fine. A day later girl's father leaves me a message on my home phone about the estimate, it's too high, I am scamming him, I need to call him back NOW, Ed Rendell is his cousin(seriously). He apparently forgot that it was their insurance adjuster that wrote up the estimate. I never did call him back, got truck fixed, put "tweaked" receiver on our beater shop truck.

Amen....

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Parking+by+Braille
Sucks, guess I won't complain about the few scratches I've received over the years.

A hit like that would tick me off to no end.

A few weeks ago I was backing up in a covered parking lot. Saw an old guy (Knuckles and a Bowler hat) out of the corner of my eye backing up just opposite me. Quickly tried to pull forward but to no avail. Smack clunk. SOB runs right into me. I jump out to see the damage and Mr. Magoo puts it in drive and beatsfeet out there. Tried to get a picture of his license plate but it was too late. He had only hit my rear tire on my Jeep with his bumper but SOB still did a turn and burn. Apparently he practices the park-by-braille method. :rolleyes: