Just got in a hit & run

[selavia]

Some one just side swiped my car. Broke the mirror; back fenders scraped, dented and paint completely missing. I'll take pictures and post them later. No plate; no make and model. I was parked in a store; when I came out I saw an SUV reversing quickly out the spot next to me. I didn't realize it till I got to my car and by that time too late. My air bag light went on; Is there any connection?

So today wasn't such a great day. Ugh. I hate ignorant people.

 

[CosmosBlack]

Damn, Sean! I'm terribly sorry to hear that.
Things like this always pisses me off big time.
If I caught someone in the act of hit and run on my car some day, I fear I will be going to jail.

I hope your insurance will have things taken care of, that shouldn't affect your premium, will it?

 

[Big Daddy]

Ditto what Kenny said, I am very sorry!

 

[Average Jae]

Damn Sean,
i'm hoping the store had a CCTV of some sort monitoring the parking lot.
i remember getting side swiped in my HS parking lot. didn't even know until the school was out. there was freezing rain that day, so that's understandable, but to not even leave a note..

i hope everything gets squared away, and the damn insurance company is cool w/ you. (but remember Kirby's accident, you are pretty good about that right? best o luck man.

 

[Tom]

Sorry to hear, but did you file a police report?

 

[tool fan]

I would be searching for SUV's with dents and matching paint. Sorry to hear about that

 

[Doughnut]

I would be searching for SUV's with dents and matching paint. Sorry to hear about that

+1 hunt that trucker down!

 

[Kirby]

Crap, that sux...

I would not expect that to cause the airbag light to come on, but who knows?

 

[selavia]

I don't have hit and run insurance; my insurance company makes that an extra couple of hundred and I opted out b/c I don't have $$ to begin with b/c of school. Eh.
There were many cameras around; went in the store to see if I could look at them; was told I need a Police officer and police report. FIled it last night; when the poloice officer went in, the manager was not on the up and up. When the police officer asked him to view his tapes, the manage asked "where are you parked?" He took one look at my car and then said something along the lines 'you can afford it' and proceeded to tell the officer that the shopping cart coral completely blocks the view of the camera so there is no point in viewing the videos. (However, there is a camera directly behind where my vehicle was parked and the coral was in front of my car; but neither I nor the officer brought this to the manager's attention). The Police officer thanked the man and told me, he'll follow up on Wednesday with the stores 'Loss and PRevention' people since the manager was no help.

The problem is, the area I was in wasn't the greatest area (where people are not overly obsessed about a small scratch or skid mark on their bumper) and we live in the land of SUVs where these type of accidents are common. So when I looked at SUVs, most of them had little marks which would match my accident. I couldn't find any with blue paint. Also, I think the guy/girl realized when he was pulling out that I was the owner of the car (I was walking to the car) because he moved rather swiftly. Eh.

Oh, and he hit it really hard because when I went in the car, the harzard lights were on. This is why I thought it might be related to the airbag light going on. When I was rear-ended, my air bag light went on and they reset it after checking the system.

If all else fails, I'll wait till this summer when I'm working and get it fixed out of my own pocket.

And btw, it was kind of funny. While the Police officer was writing the report, a car was hit in the same manner. The guy started reversing out to (most assumably flee) and the police officer turned his lights and sirens on for the briefest of moments. LOL. The guy got out and left a note. I told the officer he should have been there to do that for my car.

 

[MrElussive]

Sorry to hear about what happened. Post up some pictures of the damage when you get a chance. I hope everything works out for you buddy.

 

[frolf]

damn dude, that sucks balls. i would be furious if the someone said "you can afford it to me" I am with tool fan on this one.


this sucks. these types of people make my world grind to a halt sometimes

 

[deutsch100]

So sorry Sean. I can't believe the "you can afford it attitude". It doesn't matter if you are driving a BMW or a Hyundai Excel, this is not acceptable.

I hope the store cooperates more, or you are able to find the SUV (although that is probably unlikely).

So sorry, and maybe you can find an inexpensive, yet good body shop. Time to make that "Mom, Dad" call and ask for a little $. You don't want your beautiful BMW rusting.

 

[MTBL525i]

Sorry to hear that, having been a victim of a hit and run myself I know how frustrating it can be. Hopefully you can get better cooperation for the store and hopefully one of the cameras caught something.

 

[selavia]

I put the car in my parent's garage and I'm driving my Dad's old car right now because I'm concerned about rust; I don't want the damage to get any worse. Do you guys think it's okay to sit for a month in a garage? Do you think rust will still form? I really won't have time to address this issue until after exams, but I don't want it to rust. Can I clean it myself and put some type of paint over it just to prevent corrosion? The garage door does leak a little water when it rains really hard and I don't want the moisture in the air to cause rust.

The store manager's attitude was really annoying and I think the police officer was annoyed as well, but he (not being personally affected by the circumstances allowed him to remain more calm) did not show anything but pleasantries and thanks to the Manager for his time. Upon retrospect, the officer was correct; if this guy isn't being helpful, it's best to talk to someone else and as it was late at night, no one else was there. So getting into a 'discussion' without someone who quite clearly was adverse to helping me because of the car that it was would not have been productive. While the law was present, we still should not breach the peace if you don't have to. The camera should at least give a make and model of the vehicle because it was so close. Eh, I'm not holding my breathe.

Thanks for the supports guys!

And Adam, this is substantial damage; body work and paint will be at least $1,000, not including replacing the mirror (I think I'll get one from a junk yard and do that myself.) And I also have to figure out what's up with the airbag. I don't want to stick my parents with that bill. They already do alot for me with school and stuff, ya know.

 

[Average Jae]

i'm not sure about PA insurance laws, but in michigan, accidents in the parking lot are covered by insurance.

i was trying to park my store's van in reverse, and the mall was pretty empty that day, and while backing up, this HS girl that just picked up a new jeep was driving right through when i hit her. i felt really bad about it, tried to calm her down and stuff. filed the police report and all that, 100% my fault.

but in michigan fault is not assigned to accidents in the parking lot, because its a private property. if asked, i would've paid for their deductable (michigan has a no fault policy) but they didn't ask and i didnt' offer. the store van is a store van w/ steel bumpers, so no need for me to fix that..

anyway, i'm hoping PA has something simlar with accidents in the parking lot. i thought damage to the car while parked is filed under comprehensive, and not the full collision deductable.

anyway, hope you get everything square. its gotta suck with other things going on in your life, but at least it happened while you can still get a spare from your parents. wish ya the best w/ investigation and the insurance.
and do give that manger a big F U from michigan for me. geesh his comment just blew me away..

 

[Doughnut]

Depending on how babd the paint was scratched, you will get very minor surface rust.
Not to worry though as this will just rub off easily when you go to repaint, putting it in the garage is a much better idea than driving it around. if it gets driven in the rain, bigger problems could possibly occur.

 

[selavia]

My brother's gonna clean the area for me today; he was saying he's going to wax it to prevent surface rust. I was thinking using one of those paint brush factory paints to cover it. The area where there is no paint is not that big 3/4 scratch lines anywhere from 3-8 inches long and ranging in thickness from really small to 1cm. Paint or wax? Just to prevent surface rust.

I'll have to look at MD 'no fault rules' for parking lots. But if I make a claim with my insurance company, I'm fairly certain my rates will increase. You know, I often wonder, what is the point of having insurance if it is NOT financially beneficial to use it when you need it. It really is upsetting. With health insurance, the financial benefit is apparent, especially with a small child. Also home-owners or title insurance, the financial benefit is very apparent. Life (or death) insurance also has a great financial benefit. I'm still struggling to find the benefit of auto-insurance; any insurance system where premiums increase expotentially for filing a claim is NOT actually "insurance." You're not 'insured' against anything.

 

[Average Jae]

oops, i kept saying PA huh? i guess i should look harder
your rates shouldn't rise right away. (then again i'm not an insurance professional.) they'll be sneaky and raise it on you later.
i understand your frustration, but figure them a necessary evil.

you can just ask without having them jack the rates right?

 

[Kirby]

Use wax, not paint. Tell the body shop that you waxed it; they can strip the wax easily; they will do that as part of the repaint anyhow.

 

[selavia]

ok; ok. My brother was right; lol. I was giving him crap about it; I thought wax would be ineffective. I guess he was right. That's why he's the older one.

Geico has this policy that the first claim that's made after 7-9 years of being insured with them does NOT increase your premiums. After that, it does. My insurance is under my Dad's policy and he was in an accident two years ago and filed a claim. So for the next 7 years, can't file a claim without insurance going up. It is stated clear in the contract/agreement. Just read it again for good measure.
Eh. Necessary evil? That's the problem, it's NOT necessary! It's a compulsion mandated by law and regulation; that, however, does not actually make it 'necessary.' Okay, I'll get off of the insurance rant. My true discontentment is with the driver who was rude.

Thanks Kirby & to the rest of you guys. Right now, I just want to minimize the amount of damage and potential cost right now; I can be pissy about it later. lol

Thanks! Sean