My parked car was hit :(

[Tripen]

Luckily, the guy was nice enough to let me know about it and left with me his name and phone number.

However, I just woke up and was totally in a daze and forgot to get his plate number, and drivers licence number. But I'll give him a call later today and get those off of him if I need to.

Anyways, it happened about a half hour ago, and basically left a dent the rear driver-side door. I'm wondering what I should do in this situation?

We talked about it and we'd like to avoid insurance if it's feasible, but I'm not sure how much the damage would cost to repair. Obviously if it's too costly I'll be making calls to police and insurance, but is there an order I should do things in? I'm at a loss and just need some advice.

Do I need to call the police? Or can I bring it in to a dealership/repair shop for an estimate? And if so, which would be better?

Thanks guys.

[Kardon]

Go get an estimate from a shop, and let him know what his bill is gonna be. You might want to check out a few different places.

[Tripen]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/Serrated/IMG_0005.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/Serrated/IMG_0006.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a317/Serrated/IMG_0001.jpg

Here's how it looks.

[Weapon_R]

That's gonna be costly.

[dj_rice]

Hopefully his contact details are correct. Had it happen to me, neighbor witnessed the whole accident and took down his info from what he said, rang my doorbell, I woke up and went outside to see him reverse away. When I tried to call #, it was fake, drivers ID # was fake, neighbor didn't even write down his plate, stupid female neighbor.

[JordanAndrew]

I would give him a call, make sure it's a real number and name. try and meet up with him and grab his license and his insurance info.

I know you guys had a "talk" that you're not going through insurance but it's better to be safe than sorry.

After this you can start getting quotes from bodyshops. Then meet up with him, show him the quotes, agree with a proper settlement, get papers signed that both parties are waiving insurance, and off you go.

[Dilmah]

Report it to insurance and the police. Tell insurance that be will pay for the damages out of pocket and not to hold off until you get back to them. Then if he tries to screw you over you just tell the insurance company to proceed. If you don't report it the insurance company may give you a hard time.

[speedog]

Ummm, why wouldn't you report it to your insurance company? If the name and number he gave ya is good, then let your insurance company deal with the situation - you pay them your hard earned monies and so, you might as well make them earn their keep, no?

[sawee03]

I hit a driver side door, and a fender once on iced roads. The best deal I got was around $850 to fix it. The highest estimate I got was $2500. Let me know if you want to check this place out.

[hampstor]

Originally posted by Weapon_R
That's gonna be costly.

:werd:

I've seen a lot of guilty parties say they do not want to go thru insurance. Then they find out how much it'll cost to repair and then accuse you of trying to rip them off or they have a 'friend' who can do it for less.

Tripen, my suggestion is get his proper information first. Then go get an a damage appraisal at the shop that's most convenient for you to repair it at, then go file a police report if it's over $1k (in this case it most likely will be), and after that call the guy and let him know how much it'll cost.

Good luck and I hope you get it repaired w/o much hassle from him.