c3 in hawaii

as some of you know I just got my car painted, just about finished putting it all together, I get up friday morning to see that it was hit in the front, no note left or nothing.. I made a report and cops said there was nothing I could do, no witnesses... So I get home later and take a look at my neighbors truck and notice my new paint job on his tire and rim, I call the cops back and report this, get this...they said I still can't prove he hit my car ..so he calls this person down and he tries to deny it, The cops shows him the paint on the tire, he then admits it... what an idiot..I now have the choice to have him fined for hit and run...should I persue this now that he owned up to it or just be happy that he is taking fault...my estimate came to $1800, cracked the fender and tore my front bumper (Which I just replaced new)....what would you guys do???

hensen1954

Make him pay and some extra for being an ******* of a neighbour- say 500 bucks on top !!!!!!!!!

TLChydraulics

My wife would say GET HIM. I am kind of a push-over, and would settle with him paying for the damage, but that sure isn't cool. Although, I wasn't there to hear or see how he acted, the initial denying of it might have made me angry enough to go ahead and press charges, but again I'm kind of a push over and you still have to be neighbors after all is said and done. Doubt I was much help. Sure sorry to hear about your trouble though.

Good luck with everything!

Loren

Pauld

Has he agreed to pay for the damage and does he have the means to pay you?

theandies

Most people today don't think they are accountable for their own actions that is why this ahole didn't knock on your door as soon as it happened. If it were me? I'd throw the book at him. Screw all that neighbor stuff, he is not much of a neighbor to begin with.

LIQUIDDRAGON

100% and would make him pay if he is that kind of neighbor.i would have let it slide if he admited to it but sense he was gonna screw you and and deny it and let you pay for his mistake i would let him suffer. anyone that does that deserves to have to book thrown at them. its a shame that there are people that do these types of things. i once over heard these two old ladies talking and one said that she hit someones car that day befor and left cause she didnt want her insurance to go up or lose her license i mean WTF she was atleast in her 70's and is worried about paying more or losing your license. with this happening to me and also my wife befor it just makes me so mad just thinking about it. i vote make him pay you extra just cause he tried to deny it and let him know if he does pay extra you will not pursue it as a hit and run and just call it an accident and make him pay to fix and pay extra for your troubles or make him fix it and also make him suffer with a hit and run. i see it as time is money and you already payed the money to get the car fixed and now you will be with out it again and spring is here and it sounds like you where gonna be cruising in this nice weather soon but it looks like its gonna be a while again for you and i think that he should pay for that. just mu .02 but good luck getting your car fixed and i hope it gets fixed right for you and sorry to hear about your car.

cosmicvette

I would be mortified and want blood, lots of it and hot if something like that happened to me.

But on the other had 'making someone pay' has never made me feel any better as all you really want is your car the way it was.

My advice would be to make sure he pays to get your car fixed to your liking but you DON'T press charges.

I have had severe problems with neighbours in the past and it takes a lot of your energy dealing with them.

If you press charges be warned that you may open pandora's box and constantly have to worry about things at home and a whole array of problems may arise. At the very least there will definately be hate between you. On the other hand if you let him off the hook he would be in your debt in a big way.

At the end of your day it is up to you, GOOD LUCK.

Cosmicvette

Martin72

If the neighbor says he is going to pay for the repair...get something in writing.
A couple of years ago a neighbor's son ran into the ditch in front of my house....after running over my mailbox....and knocked out part of my driveway (the part that crosses over the ditch). The neighbor asked me not to file against his insurance (didn't want his rates to go up -- again) and that he would pay for it. That's been over 2 years ago...and I still haven't see anything. He just ignores me now. When I called the police about it....they said that I should have handled it with the officer working the accident...it was too late now.

Lesson learned....get any promises in writing....or file charges.

BlueL36

He already flaked out once. What makes you think he'll be standup now?

Chumpzilla

Sounds pretty simple..... Let HIM make the choice. Take the burden off yourself. He can either fork over $1800.... plus $200 in "pain and suffering" for an even $2k and you call it a day. Or file charges on him and pursue the case relentlessly.

And if he chooses the buyout, that's $2k in cash within 48 hours, or you take a trip to the police station.

His choice. He has 5 minutes to think about it.

stingry

I "did the right thing" about a month ago. A young girl bumped the back of our van at a light. We called the cops and were about to file an accident report when my wife and I decided to "help her out" by not doing an accident report as the accident looked minor. She said that she "had plenty of money" and would pay for the repairs. Well the repairs plus car hire were about $400. I had estimates from 4 shops and she obviously was to pay the cheapest.

Her insurance would have gone up at least that much for the next 3 years if she had claimed. So what does she do? She tries to get me to go to some dodgy friend of her dads to get the repairs done "he can do it for half that".

The only way I got the money was to go to her insurance agent and tehy called her and said pay me or let them file a claim. Your choice!

Got the money.

Moral to the story. Look after yourself first.

He tried to screw you, return the favour. You already know he is a liar and doesn't give a crap about respecting his neighbour.

Press charges. Without the charges you may have trouble putting in a claim. If you insurance has a policy where if it is not your fault and you can prove whose fault it is you may not have a deductable or an increase in your insurance. You will need DOCUMENTATIOn though ie the police report and the name, address etc of the A-Hole that hit you.

TAKE PHOTOS now. I had a digital camera in the car whjen the little miss whatsaname hit me. Pretty hard to dispute you didn't do it when you car is wedged up the back of another car at a light.

Get his insurance details. If he won't give them to you then call the cops and reference the hit and run report. I am sure there is a law that makes motorists provide their insurance details if there is an accident.

Get the call time and dispatch details for the cops turning up. Get their badge numbers if you can. More documentation in case it gets uglier. (helps prove they were there)

Good Luck. Don't be nice, look after yourself.

Nice guys finish last.

mandm1200

Sounds like the police don't want to charge him. I believe hit and run is a criminal offense or something like that. I'm in Pa so the laws may be different. If a crime has been commited and reported, the police have very little choice but to prosecute. I realize that they may want to do the guy a favor by letting him off. That is not their job, they are not a judge. If this person would not have be caught, chances are the next car he hit where there are no witnesses he would just keep on going.
On the flip side. If the police are willing to give him a 'break' and your only objective is to get reimbursed for damages, I would give the person 24 hours to come up with the cash. If he can write a check, he can go to the bank and get you cash. He may think you're being tough, but he'll spend that much or more on an attorney if the police charge him.

Schmucker

Yeah, if someone hit my Crown Victoria, no big deal (well, it wouldn't be damaged because it is a tank...) but if someone hit my Corvette, especially after a new paint job, they are going to pay and I wouldn't take any chances. Sure it'd be nice to not have to go through insurance companies or press charges for the hit and run... but you just can't trust anyone, especially not with an $1800 bill to pay.

oregonsharkman

I agree.....As soon as you let off some pressure he'll take his time and you'll have to deal with the whole thing again.

NHvette

Get your vette fixed - and he pays for it - one way or another.

I let a claim (on DD) go unclaimed this year. I could have claimed it,
but my car is old and wasn't damaged too much. Basically cosmetic
damage and two blown light bulbs.
Him:
http://nhvette.homeunix.com/ftp/in/a...su_1_10_05.jpg
Me:
http://nhvette.homeunix.com/ftp/in/a...ck_1_10_05.jpg
I was stopped, and he slid 40 feet through a stop sign .... whack.

fontking1a

Why not buy a home security camera and attach it to your computer? They are cheap and work great. Mount that sucker in your window and point it toward your driveway or car or whatever and then leave it alone. They can be set up to record movement and then you'll have a video clip of your neighbor actually hitting your car. The big trick is to have nice neighbors in the first place. Anybody can screw up and have an accident but when you do something like what your neighbor did...and then deny it....it's nice to have the proof at hand. It also makes it hard for the cops for them NOT to do their job.

steves_77vette

Just remember, he is YOUR neighbor. Do you want to be so bent on vengance that he wants to "accidentally" do something again? I believe in holding people accountable and he should definitely pay for the damage done, but after that, let it go. It's not worth the risk, stress, energy to take it any further.

Tell the guy what he needs to do to make it right, in other words put it back the way it was, and then let him do it, and when it's done tell him it's over. You'll feel better this way than spending a bunch of energy in taking it further and it will never end after that either.

KALAWAY

I've done both and you don't want to be worried about your house and your stuff when you're not home. Neighbors can be very vindictive, even though they're at fault. So do the right thing - get your car fixed and don't press charges. If your neighbor still shows no remorse after your good will, you can nail him next time.

TXredc3

Here my 2 cents. Most everyone is telling you to strongarm this guy. If you go this route and knowing this guy's character, there's a really good chance you'll wind up with more damage to your car later on down the road. And next time you probably won't have proof that he did it. I could easily see him running a key down your car(s) some late night. The next morning when confronted, he'll look at you with a big smile on his face and say "nope, I have no idea who would've done something like that".

kdf1986

After reading all the replies you are between a rock and a hard place.
On one hand I would think about charging him for the hit and run. That way he is penalized for his actions, and he or his insurance company will have to pay. After all, his actions speak about his character. If he has already done this. 1) hit you and did not not leave any information on doing so 2) initially lied to the cops about what he did, even with evidence, 3) then admitted to doing this. If you look at his character, what is making you believe that he will actually honor the payment if you drop the charges? If he hit you, and then informed you, and tried to make restitution, that is an honest character and I would not file charges. But his actions warrant having charges pressed against him, that is why we have laws in place.

Having said that, because of his type of character, I would then caution you against restituion. I mean, whats to stop him from keying up your car after the charges are filed. Or having one of his freinds do it for him so he can honsestly say he did not do it. Dont you think he will try to get back at you in some way. After all he did do the hit and run, denied it and lied to the cops. That doesnt sound like the type of person you really want to tick off.

kdf