[Alpine335TT]

So I was in Georgetown DC last night and my friends and I are sitting just inside a restaurant and see an A6 plow backwards into my front bumper while trying to parallel park. The guy was clearly drunk seeing that I could have parallel parked a pickup truck into that space easily seeing how large the spot was. Right away I run outside and talk to the guy and he's telling me he doesn't have insurance. Being the nice guy that I am I get his Name, #, and license plate and don't call the cops. As hard as he hit my car (it moved) the damage is hardly noticeable however you can see a thin light black line and a crease.

Today I got an estimate and contacted him.. and his response was "is that to paint the whole car?" So what are my options at this point if he doesn't comply? Seeing that I don't have his insurance info I'm not really sure what to do at this point. All I have is his Name, Number, and license plate #.

Any help would be great appreciated.

[canucklion]

1 file a police report.
2 pray the police would do something about it.
3 pray the guy pays.

Always call the cops when involved in an accident, don't be a nice guy. No matter how much they beg or cry, call the cops.

[bostonrussian]

well seeing as that you're a nice guy, continue to take it up the ass and let people walk all over you, what can I say. If you want to stop being one, tell him that its this or you call the cops.

[CubanJJ09]

id do whatever i think is fair. if i thought i need to paint the whole bumper painted to make it look right casue he messed up, then id ask him to pay for it. if he didnt think so say "well ill have to file a claim with my insurance and theyll need to follow that up with a police report if its over 500 (in IL)." if he doesnt get the point that the police will find out that he doesnt have insurance, (which is mandatory, im assuming where u live) then hell find out the hard out way.

[methodtim]

This is one of those "no good deed goes unpunished" deals. You should have called the cops, period. Props to you for being a nice guy, but in those situations, you have to take the emotion out of it and make sure you have a paper trail. The only authoritative source that can provide this paper trail is the police.

As for what you can do now, you have a couple of options. You can call your insurance and file claim and have them hunt him down. They'll send him a bill, harass him accordingly, etc.; however, he could always claim he wasn't even there or some other b.s. and, since there's no police report, it would be your word against his.

You can call the police now and try to file a report, but I doubt that would work since it's now well past the time the incident occurred. You can call a lawyer and ask for some advice on this issue as well.

If I was in your shoes, I'd call him again and inform him that I will be filing a claim with my insurance for this unless he cuts me a check right away. Then I would follow through with that promise, let the insurance company handle the mess, and chalk this up to a lesson learned.

Good luck.

[nick6753]

Yeah, without filing a police report at the time of the accident, you are probably SOL unless he is nice and pays. ALWAYS file a report anytime you are in an accident. You don't have to do anything with it if you are able to settle between parties, but if you need it you have it.

[Z22Z]

Originally Posted by methodtim

This is one of those "no good deed goes unpunished" deals. You should have called the cops, period. Props to you for being a nice guy, but in those situations, you have to take the emotion out of it and make sure you have a paper trail. The only authoritative source that can provide this paper trail is the police.

As for what you can do now, you have a couple of options. You can call your insurance and file claim and have them hunt him down. They'll send him a bill, harass him accordingly, etc.; however, he could always claim he wasn't even there or some other b.s. and, since there's no police report, it would be your word against his.

You can call the police now and try to file a report, but I doubt that would work since it's now well past the time the incident occurred. You can call a lawyer and ask for some advice on this issue as well.

If I was in your shoes, I'd call him again and inform him that I will be filing a claim with my insurance for this unless he cuts me a check right away. Then I would follow through with that promise, let the insurance company handle the mess, and chalk this up to a lesson learned.

Good luck.

+1

i learned this the hard way as well. whenever someone hits you and does the whole i have no insurance or we can take care of this some other way thing cover your back and don't take their word for it.

[TiAg335i]

If the damage isn't that bad take the hit and pay for it yourself so as to not get insurance involved. But obv if you can get him to pay for it by all means.

[Spoolin335]

tell him he has to pay you now, like within 24 hrs or your filing a report. no fucking around. if he doesnt want you to go to police then he should pay up fast, no bs down the road payment plans or whatever.

get a quote, give it to him and get your money. if that doesnt work, go to the police and file a report then get the insurance to chase after him. i would not let this run on.....and defiantly do not pay for this out of your pocket to help the guy out.

think of it like this, what if it was a serious accident, hes obviously drunk, and kills someone. now he has no insurance, drunk, and killed someone. this guy should be off the road and in the clink. obviously i have no sympathy for drunk drivers.

[bmw-hoya]

Sorry, but it was very dumb of you not to call the cops. In that area they are always close by. There would have been no question that it was his fault. You've been on this forum long enough to know that people change their stories - especially when it comes to hitting (relatively) expensive bimmers.

So, try to file a police report. Include any evidence of you knowing that he was drunk, such as breath, slurred speech, that might prove your case. And any witnesses.

[bmw-hoya]

Originally Posted by Spoolin335

tell him he has to pay you now, like within 24 hrs or your filing a report. no fucking around. if he doesnt want you to go to police then he should pay up fast, no bs down the road payment plans or whatever.

Be careful about how you approach this - it could be considered blackmail. Certainly be discrete and nothing in writing about, "if you don't give me money, I'll go got the cops."

You dig?

[Alpine335TT]

Thanks for the responses... I've got my insurance co tracking down his info... since i do have his plate # and contact info... we'll see where it goes from here... if i get something out of it cool.. if not.. i guess i can live w/ the damage..

[doobie]

Originally Posted by bostonrussian

well seeing as that you're a nice guy, continue to take it up the ass and let people walk all over you, what can I say. If you want to stop being one, tell him that its this or you call the cops.

shit...that made my week.

i hope it works out for you Alpine335TT.

[Alpine335TT]

I didn't call the cops because I've had them come to write up reports in the past for scratches and what not.. and they usually show up... give you the F U for wasting their time.. and go on their merry way..

[blue2fire]

Well, i would still have called the Police. There are multiple factors you should have considered. If the guy was clearly drunk, what is to stop him from going on and ploughing into a minivan full of children at 60MPH?

People like that are a nuisance to society and the guy would have learned a lesson if he spent the night in jail.

[karliejai]

i would jsut go fuck him in the ass big time!!! lol (no homo) i mean wtf... why do people drive WITHOUT insurance? thats just askign for it... and plus hes driving a A6. dont tell me you dont get money or whatever.

[TheLegend]

I think he's bullshitting you about not having insurance.

[TT3 iN NyC]

OP, I was in almost the exact same situation as you. Last Thursday, some chic reversed into me. She and her mom begged me not to file a police report or go through insurance as the premium would go up. I was going to be Mr Nice guy and not do that but then I thought "WTF, why shouldn't I, she basically F'ed up my car, I have to take time out to get it fixed, deal with insurance, etc etc" and I filed the police report. Always file police report.

Good luck.

[p4junk]

With hindsight being 20/20, 'feeling sorry' for someone driving a car without insurance, and showing signs of inebriation is not the appropriate response.

Also, not getting the cops involved implies that you are fully capable - on your own, of getting this guy to take care of his responsibility.

Good luck and thanks for sharing. It's a constructive reminder of what NOT to do when in a similar situation.

[BORIZZZ]

Originally Posted by Alpine335TT

So I was in Georgetown DC last night and my friends and I are sitting just inside a restaurant and see an A6 plow backwards into my front bumper while trying to parallel park. The guy was clearly drunk seeing that I could have parallel parked a pickup truck into that space easily seeing how large the spot was. Right away I run outside and talk to the guy and he's telling me he doesn't have insurance. Being the nice guy that I am I get his Name, #, and license plate and don't call the cops. As hard as he hit my car (it moved) the damage is hardly noticeable however you can see a thin light black line and a crease.

Today I got an estimate and contacted him.. and his response was "is that to paint the whole car?" So what are my options at this point if he doesn't comply? Seeing that I don't have his insurance info I'm not really sure what to do at this point. All I have is his Name, Number, and license plate #.

Any help would be great appreciated.

Sorry to hear that!
I spend a lot of time in Georgetown and I have seen so many people just bump into others' cars and just leave. Parking is tight. Good that you got some info though. He will never pay! Go through the insurance.

[EMG E92]

time for mtech rear?

[methodtim]

Originally Posted by EMG E92

time for mtech rear?

Uh....

Originally Posted by Alpine335TT

So I was in Georgetown DC last night and my friends and I are sitting just inside a restaurant and see an A6 plow backwards into my front bumper while trying to parallel park.