Some jackass hit my car in the parking lot at work and left no notes There are two HUGE scratches and a BIG dent in between them. And it looks like the dent is on a crease, too! Damn it! I've only got my Fit for just over 6 months.

• I haven't gotten an estimate yet but how much am I looking at here to fix this mess?

• My deductible is $500 so if it costs less than $1,000, I'm thinking of fixing it myself. Does the dent look like it can be popped out with the hair dryer and canned air trick? Or if you guys have some other tips for me to pop it out. What can I do about the scratches?

• Or it looks like I have to bring my Fit to a body shop?

• For those with a detective mind, does it look like it might be caused by an SUV type of car? The location of the damage is a little high for a sedan bumper, is it? I work at a place with 1,000+ employees so it might be tough to find the jackass that hit me but I wanna try anyway. Any tips for me to find this jackass? So far, no one around my parking spot has any scratches on their bumpers.

• I talked with the security guys at my place and they told me they can't let me review the security tape and they can only release it to the cop. If I don't want to involve my insurance, should I file a hit-and-run report (?) with the police?

Thanks for listening to my rants guys! Hope I can get some good advice from you all.

 

might take more than a quick fix...the wheel well is a tricky area.

where do you work? is it a lot with employee only parking? if so, look for white cars and scratched front bumpers on the passenger's side.

i don't like your photo upload site... it has ads just to view the damn photo. (do all of them have it now??)

 

this happened to my E92 M3 hit my front bumper and left. cost me $200 deductible.

even though the damage was very slight it cost almost 4k to fix everything. new driver side headlight, paint and fill the reflector holes, and some other minor things.

 

Thanks for the tips mole177. If I only have to look for a white car/SUV(?), it might narrow it down a bit. The public parks in the front of the building and employees park in the back but the two lots are connected and there are no gates or barriers between the two. But I'm almost certain it's another employee because yesterday (Monday) was a slow day. The public parking lot was half empty.

 

$4,000!!!??? That's what I fear. Did your insurance premium go up after your claim? My car is insured with Wawanesa and I've never claimed anything with them before.

 

Very sorry to learn of this. I know how you feel. Last month someone smashed my windshield while the car was parked on the street in NYC. They also damaged the end piece on the plastic cowling, and dented the metal very slightly. I told Geico that it was only the glass and they replaced that no charge. I then ordered the plastic part from Bernardi for $10 and snapped it into place myself. I'll just live with the barely noticeable dent in the metal. The question is, who did it and how? My guess is that it was either the sanitation workers (who collected that morning) or the guys renovating a storefront place that I was parked in front of. Or, I suppose, that it could have been one of the hundreds of drunken patrons who stagger out of the bars that line that avenue. Given that I've been parking on the street since '95 and that this is the first time something's happened (except for the antenna being snapped off my old Accord) I guess I'm "lucky."

Hope that it works out for you without too much pain.

 

ouch. looks like it'll be $$$$. seeing how it is on a crease even if you push the dent out yourself, its not gonna look the same. i would file a police report and then try to get your insurance or police to get the tapes to review. insurance can give you estimated cost and all but, unless you sign and accept a check for less your deductible they can't jack up your rates or anything like that. i had a similar situation.

 

Sorry this happened. I dread this every day at work.

Cops won't spend time on this unless someone was squished.

Do you have any good cleaner/polish/wax at home? If not, go get some mequires cleaner wax and buff off the paint residue with a soft rag, then buff it off. That should take off the paint.

As long as the paint is not split, paintless dent removal could probably get the panel back into shape. You might have to drive around and get quotes.

If I were you, I'd avoid the mark on your insurance, unless you have a policy with $0 hit and run (you might and not even know it). Also, if the repair ends up over a certain amount (somewhere under $1k in CA afaik), you are legally required for it to appear on the vehicle history report!!!

Good luck

 

happens a lot. That's why i always park in the back 40 which also provides the benefit of a little exercise which never hurts.
Better to avoid insurance claim in most cases like this.

 

Depends what you want to live with. A bit of rubbing compound will take out the white and most of the scratches.

or as you have insurance go to them and ask.

 

any chance that the surrounding buildings have security cameras? maybe something you could review or have the shop owner review for you if they won't let you look at the tape itself.

If the dent is along a creased part of the body, you are likely going to need a shop to do the work. popping out a dent that is smooth is one thing, if there is supposed to be a crease in the middle, that's another.

~SB

 

You can save yourself some heart burn by not playing detective. If you don't find a car hooked up to the end of your dent you would never be able to prove a thing even if you did find a white car with some paint transfer on it.

 

Hahaha. You're right. After spotting about 10 white SUVs/cars in the parking lot with various damages on the passenger side front bumpers, I gave up. As I'm in IT, I'll try to see if I can hack into the security systems and view that day parking lot recordings. I mean had my car been hit in some random strip mall's parking lot I would have stopped after they refused to let me see the security camera recording. It's just that the knowledge of the jackass knowing exactly whose car it is that he/she hit while I know nothing about him/her and might have even chit chatting with him/her in the elevator is INFURIATING!!!!

 

ANYWAY. THANK ALL FOR REPLYING. A friend referred me to this lil ethnic mom and pop body shop and I went there yesterday evening and they quoted me $600. I just dropped off my car with them an hour ago. I'll pay out of my own pocket as I hate it that my insurance will only pay $100 ($500 deductible) and they WILL double, triple or even quadruple my premium. This mom and pop shop probably won't have the best technician but as long as whatever they did isn't very noticeable, I'll be fine with it. It's supposed to be done by Sat evening. I'll post the "after" pics for you guys to see. I feel like being mugged right in the lobby at work! Unbelievable!

 

Wow. I had someone leave the same exact dent when I first got my Fit. Luckily the person left a note and their insurance paid for it. I went to body shop that wanted to quote sanding down and repainting the entire left side. Definitely did not want to that. The body shop quoted ~$1,200. I went to a shop that popped my dent out for ~$400 and pocketed the rest of the money. I would definitely recommend going to a shop that can pop out dents. No can even tell my Fit got hit. Wax and buffer that wheel well and the white marks will be less noticeable.

 

Fixed finally! Just like new. Out 600 bucks though.