levon1830

The first happened last June. and has since been repaired. The damage was done by a Ford Explorer Sport Trac. He/she backed into my car from the driveway across the street and took off:













The second incident occurred yesterday. The damage was done by an 8-year-old kid on his bicycle :







This scratch is pretty deep and was caused by the kid taking the rubber protector off of his handlebars, leaving the bare metal exposed.





Luckily I was able to track down the culprits in both cases. The kid seemed to feel pretty bad about doing it, so I'm not really mad at him. Besides, accidents do happen and kids will be kids. I just wish he would have come and told me when he did it, but instead I had to find out on my own. I was heading out to my car to go check on one of my jobsites, then I see the DEEP gouge in the driver's door and my face immediately changes from a nonchalant look to this --> . Luckily the tire marks gave away the suspect . There are only two kids that ride their bicycles on my street (I live on a cul-de-sac). I will be getting estimates on getting the damage repaired some time next week.

fant0m_TL

dang man, that sucks!

are you going to make the kid (parents) pay for the scratches, or use insurance?

edit by datmrman: Clear your PM box and shoot me a PM.

darksom1

That sucks! Everytime I hear about that kind of stuff, I remember when I used to play football in the parking lot with the other kids, the ball bouncing off cars! As a youth, your determination of "value" is very shallow! LOL! Man, now I cringe when I see someone playing catch in the neighborhood. I gotta move and get a house with a garage! LOL! Glad you understand they were just being kids, and "yeah right" on the come and tell you part! You know they were scared as hell! LOL!

This TRUE story happened about this chick I met, and she was living in Cleveland then, not Maryland where I met her. I dated this chick once who blew up on a 5-yr old who was throwing a softball and it hit her BMW headlight! She was extremely pissed! The parents were upset about her going off and they refused to pay for the damages to her car saying it's just a kid! I thought that was wrong of her, and the parents as well (I wasn't with her then, just in reflection of thought) and apparently so did she as she had four goons throw tires, bottles, and pipes thru the parent's house windows!! Smashed a lot of furniture up and of course, broken windows! (the people were away on vacation, so opportunity presented itself to her) Dayyyuuummm! For an encore, she told me about how a guy cut her off one day on an on-ramp to the highway, and she caught up with him, threw a tire-iron threw his truck window, and sped off! Uuuhhh...yeah, I was having a drink with her in a restaurant when she was telling me this on our second date. I knew NO WAY is there going to be a third! So what did I do? What any other guy with common-sense would do...We got in the back of her Isuzu truck, I threw on a Magnum, split it, hit it, and then the next day quit it! Of course, because of her lack of anger-management, I had my phone number changed for good measure, and luckily she never knew where I lived at! (Match.com) True story...

Moral of story: Don't date chicks from Cleveland, who think they look like Janet Jackson, with bad attitudes!

But I digress...

So are the kid's parent's insurance taking care of it, or is your's and then they will be dealing with the kid's parents?

fant0m_TL

levon1830

The kids parents are going to take care of it. I know them, so there shouldn't be any problems. The father wants me to get an estimate and show it to him, then he'll give me the money to get it repaired. Only time will tell whether or not I end up kicking myself for handling this situation this way...

darksom1

From previous experiences I've heard...pick out the Tims you wanna use right now!

fant0m_TL

Tims?

bjtexer

ouch!!!.... that's suck man.. i'm sorry to hear that bro... it's so hard to keep ppls away from ours TLs

darksom1

You are supposed to know that one young gunner! But that's what I'm here for! LOL!

Timberlands!

levon1830

LOL, yeah, if things turn out that way, I'll buy my wife a pair of steel-toe boots and let her kick me right where that smiley shows!

fant0m_TL

LOL I know what Timberlands are haha, i guess i was just trying to figure out what that was on a CAR LMAO... u know im a newb

levon1830

UPDATE:

I just got back from getting a quote from my body shop for repairing the damage from hit-and-run incident #2 involving the bicycle. Total cost to repair: $688.20. Does this sound fair to you guys based on the pics posted above? Keep in mind I want done right (i.e. not noticeable after the repair is done) and this body shop did an excellent job repairing my car last time, so I definitely going to insist on going to them.

I just hope the offender's dad wasn't hoping for a "uh-oh, better call Maaco" type of repair quality and price, because that's not going to fly.

darksom1

I thought you had this fixed by now. LOL! It always pays to get two estimates. If for nothing else, to know that the other guy isn't fleecing you and/or left anything out that might need attention. So get another one from a shop that is a ways from that one. Besides, when you show the boy's father the estimates that are clearly in the same range, he will know YOU aren't trying to fleece him! (which is even more important!)

Good luck and post "after" pics!

brettallica

I think $700 ish sounds about right. Keep in mind they have to actually perform repairs to the body to get the gouge(s) out, so it's not like they're just throwing some paint on there. I paid over $300 to have some parts of mine painted (related to the grill, not because of an accident), and those parts were fresh, new, OEM parts that were ideal for painting... So looking at your scenario, I think you're in the right ball park when talking about $700 ish.

Or you could just dunk on him and settle it all right there.

Good luck!

datmrman

.

levon1830

This incident just happened not too long ago, and I just recently made the time to go to the body shop to get an estimate. I do agree with getting at least two estimates so that the father does not think I'm trying to shaft him. I just need to find another good body shop in my area to take it to. Any Orlandoans available to chime in?

jackasswhy

i wish my damage was as good as that, ill show you pics tommorrow of what just happened to mine. some lady slammed into my 06 tl (which was parked) at 40mph with a jeep cherokee o yah she has no insurance .

jupitersolo

Time for her to pay with oral favors!! Or by cleaning your house for a few months.

darksom1

My damage to my car was on a Thursday, car got an estimate on the following Monday, car was fixed by Wednesday!

https://acurazine.com/forums/religion-politics-18/more-bad-press-gw-157521/

levon1830

UPDATE: I got my car repaired finally, got it back LAST FRIDAY, and it got hit by a DIFFERENT KID on a different bicycle YESTERDAY!! Are you freaking kidding me!?

Screw it, I'm going to sell my car and buy a rusty old 1987 Ford Escort.

fant0m_TL

Oh... my.... God..

I'm really sorry to hear that... that sucks eggs man!

6spMike

Might be time to reevaluate where you park the car?

lusid

^, where ever you park your car, don't park it there ever.

Doesnt seem safe, and the traffic with kids seems high..

johnny--2k

oh my god....that's some BS right there.

Just sell it and get a new one. That one seems to be cursed!

sandiegodrive

No...freakn'...way!



I'm sorry bro, but where are you parking your car?

Just have the car fixed again then upgrade to a type-s

darksom1

How about parking it in the middle of the street this time instead of in your driveway Levon?! What the hell's wrong with you Levon???? Hahahahahaha...

Either that or switch places with the wifey's car! She's gotta be a team player Levon! C'MON!! It's her turn man, that's only fair!! She gets the weekends, when the bratty lil kids are home all damn day in the neighborhood, and you get the weekdays cuz your car will be at work!

You gotta coordinate Levon...or get a Rottie!!!

revitupwriteitoff

that really sucks, dude...I've been hit 3 times in 18 months, but all 3 were in a huge parking garage, so I don't know who did them.

leedogg

wow, just wow, you need to start collecting from the parents so they beat a lesson into these kids. Where are you parking anyway? I'd re-evaluate that as well. Garage, fences, rabid rott weiler on a chain, spike strips, whatever.

fant0m_TL

next mod should be an automated paintball gun... coming out of the headlights James Bond style... lol - that will definatly protect your car LOL

KC-Dub

My car was backed into in a parking garage last Friday and of course, no note. Son-of-a...

Here's an idea for those of us plagued with incidents like this:
1) Install the backup-camera mod
2) Install a carputer
3) Run a split-off video signal from the camera into the car-puter, record at a low-bitrate all the time (even when the car is off) with a 12 hour over-write setting to save HD space
4) When damage occurs, check out the last 12 hours of footage and you've got yourself a license plate (or a kid's face pre-crash)

Yeah, it's impractical, yeah you might have to install a second battery. But come on, how many cars have their own CCTV system?

darksom1

And if the kid runs into the door, or the front of the car? LOL! What then? Or, what if they just go old school and egg it...especially that Escort! I see that getting rocked as soon as it's parked Levon! hahahahahaha!!!

levon1830

Yeah, in my case, it seems parking my car in the middle of the street would be safer than everywhere I park. The thing is, I work from home, so my car is always parked outside unless I have a meeting with a client or some other business to attend to. Maybe it's time to clear out the garage and start parking the cars in there.

The first 2 incidents happened with my car parked on the side of the road right in front of my house. Mind you, I live in a very short road that ends in a cul-de-sac; there are only 10 homes on my road, so that majority of the traffic is my neighbors.

I've already explained the details for the first 2 incidences. The third one happened at my bro-in-law's place in the parking lot of a small apartment complex. The kids parents don't seem to give 2 :poo: about what their kids do, and they damn sure don't seem to care about anyone else's property.

The day that my third hit-and-run was actually on the same day as my bro-in-law's first . One of his neighbors--who happens to be related to the kid that hit my car--backed into his car while trying to back out of the parking space across from him. The driver of the car doesn't have a license, so she pulls back into her parking space and tries to rub the scuff marks off of my bro-in-law's car (VERY minor damage). My sister-in-law (the wife) is home when it happens, so she goes outside, see the culprits trying to get rid of the evidence, and they tell her that they're not paying for S^&% because the damage was already there (blatant lie). So, she calls me asking me what to do and I tell her to call the cops. She does, the cop comes out, and says there nothing he can do because it occurred on private property. The cop does, however, leave a "Driver Information Exchange Form" that they are each supposed to fill out to take to their insurance companies. As soon as the cop leaves, the irresponsible, mannerless neighbors immediately start saying to the culprit, "you ain't gotta pay for S%*&, and you ain't gotta fill out nothin'."

Knowing the type of people they are, my bro-in-laws comes home, looks at the minimal damage and then tells them don't worry about.

The mannerless neighbors' kid hitting my car with his bike occurred after that whole fiasco. Relatively speaking, the damage is minimal as well, so I just said screw it. I don't have the time to take them to small claims court (which would have been necessary to get anything out of them), the time lost completing projects for my company would cost more money than if I just eat the expense of having the damage to my car spot painted & blended, buffed out, etc.

After that happened I came up with a little sentence that I'm going to start saying to irresponsible, disrespectful people like that. If it's not something major enough to pursue with some sort of legal action, I'm just going to look at him/her/them, shake my head, say "Have a nice Karma" and then walk away. They'll stand scratching their heads, cussing me out, or think that I just pussed out or whatever, but one day they will understand why I said that. Unfortunately, by then, it might be too late for them--if my bro-in-law's neighbors maintain their current attitudes, I am pretty certain they will never amount to anything in life, and they will blame the entire world for it instead of looking in the mirror. It's sad, but it's their problem.

levon1830

If I bought that Escort, I could stand there and watch someone egging it and just laugh. Hell, I'd probably even grab an egg from them and throw it at the car myself!

KC-Dub

Well... the suggestion was made in jest. But, if you park the car in a driveway with its back towards the street or if you park head-first into a parking spot, the camera would conceivably capture any damage.

Routinely parking a $35k car curbside? Not for me. I don't even like parking it in the freaking sun for more than an hour or two.

Swobro

Now THAT is a DAMN funny story! Should make a movie out of it!

jcondon

Maybe the middle of the street would be safer. Not like these car drivers and bike riders are using the middle of the street for anything.

Sucks its illegal to shoot stupid inconsiderate people.

darksom1

Man Levon, I'm not usually like this...but damn! I'm speechless! You mean to tell me that a relative of the kid who hit YOUR car, hit your bro-in-law's car? Get the hell out of here!! Who the hell are they??? THE FAMILY FROM HELL??

Sounds like your cars are getting wrecked by "BeBe's Kids"!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know what man, I could go Martin Luther King, Jr. on that first one...but by that second one...Malcolm X...and by the third one...Charles Manson!!! Anymore after that...

Unibomber!!!!

They hit your car, and just looked you in the face and said we ain't paying a damn thing????? Damn, I'm getting mad as hell just reading this!!! :angryfire

mastertl

Why don't you take a dump on the neighbor's kids bike seat and have your brother in law take a dump and smear it on the underside of the neighbor's car door handle.

I know, I know...an eye for an eye makes the world go blind...but if everyone's blind then it doesn't really matter now does it