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I keep my car at my university in the halls of residence car park. There has been a green peugeot parked next to my car for the past few days and i have just noticed the passenger side of my car is VERY damaged. There is even the remnants of green paint - the same colour as the other car - on my car. Is there any action, legal or otherwise, that i can take to get the other party to cover the costs of repairing the damage they have done?? I feel physically sick that another person could do this.
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park somewhere else if you can
8< rest snipped
Edited by Webmaster on 05/11/2007 at 23:18
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Very difficult situation without witnesses.You could approach the driver and they could claim you were responsible for the damage and try claiming against you. Beetween a rock and a hard place really.
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There are quite a lot of things you could do but do you know who owns the car? If you try 'having a word' and point out the match between their car paint and the marks on your car, it would be a start
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see if you can see damage on the bumper of the offending car and measure it to the damage on your car ie 12 inches from the ground?,with this evidence i would ring my insurer first and ask them their advice,maybe take photos of both cars as well before they see you and have their damage made good?
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as there are only a limited number of us who are given permits and there are only two green cars who park in the same area as me (different shades of green) i can easily find out who the owner of the car is.
i have used some tape to remove the green paint so will be able to see if it definitely matches the other car.
thank you for the advice re:measuring the damage on the other car to see if it matches.
the damage it has caused is : a two inch scratch on the passenger door , a three inch section on the passenger rear wheel arch where the paint has been scaped off and also on the rear passenger door a black scrape mark which is about 4 inches long - not cheap to repair.
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Why on earth did you take a brand new Golf to university halls of residence?
That aside, have you tried polishing it out yet? How bad is it really? The first scrape on a new car is heartbreaking, but you need accept that it's going to get dings and scrapes, and you wont be able to claim every single time.
Having lived in halls, and given that it's only November so presumably you've got a good while left to try and get along with people there, I would tread very carefully here. See if a friendly word resolves it first before going in there all guns blazing with evidence and invoices.
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claiming for car damage
Invite your friendly Community Police Support Officer to come and have a look at the damage. Tell them that the culprit has not reported the "accident" and not given you their Insurance details. The CPSO are hot on this kind of "minor" law-breaking stuff and will probably help you get justice.
p.s. Going by your previous threads, your Golf must be looking like a right old banger by now with the multitude of dents, scracthes, damaged alloys, and so on.
Edited by jbif on 03/11/2007 at 18:44
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you are right- poor george and i do seem to be a bit accident prone - if it was just a little scratch i wouldnt bother about it - its the fact that its the WHOLE of the passenger side that is now damaged and the paint has actually been peeled off so the black shows through. Im sure you must all know how it feels when your pride and joy has been damaged.
I take him to uni as i have no other way of getting around - the parking spaces are very wide (obviously not enough for some people!) and there are a variety of other cars mcuh more expensive than mine that are parked there including the odd mercedes (which all seem to belong to the overseas students - somthing dodgy going on there!)
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what is the best way to go about approaching someone to recoup money for damaging my car - i think i have a very strong case but dont want to go in too heavy handed in case i shoot myself in the foot
SLT
Moved over from IAHQ to the original thread. Try to keep it to the advise requested...
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 03/11/2007 at 22:06
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It would be most useful to have details. The question you pose is much too vague.
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From your other threads this is not the only damage to the car. If you cannot live with it then maybe get someone to give an estimate of what it would take to repair first and then consider options? It might polish out.
How did you get on with the dent in the end?
Personally think it could be difficult to prove it was them. Were there any university CCTV cameras that might help?
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it wasnt a dent thank goodness - it was the sun shining on it at a funny angle - glad to know me and my escapades are regarded with such humour on here!!
the thing is i drive really carefully which is why its annoying that some other prat has done this!
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Surprised you "thought" you had a dent and posted for advice... Sorry but if I really saw something fine but how are your reactions and perception when driving? A dent is there or isn't and you discussed on here. Well started a thread in Sept and never responded again.
If you have removed most/all the green coloured paint with tape then what evidence do you have on the car now. It also stills sounds like multiple episodes of damage and not one... how did you not notice?
Still surprised, like PoloGirl, you took a new Golf to a University. And you seem to imply no money to fix. If you cannot afford the car with all the "knocks" then get a cheaper one. Even a cheaper Golf.
Edited by rtj70 on 04/11/2007 at 22:11
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If you cannot afford the car with all the "knocks" then get a cheaper one. Even a cheaper Golf.
Blondie did say that in her family, there is no option to buy 2nd hand as Daddy buys one a brand new car on passing the test. It is true, chaps, you do see an awfully good load of these new cars at Oxford.
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I remember jbif but that does not mean it cannot be sold ;-) Or ask daddy to help fix it. Or not worry about fixing it as daddy bought it - worry about it years down the line.
Or leave it at family home from now on - how much is it used? I went to university and met someone who's family were close to the Royal Family and was due to inherit a big enough chunk of Buckinghamshire with many farms to be happy. He drove a Pug 205 albeit rarely. Met the Queen a few times a year too. He thought Fergie.... no that's another thread.... ;-)
That's my opinion anyway. Life is too short - I was nearly killed last July on the roads. Think this is worth moving on from for Blondiebombshell or maybe has to be fixed before parents see the damage?
Rob
Edited by rtj70 on 04/11/2007 at 22:57
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you all have me painted as some poor little spoilt rich girl - thank you very much!
If someone said to you that they would buy you a brand new car or you could have second hand one which would you go for??? Knowing that this might be the ONLY chance i have of ever having a new car - what with having to pay off student debt etc- i think i did what most of you probably would have done and opted for the new car.
I am very lucky in that my parents are exceedingly generous and i do not want for anything but my dad is no mug and would never have bought me that car if he thought that it was a silly thing for me to have- he got a very good deal on it.
I did not see the damage as i came out of my halls of residence, got into the driver side that was facing me and had no reason to go round to the passenger side. The parking spaces are quite wide and i always park the car so that there is no-one parked on the drivers side.
I come on here sporadically, as i consider that the members here to have a lot of knowledge and expertise about cars which i (being 23) and not really into cars don't have. I very much appreciate all the help and advise people give me but some of the comments various people are making about me are quite hurtful and i didnt really think that it was that sort of board.
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::sniff:: ::sniff-sniff::
Anyone smell troll? I'm sure I can smell troll. Very distinctive smell, troll.
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::sniff:: ::sniff-sniff:: Anyone smell ..
Yes, a very strong whiff from previous Qs and lack of follow up to replies, and nice bait in choice of name.
Edited by jbif on 06/11/2007 at 09:01
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Or buy something nobody will want to touch... works for me!
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What can you do ?
1) pay for it yourself.
2) Claim on your insurance.
3) do nothing - though this may have repercussions for the bodyshell/paint warranty when you get the car serviced.
Realistically, without an independent witness, you are very unlikely to get someone else to pay for it.
Personally, I'd leave it till it had to be fixed - probably before the next service.
Photograph it so if there's some further damage - and you are lucky enough to have witnesses - then you will have documentation.
It happens in many other other places beside university car parks - works car parks and supermarket car parks are just two 'favourites'.
It is upsetting - and is one of the reasons why some on here - including me - drive old cars.
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Dear Blondiebombshell,
You asked a perfectly reasonable question and have been patronised and insulted as a consequence. Like you I check the site out and post occasionally, and Like you I too would be offended by some of the cretinous comments made. Unfortunately as has been noted elsewhere this does seem to be something of a trend on this site these days. I have two daughters about your age and one of them took a car I bought for her to Uni, not something she would normally do, at the beginning of term to transport all the clobber - and it was stolen that night! Only a cheapie and ancient Astra but she was as distressed and upset as you no doubt are.
I wish you well, MGs
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Only a cheapie and ancient Astra but she was as distressed and upset as you no doubt are.
The problem there is the astra is number 1 stolen vehicle in britain - very easy and quick to do so probably only nicked to save the cost of a cab ride home.
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You are so right there, but we only found that out afterwards. The whole thing could be stolen with a screwdriver - force the lock, smash the cowling round the steering lock, pull the wires off, insert screwdriver and start the engine. less than 2 minutes for the expert. The car was found the next morning all bashed and crashed by the police with a couple of oiks in it and a load of dodgy TVs and videos. The miscreant was prosecuted, but it didnt do a lot for me or my daughter. That's life I'm afraid. My daughter is now a police officer and I am sure her experiences then help her now.
MGs
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i have nothing to add to my post but my genious blondiebombshell, i see a lot of young uns in new cars these days and its because parents are frightened that their kids are going to break down in strange areas,fair enough i say and good luck, i just wish my father lived longer than he did so he could have done the same for me,did you speak to your insurer in response to my post and the height of the damage in relation to the car you percieve as the damager?
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Sorry you feel you've been patronised and insulted. To be fair though, you didn't get off to a great start by coming here and asking for advice about a dent in your car, getting lots of advice and then saying "ooh actually it was just the way the light fell on it."
Have you done anything about the current scrapes on your car yet then?
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Because it's a university car park I'd be checking if there's anything on camera. But act quickly before the tapes are replace.
I also would not have removed the green paint yet - it was part of any evidence. Having it stuck to a piece of tape does not prove it was off your damaged car I'm afraid.
Best of luck resolving this. I don't know which university but if this type of thing could happen again I'd seriously think about a slightly older car for the time at university. Or do you need it at uni at all?
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MGs I'm with you on this, noticed it alot. Instead of people offering advice they just lay into people. Hope you get our car sorted anyway...
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Agree with MGs and Sunny22 on this. Blondiebombshell has come here for advice and though she made a mistake and advised backroomers of this. It does not mean that backroomers have to patronise her.
Nobody is perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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The first thing to do is make sure that you are beyond reproach.
For example, do you always park reasonably centrally within the slot? Do you carry out a secondary manoeuvre and centralise the car or do you just leave it where you first come to a standstill?
--
L\'escargot.
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i totally understand now why you guys said i should get a second hand car -- i just wish i had listened. I have spoked to the people in charge of the halls of residence and they are going to check the CCTV for the dates i think it happened- he wants me to go in on Wednesday afternoon after he has checked them. He thought that most of the scratches would polish out however the back part where the paint has been ripped off will need replacing. I havent informed my insurers yet as i dont want it to affect my no claims bonus - if i cant find out who did it then i will pay for the repairs myself - i will use part of my loan and just have to have no social life for the rest of the year!
Whenever i park i make sure it is right within the centre of the space - if i manage to get in the last space then there is a big 'no parking' section next to it so i only have to worry about the car on the passenger side. I normally pull in, and if necessary reverse out to centre it.
Wouldnt it be wonderful if there were some sort of protective coating like bubble wrap we could wrap around our cars!
Edited by blondiebombshell on 06/11/2007 at 13:49
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blondiebombshell,
I know it won't help regarding your current damage but my past experiences (40-odd years worth) might help for the future.
When I had dark coloured cars (dark green and dark navy) they suffered a disproportionate amount of carpark damage. I made what I considered to be the connection and started buying highly visible bright coloured cars ~ initially yellow (when that colour was available) and then mainly bright red ever since. Lo and behold, no more carpark damage. What colour is yours?
I'm also very selective about where I park in a carpark. I won't park next to any car which (a) has existing bodywork damage or looks uncared for (b) isn't reasonably in the centre of the slot (c) has been left with the front wheels turned at a significant angle, or (d) has wide doors, particularly if they are high up off the ground and have outwardly turned lower edges. I won't park directly between 2 cars if the space is significantly reduced by either or both of those 2 cars. I won't park directly next to another car unless it is absolutely necessary to do so ~ I look for slots which have a vacant slot both sides.
I try to park (a) where I can go in forwards and have a wall or hedge in front ~ the rear of a car is more able to accept damage than the front, and (b) where at least one side of the car is protected by a wall or hedge.
Following having had one car severely (and I mean severely) damaged when it was parked on the road, I will no longer park on the road at all.
I learned by experience ~ no doubt you will also.
--
L\'escargot.
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