Some ******* done a hit & run on my car. Pics. Advice needed

by 19 replies
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Unfortunately I have no witnesses so I can't claim from my insurance. will have to pay around 800 Euro out of my own pocket. I am pissed off, big time.
I have been to the police and been in contact with the insurance.
Does anyone have any experience with these type of situations?
Are there any additional steps I should be taking? Thanks



Images

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#off topic forum
  • I don't know where you live other than you deal in euros,but here in the states I would call the police,have them document it and get a copy of the hit and run report,and then file with the insurance. I don't see how just because there aren't any witnesses you can't file and get paid by the insurance.
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    • Thanks for the reply KimW. I am in Spain at the moment. I don't know how it works in the States but Spain is, how should I put it, a little backwards on certain matters.
      The police here more or less told us, no witnesses, no claim. My wife and I are both convinced our car was hit by a garbage truck as a normal passenger vehicle wouldn't cause the kind of damage that our car has sustained.
      The police called the head of the Orihuela Costa garbage removal and he denied any of his drivers had any involvement.
      After that, they told us we are pretty much out of luck.
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  • Bravo,

    I am only from the US, but getting a police report SHOULD back up your case. Such thngs happen. Even heysal spoke of how a drunk hit her PARKED CAR. I was once essentially parked on the street and a jerk pulled my bumper off the car, by making a turn too close.

    Steve
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    • In my case the woman tried to run, too - but her back bumper caught on my front bumper and she had to stop because she was dragging my vehicle. It was only an ATTEMPTED hit and run. She drove her car all the way down the passenger side of my rig. Completely totalled it. The tail pipe was embedded in the back wheel - not the tire, but the wheel - and she was SOOOO stupid she pointed to the tire and told the cop that "I think that tire was flat before I hit her". You should have seen the rig. It was junked. I took a tire iron out to get the tail pipe out of the wheel so the rig could be pushed into the driveway and the cop took it away from me - he thought I was going to beat the snot out of her with it - and said later "I might have let you get one swing in". LMAO.
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  • Go down to the the yard of that truck company and see can you find any truck with your paint on the back of it if not your out of luck buy a door and move on.
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  • Bravo, I wouldn't rule out half-ton trucks. I've seen fist hand the damage they can do if they are going fast enough.

    I would also phone or go to any garages/body shops and inquire about anyone coming in with a damaged bumper. Leave your phone number with them also in the event someone shows up after you've been in touch with them.
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    • Is the 800 your excess?

      I had some damage done to a car a couple of years ago when I went back to it so obviously had no clue as to who had done it.

      As the cost of repair would have been way more than the excess I claimed. If it hadn't been then I wouldn't have bothered as I have to pay the excess anyway in these cases.

      After all there is no one for the Insurance company to claim back off of.

      Luckily I protect my no claims.

      Spanish insurance different from this model is it?

      Dan
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  • If you have full coverage (or a Spain-equivalent of full coverage, lol) then witnesses or not, you can file your claim.

    Step 1 - File your police report. Don't let them TELL you what your insurance will pay - They are the police, not your agent.

    Step 2 - Contact your insurance company & tell them you need to open a claim. Just explain that someone hit your car & then drove away.

    Drive the car to the insurance office so they can see the damage first-hand (or if it won't run anymore, they will come out to your house to see it & assess all the damage)

    If you have full coverage, then worst case scenario is you have to pay a deductible.

    If you just have liability coverage, then worst case scenario - sucks to be you.. lol
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    • Hmmm, can relate to your story, l had someone bang into my cars side door, and initially they drive slow then sped up!

      Their car had more power than mine, so l had no way to catch up, and l tried to remember their license plate number, but because of the shockwave of the hit, my mind wouldn't work.

      I rang the police, but all the licence plate numbers didn't match the car type!

      So, l just forgot about it, but l still looked around for the car type and colour, for a telltale dent, when l went to anything local.

      Shane

      PS l got hit by another car of the same colour, the following week, but the damage was minor, and the guy at least had the decency to stop, and apologize!
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  • I think that is one reason we are required to have 'uninsured motorist' coverage here. That covers not only if somebody at fault hits you and can't pay, and also if you don't know who hit you or they run.

    With that said until you actually file a claim there is no telling what all the mumbo jumbo in your policy will actually mean.

    If nothing else you can thank God #1 you weren't in the car (nobody was hurt), and #2 it looks like it is pretty much confined to the door.

    Sorry about your pretty red car.
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  • We have uninsured motorist coverage too - But when someone backed in to my wife's car in the parking lot where she works, we were told that without knowing WHO hit the car, that clause doesn't matter since "there is no way to know if they were insured or not"

    LOL what a joke..
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    • You DO know they were uninsured! They hit you and RAN! You never found them. There is no insurance! The accident was NOT INSURED(AKA UNINSURED)! But tht is lawyers for you, ALWAYS looking for an out!

      Steve
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  • Banned
    Sorry to hear about your car, but I don't understand that at all. Why is "having witnesses" relevant to whether or not you can claim on your insurance? :confused:

    Nobody can dispute that the car's been damaged by someone or something. Even I can see that. So why would "witnesses" help?
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    • I think witnesses are needed to prove that he didn't damage his car on purpose. Otherwise anyone could just damage their car after a few years. to get the full insurance payout if they felt like an upgrade.

      For example if I total my car, I get an insurance payout of $10,000. If I sell it, I'd only get $5,000-$6000.
  • You might try to locate witnesses. I don't know where it was parked, but could you try going to wherever it was parked at the at the same time of day, and start asking people? Go into stores and ask the workers, knock on the doors of homes or apartments, etc. You never know, you might find someone. If that doesn't work try going back during the same time of day on the same day of the week. People are creatures of routine, maybe someone will be there that was there before. Worth a shot, I would think.

    Good luck!
  • Well guys, I really appreciate all the replies. I have managed to purchase a second hand door for a 2004, 206 Peugeot door for a 120 Euros. It's in perfect condition. The installation will cost me 80 Euros and the respray is 150 Euro. All in all, I think I got of quite cheaply.
    Luckily, it wasn't both doors.
    I really appreciate all the excellent advice but this is the Costa Blanca on high season. You've got more chances than winning the pools than getting anything out of a hit and run incident this time of the year.
    But you guys are great!
  • Dennis has a good point. Try going back and parking in the same place and put a sign on the car that says:

    Did you see who hit me on (date)? Please call (phone number).
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    • Thank,s Bravo75, l do have one more story to share, and l am glad you worked it out, more or less!

      I went to the local shopping centre, which has a very steep exit ramp going up to a roundabout.

      She apparently hit the car in front of her, but it was minor damage, and after sorting out details hopped in her car, on this steep road to drive off, (the traffic was building up behind her.

      And because she was so rattled from the first accident, she rolled back and hit the car behind her!!!! :rolleyes:

      I couldn't see the smash, but l heard it, and as l watched she limped out to a parking area close by, with the back of her car having a big dent!

      Thankfully the car behind her, a few metres back, was a 4 wheel drive vehicle, with a bull bar, so from what l could tell they suffered minor damage, if any!

      I really felt sorry for the poor thing, but l also thought how stupid she was!

      Shane
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