How my neighbour parked his car last night ... any advice?

[BTB 500]

Would have been amusing, except he'd hit our Vito first.

I heard the bang at 11:45 last night, looked out and saw the nose of his Honda wedged under the front of the Vito. He backed away (big lurch from the Vito as they came apart) and reversed towards their parking bay.

By the time I went out with a torch (fully expecting to see embarrassed neighbour waiting for me), all was in darkness ... no one to be seen.

In hindsight I should have banged on the door, but have known them 2 years and they've been friendly and absolutely fine. They have 2 young kids so I decided to leave it till morning. No sign of anyone this morning - just the car up against the front of their house (not where it was when I last saw it last night).

My wife spoke to his wife this afternoon, she seemed genuinely shocked - apparently he hadn't said anything to her about it. She's out this evening, he's in but not answering the door when I went round.

Hmmm. Don't have a good feeling about this. Oh and we know their house has been sold, but not when they're moving out.

Don't know how 'repairable' that visible damage is, or whether there's more under the skin (damaged brackets?). Transmission was in 'park', parking brake not applied (level ground).

Any practical/sensible suggestions what to do next?

TIA

 

[Ade B]

I'd pop a polite note through the door and see if that elicits a response before getting grumpy.

Aside from the damage to your car, more worrying is the possibility someone is driving around when not in control of their car..

Hope you get it sorted amicably

Ade

 

[stevesey]

Given the minor (appearance) of the damage he's probably thinking he got away with it. Hopefully now he knows he'll do the right thing (although he could still be one of these - "that's what a bumpers for" types).

I hope all turns out well.

 

[robert.saunders]

Sorry to see that Bill

Was the driver drunk?

 

[Sp!ke]

Was the driver drunk?

certainly looks like it by his parking. Maybe he's hiding the damage on the front of his car.

I have to say though, those spindly bits on the bumper are bloomin stupidly designed - of course they will break even with very small force. Looks like its a superglue job or complete bumper relacement too.

 

[seymansey]

certainly looks like it by his parking.

The first thing that popped into my head when I saw the first picture.

Are you able to check his car for any corresponding blue marks / scratches?

 

[stevesey]

Maybe he's hiding the damage on the front of his car.

Bumper looks askew.

 

[carnut]

He's moving! :bannana:

Do you have a protected NCB?

Try to get pics of the front of his car and if evidential then show all the pics to your insurance company but dont get confrontational or it might get worse,

If you do confront your neighbour then do it niceley with a witness with you

 

[nick mercedes]

Any practical/sensible suggestions what to do next?

TIA

Superglue your bumper back together and forget about the whole thing.

There's no witnesses, and little else you can do.

 

[edgersoldchap]

If I'd seen him do it, as you did, I would not be able just to forget about it and why should you let him get away with it? People should be accountable for their actions and if he has not got the backbone to admit to his mistake then you have every right to ask for an explanation and an apology. It does not have to be confrontational, all guns blazing, red with rage etc. etc. but a polite enquiry as to whether or not he realised that he had caused damage to your Vito when he bumped it and would he like to inspect it with you? Then when he's bending down...........?( only joking with this last bit!)

 

[Rob77]

Superglue your bumper back together and forget about the whole thing.

There's no witnesses, and little else you can do.

What do you mean no witness?

"I heard the bang at 11:45 last night, looked out and saw the nose of his Honda wedged under the front of the Vito. He backed away (big lurch from the Vito as they came apart) and reversed towards their parking bay"

 

[nick mercedes]

What do you mean no witness?

No independant witnesses.

I know it's not what people want to hear, but there's not a fat lot that can be done.

 

[Rob77]

No independant witnesses.

I know it's not what people want to hear, but there's not a fat lot that can be done.

It's not about what anyone wants to hear. The poster is a witness. What degree of independence would you imagine is needed that doesn't apear to be present?

 

[nick mercedes]

It's not about what anyone wants to hear. The poster is a witness. What degree of independence would you imagine is needed that doesn't apear to be present?

For any sort of action, you need someone else.

That's just how it is.

 

[Rob77]

For any sort of action the poster is a witness as to the facts. He saw it happen.

Any necessary corroboration is present in the matching damage on the 2 cars.


Edit: The neighbour hasn't even denied it yet anyway.

 

[BTB 500]

Thanks for the comments so far guys.

Yes I've got protected NCD, but making a claim (one that's not recovered) will affect me if I change insurer in the next 5 years. Times three, as we have three vehicles all seperately insured.

This wasn't a minor parking nudge - I clearly heard the bang inside the house with all the doors & windows closed. And they were well and truly wedged together. The neighbour's car is 20 years old (88/F), and a bit of a wreck. Certainly had some visible bumps and scrapes before yesterday (and rust, and jammed headlights). I doubt anything less than the full CSI treatment could prove the two vehicles had been in contact ... there are no obvious paintwork gouges on the Vito that might have transferred.

I paid a lot of very hard-earned money for this van (which is our family car, not a work tool) only a year ago. A factory order that took 5 months to arrive, it's only done 7k miles. Glueing broken plastic parts back together isn't particularly easy or permanent. I'm more worried though that there's other damage which isn't obvious. As mentioned, this wasn't a gentle tap.

Agreed, I have no independent witnesses (or CCTV). I could possibly have grabbed a photo if it hadn't been the middle of the night. So realistically an 'amicable' solution is the only chance.

Will probably try the polite note through the door.

 

[nick mercedes]

Will probably try the polite note through the door.

You may as well just confront him, assuming he's not an axe murderer.

He'll either put his hands up or say it didn't happen.

I would not worry too much about hidden damage, vans are tough.

 

[BTB 500]

I would not worry too much about hidden damage, vans are tough.

Thanks ... but how delicate is parktronic, for example?

 

[Gucci]

Set your alarm for 3am and super glue a golf ball or other perfectly fitting object in the exhaust.

Enjoy

 

[BTB 500]

You may as well just confront him

Well I tried this evening, but he wouldn't answer the door bell. I'm at work in London all day, and he works shifts. So a note may be more practical.