My Car Got Hit In A Parking Lot…ughhh!!

There really is nothing worse than coming out of the store and finding a huge dent or even a small dent in your car. It makes me crazy, especially when I try to keep my cars looking as nice as possible.
I was watching security camera footage of an accident that happened in my work parking lot the other day. It was night and one car backed out of its parking spot straight into the side of a parked car. Without hesitation, the person driving the car put it in drive and drove away into the night. So, what do you do in this situation? Well, if you are the driver of the car that hit someone or something you stop, write a note with your name, phone number and insurance information and then drive away. It may not be fun to admit that you screwed up. But, that’s what you do not to mention it's a misdemeanor punishable by fines or prison depending on the severity of the accident if you are caught.
Now if you find your car with damage in a parking lot you’ll need to call your insurance company. If you have collision coverage you will sadly have to pay your deductible. It doesn’t go on your driving record so don’t worry about that. If you don’t have collision you are in a much worse position because you will have to fix your car on your own. Another thing that I would suggest is make sure you add rental car coverage to your car insurance. That would cover a rental while your car is in the shop getting fixed. Otherwise you will be paying out of pocket for that too.
In this situation the car that was hit was parked illegally, he put his car at the end of a row in a spot that didn’t exist. If he hadn’t parked there the person pulling out of the spot wouldn’t have hit him. So, do I feel overly bad for this guy, no. But, it is still the responsibility of the person driving the car to pass along their insurance information. If you want to try and get all detective like, you can try to find a business that has a camera on the parking lot. If you can get a plate off the offending car most companies will waive your deductible. And then they will try to collect from the person who was driving the car. Happy shopping people!
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