Well, one of the things I feared happend tonight. I parked my G outside my church while attending a fellowship and found a slip on my windshield when I got back to my car. It was from someone who had backed into my car and asked me to call him to talk over what to do. I examined the car and found a dented hood and scratched grill and bumper. I called the guy and he was apologetic and willing to take care of the damages. He hoped to do so without involving his insurance company. I told him I'd get an estimate on the damages and let him know how much it costs.
Anyway, once I got home I took a closer look at the damages. My Gialla grille was torn in a couple of places and badly scratched in the front. The push screws that held it in place are all gone. The hood had two big dents on the front and when lifting the hood I can hear a noise (kind of like a thud) from around the hinge area. The guy told me that the car alarm sounded after he hit it.
I'm guessing it's going to cost well over $1000 (the grill alone cost me $400+). While I apprieciate the fact that the guy left me his name and number, he is a college student and I'm not sure if he can pay for the damages. Do you guys have any suggestions for me on what I should do? Any idea about how much this might cost to fix?
Thanks in advance.

Here are some pictures of the damage on my G (Man this hurts! ).

Dents on the hood. The gap between the bumper and hood is much larger than normal:


Note the cracked tab for the grill:


Gialla grill is torn at the top as well as a couple of other places:

 

Hey at least you got a note
Im scared of sht like this happening to mine and having no note left. Being LA, I dont expect any note at all; people are dicks here (and they cant drive)


Work out a settlement with the guy for a dollar amount (dont assume he cant pay it, just give him a number)
If he doesnt bite on that then youre forced to invole his insurance company and then start going through that process

 

I think you're fortunate that he left a note. I have read way too many stories of hit and runs on this forum.

I can see that you want to help the guy out, but make sure not to shaft yourself. It looks like well over $1k in damages. Get two or three estimates from reputible shops and give the guy the bad news.

 

cru is right, the hood alone is going to set you back some $$. I bet its close to $3,000 by the time their finished with it.....

Sorry to see the G damaged, and I really think your lucky they left the note (He probably wished he didn't after he gets the estimate). But the damage is easily fixed, it just the inconvenience of not having the car for a week or two...
Good luck

 

There is a reason why the person who hit it left a note, look at the type of place he parked it... Be blessed!!

 

consider yourself fortunate that he left a note. a lot of people will be quick to just drive off.

Ive had a couple of my previous cars hit while parked. no note and about $1500 in damages.

 

the dude didnt want to goto hell

 

I got an estimate from a Maaco today at about $1500 (may be more if there are internal damages). I'll probably check with my Infiniti dealer on Monday to see if they can recommend a body shop (I don't think either dealership here has a body shop).
Yes, I know I'm lucky the guy left me a note. He gave me all his information so I'm pretty sure he wants to take the responsibility for the damages. Hopefully it can be fixed properly soon.
Thanks for all your comments.

 

whatever you do...DO NOT TAKE IT TO MAACO. I have heard bad things about the paint quality.

 

Really? That sucks. I had a prior paint scratch fixed there. Hopefully it's OK. They seem to be pretty decent. Anyway, I'll for sure get an estimate from another collision shop too.

 

Same exact thing happ to me, had a post up like last week. Lady left a note on my windshield as well. Very apologetic, nice, and sincere. Wanted to not involve insurance but after getting estimates of 1200 price range, she decided to call insurance. Here are damages to my car:

 

Last night someone hit my rear bumper too, no note left and no camera in the parking lot to hunt down the person and break his knees. Hit on the corner like it was on purpose and it got punched in, not much damage but I have the car for 2 months and that stings the most. Taking it to Daytona in Astoria NY if anyone has heard of them, the only japanese car that will be there tomorrow, they do porsche, lamborghini, bentley and rolls. Got a friend that works there so im getting hooked up.

The person is lucky they didn't leave a note cuz i would destroy they're car. Sorry to hear about your hit too, to see a G hit hurts, to see mine hit is like ripping my heart out.

No matter how careful you are with your car it will still get hit. When I got my BMW in Greece, I was on a trip and all of a sudden I drove into a hail storm. This was 2 weeks after I picked it up. The car had over 40 dents all over. Its all a matter of luck when it comes to taking care of your car. Good luck in getting money from that idiot.

 

I got an estimate from the body shop my dealership recommended as well as another shop around my house. Both came out to around $2200. So it will be through the guy's insurance.

One thing this unpleasant experience has done is it made me decide if I ever accidently hit someone's parked car, I will leave a note. Before this happened I'm not real sure if I would have done the same thing if I hit someone. I respect the heck out of the guy for taking responsibility for the problem when he could have just walked away and I would not have been able to do a thing about it.

 

You gotta respect the guy for leaving a note. most people would have just driven off and not think twice about it.

 

best wishes for repairs