Guys, I am frustrated!

My car got scratched for the SECOND time. The suspect is the car that parks next to mine everyday. There is still a little paint of the other car on my front bumper. There is also a scratch mark on the other car that matches the position where it scratched my bumper. The driver never left a note or even say sorry to me. Should I report this issue to my insurance even though I don't have a witness or footage to prove?

I am looking to install 2 cameras inside my car to record what is going on to serve as proof in the future. Do you have any suggestion for a good setup?

Thanks,

 

I have a dashcam, but unfortunately most dashcams only work when the car is on, not when parked.

Some dashboard cameras have a G sensor that when G force is detected, the camera will turn on and record. However, most parking lot accidents involving a door ding etc will not be caught by a dashcam.

What I would do, is to talk to the other driver first about this incident before contacting insurance. Maybe you can file a police report first for a hit and run type accident and then have them notate that the paint mark scratch on his car matches your car's damage.

Another option is to find another parking spot so it would avoid this situation altogether.

 

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-dash-cam/

 

The driver is a she. A couple of days after I noticed the scratch, she saw me working on my car and she tried to ignore me. She didn't even look at my face. I will bring the pictures and talk to the building manager first. If she doesn't take any action then I'll talk to my insurance company.

 

On the description it says it takes about 100Mb for 2min and the max memory it can support is 32Gb. Then the maximum video length it can keep is about 5 hours. Is there a camera can records 24/7 can store it in a hard drive?

 

put gopros ftw! only inspect the car and if you see something check the vid

 

Don't believe you can actually get one that can record to hard drive or media unless you're running those professional security cameras that are used in stores.

If you are considering a dashcam, I would suggest looking through this website:

http://dashcamtalk.com/

You can also check out the forums. The website gives reviews and comparison as well as prices for many different dashcams. Personally I have the GT300W, which I find great. The picture quality during day and night is one of the best. Like I said, dashcams would need a continuous power source to keep recording, so they won't work when the car is turned off at a parking lot unless they have a built in long lasting battery.

 

I have a solution for you as i wanted the same setup due to my car being vandalized.


The Blackvue is an amazing Dash cam, Very clear HD Video 1080p and sound. Works well day and night. The dash cam alone only records when the car is on of course and plugged into the outlet. To fix that, i bought the power magic pro which taps into your battery when the car is off to power the Dash cam. It was an easy installation for the power magic as i simply tapped into the fuse box located near the emergency break and gas pedal. All instructions are included with it for ease of use.

Another good thing that the camera has is the wifi and Gps. So you can setup the camera in your car through your phone by wifi. It has numerous settings for how you want to record (duration, event, sensor, time). It is also an improved version of their previous model which always heated up. Hope this helps.

 

It still has issues with bitrate and not to mention it is prohibitively expensive. Also, you run the huge risk of draining your battery having that darned thing on all the time draining the car battery. It still doesn't solve his issue of being able to record throughout the day while it is parked. The camera will erase the previous files stored in the card once it is full. Once the OP wakes up, the recording would only be in the last five hours.

 

Sure it is pricey but i just used that link to show him the item. I was searching on ebay and other sites and found it for $230 and the power magic for $20. The power magic has a setting to cut off power from the battery once it reaches a certain voltage thus saving you from draining your battery. You can change the recording settings to only turn on when there is movement in front of the car or if the Sensor senses something. On the 720P Setting on a 16GB card, you can record for 13 hours, or 5:20 hours at the highest setting for optimum quality. with that option of recording only with movement or shock, he can record much more then 13 hours.

 

What is needed is a mandatory proximity blackbox system in every car on the road. Want to renew your insurance? Sure lets see how you drove for the last year.
I don't care what the person looks like ... I just want to know who hit me (car vin.) and when.

 

That looks like an option for me. From your experience, if I set the camera only records when it senses movement or shock, how long is the video before the memory is filled up and being erased? Where would you put your camera to cover as much as possible your car considering the bad guy may do some damage to the side or the rear of your car?

 

I haven't changed my settings on my Cam but it currently records non stop at 720p low hd and i get 13 hours of video. for setting up for movement and shock only , i am pretty sure you can get up to 18 hours or more, depending if you dont drive it alot. I really haven't played around with the settings much since i recently got it. But i have always wanted to change it to movement and sensor only. The only area to mount it is right behind the rear view mirror. Here is a link of a good review which made me buy it:

http://gshack.org/?p=387

This is the previous model but software is all the same , the new one looks a little better.

 

These dashcams are usually for the front or rear windshield, because the mount is curved for this.

As for placing them on your doors, well it is possible if you can get a mount that can hang perpendicular? If you can see your car from your house, maybe just set up a webcam from your computer in view of your car.

Can't you just get another parking spot to avoid this issue altogether? Do you have to park next to her? Can't you ask the landlord or garage attendant to assign you another spot? Even if you proved that she damaged your car, dealing with another insurance company is a PITA, especially for only a hundred or two worth of damage. The headaches aren't worth it.

Also, it is best to not report ANY claim to your own insurance company (better chances if you file a claim with the at-fault party insurance instead.) Even if it isn't your fault, repeated claims WILL increase your premium. One or two normally wouldn't affect your premium, but after that it will go up, even for minor damages. They will assess you at higher risk.

Not to mention, you will also have an accident record on your vehicle. Normally, if you do find damage to your car, it is best to file a police report.

 

The bad thing is I don't have a choice on parking spot. Either I park there or park on the street.
I would have let this go if she admits that she did this to my car and be sorry about that. In contrast, she tried to ignore me like I never exist. I don't want money or anything but just want to scare her and making her aware of what she did was totally wrong. So you guys think I better file a police report instead of contacting my insurance company?