[bermise]

Why oh Why? Better?

I just bought a 2008 Challenger SRT8 with only 9,000 miles on it about 11 days ago. It is in mint condition! I went to CVS pharmacy at 11:20PM to grab a couple items, I was in the store for less than 5 minutes and in line checking out when a older lady comes in asking "who drives a orange challenger or charger in the parking lot". I casually said "I do", just getting used to the new attention that car brings. She went on to say "some older black sedan just smashed into the front of it, looked around for a few seconds and then fleed the parking lot!" I dropped my items and ran outside to see most of my driverside headlight laying on the ground and front bumper smashed into the fender on the driverside.

I still can not believe this happened so soon. The cops came did nothing but give me a case #. I filed a report with my insurance. The lady who saw it got a partial plate # of the black sedan but the cop could not find a car mathching the description or a local address with the partial plate #.

Does any one have any ideas as to what I can do to try and find this bastard!! I do know that the driver of the black sedan was renting a movie from a Redbox DVD rental at 11:20 when I pulled up. And no one else rented a movie until 11:33 when I was in the parking lot waiting for the police. :icon_evil:

 

[R/TCLASSIC]

i guess it depends on your states insurance laws,for example florida is called a ''no fault state'',so a accident in a parking lot is a civil matter and it would be up to you to cover the cost(your insurance ) and file a lawsuit if you choose to pursue it.its a hassle and not worth the trouble unfortunately.im sure you could get in contact with the redbox vendor and they could provide you with the persons name if they wanted to cooperate(unlikely).i am very sorry for what happened,this world is full of lowlifes like that and life is too short to let it get you down,step back and take a breather and get it fixed and continue to enjoy your wonderful car,i am sure it is better than anything the scum will ever have that hit your car.hope this helps

 

[HemiFan]

Depending on how much effort you want to put towards ID-ing the other driver, you could ask the video store how many days rentals are good for, then wait around the parking lot on that day for a black sedan with the partial plate number.

There should be some noticeable damage to his car - maybe your car's paint is on his as well. If the car shows up, take some pics, copy the full plate number and file a hit and run charge with the police associated with the case number they assigned you. They already have partial evidence from the statements they took - a little more that would lead to a "positive ID" of the suspect vehicle should take care of the rest. If the police recontacted the lady who witnessed it, she should be able to ID the vehicle if she saw photos.

My thought is, if the police haven't contacted him by now, he believes he got away with it and will likely return the video with the same car.

 

[jb5226]

Did you see if CVS or video store has Video Surveillance System. You may see plate & make of vehicle.

 

[bermise]

i guess it depends on your states insurance laws,for example florida is called a ''no fault state'',so a accident in a parking lot is a civil matter and it would be up to you to cover the cost(your insurance ) and file a lawsuit if you choose to pursue it.its a hassle and not worth the trouble unfortunately.im sure you could get in contact with the redbox vendor and they could provide you with the persons name if they wanted to cooperate(unlikely).i am very sorry for what happened,this world is full of lowlifes like that and life is too short to let it get you down,step back and take a breather and get it fixed and continue to enjoy your wonderful car,i am sure it is better than anything the scum will ever have that hit your car.hope this helps

Thanks man, you are right. It is just hard to let some things roll off you.

Depending on how much effort you want to put towards ID-ing the other driver, you could ask the video store how many days rentals are good for, then wait around the parking lot on that day for a black sedan with the partial plate number.

There should be some noticeable damage to his car - maybe your car's paint is on his as well. If the car shows up, take some pics, copy the full plate number and file a hit and run charge with the police associated with the case number they assigned you. They already have partial evidence from the statements they took - a little more that would lead to a "positive ID" of the suspect vehicle should take care of the rest. If the police recontacted the lady who witnessed it, she should be able to ID the vehicle if she saw photos.

My thought is, if the police haven't contacted him by now, he believes he got away with it and will likely return the video with the same car.

Great idea, I might do that but I could be in for a 12 hour+ stakeout.

Did you see if CVS or video store has Video Surveillance System. You may see plate & make of vehicle.

Get this, CVS store manager tells me this morning that CVS is not responsible for situations in the parking lot and they will not get involved in aiding or assisiting me or the other party responsible. That is BS. I will now shop at Walgreens when possible.

 

[USponycar]

Thanks man, you are right. It is just hard to let some things roll off you.



Great idea, I might do that but I could be in for a 12 hour+ stakeout.



Get this, CVS store manager tells me this morning that CVS is not responsible for situations in the parking lot and they will not get involved in aiding or assisiting me or the other party responsible. That is BS. I will now shop at Walgreens when possible.

CVS may not want to help YOU, but if the police asked them to review video footage of the person going to the video machine at the time specified, I should think they'd cooperate with THEM.
Does your police dept. not care about hit and runs? Had it been a cop car that had been hit, you bet they would!

 

[internetguy]

Dude- my advice is also along the lines of let it go. Focus on getting your ride fixed so you can enjoy it. You have no idea if the other driver was a dipsh!t blonde or a gangster who is armed, high, and about to die from testosterone poisoning.

If they ran off it's probable they have no insurance, in which case, your situation doesn't change. They may also have warrants out for them; you don't need to get between them and jail. It's only a matter of time before their next stupid decision lands them in jail, or dead.

Life ain't fair and you were dealt a bad card. Play it well and move on.

You still have a sweet car my friend. Live long and enjoy it.

 

[69superbee383]

I hate to say this but the cops wont care. No one was injured and it occurred on private property. Even if you do stake him out and catch him then what? I know you would love to beat the dude but then you will go to the cross bar hotel. If you call the cops they will more than likely say it is still a civil matter and they could not charge him because they did not witness the event.

My Challenger got nosed when it was 3 days old so I feel your pain. Just make sure you get the car fixed right and move on. It sucks but that's really about all you can do.

 

[nyca]

I agree, the police won't do anything. And if you do find the guy - don't confront him in anyway (otherwise the police will do something - arresting YOU).

 

[Sparkman #3372]

You are better off just moving on with your life. I once caught a guy trying to steal my motorcycle. I caught him in the act, got a full discription, full plate number, one of the tools he was using to strip parts off my bike with his prints on it preserved in a zip lock bag, filed a police report (gave them the bag with tool and prints), picked the dude out of a six pack photo line up, and everything added up. You know what the police did? NOT A DAMN THING. Next time I will not be calling the police if and when something like that happens again...

 

[bluejs75]

I just bought a 2008 Challenger SRT8 with only 9,000 miles on it about 11 days ago. It is in mint condition! I went to CVS pharmacy at 11:20PM to grab a couple items, I was in the store for less than 5 minutes and in line checking out when a older lady comes in asking "who drives a orange challenger or charger in the parking lot". I casually said "I do", just getting used to the new attention that car brings. She went on to say "some older black sedan just smashed into the front of it, looked around for a few seconds and then fleed the parking lot!" I dropped my items and ran outside to see most of my driverside headlight laying on the ground and front bumper smashed into the fender on the driverside.

I still can not believe this happened so soon. The cops came did nothing but give me a case #. I filed a report with my insurance. The lady who saw it got a partial plate # of the black sedan but the cop could not find a car mathching the description or a local address with the partial plate #.

Does any one have any ideas as to what I can do to try and find this bastard!! I do know that the driver of the black sedan was renting a movie from a Redbox DVD rental at 11:20 when I pulled up. And no one else rented a movie until 11:33 when I was in the parking lot waiting for the police. :icon_evil:

People are creatures of habit. They will be back around. Also, seeing they were renting a movie, chances are they are local people. Keep the partial plate and bolo.

 

[aarcuda]

love how on the cop shows, all you need is the redbox transaction and the crime lab can pull up a video of the guys last vacation- all in about 3 seconds lol!

 

[Ironside]

Worst fear realized...

Sorry to hear that man!

I would be LIVID if that happened and the police did nothing to help me out (a hit and run is a serious deal, ESPECIALLY if the guy has no insurance or has warrants, etc)

I always park as FAR away from the store as physically possible and AWAY from any other cars (if possible depending on the store) sometimes if the parking lots are crap I will just plain not go there with the SRT-8 (that's what the wife's Focus is for... hehe)

Figure most careless people in a rush aren't going to park across Hell's-Half-Acre and huff it in to the front door so you should be safe(er).

I work @ the border and the amount of people who cross by mistake from Michigan who are driving without insurance, driving drunk, or driving without a drivers licence and in cars that AREN'T even THEIRS sickens me.

It is a definite problem in Yankee-Land. :notallthere:

Be careful out there people!

 

[mtlhdtodd]

Three little numbers .357 and a little time. Remember revenge is a dish best served ICE COLD!

 

[StealthChallenger]

The police will have to ask CVS to view the surveillance footage. They most likely will not show you it. Most of the videos I see when this happens t work are fuzzy meaning you cannot read a license plate but can get the make, model, and color of the offending vehicle. This is a hit and run or leaving the scene of a property damage accident. You insurance will take care of the car, and hopefully, the cops will take care of the jerk who did it who most likely suspended or wanted. It is too bad the old lady ould not at least give a make and model. I would call local body shops in the area and see if they have had any black sedans come in yet for repair (to whatever area the old lady said was damaged). From my experience, you will most likely not find this person unless the video footage is really clear.

 

[StealthChallenger]

Just read the part about the offender renting a redbox. Our department is small, so this would eventually get assigned to a detective. Your officer may just take the intitial report and never do any real follow up depending how busy they are. A detective handling the case should be able to retrieve a transaction number from Redbox (may take time) and the credit card/name associated with the transaction. The police can then run the person's name through the Secretary of State database and see what cars are registered to him along with their plates/address and BAM, you got him. That is, if he admits to it, the video surveillance is good, and he allows the police to look in his garage.

 

[StealthChallenger]

Remember this. Even if you can't prove it, doesn't mean it isn't true.

 

[MgKenny]

Some careless SOB opened his door HARD into the Passenger door of my car (I haven't gotten it fixed yet either so it is a sore reminder everytime I see it) so I feel you.

I wouldn't get crazy about it, but it doesn't hurt to BOLO either.

The way I figure it, KARMA will eventually get these people in the end. Creatures of bad habit eventually bring bad things upon themselves so have satisfaction in knowing they always get theirs in the end.

 

[bermise]

Thanks for the support guys, it helped me to not go looking for the A-hole, which probably would have ended badly anyways. This guy is not worth becoming a felon for and the local cops are once again of no use. I moved on from the accident to the repair now, which has it's own set of problems.

Once again, Why God??? My SRT8 carbon fiber hood stripes are on national backorder as of today! I have been told 3-9 months wait!! I have contacted 2 local Chrysler dealers to verify and they say it is true. My hood requires to be repainted and needs new stripes. My insurance company is trying to get me to just paint the bumper, grill and both fenders to match the hood. My repair guy recommends painting the hood for a proper job. Any thoughts on this?? :scratchhead:

Anybody have some extra stripes?

 

[eecom]

I'm no religious nut case here but I noticed that you asked God "why" several times in your posts. I'm my 52 years of being more than occasionally crapped on by life, I learned a few things that get me by, maybe they'll help you come to grips with what happened. Are those you love healthy?....Kids, wife, or parents not suffering from some nasty disease? I hope not...If you are lucky enough to have a roof over your head and a job to pay for it, then tell the man upstairs thanks instead of asking him why he let your shined up piece of sheet metal get damaged by some of the world's lower life forms.
I love my car too, Actually I'm anal over it's condition, but after watching my mother die of cancer and seeing all the sick children in the hospital when we were there, I now know that the sheet metal can always be replaced. They made thousands of Challengers, but I only had one mother and only have two kids.
I'm not preaching brother, I'm just saying....step back and re-evaluate what's important. It'll help get your blood pressure down too! Hope everything works out good with the repairs, I'm sure it will.