Neighbor Hit My Parked Car (First Thing You Should Do)
Walking out to your car in the morning to find it scratched up and dented is not a great way to start the day. To your surprise, you find out that your neighbor hit your parked car. What do you do next?
If your neighbor hits your parked car, the first thing you should do is ask them for their insurance information. Since you are not at fault, their insurance provider will cover the costs of any damage done to your car.
Unfortunately, this scenario doesn’t always play out so easily- your neighbor might deny hitting your car, they might refuse to pay for it, or they may not even have insurance. No matter what the case, we have covered exactly what you need to do when your parked car gets hit.
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Here’s a Quick Pro Tip!
While you can’t really prevent anyone from hitting your car, it’s good to know without a doubt who hit your car and have video evidence of the incident.
Having a decent security system like a Ring Video Doorbell or Outdoor Security Cameras (both on Amazon) is a smart thing to do.
This will make it much easier to prove your neighbor is at fault and ensure they will have to pay for any damages.
What Can I Do if My Neighbor Keeps Hitting My Car?
If your neighbor keeps hitting your car even after you’ve spoken to them about it, you can file a police report to have them charged with a hit and run. If there is also visible damage to your car, you can file an insurance claim to have the costs covered.
If you know which neighbor is hitting your car, you can try asking them for their car insurance information. If they refuse to give it to you, you can also ask the police to track it down once you file a police report.
A police report will also help you move along your insurance claim, although it is not necessary.
Neighbor Keeps Hitting My Car
Contact the police to file a police report against your neighbor who keeps hitting your car, especially if they keep doing it even after you’ve spoken to them about it. You should then file an insurance claim to their insurance provider if you or the police are able to obtain their insurance information.
You will have to have evidence of the damage done and/or witnesses to make a statement. A police report will also help move the insurance claim along, which is why it’s very important to always contact the police.
The neighbor is also committing a hit and run act which is punishable by law.
How to Prove My Neighbor Hit My Car?
To prove your neighbor hit your car, first take pictures of the damages done to your car for when you need to show them to the police. You could then inspect your neighbor’s car for any damages that correlate to yours. Also, inspect if there is any of your car’s paint on their car. Usually, the paint will scrape off onto the car that hits it.
If you are not able to inspect your neighbor’s car, check your security footage if you have any that covers where the crash took place. You can also ask your neighbors if they have any security cameras set up that may have caught the accident on camera.
If no security cameras caught anything, you can ask your neighbors if they witnessed anything. Usually, when someone hits a car, a pretty loud noise is created, which may have drawn witnesses to their windows.
If a witness does come forward, ask them to either make a written or verbal statement about what they saw.
When all else fails, you can contact the police and let them know you have a strong suspicion that your neighbor hit your car. They may have access to street cameras that will be able to prove it was indeed your neighbor that hit your car.
What to Do if Someone Hits Your Car and Drives Off?
You should contact your insurance provider as soon as you can if someone hits your car and drives off. You will have to provide proof of the damage in order to file the claim. You should also contact the police since this is considered a hit and run.
The police may be able to track down who hit your car by accessing street camera footage. Having a police report filed will also help with your insurance claim, although it is not necessary.
Take as many photos as you can of the damage to your car. You also ask around where the car got hit if anyone witnessed anything, for example at a nearby store.
Sidenote: We also created an in-depth blog post on what to do if your neighbor is hitting your mailbox. Check it out!
You might also enjoy our post on What to Do if Your Neighbor Hits Your Mailbox
Someone Keeps Damaging My Car
If you notice someone keeps damaging your car and they are not taking any responsibility, basically leaving you in the dark, then you should start setting up some security cameras to catch the person in the act.
A discreet way to do this is by installing a Ring Video Doorbell if you think your car will show up on the footage. These are great because they are not very obvious and you can see all the action happening on your phone.
If you don’t think this will work, try security cameras coming off of your garage and make sure they capture your car.
Once the person hitting your car is caught on tape, you will have a better idea of who it is. It is likely your neighbor. You can approach them and let them know that they are causing damage to your car and you would like them to cover the costs.
If they are receptive to this, then their insurance provider will likely cover the costs for you. If they are not receptive and are giving you a hard time, take the footage to the police.
They will confront your neighbor themselves which will hopefully get them to take responsibility.
What Happens if You Don’t Report Hitting a Car?
If you don’t report hitting a car and you get caught, you may be charged with a hit and run. Being charged with a hit and run can result in losing your license, paying large fines, and even jail time.
Therefore, you should always report hitting a car. If you are scared of your insurance going up, trust that you will pay much more money in fines if you get caught and charged with a hit and run.
Someone Hit My Car and Left a Note
If someone hits your car and left a note, what the note entails will determine what you should do next. If they left their phone number then call them right away to get their insurance information. If they did not leave their phone number, then call the police as this is a hit and run.
Even if they left an apology note, this still doesn’t take them off the hook for damaging your car. You will need to file a police report to report the hit and run and also to have some solid proof for your insurance claim.
It is best to file the claim through their insurance provider, so give the police some time to track down who did it.
My Car Was Hit While Parked. Will My Insurance Go Up?
If your car was legally parked when it got hit, then your insurance is likely to not go up. Insurance rates typically go up if you are at least 50% responsible for the accident. But, if your car was legally parked, then you’re in the clear.
In this certain situation, this accident is not considered “chargeable” which means that you will not have to suffer in any way from the accident. You will have to prove that you were not at fault.
A police report will help you with this.
You might also enjoy our post on Can You Park Cars In Your Backyard?
Does Insurance Go Up if Someone Hits Your Car Parked?
Your car insurance will likely not go up if someone hits your car while it is parked as long as it is parked legally. If your car was parked illegally, then you are slightly at fault which will make your insurance go up.
If you are able to prove that you had no fault in the accident, then you are likely to be let off the hook with your insurance provider.
Filing a report with the police will help your innocence since they have more resources to prove that you were legally parked and that someone hit you.
Should I Call My Insurance if I Wasn’t at Fault?
If you do not have the insurance information of the person who hit your car, then you will have to call your insurance provider even if you weren’t at fault. Doing so will help you cover the costs of the damage done to your car.
You shouldn’t feel worried about your insurance rates going up, either. If you can prove that you were not at fault, then your rates shouldn’t be affected.
It is best to file a police report to help you prove your case. If you can prove that you were less than 50% at fault, then you should be in the clear with your insurance provider.
Someone Hit My Parked Car and They Have No Insurance
You should definitely call the police as soon as you can, in this case. Not only is it illegal to drive without insurance, but it also makes your insurance claim a little more tricky to navigate- in which you will need some legitimate documentation from the police.
Although this may seem unfortunate, it’s actually not going to have any bad consequences for your insurance rate. As long as you can prove that you were not at fault for the accident, your insurance should cover the damage and stay at the same rate.
You will need to prove that you were less than 50% at fault. To do this, make sure you file a police report that states that you were hit while you were parked legally and that the person who hit you has no insurance.
This will help your provider understand why you are coming to them and not the person who hit you. Don’t forget to take as many pictures as you can of the damage done to your car.
Someone Hit My Car and Won’t Pay
If the person who hit you has insurance, you can call their insurance provider to get them to pay. However, it’s likely that this person isn’t handing over that information. In this case, take a picture of their license plate. You can check with the police or DMV to retrieve their insurance information.
If they do not have insurance, then you will have to call your insurance provider, first, and then report to the police that they do not have insurance since this is illegal.
If you choose to, you have the grounds to take them to court to get them to pay for your deductible, since you will have to pay that out of your own pocket when you file an insurance claim.
Since the person who hit you was driving without insurance, they are already looking pretty bad in the eyes of the court.
On the other hand, if the person does have insurance, call their insurance provider and file a claim with them. The person who hit you will have to pay their deductible in order to get your damages fixed.
Before any of this, take as many pictures as you can of the accident and file a police report. You will need this information to file a claim with any insurance provider.
You might also enjoy our post on How to Keep Neighbors From Parking in Front of My House
What Happens if Someone Hits Your Car and Refuses to Pay?
You don’t have to worry too much if someone refuses to pay for hitting your car since the insurance provider will decide who pays, not the person who hit you. However, it’s likely this person isn’t handing over their insurance information, so snap a picture of their license plate to be able to find out if they have insurance or not.
You can call the police or the DMV and ask them to check if this person has insurance. If they do, then you can file a claim against their provider. They will be forced to pay this way.
If they do not have insurance, then you will have to file a claim against your provider. If you want, you can take the person to court to get your deductible reimbursed.
Can I Force My Neighbor to Pay For Damages to My Car?
You cannot force your neighbor to do anything, but you can take some routes legally to get them to pay up. Contacting their insurance provider and filing a claim with them is your best bet.
If your neighbor refuses to give you their insurance information, it is likely that they are looking to avoid deductible costs.
Although nobody wants to pay a deductible, that’s not really fair for your neighbor to expect you to pay for everything when it wasn’t your fault.
Thankfully, you live right beside your neighbor and can snap a photo of their license plate anytime in order to ask either the police or DMV if they have insurance.
If they do have insurance, you can file a claim against their insurance provider in which they will be forced to pay a deductible in order to have your car fixed.
Can I Sue My Neighbor for Hitting My Car?
You can sue your neighbor for hitting your car but you may want to consider this as the last resort. Covering the costs of lawyers and waiting to be seen in a small claims court may not be worth the effort when you can take other actions first.
Instead of deciding to sue your neighbor, try to file a claim through their insurance provider. You can do this by retrieving their insurance information and making a claim directly to them.
They will have to pay a deductible and their insurance will cover the cost of your car.
If they will not give you their insurance information, you can ask the police or DMV for it by providing them the license plate number of your neighbor. You can then file a claim with their insurance provider.
However, in some cases, the other person’s insurance provider will decide to not go along with the claim. Sometimes this happens because insurance providers want to protect their assets and clients more than anything.
If this happens, you can take your neighbor to a small claims court and try to sue them.
My Friend Hit My Parked Car
If your friend hits your parked car, you likely want to take the route that is least damaging to both of you. In this case, paying out of pocket for the damages may be the most beneficial since you don’t have to involve any police or insurance companies. However, since this is expensive, this is not always possible.
If your friend was completely at fault, they should call their insurance provider and have the damages covered for you. Yes, they will have to pay a deductible but that’s a lot better than paying for the full costs of a damaged car.
As much as you trust your friend, it’s still important to have your best interests at heart. So, take as many pictures of the accident as you can just in case you need to prove something in the future.
You might also enjoy our post on What to Do About a Suspicious Car in Front of My House
Someone Hit My Car but No Damage
You should still report the car accident to your car insurance even if you do not see any visible damage. There’s a possibility that there is some underlying damage and reporting the accident to your car insurance will cover your tracks in case something breaks in the future.
You never know what the collision did to your car internally and the last thing you want is for something to break and you have to pay out of pocket to cover the costs.
Make sure you grab the insurance information of the person who hit you just in case this happens. It is best to also get a written statement from the person who hit your car declaring that they were at fault.
How Can I Prevent My Car From Getting Hit?
The most important thing you can do to prevent your car from getting hit is to park strategically. There’s no point in saving yourself a few steps if you are increasing your chances of getting hit. Give yourself enough room in between other cars and try not to park on a high-traffic road.
If you have to walk an extra three minutes, so be it. Your doctor will thank you later.
When you try to wedge yourself in between two cars on the street just to get to where you’re going faster, it’s likely that someone will bump into you when they try to get out.
Look for a more roomy parking option next time you’re considering if you can squeeze in.
Also, if you notice that your car is getting hit when parked in front of your house, try another parking spot. It’s possible that where your car is currently parked is an easy target for drivers on the road to accidentally hit your car.
You might also enjoy our post on How to Get a Car Towed From Your Driveway Legally
Related Questions
How Does Car Insurance Work When You Are Not at Fault?
When you are not at fault, depending on your car insurance policy, your insurance will cover the costs for you and you will not have to pay a deductible. You will have to prove that you are not at fault and will have to have a specific type of policy to cover this.
Insurance policies differ depending on your location and which insurance provider you have. In some cases, you will still have to pay a deductible but in other cases, you won’t.
You should still file a claim with your insurance provider whether you are at fault or not. It will let them know an accident happened just in case you can’t file through the person’s insurance who is at fault.
What if Someone Claims You Hit Their Car?
If someone claims they hit your car, they will not be able to pursue much action without any proof. If you did hit their car, then you should confess since it will be considered a hit and run if you don’t take responsibility. But, if you didn’t hit their car and they are still blaming you, then you may need to get the police involved.
Being blamed for something you didn’t do can be extremely frustrating. If the person who is blaming you for hitting their car is difficult to speak to, then call the police and let them know what is happening.
The police will speak to the person and ask them what kind of proof they have against you. Likely, they don’t have any and will feel discouraged to pursue any action after talking to the police.
Involving the police will also cover your tracks if this is ever taken further.
Can I Leave a Note if I Hit a Car?
You can leave a note if you hit a car, just make sure it’s not solely an apology. While that is nice to do, it won’t help the person cover the costs of the damage. Write down your number and let them know you are willing to cover the costs.
Do not place the note anywhere it will fall off or fly away. Leave two notes if you have to, just to be safe. A good place to leave it is under a windshield wiper or slipped in the top of the driver’s door.
If you have tape, then even better. Tape the note to the window. Lastly, take a picture of the note on the car just in case it does fall off and you have to prove that you did actually leave a note.
I Unknowingly Hit a Parked Car
Do not panic. There are some very important steps you need to take if you hit a parked car in order to save yourself from legal actions. The last thing you should do is drive away, even if you are in a hurry or scared. Follow these steps immediately:
- Leave a note on the car that you hit – or two – stating your name, phone number, and address. Let the person know you are ready to take responsibility and pay for the damages.
- Take photos of the damage done so you don’t get dinged for anything that wasn’t your fault.
- Report the accident to the police. Let them know which damages have occurred even if there aren’t any. In some states, it’s illegal to not report an accident. This will also give you some credit if further action is pursued.
- Look for any eye witnesses. Witnesses will be able to testify that you indeed left a note and called the police instead of just driving away.
What Happens if Someone Scratches Your Car?
Although a scratch can seem like a small fix, it usually isn’t. Prices can get quite steep when fixing a scratch since sometimes a whole part will have to be replaced or a large area will have to be repainted. You should call your insurance provider immediately if this happens.
Calling your insurance provider will let them know that a collision happened, even if just a small scratch was the worst of it.
If the person who scratched your car confessed, then you can get their insurance provider to cover the cost of the damage.
If they are not around, then you should call the police and see if they can help you retrieve any security footage that may have caught the perpetrator on camera.
If so, you can retrieve their license plate number and then further contact their insurance provider and make a claim against them.
What Happens if Someone Scratches Your Car While Parked and Leaves?
If someone scratches your car while parked and leaves, this is considered a hit and run. Any collision, small or large, is considered a hit and run if someone flees the scene. You should contact the police immediately to obtain a police report in order to file an insurance claim.
The police also may be able to find out who hit your car through street security footage. If they do, then they can contact the insurance provider of the person and have them cover the costs of the damage.
If they cannot find the person responsible, then they will be able to prove you were not at fault with your insurance provider which may save you on deductibles.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with insurance providers and the police can be tricky to navigate when someone hits your car, especially when you are not at fault. But, the first thing you want to do is get your car up and running, so it is not something you can avoid.
Refer back to this article whenever you need to so you can get justice for whoever hit your car and have your car back in running shape as soon as possible, without your pockets taking a hit.