Hit & Run In Mechanic's Parking Lot?

[angrydan]

So, I found myself in a pretty crappy situation tonight. I had my SVX in at my local mechanic's shop to have a nail removed from one of the tires. I picked the car up a couple of days ago after work (while it was dark). I got the car home and parked it on the side of my house without thinking anything of it. The car was pretty covered in road salt since it had recently snowed here, so I didn't notice anything out the ordinary.

Tonight, I took the car out to fill it up with gas. When I got it under the bright lights of the gas station, I noticed that there was a dent and swipe along the back driver's side of the car.

Now, I know there was no damage on the car when I took it into the shop. The side that the damage is on was the side parked up against the lawn in front of my house. So, unless someone drove up on the grass and smashed it, there's no way it was hit parked at the house.

I am assuming the most likely scenario is that the customer's car parked next to mine smacked it on its way out of the mechanic's parking lot. I left a voicemail for my mechanic, and am expecting a call first thing in the morning to discuss the damage.

I was just wondering if anyone has ever dealt with a situation like this? Is this the mechanic's responsibility because the damage occurred while parked on his lot? I'm pretty upset about the whole situation and will be grateful for any advice anyone may have on how to handle this.

Thanks,

Dan

[North Ursalia]

Laws are going to vary state to state so I can't be certain, but it's should be the responsibility of whomever took off, not the mechanic. If someone plows into your car in your driveway, it's not your fault- it's the other driver's fault. Same for the mechanic- it happened on his lot, but he didn't cause the accident.

The least he can do is let you know who was in the shop that day/night and you can go look for damage.

[Will]

That is a crappy situation! I've never had this happen to me before, but I would think(and I hope that I am wrong) that since you drove your car off of his lot without noticing any problems, that he is not at fault. More so that it has been a couple of days since you picked it up. Best of luck!

[angrydan]

Unfortunately, I think you both may be right. The combination of the car being covered in salt and my busy schedule probably allowed too much time to pass. To make matters worse, I dropped the collision coverage on my car last month due to the incredibly low book value. I was working on the assumption that pretty much any damage would total it, so it didn't seem worth keeping on the policy. Terrible timing!!

[Will]

While reading that my wife just asked me why my face looks like I smell dog poo! Sorry to hear this man, sincerely!

[benebob]

PA has no fault accidents. In effect it would be your fault although since it would possibly be a hit and run which is a criminal act you can always try to get a police report with the off chance they catch the person.

[Blacky]

I had my GMC truck damaged at the dealership one time. They tried to claim it happened somewhere else. I then explained that I had just driven the truck from the body shop down the street (owned by the dealers brother) with a fresh paint job directly to their parking lot. They called the body shop and then agreed to have them repair the truck for free.

[kwren]

Originally Posted by Blacky

I had my GMC truck damaged at the dealership one time. They tried to claim it happened somewhere else. I then explained that I had just driven the truck from the body shop down the street (owned by the dealers brother) with a fresh paint job directly to their parking lot. They called the body shop and then agreed to have them repair the truck for free.

Dealers are all like used car salesmen... wolfs in sheep's clothing... If you hadn't proved it like you did, they would have sworn to their lies till hell froze over

Keith