Exit Blocked - Damaged own Car

antodeco

Hi Folks,
Was leaving work today (garage exit off henry street onto Henry Place), and there was a large silver van (german reg) parked opposite the garage. For those of you who dont know Henry Place, its around 3 - 4 metres wide. Obviously, I was unable to get out, as there was literally around a metre maybe a metre and a half to get out. I got out and went looking for the guy in the van.Spent around an hour and a half looking for him/her (5pm - 6:30pm). I eventually gave up as I HAD to leave. Got back in the car tried getting out, wasnt enough room, but as it was pitch black, I didnt realise I was against the wall of the garage door. I managed to scrape a nice long 6 inch gash along the rear door. Its around 1mm thick. The car couldnt get out, so reversed back in, went off looking again, and I asked some builders if they knew who owned the van. Funnily enough, they were german! They said they didnt know, so I went off for around 5/10 mins, came back and the Van was gone. Ive a couple of questions needing answering:

1. I have the vans reg plate. Where he was parked clearly states along the whole road, no parking anytime. Emergency Exits. Also, there are double yellow lines all the way down. Can I claim off the driver as he was very illegally parked?

2. Can I claim off the council, as it is their duty to remove illegally parked cars? (yes, I should have contacted them, but I didnt realise it was going to take that long for it to move).

3. Can I claim off the MIBI? I know it was my own fault, but in theory, I was left with little choice but to try and get out.

4. How much would it cost to get fixed? There is a slight dent caused by it, not really concerned. More so concerned of the large scrape down the side. It looks like it may be down to the metal, or at least the dregs of the undercoat.

I know that 1, 2 & 3 are a long shot, but Id rather chance my arm and end up paying for it to get fixed, then just paying for it to get fixed.

Sorry for the long post.

Thanks

Mikros

i would think you have almost zero chance of sucessfully claiming of anybody, unfortunatley you damaged the car at the end of the day.

As to how much it would cost, can't really help, but I'd guess around €300-€400 depending on how bad it is.

deman

Dude, you've been having some real bad luck recently! :eek:

Unfortunately, in this case, I don't know if there's a whole lot you can do. You were right, you should have phoned the council or even the cops and have the van towed, but that's hindsight for you.

Did you take any photos? I don't know if just knowing the reg is enough. I wouldn't think so. 1. 2. and 3. are long shots but possibly worth reporting to the gardai and council anyway.

antodeco

I know! One destroyed car, and now my other car is damaged!

I took photos of where he was parked, and photos of the van. As I said, I know its a long shot, but worth a try at least.
The damage luckily isint extremley bad. If I matched the colour, you wouldnt notice it, but as the car is only a year old, Id prefer to get it done properly. I was thinking around the 300 mark for it. It doesnt need to be resprayed. More so, filled sanded, and touched up would do it..


BTW, regarding the other post, he got away with it :mad:

deman

Well the photos should definitely help matters, therefore your chances have increased from extremely slim to very slim.:(

Regarding the other matter, you must be really pissed off at the moment with that w****r! Where's the justice in this world??

antodeco

deman wrote: »

Regarding the other matter, you must be really pissed off at the moment with that w****r! Where's the justice in this world??

I know! Makes you realise that if you drink, speed, drive, crash, once you survive, you're grand

Barlow07

Mikros wrote: »

i would think you have almost zero chance of sucessfully claiming of anybody, unfortunatley you damaged the car at the end of the day.

As to how much it would cost, can't really help, but I'd guess around €300-€400 depending on how bad it is.

I have to agree with the above, id be very suprised if you got any claim and think that you may be wasting your time and efforts. Id ring the council and see what they have to say.

There is something else you could do, but thats toally against the law and i would never post for fear of getting banned.

Good luck and keep us posted

antodeco

Barlow07 wrote: »

I have to agree with the above, id be very suprised if you got any claim and think that you may be wasting your time and efforts. Id ring the council and see what they have to say.

There is something else you could do, but thats toally against the law and i would never post for fear of getting banned.

Good luck and keep us posted

True, im assuming its like hansel and grettal? A fictional story..;)

unkel

Sorry for your trouble, antodeco. I understand your frustration. Not wanting to sound like a prick here, but you weren't doing yourself any favours

antodeco wrote: »

I was unable to get out, as there was literally around a metre maybe a metre and a half to get out

antodeco wrote: »

Got back in the car tried getting out, wasnt enough room

Why did you try? You knew it wouldn't fit

antodeco wrote: »

I HAD to leave.

antodeco wrote: »

I was left with little choice but to try and get out

Even if it was an emergency (which it wasn't - why else would you have hung around looking for the van driver for 90 minutes), would you not have left the car and got a taxi? You know yourself that there is no chance of you having any comeback