[Bimmer Pleaser]

Hey guys, this morning some lady backed up into my car, damage is minor if any but I got really irritated when she told me "I don't give a f*#k" after I asked her to stop. I have it all on my dash-cam. I really want to to track her down and teach her a lesson (legally of course). What is the best way to find a person by license plate#? I am in Texas if that matters. All I need is her name and address to take her to the small claims court.

[hwntime]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Pleaser

Hey guys, this morning some lady backed up into my car, damage is minor if any but I got really irritated when she told me "I don't give a f*#k" after I asked her to stop. I have it all on my dash-cam. I really want to to track her down and teach her a lesson (legally of course). What is the best way to find a person by license plate#? I am in Texas if that matters. All I need is her name and address to take her to the small claims court.

Call the police and file a report. She is fleeing the scene of an accident.

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by hwntime

Call the police and file a report. She is fleeing the scene of an accident.

Yeah why is this even a question??? One call to the police and one call to your personal attorney what is there that's unclear here?

[liebetrau88]

Originally Posted by hwntime

Call the police and file a report. She is fleeing the scene of an accident.

What he said. If you've got it on video, the cops will take care of the rest. As soon as you have the police report you can file in small claims court.

[overcoil]

Bimmer Pleaser can u post the dashcam video here ?

[Bimmer Pleaser]

I doubt cops will do anything about it TBH. Houston: a lot of uninsured drivers, overworked cops, etc...

Without being certain that I'll be compensated I don't want to diminish my car value by filing a police report.

[aozer]

Yea here in Dallas cops won’t even show up for a minor accident. A hit and run is a criminal offense though, so it is pretty likely the cops won’t drop it.

[Luftwaffe1O1]

Originally Posted by aozer

Yea here in Dallas cops won’t even show up for a minor accident. A hit and run is a criminal offense though, so it is pretty likely the cops won’t drop it.

They might not show up, but you are filing a police report is step #1.

Fleeing the scene of a crime is not the same as a minor accident AFAIK. If she stuck around and you called the cops, they probably wouldn't come, here in California also.

If someone actively fled, is something else. You have her plate, you have it on Camera, you start by filing a police report, then can report to your INS or take her to small claims.

[Rayscott]

I was visiting the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. I stopped at a local store and when I tried to leave the parking lot some drunken bitch backed her car into the side of my Lexus. I got out and tried to get her to stop but she left the scene. I got her make of vehicle and license number. The local police tracked her down and threw her ass in jail for leaving the scene of an accident and drunk driving. New York doesn't screw around with scumbags like this. He even came to the Inn we were staying at and gave us the news. Great cop.

[Bimmer Pleaser]

To be clear, I am a reasonable guy. I used to drive a lot (I paid my way through college delivering pizzas) and I can think of at least 3 instances that I got rear ended and I let them all go. But this lady was a piece of work. There was no major damage and I didn't even expect an apology. But she just smiled and said she did not give a fk.

[morphomeman]

Wow, this story tells us a lot about culture. First, that a car can be uninsured. Second, that the police routinely don't show up. Third, that OP is willing to absorb the cost of the repair because he is worried about having a police record and diminished value just for calling them in the first place.
As noted above, none of these would apply in New York State. Not that the place is perfect. That large orange man was spawned here, for example.

[Bimmer Pleaser]

I took a quick look last night and seemed like there was no visible damage which surprises me because she hit so hard that a corner of one of my grills popped out and I had to push it back in! I am going to wash the car today and inspect it one last time but looks like she'll get away with it. Who knows maybe Darwin catch up with her sometime but doesn't look like it'll be through me.

Question: so if bumper is not damage and all parking sensors work fine I'm good? Is there anything else to check?

[wntrsnowg]

There could be damage behind the bumper. Have it inspected by a dealer. If anything comes up from the inspection than you have written proof of the damages

[capt_and]

This is what's behind the bumper cover. You'll want to check things out underneath. All should be fine but a minor accident could weaken things enough to make them less effective in a bigger accident.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by aozer

Yea here in Dallas cops won’t even show up for a minor accident.

In San Francisco they wouldn't come out for minor accidents over forty years ago. Nor for (minor?) burglaries. They did offer to send me the filing forms in the mail, though, so that was something.

[Pray for Mojo]

Police report won't show up on a Carfax unless it was reported stolen. It's an insurance claim that would show up.

[Maynard]

How were you thinking to get some legal recourse w/o it generating a repair note in carfax? You'll need an estimate of damages to go thru small claims, and I think that work (to open up the front end to check) will show on a carfax. I also assume that everybody in the western world knows that for a few bucks online (or a few hundred to a PI) you can trace this info, but not anonymously.

That leaves me suspecting that you may harbor ideas of some vigilante justice, which I would most heartily discourage. Sure it feels good to think about keying her car or s/t, but once you open that can of worms you can't just hit the stop button. Make a report, let the cops 'teach her the lesson' the right way.

[Bimmer Pleaser]

Originally Posted by Maynard

How were you thinking to get some legal recourse w/o it generating a repair note in carfax? You'll need an estimate of damages to go thru small claims, and I think that work (to open up the front end to check) will show on a carfax. I also assume that everybody in the western world knows that for a few bucks online (or a few hundred to a PI) you can trace this info, but not anonymously.

That leaves me suspecting that you may harbor ideas of some vigilante justice, which I would most heartily discourage. Sure it feels good to think about keying her car or s/t, but once you open that can of worms you can't just hit the stop button. Make a report, let the cops 'teach her the lesson' the right way.

You need to stop judging people you don't know pal, I'm not that dumb.

Anyways, I just came back from dealer body shop with 2200$ repair estimate. I also found her name and address. I'll file a police report today and figure out the diminished value. Then I'll mail her all the info (repair quote, police report number, diminished value estimate). If no response then off to small claims court.

Justice boner initiated.

[Maynard]

Not judging, just imagining how I'd feel. No offense intended. Glad you are on the way to getting it fixed.

[mleskovar]

Originally Posted by Bimmer Pleaser

... just came back from dealer body shop with 2200$ repair estimate. I also found her name and address. I'll file a police report today.....

Bumper covers hide a lot of damage so it's always wise to have it pulled and checked after a significant hit. Good on you for following up. Make her squirm and don't let her off the hook. Demand she pay the whole amount and don't go through your insurance at all. If she has no insurance you can easily get ownership of her car and sell it once you have court judgement.

[morphomeman]

Wow, what will they do for $2200?
Also, in some places, you can deal with her insurance without filing a claim with your company, so the incident would not show on your file and not affect your rates.
I still don't quite understand why you want to go directly to small claims without first exploring the insurance route. Or do you know for a fact that the other driver has no insurance? Is it legal to register a car in TX without any insurance at all?
Finally, you must file a diminished value claim with your own company, not hers, which may raise your rates, at least in some places. I suspect that the diminished value claim will be minimal too and so may not be worth the effort.

[stevenvillatoro]

The OP should ordinarily not contact her directly. A police report will discover her insurance provider, if there was one. If not, hopefully the OP has uninsured motorist coverage. The court system should be a last recourse.

What were the specific damages, and can they be proven to have resulted from an impact that apparently caused no external damage?