Scratched his BMW, OOPS!!

[eslawns]

Oh, what a day. I decided to work today. I usually don't work Memorial Day or Veteran's Day, but wanted to stay caught up.

I noticed a hole in my pocket when I went to get change for coffee. It was an omen. I also got my mower stuck. Another omen. Then I see this man watching me mow around a video store. He waited until I stopped and wanted me to see all the scratches my mower put on his car.

I walked around the building expecting a hoopty, but it was a month old BMW Roadster. There were a couple of small nicks in the paint. I honestly don't think the mower did it. These were scratches like you get when the air dam scrapes over a curb or those parking obstacles. But I can't honestly say I didn't do it, so I told him to get some quotes.

He was really pi**ed, but all I can do is pay to fix the car. I hope it isn't too much, because we just got our new insurance policy. I hate to make a claim already. Some days you get the bear: Some days the bear gets you.

[Jason Pallas]

Eslawns - I wouldn't roll over that easy for this guy. Don't be intimidated just because he drives a Beemer. These are usualy the types that just wait for an opportunity to blame their road scrapes on someone else. I has it happened to me - when I showed the lady that there was no way that my mower could have caused the damage she had alledged, she got all pissy and stormed off. She was just looking for a patsy. You may have caused the damage, but don't be too quick to jump to conclusions and offer to pay for damages. I suggest re-approaching the guy and asking to reinspect the damage. Look for signs that you either did or did not do the damage. Are the chips old? Do they have dirt or grease (from the road on them - take a magnifying glass)? Too many of these A---holes take advantage of things and try to get people like us to pay for their stuff. If he's got no-fault, his insurance should pay for it - then, the most that can happen is that he can sue you for the deductable. Make him tkae that route. Don't give in so easy. Good luck.

[watatrp]

Amen to that. I've had people come out of their house and say that I put a scrape in their siding. I pull the mower up to the house and ask them what part of my mower at this height scraped your house? I admit, I have damaged a house or two but have told the homeowner when I do it and pay for repairs. More often then not, it's not me doing damage. I even had one guy tell me I damaged his sprinkler system on his new house before I had even mowed it once. Stick up for yourself.

[Brickman]

I couldn't agree more, don't go down without a fight.

I had a guy follow me 15 miles one day to tell me that a mower bag that blew off the trailer hit his POS car and put dents in it. When I asked him to show me the dents he couldn't find them any more, and when I asked him which bag that blew off he said he never stopped to pick it up. Last I ever heard of him. I did lose a bag, but how do I know it hit his car?

[AltaLawnCare]

Ask for a minimum of 3 written quotes from reputable Body Shops and make the estimators give a statement about what, in their opinion caused the damage.

Inform your buddy with the Beamer, that your insurance company will send out an adjuster to inspect the damage, to see if its consistant with what a mower would do....

And you might want to inform him that insurance fraud is a crime, which is what he is commiting if he tries to get prior damage fixed.

[65hoss]

Maybe I'm missing something, but you should know if you were even blowing his direction. Were you blowing clippings at or on his car?

[TLS]

eslawns,

First things first. Did you, or did you NOT come in contact with, or cause debris to contact his car? If not walk away. I hope you didn't give your info to him, if you did, its possibly too late.

Why did you title this thread " Scratched his BMW, OOPS!!"

That "OOPS!!" part almost seems like you actually DID scratch it :confused:

If you didn't do it, don't submit a claim to your insurance. Especially if its a new policy. Knock on wood, I've had liability insurance since 1988 and haven't had a claim yet.

[Runner]

I had a guy try this a few years ago. He saud that I hit his car as he was pulling out of a restaurant that I do, and when I shut down the mower to look the car over, there were NO visible signs of any damage that was recently done. The car was a little dirty, and I scanned the whole side closely with my eyes. He said fine, he'll go in and talk to the owner, I said fine, and went in and GOT the owner and told him what was going on. The owner himself came out and looked it all over and said he couldn't see any visible damages. The driver then said he was taking the car to his dealership and having them look at it. I said fine, but I can't be responsible for anything that happens once that car leaves this parking lot. He called the owner about a week later, and wanted to meet back up at the restaurants location to talk. When I got there, he had spots of tape from one end of the car to the other, including spots that were TOTALLY irrelevent to and possible mower damage AND spots on the hood that were NOT there that day! The owner of the restaurant was even sure of that! Things like the weld of the roof post where it goes down and meets the quarterpanel. He said he'd accept a couple of hundred bucks and "call it even". I said he can sue me if he wishes, but I'm not paying, because I KNOW I didn't cause any of that damage. And I SURE wasn't going to turn it in to my insurance! Well, I think I did the right thing, as the restaurant owner even told me after the man left that he was trying to scam me. Well, needless to say, I never heard from that man again.

[lawnkid]

You should get it checked out by like the police cause if he's lying that's fraud I think. I've seen that happen to a lot of people and they always get dooped on money. If you say it is like scratches from the curb, then you should have an auto body repair shop check it out to see what happened, they can tell you usually without you even telling them.

[Dennis E.]

Don't be so fast to take care of his Beemer. Like mentioned above,he may have got the damage somewhere else and wants you to be the "fall guy".
I had a customer try that with me years ago with his "new van".
He was "positive" that I had done it. I brought the mower out to prove that there was no way my mower could have done that kind of damage. We lined the mower up every way possible and nothing matched up to the point of"impact"on his van. We argued to the point of throwing punches and I told him I would not even consider paying for the damage. I stood my ground. If I had hit the van I would have told him right away,not hide it.
Come to find out later the Sheriff's Dept. had picked up some kids that were out vandalizing vehicles and his van was one of those vehicles.
This POS never even apologized for raking my rear over the coals.
Dropped him like a hot rock! More or less told him to KMA!!

[digger1]

Hold the line on this joker -- do NOT give in to his 'claim' of damage. If you are sure that you did not do it, fight back. Most people who drive that kind of car are arrogant yuppies with nothing better to do than pick on people.
Ask your insurance agent for advice but do not file a claim yet. Your insurance company may be able to help you out and tell this joker that he needs 100% proof that you were the cause of it.

Who knows, maybe he was out with his mistress and scratched the new car and is needing an excuse to give to his wife!

As a last resort, tell the guy to take you to court. The burden of proof is on him to convince a judge that you did the damage. He must be able to prove to the judge with no uncertainty that you did the damage. If there is any doubt, the judge will probably dismiss the case.

Hang in there.

[eslawns]

First things first.

1. TLS

First things first. Did you, or did you NOT come in contact with, or cause debris to contact his car?

I haven't got the faintest idea. There are a lot of very small stones on this property, so I could have.

If not walk away. I hope you didn't give your info to him, if you did, its possibly too late.

The only info I gave him was my name.

Why did you title this thread " Scratched his BMW, OOPS!!"

1. He drives a BMW.
2. He claims I scratched it.
3. When I am not reasonably sure I am not responsible for something somebody says I did, I accept it and move on. Oops.

That "OOPS!!" part almost seems like you actually DID scratch it

I might very well have. Most of the damage I've seen like he had on the car will come from driving on the streets. Little stones will cause small nicks and dings. If he brings me a quote for $300 or less, I'll just cut him a check. I'd rather take care of this than spend a day in court that will cost the same amount, and I still might lose.


2. I am not intimidated by people because of what they drive. At least not unless the car is about to hit me. I've spent my weekends the last 4 years working as a cop. I know all too well what kind people are out there. I've put handcuffs on a bunch of them.

This guy just had a real pi$$y attitude and wanted my insurance info. He demanded either that or he'd call the police. When I started walking toward the mower, he asked me where I was going. I told him I was going back to work until an officer came. My best friend is assigned to that sector that shift. Bad news for Mr. Beemer.

I also told him that the police can only take a report that there was a dispute (this is private property) and have me give him my name and address, which I'd already done. He apologized and said he was just mad because the car is only a month old. As of today, I still haven't heard from him.

3. I have had this kind of thing happen before. I posted one such experience here and every response to it reamed my @$$ for doing the things suggested here. It turns out that because she was on a public street, her insurance is responsible for the repair. I made an offer based on an estimate I obtained, added 3 days car rental, and sent a check. She returned the check with a note refusing my offer. I haven't heard from her since.

4. I'm not really concerned with this man or his car. What I don't want is him calling the property manager of this shopping center, and costing me $12k because they fire me. If he just wants a fight, he will surely get one, but if he's reasonable, he'll get his way. All I really want is to make it go away.

[McNeal Lawn]

I myself would have wrtten down the necessary information, with pictures having a camera in truck pays off, telling him my insurance company would be contacting him, I would pass to my insurance company all the information, if I did not feel I caused the damage, I would tell the insurance company I felt he was scamming, letting them do what I pay them for insurance.

[eslawns]

I have his info. As far as pictures go, nothing would show up on a photo. What he's b*tching about is 10 or 12 nicks in the air dam, all of which were caused by impact with small (BB size) stones, either from driving or what he claims. The next move is his.

[robert payer]

This all boils down to finding and exploiting hard working young honest people who want to build a business and screwing them.
This is usually experienced with out the car in the bidding process. Dont stand for it in this case, dont be so timid. Stand up to him with your intuition and integrity. He is bluffing and wants you to write a check. Be professional and allow the proper channels to make this decision. Just because your in business does not mean you can just pay the bill to get rid of him. Do you know how long you need to work to clear $300.00 after all expenses and taxes. My business is some what lucrative and $300.00 does not come easy. Your profile say that you are in law enforcement?

He is a con-man!

Proper channels should rid you of this Pesky Scum!


Real Nocturnal Creatcher, look him in the eye turn the lights on and he will slither away!

Be careful, you do not know who or what he is evolved with.

Follow your intuition and always maintain your integrity you will scare his type away.

Be aware that it seems that we all support you.

Hope it all turns out well.