Hit friends car. Did I even cause this damage?

TheGodfather · #1 01-21-2010, 01:36 AM

Hey guys,

I don't know how I let this happen, but as I was pulling onto my driveway I managed to scrape the passenger side of my bumper on the rear drivers side of my friends/roommates car.

Luckily my bumper is not cracked, however the paint chipped right off on the corner. So of course it will need to repainted.

Now here is the thing about my friends car. I am 99% convinced this crack existed prior to me touching the car. I made a left turn onto the driveway.

1. The way the bumper is cracked is not consistent with the speed/force/general way at which I brushed up against the car.
2. There is silicon lining this crack/ evidence of prior DIY repair. Perhaps some paint touch up.

It is a very awkward thing to tell a friend that you hit their car, only to say that the damage in the area that I hit was already there.

My friend said she would have noticed the crack if it was there before. Keep in mind my friend has never washed this car in at least 6 months.

This "damage" i caused on my friends car is stressing me out way more than the paint work that needs to be done on my bumper.

I just cant stand the fact that my friend has not even examined the damage properly to at least ponder the possibility I didn't cause it. So I just look like a d-bag trying to get out of repairing it.

Of course pictures are not enough to be 100 percent certain, but what do you think? Keep in mind this happened 1 hour ago, so there has not been any tampering or attempts to fix the crack. All I did was wash the dirt off to reveal what damage I may have caused.

I want to make it clear that I hit the car, and in no way am I trying to weasel my way out of paying for legitimate damages. This incident was a dummy move that was caused from carelessness due to such a repetitive daily act.

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Yii · #2 01-21-2010, 01:40 AM

whoaa your "friends" car looks like something sharp gashed it, unless your x5 comes with some sharp talons i dun see how a gash like that can open up from a bump... but i am not 100% not very experienced with all kinds of accidents

Ldiggs910 · #3 01-21-2010, 01:42 AM

r you kidding me??? unless your bumper was encrusted with dirt, no not even then... that nasty ugly crack was clearly there already and you need to replace your lying friend

TheGodfather · #4 01-21-2010, 01:47 AM

I know. This is such a crappy situation.

Well I asked my roommate to call her dad, to ask if he is aware of any prior damage when he purchased the vehicle. The car was also in for interior vandalism a couple months ago, so I also asked her to contact the people who did the repairs.

Don't insurance companies and body shops do a walk around and account for prior damage?

Of course there are no pre-incident pictures of this car for me to refer to. I guess one who doesn't care for cars doesn't take pictures of them.

Also, I doubt my friend is trying to swindle me. She just is not aware of the condition of her own car.

Though it does seem even if I am proven correct in my notions, that my roommate is still going to have a shred of doubt.

dragoncoach · #5 01-21-2010, 02:19 AM

It looks like the damage has been there for awhile. If you hit the car that hard, you would have really felt it. In addition, your car would have some pretty decent damage. You should match up the cars and see if the damage is consistant with the hight of your car and hers. The damage really looks like it was already there and an attempt was make to repair it (and it's filthy and has lots of scuffs on the bumper).It's a tough situation and basically a no-win situation for you. Good Luck in finding a resolution.

1stE53 · #6 01-21-2010, 09:08 AM

looks to me like that damage was there, under the paint. look at the condition of the seams!!!! rusting like hell. I have been around cars my entire life, wrecked a few too :-). My dad owns a dealership (in another country) and deals with a lot of damaged cars (crazy drivers). You may have brought out the tear in the bumper buy it was there before, just covered up by some cheap body shop.

Try to re-putty the bumper like the other place did :-) Good luck.

jst2878 · #7 01-21-2010, 10:06 AM

you should let your friend read these comments, they speak the truth. no way in hell did you do that to the camry. that was a repair job way before you hit her. a true friend will not want anything but maybe a carwash on your part....thats it. I would try to convince her otherwise but it sounds like she is unrealistic.

cmyX6go · #8 01-21-2010, 10:11 AM

If she's saying you did that, she's not your friend. Question is what is her "friendship" worth to you?

X5rolls · #9 01-21-2010, 10:41 AM

If this is really a friend, go with her to a qualified body shop and have them look at the car to determine if your car caused it.

Then when he/she says no, you didn't you are off the hook.

However, you still hit her car so if it was me I'd offer to fix the car anyway. But the car really looks like crap and it's probably not worth putting much into so an offer to buy her something that she would value and remember your friendship is probably priceless.

It's really easy to take the high road for a friend. IMO.

CTSportX5 · #10 01-21-2010, 12:04 PM

It looks to have been there, but since you hit her anyway your stuck. THink of it like this. I bought a used car years ago and it had a huge scratch on the bumper which I was gonna repair. Two weeks later I was hit from behind and now the bumper needed to be replaced. So because of the hit I got my free repair.. Looking at your bumper you clearly took paint off. Looks like its on you now..

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