A woman scratched my BMW while parking at my condominium, but either didn't notice it or tried to duck responsibility. In any case there was no note left on my car, and she didn't report the accident to the condo staff. However, CCTV footage shows her attempt to park her car next to mine three times, then drive off after 20 minutes. Shortly after that, the parking guard noticed the damage (that's also on CCTV). Using this footage the woman was tracked down and contacted. At first she denied doing it, but after seeing the footage she admitted to doing it, but claims she didn't notice.

Normally if she had been proactive in taking care of the problem I'd be happy just to let her pay for the repair costs. However, in this case I'm tempted to demand compensation for wasted time and vehicle depreciation. What kind of amounts are normal and appropriate?

Well I would walk away with her paying for repair. Don't waste time asking for compensation...you will be lucky that she covers expensive repair cost of your bimmer. Not worth it...you will end up spending extra time asking for your compensation.

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Don't be so pedantic.

Make her kiss your bmw goodnight and say sorry also.

I think you'll have more chance of getting any compensation than winning the lotto, Just be glad you didn't have to pay for it yourself.

Quit while you are ahead, demanding compensation will just bring out the face card

1st class insurance is always handy.

"I'm tempted to demand compensation for wasted time and vehicle depreciation. What kind of amounts are normal and appropriate?"

That would probably depend on how important you are and how valuable your time is. From the tone of your OP it imagine you are very important. Personally I would suggest that an appropriate amount would be nothing and that it is abnormal to expect compensation. Did you spend any time tracking her down or did the condo security people do that for you?

Wouldn't your insurance cover this?

Wouldn't your insurance cover this?

most likely wants to double dip

Sadly owning any car worth having in Asia is rife with problems especially if you expect it to be pristine 100% of the time.

If is is simply a scratch then owning a BMW in itself would suggest you can afford to have it repaired yourself. Asking someone else to pay to have it repaired is an admission of insufficient funds to do it yourself. aka Lose of face.

She is probably amazed that you even have to ask.

Not saying this is right but...

It's all your fault ! You shouldn't have parked your car there

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1st class insurance is always handy.

But a 1st class insurcance doesn´t take away all the costs YOU will have to pay YOURSELF like the taxi or rental car and all the inconvenience it caused. Thailand is different

At home my first class insurance would provide me a car while mine is beeing repaired or compensate me with the amount that an equivalent rental car would be worth. When the car is new they even might compensate for the loss of value. It would be no big deal cause I could drive around with another BMW rental car, probably a higher spec. model from the dealer to convince me for the next buy. Here I get nothing, not from the insurance nor from the dealer, except that they repair my car.

Last time my Bimmer got scratched they kept my car for 7 days cause they realised that a spare part was missing when they had began their work. The girl that scratched my car said sorry, that´s all I got from her. Asking for compensation or playing the blame game wouldn´t have been very promising or reasonable and a waste of time.

And when you pay shitloads of money for your dream car and pamper it everyday then something like that is not beeing pedantic but fully understandable....it´s not a freakin Hilux

Just leave it, not worth any further time and effort.

Edited January 21, 201412 yr by I knew this would happen

Don't be so pedantic.

Make her kiss your bmw goodnight and say sorry also.

I don´t let others kiss my BM, who knows what they have kissed before

Edited January 21, 201412 yr by I knew this would happen

I can see your point but I would be happy to get her to pay for the damage, unless it very obviously and severely left you out of pocket - eg. having to hire a replacement car, or missing work on a day rate.

Ignore the "face" nonsense - she scratched your car she should pay for the damage, face does not come into it.

I would also ignore VocalNeal - there's millions of BMWs in Thailand, it doesn't mean you're a multi-millionaire, and I believe you will find that if you or I go and scratch one we most definitely would be asked to stump up for the repairs

I can see your point but I would be happy to get her to pay for the damage, unless it very obviously and severely left you out of pocket - eg. having to hire a replacement car, or missing work on a day rate.

Ignore the "face" nonsense - she scratched your car she should pay for the damage, face does not come into it.

I would also ignore VocalNeal - there's millions of BMWs in Thailand, it doesn't mean you're a multi-millionaire, and I believe you will find that if you or I go and scratch one we most definitely would be asked to stump up for the repairs

Even with more money than enough I have no pity for anyone who scratch my Benz. If I could I would also hit them like I would do back home but here it might definitively cost me too much <3

Lots of good advice, some crazy ones, too, but all appreciated :-)

I do have 1st class insurance, and it would cover the damage, but when it's time to renew the insurance, the premium will go up 5-10K baht. Thinking 1st class insurance means free repairs is a bit shortsighted, if you ask me. So, I'd prefer not to involve my insurance and just get the woman to pay the bill, since I know whodunnit.

I'll end up wasting several hours of my time, but I'd be OK with that if she had just come clean and taken responsibility. Dodging responsibility just pisses me off, and it was very lucky that the CCTV camera happened to cover enough of the incident to identify who did it, otherwise I'd be down thousands of baht through no fault of my own, which would be unfair. She drives a car with plenty of scratches on the bumpers, so no doubt I'm not the only one who's been hit. Maybe this will make her drive more carefully, maybe not, but one can hope.

She's agreed to pay 2000 baht compensation, but I won't count that money until it's in my pocket :-)

Much easier to take the money and forget it. If you want to get even you could lodge a claim through the police or if they will not privately in court. Will take a bit of time and you will probably not get more money but she may lose a bit of face.

Frankly better to forget it.

Does she have insurance? If so then I believe (never done it myself but friends who have) that it's quite straight forward to claim for your repairs on her insurance since she has already admitted liability. And as an added bonus she won't be out of pocket so much immediately.

I can't imagine 2000 THB will get you much paint work or repairs at a BMW dealership?

Edited January 21, 201412 yr by NBD

Actually you have the CCTV footage, the security guy and her licencse plate and name. Just give that to your insurance and then at least you will have your car repaired without any increased premium. I really think your insurance company can help you out with this problem as her car has to be registered somewhere too. In my last accident we both had the same company, made it even faster.

And just forget about her, no need to talk with her any further as all the evidence needed is there and your insurance should take care......now you only have to find a taxi while you wait for your repaired car

Edit, yes just what NBD says should be true.

Edited January 21, 201412 yr by I knew this would happen

Are you prepared to involve the police? If not, well if you get anything that is a bonus. If so, well be prepared for months of delays.

If she fails to pay, stick the clip on youtube, making sure you use her real Thai name with Thai spelling. It is not hard to make a blog with her name to appear at the top of a search using her name, stating that she crashed into you, fled, lied, hid and then didn't pay and that that blog post will remain up till she honours her promise to pay you compensation.

1st class insurance is always handy.

But a 1st class insurcance doesn´t take away all the costs YOU will have to pay YOURSELF like the taxi or rental car and all the inconvenience it caused. Thailand is different

At home my first class insurance would provide me a car while mine is beeing repaired or compensate me with the amount that an equivalent rental car would be worth. When the car is new they even might compensate for the loss of value. It would be no big deal cause I could drive around with another BMW rental car, probably a higher spec. model from the dealer to convince me for the next buy. Here I get nothing, not from the insurance nor from the dealer, except that they repair my car.

Last time my Bimmer got scratched they kept my car for 7 days cause they realised that a spare part was missing when they had began their work. The girl that scratched my car said sorry, that´s all I got from her. Asking for compensation or playing the blame game wouldn´t have been very promising or reasonable and a waste of time.

And when you pay shitloads of money for your dream car and pamper it everyday then something like that is not beeing pedantic but fully understandable....it´s not a freakin Hilux

Just leave it, not worth any further time and effort.

I agree that it's weak that a first class insurance policy does not cover a rental car, or even allow for you to pay more on your premium for this option. Even a simple ding repair or panel repair can run into the weeks without a car.

As a couple of posters have stated, get your insurance company to contact her insurance and have them pay ( provided she has some coverage).

She doesn't have insurance.

And the 2000 baht compensation is on top of the repair bill.

I thought about asking my insurance to take care of it, but I have a sneaking suspicion that no matter that it wasn't my fault, I'll still get marked in their systems as a liability :-)

Compensation is not a concept that thrives in Thailand - I'd love to hear if you get anything more than all or a part of the repair--- would you ask for it if you knew her husband was a MAFIA boss?

She doesn't have insurance.

And the 2000 baht compensation is on top of the repair bill.

I thought about asking my insurance to take care of it, but I have a sneaking suspicion that no matter that it wasn't my fault, I'll still get marked in their systems as a liability :-)

that's a very good settlement, take it and forget the matter.

it's just a scratched car!

Edited January 21, 201412 yr by manarak

She doesn't have insurance.

And the 2000 baht compensation is on top of the repair bill.

I thought about asking my insurance to take care of it, but I have a sneaking suspicion that no matter that it wasn't my fault, I'll still get marked in their systems as a liability :-)

So she got no insurance, but i guess her Iphone is the newest Gotta love Thailand.

If is is simply a scratch then owning a BMW in itself would suggest you can afford to have it repaired yourself. Asking someone else to pay to have it repaired is an admission of insufficient funds to do it yourself. aka Lose of face.

She is probably amazed that you even have to ask.

Not saying this is right but...

PATHETIC reply. Only on this forum would a thai apologist post a pathetic reply. Sir please read your reply, and did you mean what you said ?

I can see your point but I would be happy to get her to pay for the damage, unless it very obviously and severely left you out of pocket - eg. having to hire a replacement car, or missing work on a day rate.

Ignore the "face" nonsense - she scratched your car she should pay for the damage, face does not come into it.

I would also ignore VocalNeal - there's millions of BMWs in Thailand, it doesn't mean you're a multi-millionaire, and I believe you will find that if you or I go and scratch one we most definitely would be asked to stump up for the repairs

Even with more money than enough I have no pity for anyone who scratch my Benz. If I could I would also hit them like I would do back home but here it might definitively cost me too much <3

Tough guy yuppy alert...

If is is simply a scratch then owning a BMW in itself would suggest you can afford to have it repaired yourself. Asking someone else to pay to have it repaired is an admission of insufficient funds to do it yourself. aka Lose of face.

She is probably amazed that you even have to ask.

Not saying this is right but...

PATHETIC reply. Only on this forum would a thai apologist post a pathetic reply. Sir please read your reply, and did you mean what you said ?

Not pathetic at all, if you and OP expect western settlements well then just forget it.

Just make sure you have No.1 insurance within Thailand if silly little scratch is going to wind you up that much otherwise it will be you that sounds pathetic.

Edited January 21, 201412 yr by Kwasaki

If it's 'just a scratch' you could fix it with a touch-up pen.

Actually you have the CCTV footage, the security guy and her licencse plate and name. Just give that to your insurance and then at least you will have your car repaired without any increased premium. I really think your insurance company can help you out with this problem as her car has to be registered somewhere too. In my last accident we both had the same company, made it even faster.

And just forget about her, no need to talk with her any further as all the evidence needed is there and your insurance should take care......now you only have to find a taxi while you wait for your repaired car

Edit, yes just what NBD says should be true.

At last! The correct answer.

Your insurance company should do all the leg work to make her insurance pays. If she has no insurance, your insurance will deal with it and should inform the police. If it makes you feel better, a couple of heavy key lines down the side of her car should do the trick.