My neighbour had his front yard landscaped and lawn resodded on Friday afternoon. He lives directly across the street from me.

My ES300 is parked on the street between the two houses. The battery has recently weakened after 5 years and couldn't start the car. So there it sat for a little over a week.

The contractors were using a yellowish orange bobcat to unload various rocks and materials in close proximity to my ES. So close in fact I went out to watch once and they were careful and no issue. They finished the job Friday night and left.

Yesterday I went to check out the battery specs in the car and found a half inch deep 6 inch tall vertical crease/dent in the front left bumper...with yellowish orange paint accompanying it. It appears to be a ding from a sharp 90 degree angle machine bumper or metal pipe trailer with square tubing. The paint colour made my suspicions more specific

I talked to the police who said their hit and run protocol is do a paint match between my car and the company's machinery. They suggested to call first and see if they'd own up. Their lawyer answered and began the intimidation techniques saying I should be careful about allegations, and that my claim was pure speculation despite the circumstances, ding shape and paint colour. I'll be back at the police station tomorrow morning.

Has anyone ever experienced how the paint matching technique works? Any thoughts on my options here? I know it's different in every jurisdiction. Thanks guys for letting me vent about my H & R fun. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

If the car is insured you should be covered in any case (except for deductible). I'd let the police handle investigating and dealing and catching the bad guys (if they so motivated). Unless you have a huge deductible its likely more trouble than its worth and may lead to major legal or other unforeseen hassles.