Someone's Keyed My Car!!

*Louise*

I do understand your frustration - knowing that someone has deliberately damaged your property ust for 'fun'....I would be raging as well!

Unfortunately in this day and age it doesn't come too highly on the crime list We had a motorbike stolen and although the police came out they were were striaghtforward about the fact that they had no chance of recovering them so it was an insurance claim. Imagine hubby's anger when the bike was replaced and just 5 days later the new one was stolen as well!!

OP, although it is too late for this incident, you need to take full advantage of the CCTV offer - at least it will help for future incidents if the street is that bad. Get some 'You are being watched on CCTV' signs up to deter little thugs and hopefully you won't have anything as bad happen again.

Btw - do you not know any mechanics or handy people who could help you out and do the repair a bit cheaper?

baza52

missbee82 wrote: »

Well to be taken seriously for a start of! Especially when I first went in, the police officer there thought I was wasting her time with a few little scratches.
All I want is some kind of response and not have to wait weeks for someone to come round and ask a few questions.:mad:

I thought this happened on Monday or Tuesday, or was it weeks ago?

pendulum

missbee82 wrote: »

I never said I wanted any of that but they should of taken the finger prints off the car.

And then what? Have police teams going door to door demanding that every child is fingerprinted so they can get a match? I think you need to be realistic.

By the way, a £1,300 insurance premium for a female is very high, especially as you seem to suggest you already have some (but not much) NCB. Shop around.

s_b

missbee82
been here had this
only solution was to move
sorry

Lirin

Not a lot Police can do- they'll not take fingerprints. It happens and it's annoying, but your options really only are insurance or paying privately. You'd need complete proof to take action against anyone as well- I know how frustrating it is, especially when it feels like no-one's taking you seriously, especially when it's not cheap......
Know it won't help now- get a CCTV camera, they're cheap on Ebay. It will help in a future situation.

For now all I could say is try a smaller bodyshop- ask around. I've had total resprays costing more and less than your figures- it depends on what grade of job and who you go to....

pendulum

s_b wrote: »

missbee82
been here had this
only solution was to move
sorry

Or buy a cheap car that looks like a shed anyway. People generally won't bother ruining a car that's already ruined, and if they do, someone keying a £350 - £400 car isn't the end of the world.

scheming_gypsy

the price you've been quoted seems to be insurance prices so they're on the high side. If it is a kid that's done it then the scratches shouldn't be that deep... If they're only surface scratches then you've a couple of options:
1 - a blow over paint job; should cost under a grand. Possibly about £700
2 - it's a bit of a long shot but if they're just surface scratches rather than deep scratches, a detailer may be able to revive it.. if possible it'd cost you around the £300 mark.

*Louise* wrote: »

Btw - do you not know any mechanics or handy people who could help you out and do the repair a bit cheaper?

They need more than a handy person and a mechanic won't be able to do much with the paint job.

kizkiz

Fingerprints on the outside of a car don't prove anything either.
We all know that they will be of the person that did it, but they are on the outside of a car parked in a public place.
They just say they tripped walking past and steadied themselves on it.

Fridaycat

kizkiz wrote: »

Fingerprints on the outside of a car don't prove anything either.
We all know that they will be of the person that did it, but they are on the outside of a car parked in a public place.
They just say they tripped walking past and steadied themselves on it.

Even if they took fingerprints, they need to compare them against a suspect's or against their database. If it is kids, I doubt very much that their fingerprints are in the database, and if there is no evidence other than heresay to go on, they are hardly likely to go and fingerprint every kid in the area! This, combined with the excellent point about the car being in a public place, makes fingerprinting an entirely pointless exercise.

I can understand your frustration, OP. About 5 years ago, I'd got a brand new car. About 2 months after having it, someone reversed into it and completely smashed in the entire front wing, and of course did not leave a note or knock on my door. I'd not heard anything, it must have happened when I was asleep.

I went to the police as I needed a crime number for the insurance. They took my statement at the police station, did not send anyone out, but I wasn't expecting that anyway. About three months after that, I got a letter through the post saying that the matter had been investigated, but no suspects identified - mmmmm. Yeah right.

So, as others have said, you either try and find a cheap way to fix the damage, if you don't want to claim on insurance, or you live with the scratches. Not really sure there are any other alternatives.

mj12_2

Take them up on the offer of the CCTV camera or get one off your own back and have it mounted somewhere visible at the front of your house; that will serve to discourage future incidents and give you the proof you need to succeed(??) in a civil case against anyone who does something similar again.

You could try contacting your MP ref the police but i doubt you'd get very far... if its a bad area they probably just dont have the resources to do any better. You never know though; an email to the local superintendent/chief from an MP might just peak their interest.. has to be worth a try.