Someone's hit my car in a car park. Now what?

Photograph it before you move the car, check for a note or a witness, then decide whether it's worth a claim or a private repair. Car-park dents are the most common job we see, and most are a bumper corner or a door that's cheaper to fix than people fear.

At the scene

1. Photograph everything before you drive off: the damage close up, the whole side of the car, where it's parked, and any paint transfer (a streak of another car's colour is evidence).
2. Look for a note under the wiper. Decent people leave one.
3. Look for cameras. Shopping centres, car parks and service stations usually have CCTV. Note the time and ask the centre management; they'll often hold footage for police or an insurer.
4. Ask around. A witness nearby may have seen it.

If you know who did it

Swap details as you would after any collision. If they offer to pay rather than claim, get a written quote from us, agree it in a text, and have them pay before or on collection. Our guide on claiming versus paying privately covers the trade-offs.

If you don't

A hit-and-run in a car park can be reported to police, and with footage or a witness they may trace the driver. Without that, it's between you and your insurer.

• Comprehensive cover: you can claim, but if the other driver can't be identified it's usually treated as an at-fault claim with your excess payable. Compare that to the private repair price before you lodge.
• Third-party cover only: the repair is on you.

For a bumper scuff or a single door ding, a private repair is often cheaper than the excess, which is why so many of these are private jobs.

What the repair usually is

• Door ding, paint intact: paintless dent removal, often same day.
• Bumper corner scuff: sand, prime, colour-matched respray of the corner. One to two days. See bumper repairs.
• Scraped door or guard, paint through to colour: localised repaint and blend. Two to three days.
• Dent with cracked paint: conventional repair and paint. Our PDR versus conventional guide explains why.

Paint transfer

If the other car left paint on yours, don't scrub it with a kitchen scourer. Often it's sitting on top of your clear coat and will come off with a clay bar or a light polish, leaving no damage at all. Let us look before you make it worse.

Avoiding the next one

Park at the end of a row, next to a trolley bay or a pole rather than another car, and away from the entrance where people rush. It won't stop everything, but it helps.

Send photos through the quote form and we'll tell you what it needs and what it costs. If you're near Slacks Creek, drop into Moss St and we'll look at it on the spot.