Originally Posted by MINIclo

I was so proud of Wanda's shiny glossiness and decided to go for a motor over to the In-n-Out Burger place in Marina del Rey, next to the COSTCO there. I got my food, pulled into a spot in the big lot that had several openings around it, and prepared to enjoy my meal.

All of a sudden, I heard a crunch and Wanda lurched forward a bit! A guy in a white minivan drove into Wanda's driver-side rear wheel arch, smashing the little reflector, and gouging the piece that connects the wheel arch to the bumper! There's a little scuff on the bumper, but I think it will polish out.

I leapt out of my car and looked at the driver and his passenger...the guy backed away and then smashed into another parked car, but didn't do any damage to it. I waved at him to stop, but he took off, weaving his way out of the lot. He was slow enough that I got his plate: 3XIS355. I took pix of the damage, called Long Beach MINI and ordered the replacement parts (only a little over $36, aren't I fortunate? ). Then I called the Culver City police to report the incident and give them his license plate. I was worried that he might hurt someone! They sent a squad car over an hour later and I chatted with two nice young officers.

I'll drive down to Long Beach MINI in the morning and pick up the new parts.

Be very careful out there in the holiday traffic. It was 4:10 PM and the fellow who hit me was clearly intoxicated. When I spoke to a COSTCO employee who was gathering shopping carts, he said he'd seen the guy, that he was weaving through the lot and hopped out to urinate in public.

I wasn't hurt in any way, but dang, I'm so bummed...

Originally Posted by Motor On

:impatient Wow some people, glad nobody was injured certainly sounded like a recipe for disaster.

Originally Posted by Uncle_John

That's the important thing. Sombody will be hurt by a drunk driver this weekend. Cars can be fixed. So sorry it happened, but so GLAD you weren't hurt!

Originally Posted by eVal

Oh No!!!

That is wretched - I can only guess the guy was enraptured by the beauty of your glossy Mini that he lost control of himself

So sorry to hear about it, but *knock on wood* at least it was minor. People are crazy tho, gotta be careful out there (esp when they are dipping into the Christmas Spirits )

Originally Posted by minihune

Oh no!

You need "guard dogs" to protect Wanda.

It's almost safer just to stay at home. I don't even bother to park in the busy areas of Costco. Too risky.

Glad you are not hurt and repairs will be possible and hopefully quick.

A few years ago I was home in Hawaii visiting family while living in California. I borrowed my brothers car and went to go shopping at a warehouse food place.

Didn't stay that long but it was long enough to get hit while parked by an older Lincoln Continental backing up. Yuk. Not that extensive but a hassle anyway.

Originally Posted by Gromit801

Ok, this deserves a phone call.

Originally Posted by MINIclo

I was actually parked far from the entrance, near receiving, to eat my food in the car (yeah, I know some of you disapprove, but after all my travels, I do eat in my MINI). I was just about to taste my food when POW! I heard the crunch! The perpetrator was so obviously intoxicated that it looked like he could barely focus his eyes. I'm just lucky I wasn't injured by him! :impatient

Originally Posted by Uncle_John

Um, about that burger . . . Was it OK?

Originally Posted by MINIclo

Heck, by the time I got to actually eat my food, it was luke-cold... However, I didn't have much appetite, so it was a push...

Originally Posted by MLWagner79

Awww I'm sorry Wanda got hurt :( But at least you are okay and it sounds like the damage is pretty minor. Hopefully she'll be good as new in no time!

Originally Posted by boolean_bones

Dang drunk drivers. Sorry to hear the news, glad your ok and the damgae was minor.

Originally Posted by riquiscott

I gotta ask - considering that you saw the guy leave and had a description of the minivan and his license plate, why'd you wait until *after* taking pictures and ordering replacement parts from the dealer before calling the police?

Still, glad no one was hurt and the damage was minor.

Originally Posted by MINIclo

I was stunned by the situation, and left in a state of shock by it. I was shaking like a leaf! And the description of his minivan was "white minivan." I wanted to find out if the replacement parts were available, and called the cops about 1 minute after that, meaning that I made all the related calls in about 3 minutes. I gave the license plate to the authorities immediately on the phone. They didn't get to the scene for almost 90 minutes. When the perp flees the scene, what would you do? When I saw that the minivan had vanished, I took care of things as I saw fit.

Originally Posted by riquiscott

Only because you asked - I would have called the police *first* and given them the description and license plate number. Knowing what street he turned onto and what direction he went, along with a timely call to 911, might have been enough to catch him if there were any patrol cars in the area.

All the other stuff involved in a fender-bender - calls to the dealership, pictures, insurance claims, collecting witness statements/contact information, etcetera can wait until after the call to the police, if not until the next day.

Originally Posted by asodestrom

There's nothing quite like a Costco Polish dog with spicy brown mustard eaten in a MINI. If it's a CR, then you don't need ketchup

Costco parking lots are treacherous. I got hit while parked a few years ago. I just loaded up my VW van with 4 cases of eggs and was hit by an SUV

Another time I witnessed a van schmush a nice little Alpha then take off.

Glad the damage was minor, and great looking makeover

Originally Posted by MINIclo

If you knew the area, you wouldn't be second-guessing me. It is a very congested area on the border of Culver City/Venice/Marina del Rey, with major traffic. I have no idea what direction the minivan driver took after hitting me as I sat in my parked car!! While a young man assisted me in writing down the license plate number, the driver fled the scene. The police had the plate number and description within minutes of the incident. I did my best.

Originally Posted by riquiscott

So, *where* were you when the van left the lot?

If you're happy that you did your best, that's fine. I'm still astounded that, regardless of how short a time it took you to take pictures of the damage and call the dealership to find out about the availability and cost of replacement parts, that you chose to do both of those *before* calling the police, considering you just saw a drunk driver taking off into traffic...