A little fender bender In the local Wal-Mart parking lot.

It wasn't the Bonneville. It was the '05 Town and Country that we bought 3 weeks ago.

She was backing out when a lady in an Intrigue emerged behind her.

My wife is a very cautious driver.... was probably going 2 or 3 MPH (that'* what was recorded on the police report).

Thinking that the other lady was probably zipping past, say 20 or 30 MPH.

The lady didn't have her license or insurance with her.

I called Wal Mart tonight and asked them to see if they can get me a copy of the parking lot camera footage. From there I hope to prove the lady negligent.

If I do, I want her insurance to pay for repairs and for her to fork out the instant depreciation that she caused to my vehicle. Think I have a prayer on the latter?

Insurance has been informed. Poilce report will be available in 5 to 7 days.

Can anyone think of anything else that I might do?

You should definetely stay on top of Wal-Mart, talk to the store manager and things like that, they're so big they're likely to not give a flying crap about you or your little accident.

You need to tell your wife to watch out for those Intrigue drivers, theyre a crazy bunch I tell ya!

I talked to the store manager when I called this evening. She said that she would have to check with secury tomorrow and would get back to me.

Half an hour later, she called me and told me that she was trying to work the video equipment to check it out herself but didn't know how! So she said she will call when she gets into work tomm at noon.

You would really have to prove the other person was driving erratically in order to win. Your wife has the responsibility to be aware of her surroundings whether going forward or backing up. If the other person was just driving and your wife didn't see her then your wife is at fault. You always have to be careful and check. I would be very suprised if you are able to determine the other person at fault. Most cop shops don't do an accident report but an incident report since it is on private property. Your state may be different.

Let us know how it goes

You will NOT get anything like instant depreciation. You will get your car repaired, nothing more. I gaurantee it.

True, no depreciation. I would be surprised if the other person ends up paying for this one. I think his own insurance will be the one to pay.

I know insurance wouldn't pay it. I would want her to fork it out personally. Perhaps it'* unrealistic, not sure. Gauging ideas here... wondering if a judge would entertain the idea or just laugh his head off. Thoughts?

the judge would laugh you out of the courtroom. Just hope the other person actually did something to be found at fault and get her insurance company fix the vehicle to make you whole again. That is all you can hope for.

Found an interesting article on dimished value (DV)

http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/dec97/dv.htm

Well, decided to pull off the bumper cover just to see if I could do anything to improve it. Gave the "dent" a good push, used some joint compound, three layers of turtle wax (it'* all I have right now... Zaino on the way), and it doesn't look half bad. Hell, it'* a van, not a maserati!

The quarter panel (?) under the lens is pushed in just a touch and there is some chipped paint. Probably about $1500 in damage. Might get some estimates to fix it yet.

Hoping to have Wal Mart tape tommorrow if everything works out