Deliberate car damage

Dancingprincess on 04/05/2023 - 13:16
Last edited 04/05/2023 - 13:17

I live in a small complex of 8 apartments with a carpark out the back with 8 car spots. I have had an ongoing dispute with one of my neighbours ( as have all the neighbours) regarding some minor things like dripping oil all through the carpark and parking in other peoples spots. Anyway earlier this year said neighbour crashed into the back of my car when I was away. There was a witness to this who took photos and documented it so there was evidence. I confronted the neighbour. He denied everything. So I went through insurance. They contacted witnessed and declared the neighbour did it. My car was fixed with no cost to me and the bill was sent by the insurance company to the neighbour last week.

I have been away again, left my car in the carpark and have come home to the back of my car smashed in again ( I literally drove it once after being fixed). I am 100% sure this same neighbour did it as he has a bull bar and the damage is exactly the same as last time. Unfortunately there are no witnesses this time and said neighbour left for an overseas trip so can’t confront him. He will just deny it anyway. I am so devastated. I can’t afford the $700 excess to get it fixed again. What are my viable options? Anyone have any suggestions on what to do?

Automotive

Comments

      • mamayoukero on 05/05/2023 - 08:58
        +1

        But, Australia doesn’t have tipping culture. Now what will teach him?

        • Danger on 05/05/2023 - 09:36
          -2

          That was a sarcasm/joke.

          • Conformist on 06/05/2023 - 01:52
            +4

            @Danger: You clearly didn't notice his counter sarcasm.

      • Bargainitis on 05/05/2023 - 09:26
        +2

        some of comments are absolutely on point, despite the fact that it was f&#(ing useless :D

      • SpicyStew on 05/05/2023 - 09:43
        +1

        He waited and served his dish cold

    • IM-Cheap on 05/05/2023 - 09:35
      +16

      It doesn't help with the car but maybe contact the owner/agent through body corp and lodge a complaint on the renter. A family member owns in a small complex with 8 townhouses and as more than 1 owner complained the owner of the unit did not renew that tennent's lease (family was loud, parked on nature strip/sidewalk, adults tore up neighbours garden beds, aggressive when confronted etc). A more respectable family moved in soon after.

      • fusion17 on 07/05/2023 - 09:48
        +1

        When did this happen? After covid it's hard to make (edit: scumbag) people move out.

        Similar incidents with a neighbour (police involved once too) and my elderly mother, owners have tried but he simply refused to move out. They'd have to go to court etc it seems.
        He Uses both sides of the parking as mum doesn't have a car so it's never available to me or guests. Has been told by strata many times, doesnt care. After complaints he poured super glue in her locks and 'someone' egged her windows.

        • IM-Cheap on 07/05/2023 - 15:17

          Late last year. It wasn't that he was kicked out his fixed term lease was coming up and after so many complaints the landlord chose to let him know before end of lease via a termination notice that it wasn't going be renewed. No reason had to be provided to the tennent.

    • adamchan on 05/05/2023 - 18:22
      +5

      Did you check his vehicle's bullbar to see if there are any paint or evidence left behind?
      Worth checking that and head to the police station to share the story.
      Like the members here commented, tell the police about what had happened previously. Compare and share those photos from previous accident and the current one.
      Try to gather enough evidence to convince the police to start an investigation.
      And given you own the unit, i suggest do consider options like the others have said, cameras are needed, invest some money for setting a cameras(reolink are great, i have 4 of those installed because of neighbours incident too) around your house and get a reasonable priced car cam.
      Good luck and stay safe OP

    • buckster on 06/05/2023 - 17:46
      +1

      You may be able to get them evicted with combination of contacting owner of his unit/agent plus worth contacting police to at least report the damage and previous issue + denial till proven otherwise so at least it's there on file that it's happened before and there's been dishonesty. It may not get anywhere but it could mean if there's any future trouble you have a history there with the cops so if things escalated it would take less to prove things?

    • hailingstars on 06/05/2023 - 18:21

      Complain to his realestate agent. If enough issues arise, they might evict him.

    • noideaa on 17/05/2023 - 19:48

      Dashcams have parking features where it automatically captures any slight bump it feels.

      Blackvue have an iOS app where you can also see your car on your phone from anywhere whether you're home or at work.

      You can either connect it with an external battery that needs charging when flat or hardwiring your dashcam.

  • deme on 04/05/2023 - 15:14
    +2

    Police

    • eggplant on 05/05/2023 - 10:00
      +10

      In my experience the police are useless for anything less than life threatening. At my previous apartment we'd regularly have the same trespasser turn up to smoke their bong in the common backyard, which was terrifying for the young families with infants/kids.

      Despite numerous police reports, camera footage and in some instances live reports (i.e. "Hello Officer, he's there right now at this very moment and will probably continue to be there for the next ~30mins"), they couldn't be bothered turning up despite handing it to the police on a silver platter.

      • pharkurnell on 05/05/2023 - 10:36
        +4

        same trespasser turn up to smoke their bong in the common backyard, which was terrifying for the young families with infants/kids.

        Bloke smoking a bong is terrifying? I dont know how some people survive in this world.

        • ssfps on 07/05/2023 - 12:11
          +2

          The sort of people who go and smoke bongs in other people's backyards is pretty terrifying if you have young kids, yeah. People like that probably suck a meth pipe when they can, too.

          • bmerigan on 07/05/2023 - 22:02

            @ssfps: It's a shared backyard though

            • ssfps on 08/05/2023 - 09:42

              @bmerigan: Still the act of a mentally ill person when it's not their shared backyard.

              • bmerigan on 08/05/2023 - 11:29

                @ssfps: I don't know the person to make a judgement, but there's no indication that they are mentally ill.

      • Minimum chips on 05/05/2023 - 18:12
        +4

        I'm in QLD and have found QPS to be useless in life threatening situations (attempted carjacking, threat to kill me) too.

  • Johnsmithaus on 04/05/2023 - 15:20
    +10

    File a police report and talk to strata to get the neighbours lease voided with existing evidence

    • GordonD on 04/05/2023 - 15:54
      +7

      If the police are willing to do their job, and they should given the previous incident, they should be able to look for and perhaps find something like paint on his car that matches yours or dents on yours that match the shape of the bullbar on his.

      At least see if they will.

      • eggplant on 05/05/2023 - 10:06
        +1

        No harm in trying but I don't like op's chances given the police won't even attend non-serious car accidents anymore.

        • pharkurnell on 05/05/2023 - 10:37

          given the police won't even attend non-serious car accidents anymore.

          Theres not enough of them to go around anymore…. who would want to be one for the shit pay they get for genuinely risking their life hourly…

          • Canberralad92 on 06/05/2023 - 08:17
            +1

            @pharkurnell: Risking life hourly is a bit extreme lol.

          • bmerigan on 07/05/2023 - 22:03
            +1

            @pharkurnell: There's plenty manning speed detectors

            • pharkurnell on 08/05/2023 - 12:16

              @bmerigan: Speed camera operators are subcontractors down here these days…. 1 in 50 cop cars would bother stopping someone speeding.

              • bmerigan on 08/05/2023 - 13:12

                @pharkurnell: I see police cars tucked off the side of the road pointing a speed detector at me plenty of times.

  • Gunnar on 04/05/2023 - 15:54
    +5

    Take a drill and put a hole in the sidewall in all 4 of the guys tyres. There’s no fixing that so he’s up for 4 tyres plus towing

  • mbck on 04/05/2023 - 15:57
    +5

    Park elsewhere.

    Glue his door locks. Often. He'll need to keep calling the locksmith to go back in.

    Camera in front of your door.

    Profit once he moves out

    • Ghost47 on 04/05/2023 - 16:52
      +7

      If OP does that kind of thing I bet this guy will go postal and do even worse back.

      • mbck on 04/05/2023 - 17:11
        +1

        If he goes postal, get evidence from your cams. Kick him out by providing the evidence to the landlord/agent. Worse, pass to police and charge him with the evidence.

        • Ghost47 on 04/05/2023 - 17:12

          Sure, but it would be easier and probably safer to not escalate the situation.

  • ihbh on 04/05/2023 - 16:32
    +1

    You need to think ahead as well, after this incident. Will you not be able to afford more $700 excesses and increased premiums?

    • Iost on 06/05/2023 - 16:32

      This. Dashcam before he comes back from his holiday.

  • Mikefr on 04/05/2023 - 17:03
    +6

    Report it to police so it’s at least recorded.
    At least it’s documented!!

  • try2bhelpful on 04/05/2023 - 17:07
    +8

    I would get the body corporate to install the cameras. Probably not a bad idea anyway to stop vandalism and theft. If the guy is renting maybe you can get the body corporate to talk to the owner and get him tossed out. If I was an owner I wouldn’t want someone like this on my property. There are plenty of other renters out there.

    • Hangryuman on 06/05/2023 - 15:39

      what - you don't have a Tesla that automatically records this kind of stuff ?

      Oh geez - how the plebs live I don't know anymore …

  • dogboy on 04/05/2023 - 18:04

    Without being able to prove it was him the second time, I would avoid taking rash action based on an assumption.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 04/05/2023 - 19:10
    +1

    Revenge \ Lawful \ Safe

    Pick 2.

    • ihbh on 04/05/2023 - 19:37

      How do you get revenge and lawful?

      • Euphemistic on 04/05/2023 - 20:34
        +2

        Finding evidence of a crime and reporting?

        • kiitos on 05/05/2023 - 12:34

          But that would also be safe.

          Edit: ok, probably the potential for retribution makes it unsafe.

  • Protractor on 04/05/2023 - 20:43

    OP
    Episode one outcome obviously pissed him off. Unless you and your neighbours go all Clint Eastwood Gran Torino, you do really need to move, or bide your time. Revenge is a dish best served cold. But when it is you better be ready for the payback/payback.

  • The tiger on 05/05/2023 - 07:34
    +1

    An eye for an eye.

    • Kangal on 05/05/2023 - 23:29
      +1

      If someone gets beef with you, do they take the eye of the tiger?

    • john_conner on 06/05/2023 - 11:22

      Confucius say: If everyone take eye for an eye, we would all blind (or have banged up cars)

  • Spending2Much on 05/05/2023 - 07:39
    +12

    Dose of sugar in his fuel tank.
    If he's dripped oil, just help him out by loosening his sump plug to the last thread.
    Drain his diff oil, replace diff drain plug and wipe clean.
    Expanding foam in exhaust pipe.
    Pair of snips to his wiring loom.

    Dont have to do it all in one go….take your time, savour the enjoyment.

    Snip a random wire every other day.

    • eggplant on 05/05/2023 - 10:27
      +3

      And when he returns the favour… I can imagine it all going south fairly quickly. Would recommend OP get a dashcam with parking mode, gather some hard evidence and go from there.

      • Hangryuman on 06/05/2023 - 15:41

        bull bars rule y'no

        a/hole has already demonstrated a proclivity to violence

        so if you escalate - what could possibly go wrong ?

        you may be right, but you may end up dead.

  • 82norm on 05/05/2023 - 07:50
    +1

    Get his car towed away and then burn it out. Is that wrong?

    • [Deactivated] on 05/05/2023 - 13:33

      So he gets a new car on insurance. Nice gift.

      • 82norm on 07/05/2023 - 20:35

        Assuming he has comprehensive insurance I guess.

  • lostgoat on 05/05/2023 - 07:54
    +2

    No witness. Nothing you can do full stop . End of story .
    Change your car to an old bomb as its likely to happen again .

  • nswnotill on 05/05/2023 - 08:52
    +5

    Park elsewhere. Inform body corporate and/or owner of the unit of the situation. Arrange for the lease to current tenant not to be renewed on expiry. Hopefully that will get rid of him. As other owners/tenants are having issues as well, inform the other owners/tenants of the situation so that there can be a united front to get rid of this guy

  • [Deactivated] on 05/05/2023 - 09:01
    +6

    Don't get your car repaired until you've got cameras, cameras, cameras, evidence, evidence, evidence.

  • trapper on 05/05/2023 - 10:44
    +7

    Did the first crash look accidental or intentional, what did the witness say?

    If it looked intentional then you should have gone to the police to make a report of criminal damage already. Can still do now, and report that the same thing has occurred again.

    If you're lucky the police will question him, and will probably pretend that it was witnessed again and try to trick him into confessing.

  • FlyingMiffy on 05/05/2023 - 10:52

    Buy a balaclava, pay a visit to his car at night. Pour sugar into the fuel tank. Wait with popcorn.

    • [Deactivated] on 05/05/2023 - 13:27

      It doesn't work. Years ago I was with a few guys "getting revenge" on someone. They poured about 4kg of sugar into someone's tank and it did absolutely NOTHING. If the tank had something like 5L of fuel left and you poured in 10kg of sugar, then maybe.

      • Spending2Much on 06/05/2023 - 09:52

        Bugger. That was my suggestion…

        How about, drain out his fuel tank, replace with the opposite. Diesel if its a petrol, or petrol if it's Diesel. That wont seem much of a revenge reprisal rather own stupidity.
        Make it a regular occurrence.

        I'm thinking, remove air filter, good dose of graphite or something equally dusty down manifold, replace air filter.

        Syphon radiator coolant, replace radiator cap. Can't imagine temp gauge showing hot if there's no coolant getting hot.

        Did any of your guys do this years ago….any real world feedback to if it works.

        • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2023 - 23:34

          Too difficult to get into too many cars nowdays. And noisy, drawing attention. The quietest method would be pureed prawn heads poured into the air vents below the windscreen at 3am. Unless it's a collector car no-one is going to go to the effort of tearing their dash out to remove the fan etc to clean it out. The stink will be there to stay for years, reviving every time it rains.

  • herecomestheoost on 05/05/2023 - 12:15

    :D

    • kaleidoscope on 05/05/2023 - 15:14

      are you the vengeful neighbour?

      • herecomestheoost on 05/05/2023 - 16:15

        OP would be best to concede defeat before I call in the ozbargain Bikies.

  • curtturtle on 05/05/2023 - 12:41

    You need to involve the cops so that there is a record. The fact that he denied it the first time despite the witness, will raise concerns with the police. Then you need a front and rear facing dash cam. This will likely happen again and next time you can record it.

    • kaleidoscope on 05/05/2023 - 15:15

      dash cam wont record all the time. it’ll record for a while until battery runs has enough juice to start the car.

      • curtturtle on 08/05/2023 - 08:38

        You can hardwire them to record full-time. Mine does.

        • kaleidoscope on 08/05/2023 - 10:22

          How long does it go? From my past experience it’ll record till the safety relay cuts off power which is couple hours and unless you do long drives, subsequent parking recordings aren’t long as the battery hasnt had good enough charge.

          Not sure about evs, as despite having big battery to run, all the car’s accessories and electronics except for drive motors/ aircon are powered by normal 12v lead acid battery.

          • curtturtle on 08/05/2023 - 15:43

            @kaleidoscope: I have mine on my hilux's main battery. It uses so little power that you'd have to leave it for months to flatten a battery. It basically keeps the capacitor topped up with is stuff all power.

  • paloverde88 on 05/05/2023 - 13:07
    +2

    after the first instance, I would have installed discrete dashcam

    • Caped Baldy on 05/05/2023 - 13:59

      Common sense isn't that common

    • nwa on 05/05/2023 - 20:46
      +1

      Especially since your insurer was sending him the bill, should have been prepared for retaliation and think a few steps ahead. He probably has by installing a dashcam of his own.

  • paloverde88 on 05/05/2023 - 13:08
    +3

    also if he smashed into your car surely his car would have visible damage that can be matched to your car's damage?

    • Poor Ass on 05/05/2023 - 15:22
      +1

      probably does but it doesn't work like that

      you need undeniable proof

  • Deals For Days on 05/05/2023 - 13:22

    If the damage is from a bull bar, and the paint on your car is damaged, small chance you can do a forensic paint analysis on their bullbar. Doable if he’s away? Can you see any evidence on his bull bar?

  • Gnostikos on 05/05/2023 - 13:50
    +7

    Lol, OzBargain revenge fantasies make me chuckle.
    Apparently everyone on OzBargain is a 6"6, steely-eyed, chisel-jawed certified hard c**t who gets into knife fights for fun on weekends.

    Too much John Wick and Taken.

    F**king around with his neighbour's car and other petty revenge ideas are just going to result in more drama for the OP.

    The best course of action would be to try and raise this with his landlord/real estate agency and have the d*ckhead booted out of his rental. It sounds like no one likes him in the entire complex to begin with and if he's this disrespectful to his neighbours I'd imagine he's probably not the type to pay bills on time or take great care of his apartment either so the REA might already be looking for a reason to kick him out.

    That or moving out are the only realistic solutions to this issue.

    • lostgoat on 05/05/2023 - 18:56

      Cmon John Wick 4 is out . I've watched Nobody 6 times. Coolest film ever .

    • Blargman2001 on 05/05/2023 - 20:18

      Don't have to be John Wick to key someones car when they aren't looking.

      • Gnostikos on 06/05/2023 - 11:01
        +5

        Wtf is keying his car going to do?

        Will that pay the OP's $700 excess?
        Will that bring back all of the lost hours/days of the OPs life spent dealing with this bullsh*t?
        Will that magically erase the stress and anxiety of having to live next to an insane lunatic?

        You people are hilarious, these comments are like early 2000s keyboard warrior sh*t out of a Call of Duty lobby or something.

    • FlyingMiffy on 06/05/2023 - 01:12

      Yours is just another version of the same thing. You reckon the guy is too dumb to work out that the OP snitched on him to his landlord? The only solution sometimes is to fight fire with fire. Go all out or go home.

      • Gnostikos on 06/05/2023 - 10:59
        +4

        Yours is just another version of the same thing.

        It's another option that's A) entirely legal and B) the neighbour would have no recourse against if they're evicted.

        Damaging this idiot's car achieves nothing and only increases the likelihood that the neighbour will continue this tit-for-tat retaliation.

        The OP wants this to stop, he doesn't want to live in some kind of ACA neighbourhood feud nightmare for the next 5 years ffs.

        You reckon the guy is too dumb

        Yeah I do.

        Committing vandalism twice against the same person's property, when you've been caught red-handed once, is not the hallmark of intelligence.

        The OP already mentioned everyone in the complex hates this guy, so he would have some plausible deniability there.
        He could even speak to all of the other tenants/owners and ask them to jointly complain with him to the REA/landlord.

        Go all out or go home.

        Lol. I'm sure you do, "FlyingMiffy", I'm sure you do. You've certainly damaged some cars in your time… in GTA.

  • Caped Baldy on 05/05/2023 - 13:58

    Borrow some vehicle jacks and Austin Powers his car

  • aussieprepper on 05/05/2023 - 17:24
    +1

    Angle grind his bull bar of, If you don't want to make as much noise use a reciprocating saw. lol

  • gakko on 05/05/2023 - 18:33

    This guy is keen to escalate so I'd avoid revenge. Best thing to do (which im too much of a bitch to do) would be to approach him and talk it out and ask if he can halves in the excess because its really (profanity) you around. He wont but i guarantee he'll either feel guilty or sink deeper into hateful denial of his life. This isnt a happy person. So thats a form of revenge too. win win. And do a gofundme is a good diea too i think, as someone suggested. Post it around the apartment building. I'd help someone out if they did that. I would definitely also report it to police.

    • liongalahad on 07/05/2023 - 23:29
      +1

      Unless he is a real sociopath (as he probably is) and blissfully bathe in your sorrow, and after his pathetic request, and implicit declaration of defeat, he would just rub one off as soon as he closes the front door on you

    • SydStrand on 08/05/2023 - 08:52

      i guarantee he'll either feel guilty or sink deeper into hateful denial of his life. This isnt a happy person. So thats a form of revenge too. win win.

      Haha. If the OP's account is accurate, this isn't a person who's exactly dripping in compassion or humility. He'll laugh at the OP's rolling over and exposing his soft underbelly, then sleep like a baby.

  • Blargman2001 on 05/05/2023 - 20:16

    Move, then secretly slash his tyres on your last day. Harder to get caught because you can do it very discretely.

  • nickster9999 on 06/05/2023 - 04:29

    You have no option.

  • FittyFitty on 06/05/2023 - 07:25

    Drillbit (4mm, your choice of steel or diamond/glass, I would go the latter, as more direct and less conspicuous), 5 cans of fart spray and a tiny bit of sticky tape. The rest is up to you.

  • the1doood on 06/05/2023 - 08:26
    +1

    Sorry to hear this. A friend was involved in a similar situation and he did everything according to paper. Cops, letters, informing neighbours/body corporate etc. Wasn't of help and he finally moved out due to stress.

  • Wasabi Ninja on 06/05/2023 - 09:30

    You just know after you fix it he will do it again.

  • Zylam Marex on 06/05/2023 - 09:44
    +2

    Police and go to estate agency. Even though both will be mostly useless, it's the only course of action. So sorry for what you are dealing with, hopefully it works out for you.

    Also never go for revenge, it's not worth reducing yourself for a lower form of person, they truly win when that happens. I'm sure you'll have a better car and better finical situation in the future and that bad person will get what's coming to them. You do what you can, which is report to the police so it's a known thing and work with the neighbors to try and evict with the agency.

    Don't reduce your morals or good character, no matter what the other party is doing.

  • Conformist on 06/05/2023 - 10:17
    +5

    Revenge is not a good idea. Im surprised everyone is recommending it when it sounds you financially can't deal with any further, and also not to mention his revenge could be physical. If it was me I'd get strata to put security cameras, make sure they record 24/7 not those motion sensing recording ones. Dahua or reolink for example

  • cevad on 06/05/2023 - 10:18
    +4

    if they dont have locknuts on their wheels, get yourself a heap of different sets - mix them up and then replace all the wheelnuts with random locknuts and then throw away the keys to the locknuts… lol

  • Wilson Wallace on 06/05/2023 - 10:23
    +1

    Call a tow truck, get his car towed to the wreckers to get smashed.

    Enjoy

  • voiletmay on 06/05/2023 - 11:41

    Oh goodness, this guy is possibly very dangerous. Could go psychotic if pushed too far.

    Friend of a friend's brother did this.. killed (with petrol and a match, lit the guy on fire) a tradie who was using a chainsaw next door.

    Be very careful with people like this.

  • nmcc08 on 06/05/2023 - 12:36

    I can't really write what I'd do..

    • ausmisc on 06/05/2023 - 13:06
      +4

      1300 6555 06

    • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2023 - 23:36
      +1

      PM it to me and I'll post it.

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