S3 Hit & Run Victim Already!

[ryan_sn]

Went out of town for the weekend to visit family and ended up being the victim of a hit and run. I always park far away but I have a feeling this might have happened while mar car was parked on the street overnight. Audi is asking $2100Cdn to fix everything and at this point with my car being brand new (6000kms) im happy to pay whatever so long as it gets fixed. Hopefully this doesn't happen to anyone else

As a side note, if anyone is interested in a slightly damaged S3 rear valence it's for sale

[Cairo94507]

That just sucks. The nice thing is the bumper can be removed, repaired/replaced, painted and reinstalled and you will never know. I would insist on a new Audi bumper cover and not a remanufactured/repaired one. With a car that new, not a problem in all likelihood. Sorry and better luck in the future.

[grtkbrandon]

That's exactly why I hate parking on the street anytime I go anywhere. Parking downtown, It's guaranteed that someone is going to put a new chip in my car somewhere. No one has any respect for other people's property, and they can't drive/park worth a damn.

[bakedcorn]

That simply sucks balls! I once parked my vehicle on the street in front of my home due to cleaning out the house as we were getting ready to move. The one time I had parked overnight, the next morning, the drivers side front bumper and headlamp were damaged. Most likely from the douche-bag in the pickup truck parked on the other side.

Its crap like this that has me worried day in and day out. People have no respect for other peoples property!

[jokingjimmy]

This is one of two augments to get the new dash can technology. There's camera units that have a standby mode - they turn on and record a bit if you are away from the car and it detects an impact.

[travis453]

I am leaning more and more towards a dash cam each day.

[bakedcorn]

Same here, if you pull the trigger please keep us posted on the model and your opinions on the unit.

[NPuter]

I have a blackvue DR650 and DR500. Love them!

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/blackvu...ar-dash-camera

[soulflyer]

That really sucks, sorry to hear!! Which dealer quoted you that price?
I have a Garmin Dash Cam™ 20 for 2 months now... works like a charm...

[S3Danny]

I need to get a dash cam too. Someone decided to merge into my car back in December, luckily I was able to get all their info but it was still a two month fight with insurance to determine fault.

[ryan_sn]

That really sucks, sorry to hear!! Which dealer quoted you that price?
I have a Garmin Dash Cam™ 20 for 2 months now... works like a charm...

Thanks for the love guys haha. Went to Mark Motors Body Shop. Car is brand new and i'd prefer to get the dealer to fix it since I don't want to be left with a botched job. I was able to get the price reduced to $1200Cdn because I decided to forego replacing the rear diffuser. Its a $850 part and mine has next to no damage with the exception of a bit of paint scuffing which is practically invisible. I'm buying a dash cam this week. Worth it to have 2? And how does yours record? Do you have to set it up when you want it to record i.e when parked on the street.

[soulflyer]

Thanks for the love guys haha. Went to Mark Motors Body Shop. Car is brand new and i'd prefer to get the dealer to fix it since I don't want to be left with a botched job. I was able to get the price reduced to $1200Cdn because I decided to forego replacing the rear diffuser. Its a $850 part and mine has next to no damage with the exception of a bit of paint scuffing which is practically invisible. I'm buying a dash cam this week. Worth it to have 2? And how does yours record? Do you have to set it up when you want it to record i.e when parked on the street.

It's actually pretty easy, the cam uses a micro SD and is connected to one of the 12V outlets. When I turn on the car the camera does so too. The moment I drive it starts to record. Turn off the car and it shuts down a few minutes after. After card is full it start to overwrite the oldest recordings. The quality is remarkably good and the videos (on the computer) show coordinates and actual speed (from the GPS). I actually bought it to have something recording my laps on the track. This way I can review later and get the lap times without using that rather cumbersome lap timer we have in the onboard computer. And it was on special on amazon when I bought it ;)

[markn1689]

It's actually pretty easy, the cam uses a micro SD and is connected to one of the 12V outlets. When I turn on the car the camera does so too. The moment I drive it starts to record. Turn off the car and it shuts down a few minutes after. After card is full it start to overwrite the oldest recordings. The quality is remarkably good and the videos (on the computer) show coordinates and actual speed (from the GPS). I actually bought it to have something recording my laps on the track. This way I can review later and get the lap times without using that rather cumbersome lap timer we have in the onboard computer. And it was on special on amazon when I bought it ;)

can you show us where you mounted. and how is it powered? a cable going to the fusebox i assume? was the wiring an issue?

[soulflyer]

here you go... sorry, crappy iPhone picture but that's all I got. The cable is not the final solution. It will try to make it nicer once the temperature in my garage is more than 3°C (!!!). It is connected to the 12V outlet. This position has the best view outside. The mount is super stable.

[Seerlah]

Not to be that guy, but did you not get full coverage? This should fall under vandalism and you pay your deductable to get fixed. And yes, that does indeed suck.

[Cairo94507]

Not vandalism - that is collision damage. Sorry.

[Seerlah]

Positive? Regardless, should that not be covered?

Closest experience I had to that was I demolished a deer (other car I own). Insurance covered it under act of God and my premium never went up.

[ryan_sn]

I would rather avoid dealing with my insurance until I absolutely have to. I have combined home and auto insurance and i've unfortunately had to claim recently due to a water heater leak last year.

[PCHS4]

It sucks, I remember. My new S4 was hit parked twice in the first 6 months of ownership. First time was the front bumper and I did nothing about it. Second time was also in the front and took out the driver side fender. I had both fixed at the same time with insurance. After that I have not had any more. Hope it all works out for you.

[Blaine]

This is one of two augments to get the new dash can technology. There's camera units that have a standby mode - they turn on and record a bit if you are away from the car and it detects an impact.

You can get these under $300. They are plug and play and look like a radar detector. Motion Sensored and 360 degrees of video. Worth its weight in GOLD if you ever get hit or in an accident. They have standby modes are 24/7 recording. Hit and Run..? Just copy the recording onto disc... hand to police. Crap bag is going to have a really really bad day.

[NPuter]

Thanks for the love guys haha. Went to Mark Motors Body Shop. Car is brand new and i'd prefer to get the dealer to fix it since I don't want to be left with a botched job. I was able to get the price reduced to $1200Cdn because I decided to forego replacing the rear diffuser. Its a $850 part and mine has next to no damage with the exception of a bit of paint scuffing which is practically invisible. I'm buying a dash cam this week. Worth it to have 2? And how does yours record? Do you have to set it up when you want it to record i.e when parked on the street.

The thing I like about blackvue is they're really small and unobtrusive. The DR650 combines front and rear recording into one unit (rear camera attaches to front camera).
If you set it up with their "power magic pro," you're able to control whether or not it records when the car is off via a switch. And when it is on when the car is off, it turns off after a configurable time period or after battery voltage drops below a certain level.
You're able to connect to it via WiFi and review/download video on your phone.

Here's the dr500 in my A4 and Mercedes, don't have a pic of the DR650 in my 5, but the front unit looks identical... The way I have them placed, you can't see them at all when driving.

[Seerlah]

I would rather avoid dealing with my insurance until I absolutely have to. I have combined home and auto insurance and i've unfortunately had to claim recently due to a water heater leak last year.

Understandable. Got it fixed for what many have their deductible close to, anyways. Just sucks it happened in the first place.

[ryan_sn]

The thing I like about blackvue is they're really small and unobtrusive. The DR650 combines front and rear recording into one unit (rear camera attaches to front camera).
If you set it up with their "power magic pro," you're able to control whether or not it records when the car is off via a switch. And when it is on when the car is off, it turns off after a configurable time period or after battery voltage drops below a certain level.
You're able to connect to it via WiFi and review/download video on your phone.

Here's the dr500 in my A4 and Mercedes, don't have a pic of the DR650 in my 5, but the front unit looks identical... The way I have them placed, you can't see them at all when driving.

Like this?
http://www.kmph.ca/products/blackvue...ch-dash-camera

It looks great, a bit pricey but I think the piece of mind is priceless.

[NPuter]

Like this?
http://www.kmph.ca/products/blackvue...ch-dash-camera

It looks great, a bit pricey but I think the piece of mind is priceless.

Yep that one. Got it for ~$300 USD through massdrop (not sure if they ship to Canada).

[Speedybrit]

NPuter - I have the blackvue DR500 in my s3 now and I was thinking of upgrading it to the new DR650 with the back camera. Is the video quality any better in the newer model? The only thing I hate about the DR500 is that you really cant make out a license plate unless the car is right in front of you, but other than that it has been flawless.

[NPuter]

NPuter - I have the blackvue DR500 in my s3 now and I was thinking of upgrading it to the new DR650 with the back camera. Is the video quality any better in the newer model? The only thing I hate about the DR500 is that you really cant make out a license plate unless the car is right in front of you, but other than that it has been flawless.

Video quality is better, but only marginally so. There is custom firmware that I think you can install which allows for higher quality/lower compression video. However, I find it fine the way it is.

The dr650 has a narrower field of view, which slightly increases the size and lessens the distortion of things (they made that change so things license plates are more likely to be legible). I do prefer the increased field of view of the 500 though

[Speedybrit]

Video quality is better, but only marginally so. There is custom firmware that I think you can install which allows for higher quality/lower compression video. However, I find it fine the way it is.

The dr650 has a narrower field of view, which slightly increases the size and lessens the distortion of things (they made that change so things license plates are more likely to be legible). I do prefer the increased field of view of the 500 though

Thanks nick. It doesn't sound like its a major update, I'll probably wait until my 500 dies before I get the 650 or newer.

[NPuter]

Thanks nick. It doesn't sound like its a major update, I'll probably wait until my 500 dies before I get the 650 or newer.

Definitely not a major update. Only reason to "upgrade" from the 500 would be if you really want the rear cam.