It's not 100% that you won't get paid. Hopefully you got ALL his info, in case he tries to dodge you. If he does, you have to take him to small claims court for the amount of the estimate (get 2-3, it's better). You have a promissory note, and if you took a lot of pictures of his car, as well as him, at the scene, your case should be strong enough to win. Remember, if you had called the cops, you would be in pretty much the same situation you are now (they can't make him pay, you would have to sue him regardless).
Whatever works for you - getting an insurance-less driver off the road before he does egregious harm to someone resulting in hardships for the victim and taxpayers would seem to make better sense - but maybe that is just me.
Oh and btw-you aren't going to see another dime unless you have a witness and are willing to go to court.
You got scammed. If he can't afford insurance, how will he afford to pay for thousands of dollars of body work?
No police report = tough time making a case in court.
He backed out in a parking lot without looking and hit me. He caused some damage but he actually hit my car where I had a minor dent already and made it into a bigger dent. He asked me to not call the police because I figure he would get a huge ticket for driving without insurance, gave me all his info and $200 and promised to take care of whatever damages. I made him sign a promisary note. I'll get an estimate and contact him about it soon. Was this the right course of action to take or did I do something wrong?
