So im at a stop sign and a car turns left twords me when he gets next to me he just guns it. (Dirt road) Throws rocks all over my brand new 2017 chevy with 5k miles on it im pissed so i go to a body shop they want 2k to repair and repaint the dents. Think i have a chance in small claims court this is michigan btw. I dont wanna be a dick but cmon...
Michigan small claims is up to 5K, you should 100% do it. You have 2 reliable witnesses.
Get your witness testimony. I assume they wrote down exactly what happened at the time of the incident, with date and time it was written. RIGHT? Right.
Get your testimony. I'll assume you did exactly what your witness did, with date and time it was written. RIGHT? Right.
Take lots of photos of the vehicle damage. Print out the worst ones, but keep them all.
Calculate cost of gasoline, paper, pens, and any other consumables used for the case with receipts.
Get Quotes from 3 different local body shops.
Get the officer call report.
Get Quotes from 3 different local automobile dealers for the current value of your vehicle (as is).
Get Quotes from 3 different local automobile dealers for the current value of your vehicle without damage. These can be the same dealers as above.
Calculate average repair cost from all 3 local body shops.
Calculate average value difference (loss) between current damaged vehicle and undamaged vehicle from all three local automobile dealers.
Calculate the consumables cost PLUS average repair cost PLUS automobile value loss. This will be your EXACT claim amount you will be requesting when you file for small claims.
File your lawsuit for small claims.
Show up with all receipts. Show up with all quotes. Show up with all statements. Show up with all witnesses. Show up with all photos, both physical and digital, and a tablet to display digital files. Show up with your spreadsheet which contains all your calculations. Dress nice. Your friend should dress nice.
Good luck!