Guy sideswiped me in a lot and just drove off — no dents but should I still report it?

I was in almost the exact same situation last spring — minor contact in a parking garage, other driver took off. I didn't file a report because I figured 'no damage, no point.' Two weeks later I noticed a crack forming in the bumper fascia where it had been stressed. By then it was basically my word against nothing. File the report. It costs you nothing and protects you.

Yes. File it today, not tomorrow. Leaving the scene is a separate offense from causing damage — that's on him regardless of whether your car has a scratch. Having that plate number documented with police now creates a record if anything surfaces later. There's zero downside for you.

From a documentation standpoint, a police report essentially timestamps the incident. If you discover hidden damage later — and with bumpers, that's more common than people think since the underlying structure can absorb impact without showing it externally — you'll have a contemporaneous record that this happened, where, and when. Without it, an insurer can question whether the damage actually came from this event. Most non-emergency lines will take a report even for minor incidents, so just call your local PD's non-emergency number and give them what you have.

Also worth knowing: if you ever DO need to make a claim and you don't have a police report, adjusters will use that against you. 'Why didn't you report it if it really happened?' is a classic way they cast doubt. The report is your protection, not just a way to get the other guy in trouble.

Did you have anyone in the car with you? Even if you feel totally fine right now, sometimes the adrenaline of the moment masks things — neck stiffness, headaches — that show up a day or two later. Not saying that's the case, just keep tabs on how you feel over the next 48 hours. And yes, file the report regardless.

I spent years on the claims side. Honestly, a report with no injury and no visible damage is going to sit in a file and do nothing — UNLESS you come back later needing it. Think of it as an insurance policy on your insurance policy. The few minutes it takes to file could save you a massive headache down the road. Also, for what it's worth, hit-and-run reports with plate numbers sometimes actually get followed up on depending on your local department's workload.

How fast was he actually going when he clipped you? And are you sure the scuff wasn't pre-existing? I'm not saying don't report it, but if there's genuinely zero damage and nobody was hurt, some people would argue it's not worth creating a paper trail that could complicate your own record. What's your insurance situation — do you have uninsured motorist coverage?

Honestly the fact that you got the plate is huge — most people in this situation don't. You're already ahead. File the report, keep that number safe, and hopefully it's just a five-minute errand that you never need to think about again.