Auto Insurance Claims: valet parking damage.., valet company

Question
Hello,

I parked my car in a valet parking garage and when I returned, there was extensive damage to the car and therefore I could not drive the car out of the garage. It had to sit in their parking garage. I had a friend with me that heard the attendants apologize for the damage and admit that the damage occurred there, the attendants on site did not deny it ,however I did not get anything in writing from them. They would not give me any details of the accident. I filled out their claim form and called a manager. The manager said that the incident would be investigated and could take weeks and if I were to need a rent a car or if I go on to get body work by my shop of choice, I could submit it to the claims dept and they will determine if they would pay the amounts. I want to protect myself.
1) I thought I should file a police report but the station agent told me that my case was a civil case and they would not file a report. Should I continue to try to get a report since I don't have any details of the accident?
2)Do I go ahead and tow my car out of the garage and get the body work fixed and wait to see if they reimburse me?
3) Rent a car and see if they reimburse me or demand that they pay for one right away?
4) Should I leave the car there until the investigation with their claims dept. is done and they determine what they think the damages are worth?
They say it could take weeks for the investigator to determine a settlement or do anything with the case.

Thanks Very Much,

Answer
I hate to say it, but you may be in for a fight.  Valet companies are notorious for refusing to pay and refusing to provide insurance information.  If they have not given you insurance information and just referred you to a claims department, then you are likely going to be in for a nasty surprise.

If you have insurance, get your insurance to handle it.  It is hard to pin down a Valet company because there are so many variables.  What is the official name of the Valet company?  Are the working for a restaurant or other company?  Are they always at the same place?  Who owns the property where they valet park?  Do you have a receipt from them?  You can see there are a lot of questions.  It also would help me to know where this occurred.  

If you leave your vehicle there, you will be sorry.  Get your car back and have it fixed on your own if at all possible.  This is called mitigating your damages.  If you fail to mitigate, you cannot ask for damages that could have been avoided, like rental costs.

If I were you, I would do one of two things:

1.  Let my insurance handle it.
2.  Find out the legal name of the Valet company and sue them immediately.

JP