(ca) Mechanic Crashed My Car

(Location: Bay Area, California)

A few months ago I took my car in to get smogged. The mechanic kept my car for many weeks and had put it in the back of the parking lot which required him to back out through a small maze to retrieve it when it was finally time to pick it up. There is a really inconvenient pole near the exit though and he backed right into it, right in front of me! Thankfully the pole was wrapped in some kind of styrofoam (this must happen a lot), so my car wasn't totally wrecked but there was still some damage. Dude didn't seem to be worried about it. He told me to call him to make an appointment so he would fix it for free. It was getting late and dark. I took photos and agreed to come back since my car hadn't passed smog at that time anyways.

I spoke to him a couple more times over the phone and in person and he would make some excuse about being busy and he'd get back to me. In the meantime, someone else helped me pass smog and I moved apartments- I didn't hear back from him for a while. More time passed. Today I looked up his shop to call him again and found that his shop actually closed permanently. I called his cellphone to ask what was going on and he said he would need to take my car to a body shop and have them do the work. He again did not call back.

I'm trying to sell this car and am tired of his avoidance. He's acting like I'm inconveniencing him which is wild. He crashed my car when he was meant to fix it! Is it worth it to take legal action? I fear too much time has passed. I do not have any footage of him crashing my car but he's never denied fault.

Any thoughts appreciated.