I shipped a Corolla from Cleveland to Tucson back in 2022 and the driver tried the same thing, claiming a dent in the fender was already there when it showed up. I had the bill of lading with every mark written down plus about 20 photos on my phone with the date stamp showing, so I emailed all of it to the claims department the same day the car arrived. They came back saying the report was not filled out right, but once I pointed out the driver signed it himself at the pickup, the claim got approved in about two weeks. The key for me was sending the photos right away before anyone could say I took them later. Keep the original signed sheet too, not just a photo of it, because they asked to see the paper copy. Sounds like your neighbor is in a much worse spot without any of that.

Three weekends in, eating the tickets starts to look cheaper than the fight.