What would they call this....

ahh, i love speed bumps... governments special way of making sure we don't hit a child who is not being watched by their parents.

In the middle of the night...

I would hi-tail it to the town or city hall with a copy of the bill and a picture of the speedbump at night, and say , Paint this yellow *AND* pay this bill. If they squawk, I'd say, what's wrong with the city planners and traffic engineers that they make a speed bump blend in with the background?

Course, they'll tell you to slow down...

It was actually in the long entrance road to some apts. May not even be a city street.

They shoulda marked it though, someone could roll their car from not seeing it.

You could have a case for a law suit, but I doubt you documented where you hit it. You might go back to it... call the cops, and get an accident report of it. They may be liable.

"Sarah Houston" ...

All the more reason to go after them. As Taze noted it must be done right. Tomes

All speed bumps were removed from our town because of damage to village-owned vehicles like police cars, fire engines, and ambulances.

Before then, speed bumps were marked with a sign and yellow paint. Perhaps the municipality where the speed bump is located may have ordinances regarding warnings and markings. Of course, if there was a sign warning of speed bumps ahead, then you are probably out of luck.

You can try your insurance company, but that trick only works a few times and only if you have coverage for such events.

As for modifying the suspension without costing a fortune, it depends on how you define "fortune." To modify a suspension so that it will take speed bumps at more than 3 MPH, the suspension travel has to be increased. To increase suspension travel, the vehicle has to be raised and/or the front fenders and wheel wells have to be modified. In addition to increased suspension travel, the springs would have to be changed and the wheels and tires would have to be changed to something heavier duty, like a truck has. All these modifications will have a negative effect on fuel economy and will likely results in a stiffer ride.

I'd go to the management company and ask them why it's not lit or why they're not painted. Did they at least have a sign up?

Buy an 86' Lincoln towncar. I used to have one and always sped up when I saw speed bumps to see how fast I could take them.