Inverkip-Ian

MarkyG82 -- Well, as you say, perhaps not bother in the future.

toot -- My car is my only means of "freedom", so attach importance to both it's appearance and road-worthiness. I get very annoyed when others inflict their "carelessness" on it, so can imagine how you felt about the "Tesco-Trolley" incident. What a lovely car was/is the S-60. A slate came off the next door neighbour's roof a couple of months ago, and caused a dent in the bonnet of my Skoda. When I told the neighbour, he suggested I just got one of those "spot-pens" to touch it up. The bill worked out at just under £385.00 as the slate had dented the metal right across a contour crease in the body-work which, as a car-sprayer, I'm sure you will appreciate, is not the easiest place to repair.

J.R. -- I fail to see how you interpret my reply as entering into an argument. I have no experience of Pathfinder vehicles, nor am I privy to the variations available in their Bull Bar range - so I simply stated the obvious about sizing. I politely disagreed with your rejection of driver descriptions, and provided reasonable explanations for doing so. I agreed with your comment regarding bumpers "then" and "now", and voicing my memories accordingly. I made mention of bespoke simply to illustrate my willingness to purchase a "special product", and preferably based on a tried and tested design - one which could easily end up using the Pathfinder design as a template. However, in order to avoid any future upset, it is perhaps best you don't respond further on this topic. Thanks for your contribution to date.

Toot --- I doubt any of the "offenders" would notice a Skull & Crossbones - even if it covered the entire rear of the vehicle. There is a young(ish) driver who (legitimately) uses the driveway I'm on about, despite my car being to his right, invariably another to his left, (i.e. blind-view) and remembering it is a very narrow (two-way) road - he frequently emerges at great speed, causing others to perform emergency stops.

J.R. --- I realise the Bar fitted to the Pathfinder is unsuited to my Skoda - I was simply using it as a "possible template". Yes, I do remember when a bumper was suited to sky-scraper demolition work as opposed to the "Pretty but Useless" type fitted today. I must disagree with your rejection of my driver descriptions for they are lazy, otherwise they would take time to seek out a more sensible and legal place to pull in, they are ignorant by ignoring the "Keep Entrance Clear" signs, and selfish as they care nought for other people's property. But yes -- they are incompetent too - otherwise they would not hit other vehicles on the road. I'd sooner go for something proprietary, or have something bespoke, but based on a proven style.

MarkyG82 --- Not sure what you mean by "touched a nerve", but you are right about frustration with the situation. Saving up the damage is not, in my opinion, a worthwhile exercise, for how would it be possible to guess as to when the next "hit" might happen? It could be tomorrow, or three months down the line and then six in a row, besides, if sufficiently serious, most Insurers will require the work done sooner, rather than later. "Saving it up" is NOT a solution, simply a "work around". Offenders have been "chased & charged" (fail to stop) by the Police, and entries made on social media -- without visible signs of reduction (but how does one measure a reduction of an irregular event?) It is not only Taxi's that offend. The Hotelier promised monitoring of traffic (failed) discussion with Taxi firms (failed) persuading others to use their car-park - total failure.

Nope --- A huge sheet of extremely abrasive metal (similar to a Surform blade) might, once word got around, act as a deterrent long-term, but would probably create a lot of aggravation too.

As I said previously, I have full CCTV that captures most offenders --- that is not the issue. It is the time I have to be without a vehicle whilst repairs are carried out. The Taxi firm has been spoken to on numerous occasions, Councillors (useless) have been involved, MP & MSP's (even more useless) have stuck their noses in, Hotel Management have given written assurances of remedial action - none of which have ever been actioned - and so on. The spot to park is perfect, from my personal point of view - being adjacent to my home and clearly marked "Disabled". It is selfish, lazy, careless, and inconsiderate drivers that are the problem. (a) Placing a cone on the highway, without written permission from Council or Police, is illegal, (b) drivers already ignore the "Keep Entrance Clear" signs, so a moveable cone is an unlikely deterrent, and (c) moving a cone whilst using crutches is quite difficult.

Oh that it were so simple. The speed/force with which some of the vehicles come out of the bit where they shouldn't be in the first place (don't obstruct dropped kerb openings) is such that a strip might save the paint, but would not prevent panel damage. The last repair cost just short of £1,000 - much worse than the image I just posted. I do have CCTV capturing events but, being disabled, the loss of several days to have damage fixed is the worst part. Surely some entrepreneurial "Genius" can solve this problem??

I agree, as too the "stick-on rubber strips" sold in Halford's. I did wonder though, if someone could make a similar product, but with some kind of "anchoring bar" to hold them in place - possibly secured through the panel and onto a stronger chassis/body location.

A tow-bar is not an option for, as you will see from the image, it is the outer edge that takes the pain. No -- the front of the vehicle is normally unaffected. I was hoping the "bar" protector (which I assume is anchored to a strong part of the chassis/body) would act as a deflector -- as the offending vehicles are usually turning out of the "drop-kerb zone", with their offside front wing contacting my nearside rear. I would sooner sacrifice an easily replaceable item than have to have panel-beating/respray work done.

Hi, I live directly opposite an Hotel, and park my car (legitimately) in a Disabled Bay immediately adjacent to a drop-kerb drive entrance. The Hotel is very badly managed, and customers vehicles and Taxis use the roadway in front of the drop-kerb to pick-up/drop-off customers. The rear of my Octavia is frequently damaged (ranging from scuffing to serious denting) with repair work currently running at around £3,500 over a three year period. Hotel Management, Taxi Operators, and local Council, are totally unhelpful, so I'm looking at some form of rear end protection. (I thought of fitting huge spikes to the side, but !!!!) Can anyone suggest a remedy, or know of anywhere I might purchase products such as shown in these images please? Thank you. Ian

Thanks for the link PetrolDave. My usual garage has knowledge of a mobile guy with an appropriate coding unit, so he's arranging for the S/S to be "killed" sometime next week. Cheers, Ian

Hi hhcd80., gav_is_con., MarkyG82., and EnterName, What an overwhelming and informative response to my query -- Thank you all. I shall go seek out someone with a coding unit. Thanks again. Ian

Hi Everyone, Just swapped my VW Passat for an Octavia 2014 - Manual (couldn't stand not having a proper handbrake) and would appreciate some advice please. (a) Is it possible to permanently disable the Stop/Start function, as opposed to repeatedly switching it off? (b) Can a "Standard" battery be used in place of the S/S type? Thank you. Ian