Life can be a b***er sometimes :(

...Actual damage is small paint damage but also a little dent........ ... a bodge may be cheaper but may leave the problem worse than the current problem... At least the neighbour let me know....

 

 

Consider a mobile dent / scratch fixer. Will be quicker, much cheaper, and mostly effective...

 

Consider a mobile dent / scratch fixer. Will be quicker, much cheaper, and mostly effective...

 

 

Thanks Totally Square, the thought had crossed my mind although the a good acceptable success rate of some of the ding fixers around here seems a bit of a lottery when browsing reports, It is a small dent and the paint damage is pretty clear, I'm just concerned that a quick repair may make the damage look even worse. I will look into it more though. I have seen the results of a quick fix from a nationwide company on a work mates car and the result were not good.

I have just had a quite for £1800 for work that needs to be done to my A4 before it goes back to the lease company, either that or they will charge double, 95% of the marks / dents have been done in supermarket car parks, one of the dents looks like someone has actually got a sledgehammer and hit above my wheel arch, I've even had an altercation with someone who when I got back to my car they were getting out of theirs with the door rubbing up against my door, on this particular instance it didn't leave any mark, but got the comment as mentioned above its only a car, while they were in a 500 quid scrap heap, if it had have been a fella and not a women I would have have seriously had to politely pin him up against the banger.

Sadly thing are getting worse. Certainly in the South West anyway.

 

I grew up in the Midlands where it seems that most people respected other peoples cars and property. Most people back then owned there cars so had a modicum of respect for other peoples cars. OK you would get a mirror knocked a tad or a wheel trim (remember those?) or the car stolen.

 

14 Years ago I moved to sunny wet Wiltshire, within two weeks I had a trolley dent in my 6 month old Fiesta, after changing to a MK1 focus that lasted 1 week before a ding in the front wing in the works car park, looked like a Disco had hit it but no proof. A few years later a 9 month old Mondeo wagon, within two days of ownership I had a dimple in the near side rear door...  shortly after a matching dimple in the off side rear door. I always park as far away as possible from super market entrance.

 

The one that takes the biscuit was when I was leaving the supermarket with a trolley full of shopping when in the distance at the edge of the car park a sharp suited oil haired back BMW 3 series driver took his brief case out of his car and placed it on the bonnet of my car, after opening and taking something out and closing said case slid it off the front of my car and off he went. Whacking deep scratches right down the front of my car. Too far away to catch the plate and no chance to run given the random directional recently exhumed people with shopping trolleys with a knack of stopping suddenly to talk to a plant in front of me. A true story.

 

OK now the time to add a reference to my beloved Yeti.... 5 days ago I got a text from the neighbour "sorry, just hit your car, only a little mark" with an offer to fix. Actual damage is small paint damage but also a little dent........ My car is my only form of transport so I cannot do without it unless there is a substitute and I do not have the time to sort a fix in the near term... Neighbours  have been good to me and are good people but the cost of a real fix (fix/ new door skin, paint, blend, trim etc) plus hire car would be a lot of money considering that the same thing may happen the day after the repair in a car park. OK a bodge may be cheaper but may leave the problem worse than the current problem... At least the neighbour let me know....

 

Told them not to worry. I hope to keep the car a while.  When the time comes for my Jana and I to part ways I'll have the fix (or more over time) done. For now we'll just go on and enjoy life. Needless to say I'm really pi$$ed off at the damage.

You'll be old one day.....much, much sooner than you could possibly imagine.......

My wife has got used to it now but I always park as far away from anyone else as possible. I have even left a car park because I don't like the look of the spaces available. Top tips for avoiding parking dings:

 

1. Try to find end spaces, they can only get you on one side then.

2. Avoid parking next to cars with child seats in or evidence that children will be clambering in and out (toys etc...).

3. Avoid parking next to old bangers.

4. Anticipate where the door on the car next to you will open. I try to line mine up so that the door next to me would contact my wing mirror or more resistant area first.

5. Try to park next to the passenger side of the next car. Most cars still only carry one person on most journeys.

 

I know that this is all a bit OCD but there are a lot of inconsiderate bu*gers out there and such is the way of things that if you get angry, you are seen as the unreasonable one.

^^^ To add to that,

6. Avoid parking next to large vehicles such as  Range rovers and two door vehicles

as they usually have big doors.

7. If you are at the Supermarket after 9pm (quite likely in this day and age) then the

wider mother and child spaces are fair game. No responsible parent is taking their kids

to Tesco at that time of night.

Witnessed the typical ignorance of some people in my local Sainsburys the other week.

 

Getting back in to my car and heard a very loud bang. Saw a yewt in a BM frantically trying to pull away from hitting a 12 plate Range Rover, oohh what a lovely dent that made to Rangeys rear bumper.

 

He quickly scarpered and parked up thinking he'd got away with it. Just as I was pulling away I saw the indicators flash on the RR and spotted the broad shouldered bloke with key in hand...

 

" Is that your car fella"?

" Yeah, why"?!

" See that dent, its the kid driving the BM who did it", pointing in the direction of the baggy jeaned scroat

" Cheers son" he replied quickly heading in the direction of the youth with some first class expletives

 

It made my day 

So you don't accept that accidents do happen then? 

 

I certainly do and it's a national problem - just look at the growth in the UK's population!!

frantically trying to pull away from hitting a 12 plate Range Rover,

 

and spotted the broad shouldered bloke with key in hand...

 

" Is that your car fella"?

" Yeah, why"?!

" See that dent, its the kid driving the BM who did it", pointing in the direction of the baggy jeaned scroat

" Cheers son" he replied quickly heading in the direction of the youth with some first class expletives

 

 

 

Having lived (and occasionally worked) not a million miles from your part of the world I don't need too vivid an imagination to picture the scene.  The percentage of black/silver/white  BMW / Range Rover / Porsche / etc. per head of population is quite noticeable to me when I return to those parts having moved 200 and something miles away.  The exchange of views and opinions between the RR driver and the BMW driver, which would have followed your well timed intervention, would have probably been enlightening to those of a nervous disposition!  I wouldn't have particularly wanted to have been there myself (and indeed moved away to reduce the likelihood of such a confrontation) and the words 'Kenneth Noye' often spring to mind in such a situation and I try to bear that in mind whenever the devil on my shoulder pops up to raise my pulse rate when on the road.

kids and new cars don,t mix around where i live they bounce things off their parents new cars so their no going to be bothered about anyone elses,

i,ll second what shrub listed but if you think that,s a bit OCD one of my pals takes photo,s of any cars he parks next to on his phone,just in case he say,s

Not had my new yeti 2 months yet I always find a space to park in an end space and with at least a empty space to the other side.I was meeting a friend for lunch yesterday and parked up in the restaurant car park in an end space and with a empty space on the drivers side. There were any number of  other empty car parking spaces.  A lady in a fairly new Audi  decided to take the empty space , then proceeded to open her door and hit my door. I was obviously not well pleased  and had a good rant , her argument was that  she was not over the white parking lines? Lucky enough there does not seem to be any damage. 

On the rare occasions we go to big shopping places like the Trafford centre, we play the 'sheep' game.

Park as far away from everybody else in the emptiest part of the carpark n guess how many 'sheep' will be parked next or near to us on our return!