Having dealt with numerous stonechips over the years, and now recently a rather large one on my new Fabia, I can't help but feel that we sometimes obsess too much over the car's condition rather than simply enjoying the car. I spent ages assessing that stone chip earlier, and then I decided just to go for a drive; wherein I realised just how great the car is and how happy I am to own it. And it looks fantastic if you realise that it's obviously going to get chips and scratches over time; just remember what it has to put up with every day!

I was just interested on people's thoughts on this. How much time do you spend worrying about imperfections in the bodywork, or even interior? Do you, like me, park in the most remote spot in Tescos to avoid people walking past your car? Do you go even further and choose bays on corners to maximise the bay width? I know I do.

So how bad are you people, and how do you rationalise with yourself upon finding imperfections?

I agree with you, and refuse to spend all weekend putting numerous coats of wax and polish on my car... at the end of the day I drive on motorways where chips are unavoidable and work in a seaside town (often return to my car to find it covered in Gull poo and sand). I also have a family and other interests.

Its bad enough when I've given the car a good wash (1 hour) at the weekend to find it covered in carp on a Monday with yet another chip on the bonnet, so I dread to think how I'd feel if I'd spent 8 hrs+ on the bugger... The one time I did (with my old Saab), within less than a week I returned to my car and found someone had reversed into the side of it

Saying that I still adopt the same approach to you in car parks

its amazing how you can even notice 1 new stone chip on your car they seem to show up more on black too. I now take 2 spaces up in car parks where ever i go, the amount of who people who think they can rest their door on your car while getting out of their car amazes me, some people just dont give a damn about their cars so dont spoil it for us who do i say !!! xxsadielouxx :P

i dont obsess over it i have just spent close to over £200 on protecting it.

Oh wait a minute yes i do obsess about it. I have even got my old man to buy me an Ultimate Detailing Machine in exchange for doing his scooby

i actually left mine to get dirty for 2.5 weeks, before i washed it 2 nights ago, it was nearly grey with all the spray and dirt off the roads. washed it quickly in the dark and realised the following day in the sunlight what a rushed job it was.

Normally (see the threads in this section on my car for more info) i spend a lot of time when i do wash it to make it look good and this is done 1-2 times a week.

Might wash it again tomorrow and just give it a quick spray wax too to remove those water marks

I admit, I obsess. I have a 2001 furby and it has the usual scratches and scrapes which make me dissapointed when I look at it, however, like you said it all is ok when you get in the car and drive it with a reliable beast under your feet:thumbup:

I must admit I get quite hung up over the stonechips and scratches that accumulate over the years. Having said that, my solid red Fabia seems much more resilient to stonechips than the metallic coloured ones that I have previously owned.

My rule of thumb is that there's not an awful lot you can do to avoid timely damage to the exterior, but on the inside, that's were you as an owner can keep your car in really good condition.

As others have said before me, the real reward is in the drive and feel of the car itself and (hopefully) it's long term reliability.

I obsess over the paint quite a lot. The paintwork on mine is far from perfect but when you detail the paint every 2-3 months it makes it all worth while. The flake in the paint 'pops' in the light, and it makes weekly cleaning much easier due to the wax/sealant not letting the dirt stick to the paint as much. Weekly washing with the two bucket method and a wash mitt is more than enough. Weekly waxing is totally unnecessary.

I have a 94 Favorit estate. I tend to take the best care I can of the paintwork, even though one wheel arch rusted through and is now filled and has aluminium tape on top of it (awaiting paint), there are various scuffs on the paintwork, a dent on the bonnet where some idiot dropped a beer bottle onto it, and a big dent between the rear door and the glass just in front of the tailgate. Someone tried to smash the window to steal something I believe, but they threw a brick and obviously missed. My car's never going to be perfect but if it can look clean and the paintwork look shiny rather than matt I'd rather that was the case

The main problem with the car is as it's a red/burgundy type colour the paint has faded over the years with a little neglect from the previous owner and matched paint looks nothing like the paint on the car. I am therefore considering painting the wheel arches with black hammerite rather than spend ages trying to get matching paint.

yes i think i do obsess over the paint,i know every stonechip and scratch on the whole car ,and it allways upsets me a little when i see a new one,as for parking i take the wifes swift to the tesco's so mine stays as pristeen as possible:D

Obsessive? not me,

Obsessive? not me

Obsessive? not me

Obsessive? not me

Obsessive? not me

Onseesive? not me

Obsessive? not me

You get the picture:)

And I thought it was just me who carried on like that:D.

Im obsessive,HATE finding scratches, dents, etc,and when I do find one it bothers me for days,then I slowly come to terms with it......:(

One has to accept that a car is a tool,and when you find yourself debating whether or not it will be safe left in a certain location/place,a reality check is needed to remind you its just a metal box for getting you from A to B.......

I am. Currently in the process to de-swirl the whole car.

Ohh and its hard work!

Mine is about 85/90% done

Ive ordered a UDM so will be able to get that extra done

Just remember, if you go for 100% defect correction, especially with a Porter Cable, it leaves less room afterwards for further paint correction in the future.

I am obsessesive too, but can't avoid stone chips or diverse marks left by aother (chids , cars doors, trees close to road)

I did not washed my car since skoda show in czech , because I try to avoid a little bit the dissapointment of some marks left by a bush on a narrow road.

About interior , there is where it has to be spotless everytime

PS: I use to polish, detail my car every mounth until now!

Having dealt with numerous stonechips over the years, and now recently a rather large one on my new Fabia, I can't help but feel that we sometimes obsess too much over the car's condition rather than simply enjoying the car. I spent ages assessing that stone chip earlier, and then I decided just to go for a drive; wherein I realised just how great the car is and how happy I am to own it. And it looks fantastic if you realise that it's obviously going to get chips and scratches over time; just remember what it has to put up with every day!

I was just interested on people's thoughts on this. How much time do you spend worrying about imperfections in the bodywork, or even interior? Do you, like me, park in the most remote spot in Tescos to avoid people walking past your car? Do you go even further and choose bays on corners to maximise the bay width? I know I do.

So how bad are you people, and how do you rationalise with yourself upon finding imperfections?

Lol Yeah!!!! thats me too mate, i have a space in tescos that i always park in it's in the corner right at the end of the car park! I must admit i seem to worry about it too much it gets to the piont where i have to say to myself..get a grip!!

Having dealt with numerous stonechips over the years, and now recently a rather large one on my new Fabia, I can't help but feel that we sometimes obsess too much over the car's condition rather than simply enjoying the car. I spent ages assessing that stone chip earlier, and then I decided just to go for a drive; wherein I realised just how great the car is and how happy I am to own it. And it looks fantastic if you realise that it's obviously going to get chips and scratches over time; just remember what it has to put up with every day!

I was just interested on people's thoughts on this. How much time do you spend worrying about imperfections in the bodywork, or even interior? Do you, like me, park in the most remote spot in Tescos to avoid people walking past your car? Do you go even further and choose bays on corners to maximise the bay width? I know I do.

So how bad are you people, and how do you rationalise with yourself upon finding imperfections?

Yes! I do all of that stuff. But I've realised that I can't avoid the stone chips and scrapes under the front bumper on NZ roads so I have to grin and bear it.

:(

Yep, probably too much.

My high mileage Passat had a scuff on the back bumper when I got it - off to the bodyshop and £130 later it was gone.

However, there are plenty of stone chips, and a couple of tiny dings in the back quarter panel from other car doors. Other than that its immaculate. I'd love to get dentmasters or similar to sort the tiny dings, but is it really worth it? It still shows up cars with a tenth of the mileage, so why bother?

But the bottom line is they still aggrovate the hell out of me.

Also, with the front end, I'd love to get the bonnet and bumper resprayed, but I'm worried that a future purchaser would be suspicious about it looking too clean.

I've got a few swirl marks too, but I can live with them, as long as theres a nice coat of wax and the water beads nicely I'm happy with it.

not obsessive here either, even after washing the car.... back shortly off to check it and wash it again, think some dust has setteled on it

So how bad are you people, and how do you rationalise with yourself upon finding imperfections?

I'm not sure if I obsess or not, I'll find out soon.

We bought the Fabia unseen from ebay, being encouraged by it being described as "unmarked" and "as new"

Having picked it up it turned out that it had had a slight knock to the passenger side that turned out to be not that cheap to fix

The bonnet/bumper were also badly repaired and painted following another knock.

In terms of sorting it out, the previous owner seems to think I'm obsessive, but Trading Standards do not. When the courts have ruled, I'll let you know.

In terms of sorting it out, the previous owner seems to think I'm obsessive, but Trading Standards do not. When the courts have ruled, I'll let you know.

Keeps us up to date with that, mate. You're definitely not being obsessive; the owner did not describe the goods accurately at all.

Having picked it up it turned out that it had had a slight knock to the passenger side that turned out to be not that cheap to fix

That is shocking. When I put my 306 up I was careful to describe a parking incident I'd had in it. When people turned up to look one person said "is that it?. I've seen much worse on cars described as mint"

Hope you get suitable compensation from the guy

As for stressing about where I park... well I know Ethos has already read a rather lengthy thread by me about the subject on another forum so I'll just say yes, yes I do... lots

Both mine and the Mrs's cars have varous scratches, chips and dents on them. If there's anything that looks like it's going to rust, I'll do my best to make the repair as invisible as possible. Otherwise, it's a good wash every few weeks, and a dose of wax every now and again...