What's a good resolution when someone slams their door into your car causing paint damage?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › What's a good resolution when someone slams their door into your car causing paint damage?

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Networkn
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#2769948 1-Sep-2021 13:56

elpenguino:

Give some context. e.g. Is it the first scratch on your 6 month old $100k car?

Why is that relevant? The OP is entitled to have the issue rectified to at least as good as it was before.

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2769949 1-Sep-2021 13:57

I got a scratch\mark (about 3 to 5cm) on the drivers door of my near new Kia last year, and spoke with the dealer about the best course of action.

Advised by my dealer not to use those touch up paints as panel-beaters hate them. They sit on the surface of the paint, and mean more work for the panel-beater to sand off in prep for painting.

If you know who did it and are going to be chasing them for Insurance money, in the meantime, use a clear nail polish to seal the scratch, and protect the metal underneath.

Whether this works, no idea, haven't tried it myself.

elpenguino

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#2769969 1-Sep-2021 14:24

networkn:

elpenguino:

Give some context. e.g. Is it the first scratch on your 6 month old $100k car?

Why is that relevant? The OP is entitled to have the issue rectified to at least as good as it was before.

If the door already has multiple similar scratches and dents on every panel the justification to repair and ask for compensation is different to say, a near new car.

Surely you can see that.

Cars pick up dents and scratches. It's annoying but it's the reality of using them in the real world.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

michaelmurfy

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#2769982 1-Sep-2021 14:51

I bought my first ever brand new car almost 2 years back - was very excited to get it. First day of owning it had somebody park beside my car and leave a nasty dent in the door and I was furious as I couldn't track down the person who did it. A month later had somebody reverse into my car leaving quite substantial damage to the rear bumper.

In the end I paid $500 in insurance excess and the panel beater fixed it right up to looking brand new and even fixed up the dent in the door for me also. Was very happy, not so happy that I had to pay $500. I've since wired my Blackvue Dashcam into its own battery hoping to catch asshats who do this in the future but apart from that belt of bad luck I have not had any more incidents.

This sort of crap happens and it makes my blood boil that people wouldn't leave a note if they notice...

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elpenguino

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#2769998 1-Sep-2021 15:19

michaelmurfy:

I bought my first ever brand new car almost 2 years back - was very excited to get it. First day of owning it had somebody park beside my car and leave a nasty dent in the door and I was furious as I couldn't track down the person who did it. A month later had somebody reverse into my car leaving quite substantial damage to the rear bumper.

In the end I paid $500 in insurance excess and the panel beater fixed it right up to looking brand new and even fixed up the dent in the door for me also. Was very happy, not so happy that I had to pay $500. I've since wired my Blackvue Dashcam into its own battery hoping to catch asshats who do this in the future but apart from that belt of bad luck I have not had any more incidents.

This sort of crap happens and it makes my blood boil that people wouldn't leave a note if they notice...

Many people are completely hateable about their attitude to this. I've had people open their door and bang into my car while I'm in it and not make even the faintest sign of a 'sorry' (yeah not really) or other acknowledgement. I wonder if some people make it their thing to damage nice(r) cars, in the same vein as keying but with plausible deniability.

I once had the delight to watch from a distance as a guy drove into a parked car, inflict a reasonable size dent, mull his options for a few moments and then drive off. I took notes as I was waiting in the car park for something anyway.

The guy had noticed me in the distance so I was most amused to see him come back 5 minutes later and leave a piece of paper under the wipers. Obviously he had re-evaluated his options.

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have come back if he hadn't noticed me.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

kiwiharry

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#2770013 1-Sep-2021 15:30

elpenguino:
I once had the delight to watch from a distance as a guy drove into a parked car, inflict a reasonable size dent, mull his options for a few moments and then drive off. I took notes as I was waiting in the car park for something anyway.

The guy had noticed me in the distance so I was most amused to see him come back 5 minutes later and leave a piece of paper under the wipers. Obviously he had re-evaluated his options.

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have come back if he hadn't noticed me.

Yeah but he probably left false details.

Best course of action is for anybody in this situation is to leave a seperate note saying you witnessed it and leave your contact details and registration of offending vehicle.

If you can't laugh at yourself then you probably shouldn't laugh at others.

networkn

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#2770080 1-Sep-2021 15:57

elpenguino:

If the door already has multiple similar scratches and dents on every panel the justification to repair and ask for compensation is different to say, a near new car.

Nope, it's not. The person who did the damage is responsible for the damage they do. Not for anything else. Usually, the fix for fixing one decent scratch or dent would cover most similar marks on the same panel.

Cars pick up dents and scratches. It's annoying but it's the reality of using them in the real world.

If you dent and scratch your OWN vehicle, then the responsibility for resolution falls with you. If 2 people dent your car and you don't get their details and the third person does and you do get their details, then usually, the insurance company would ask the panel beater for the cost of the repair to the single incident, and if the cost was additional to fix the other things at the same time, then you may be asked to contribute if you wish to. This has happened to me.

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Technofreak

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#2770087 1-Sep-2021 16:10

elpenguino:

networkn:

Why is that relevant? The OP is entitled to have the issue rectified to at least as good as it was before.

If the door already has multiple similar scratches and dents on every panel the justification to repair and ask for compensation is different to say, a near new car.

Surely you can see that.

Cars pick up dents and scratches. It's annoying but it's the reality of using them in the real world.

I'd suggest by the tone of the OP the car isn't covered in dings and scratches.

Yes cars can pick up the odd war wound as they age. However it's not generally the age of the car that matters it's very often the how the owner looks after their car. I keep my cars longer than most people, I take pride in them and look after them. I have a 18 year old car that is in very good condition body wise. Sure there's a few stone chips on the bonnet.

If someone did that to my car I'd expect it to be put back to how it was before hand. If you're prepared to accept such damage then it's no wonder you end up with car that is covered in dings and scratches.

I take a look at the cars near where I want to park and choose who I park beside. If the car is in rough condition I park elsewhere and I avoid parking beside vehicles with large doors that have a wide opening.

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Behodar

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#2770106 1-Sep-2021 16:32

This thread's giving me anxiety. I'm expecting delivery of a new car in the next couple of weeks (although Covid's probably delayed it... again...)

clinty

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#2770150 1-Sep-2021 17:58

To offer a flip side -

The only time i have dented another car ( reversing, chatting to my friend, and didn't realise how close i was), it was a small dent in a bumper caused by the tow ball - left a business card and note to say ring me - will sort you out. Never heard from them

Think they must have thought it was a calender girls flyer or something and biffed it :)

Clint

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#2770236 1-Sep-2021 20:29

I used to have a car that I was precious about (still do to be honest because now I have a brand new one).

The thing that always gets me wound up is when I deliberately park in the furthest row of a car park, surrounded by empty spaces. Then when I emerge from the shop, the one other car that has parked is right next to mine. Do people do this just to wind me up, or do they think that cars have feelings and get lonely?

You can halve your chances of having a denter parked next to you by going in the end of the row, and reduce it further by then squeezing right up to the end. But there's always that one driver...

Jvipers2

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#2770257 1-Sep-2021 21:51

This is one of the reasons I’m not excited about getting a brand new car. It’s so common and it’s so difficult to get the offending party to compensate!

michaelmurfy

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#2770286 1-Sep-2021 23:19

shk292:

The thing that always gets me wound up is when I deliberately park in the furthest row of a car park, surrounded by empty spaces. Then when I emerge from the shop, the one other car that has parked is right next to mine. Do people do this just to wind me up, or do they think that cars have feelings and get lonely?

I do the same - I have no dents on my car (anymore and want to keep it that way) and park away where often nice cars park - get furious when people park right beside me where there are other options and I ensure I don't park beside somebody unless if I really have to.

The other day was at the supermarket so parked further away - we were just about to get out of the car and some asshat in a ute parks beside me with his windows down smoking a cigarette - we already had our masks on ready to exit the car and go into the supermarket. I gave this guy the evils and just moved because he was parked close to my car (so would have been a squeeze to get out) and because he was literally an asshat smoking a cigarette not allowing any room for distancing during L4 restrictions. Also PLENTY of other places as I already parked out of the way.

Some people just seriously don't think - it is frustrating.

1101

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#2770474 2-Sep-2021 10:40

Its a war you will never win.

The chances of getting these inconsiderate aholes to pay for the damage is near zero.
They dont care, chances are they will give you the finger if confronted .
Just a fact of life.

One of the reasons I'll never again buy a excellent condition or newish car.
Car park wars on your nice car is just soul destroying.

jonathan18

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#2770507 2-Sep-2021 11:39

michaelmurfy:

The other day was at the supermarket so parked further away - we were just about to get out of the car and some asshat in a ute parks beside me with his windows down smoking a cigarette - we already had our masks on ready to exit the car and go into the supermarket. I gave this guy the evils.

I'm not sure how much of the evil vibes you were the other driver would have picked up, given you were wearing a mask! Mask wearing over the past few weeks has emphasised to me how much we do communicate via facial expressions - frustrating not being able to use these common non-verbal comms, whether it be a friendly smile or sending the evils...

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