So angry!

[Jeff120]

I need to vent.
So I spend a good part of my weekend cleaning up my 1 year old Altima. Polish, fixed all the rock chips that happened over winter. This was in preparation for my clear bra install, which Ill tackle after the pollen settles down.

So I leave work today, go to open my door and notice that some opened their door and put a nice chip into my door! So freaking angry!!!! Upon closer exception, its a chip and a small dent, so they wacked it pretty good. I think I know who it was as I recall who parked beside me this a.m.
I expect some thing like this to happen at Wal-mart, but at work, really freakn makes me made. I dont know if I should say something to the person that I think it was or not?

Anyway, I just used touch up paint to fix the small chips, this about the size of 1/8 chip right in the side of the door. Very noticable.

Would applying several layers of paint then smoothing it out with mineral spirits work? Is the Langka product have something "special" in the bottle of blog eliminator?

Rant off, Im still really fired up about this.

[coreymg51]

sorry but im not sure about you ? but i would def say something to the person

[PA DETAILER]

the first door ding hurts the worst! i can feel for you. my gmc is 8 months old. and some how i managed to keep it ding free so far. you could tackfully mention something to that person. i know on a former vehicle i used the paintless dent repair offered from a dealer. it was amazing. you could never tell when they were done.

[RLove]

I vote for saying something to the person and suggesting that they foot the bill for PDR. I have a whole science on choosing where I park and so far - no dings. But there are times that you have to get the only space left and hope that the car gods are watching over you.

Good Luck with whatever you decided to do.

[CEE DOG]

So sorry for your troubles Jeff. I can tell you the Dr. Colorchip with seal act solution works very well. Not sure if you will get the same thing with the mineral spirits but its certainly worth a try. Use a very small soft flat cotton cloth like the kind you can cut from an old pair of the really soft boxers. Then just wipe very lightly a few times. do not press hard at all or you would remove the paint from down inside. very soft and repeat to leave it flat.

[SeaJay's]

Sorry to hear about that. This is why I ALWAYS park away from everyone. I will walk a 1/2 mile across the parking lot if it ensures no one parks next to me. Of course when I go to the mall or something, there is always one jerk that decides to park right next to me even though there are 100 spots closer.

Definitely frustrating though to put in all the work and have someone not respect your property.

[cutter]

Jeff be sure it was the person next to you before you say anything...About three years ago I (partner parked) with a woman I worked with for a long time. One day she mentioned having a mark on her passenger door and asked if I had hit her door. Of course, if I had hit the door I would have told her straight away. When I told her that it wasn't me, I don't think she beleived me, and our work relationship was kind of strained after that for awhile. All I'm saying is, just be sure.

Jeff

[BobbyG]

Jeff,

At one time or another I think everyone here has experienced what you're going through. On the positive side you know who did it so there's some recourse if you decide to have it refinished.

I remember picking up a brand new car one night and on the way home a young kid opened his door and BANG, right into my door leaving a nice ding and chipping the paint. Both he and his father were there when it happened and the comment his father made was; "it's new and will get allot of dings through the years and walks off"....:mad::mad::mad: BLAAAH!!! blood boiling foaming at the mouth mad at this point!!!

I took my brand new tire iron out of the trunk and reciprocated, leaving a rather "large" ding right in the center of his relatively new trucks door..... I was still pretty upset with the damage to mine...:(

Oh, then there was the time with my 1970 Plymouth Cuda. The year was 1973 and I bought the car used but seeing it was only 3 years old it was still like new.

It was July and I had pulled in to a local grocery store to pick up a few things and had just got into my car when a new Monti Carlo pulled in next to me and the woman passenger whipped open her door so had it hit mine and actually put made my car rock slightly. I looked at her and she me and in a smug voice she said; "Oh, I'm sorry" and walks off!! ..:mad::mad::mad: BLAAAH!!! blood boiling foaming at the mouth mad again at this point!!!

Back then no one locked their cars often and there was this brand new Monti Carlo with the windows down. I reached over and grabbed a gallon of fresh milk that I had just bought and poured it's entire contents all over the nice cloth seats, front and back, and also included the carpets, I didn't want to leave anything out!!

A hot July day, cloth seats, carpet, and sound dampening, and a gallon of milk.... I wondered what that car smelled like in a day or two....

Now I'm not suggesting that anyone do what I did but your story did bring back a couple of memories.....

[Nick McKees37]

Several years ago I woke up, went outside to grab something out of my car only to realize that the entire length of my car had been side swiped.....in my own driveway. Before calling the police I called my dad, who I lived with at the time, and he told me his wife accidentally scraped down the side of my car when she left for work. She wasn't paying attention as she backed out of the driveway, and didn't notify me right then and there because she didn't want to wake me up. :applause:

After the car spent a week at the body shop and all was taken care of, I was at Lowe's one day and I walked out to my car and this guy was leaning over, on my fender, writing a check. Not only was he using my fender as a table, but it was just a check and not the check book - no cushion at all. Without me saying a word, he started apologizing and assured me there was no damage. He must have seen the look on my face and knew I was the owner! :nomore:

It happens. :(

[chris11le]

I think the only check anyone should be writing on my car is for payment if they happen to ding/dent/scratch it :)

My story: my new G37 that I take uber precautions with. Park only in certain spots (at the end of a row to minimize the amount of people that can park next to me), etc. Going great for the first couple months.

Then I washed it. No marring introduced, Autopia would be proud!! Oh whats that? A few drops of water on the roof? No problem just reach a little higher.....hey look the zipper from my jacket just put a nice scratch in the door. UGH!

I still dont know if its better or worse that I was the person to put my first scratch in the car.

[ScubaCougr]

he started apologizing and assured me there was no damage.

My reply: Correct, because I haven't started in on you yet.

People like this are undoubtedly why there's a 5 day waiting period.

[jbgrant]

(To fuel the conversation a bit)

You can take every precaution out there, but when it comes down to it you can't use your car as a daily grocery getter and not expect to accrue door dings over the years any more than you can hope to never get caught in a freak hail storm (depending on your climate of course) or hit by a rock two-hundred feet behind a harmless looking honda civic (for example). It certainly sucks every time it happens; I'm just suggesting that city parking lots, street parking, and busy highways are no place for a museum piece. We love our cars because they are often the most functional pieces of beauty in our lives (girlfriend/wife aside), but I would argue we are perhaps a little too attached when we allow ourselves to actually get mad at the world for delivering the inevitable. This would of course be easier to deal with if we all had a barn of “museum pieces” waiting for us when we get home from work, but unfortunately (and perhaps fortunately) most of us won’t ever make that a life priority.



The best solution for me is a dedicated daily driver econo box that actually reduced my overall insurance bill and keeps my need to remove and install bolts and change fluids satisfied (but that’s another issue for another day).



Door dings #!@!@#$% suck, but don't let them shorten your life!

[ScubaCougr]

you can't use your car as a daily grocery getter and not expect to accrue door dings over the years !

Accidents happen, I've bumped cars myself especially in tight spaces. It's the people who fling the door open and fail to apologize or even feel guilty that make me all road ragey.

Too many have forgotten they're not alone in the world and a little courtesy goes a long way.

[maximus20895]

One reason I don't like washing or detailing my car is that I can then see all the new dents and scratches people put on it even when I park 20 spaces down!

[clm65]

Once, back in 1973, I took my brand new Monte Carlo to the grocery store. It was a nice July day and I had my windows open. I came out of the store to find that someone had just dumped milk all over my nice cloth seats! (J/K!!)

Seriously though, I got a nice door ding on my truck when it was about 3 months old. Damn strip mall parking lots that dont have enough parking spaces to stay clear of the inconsiderate a*holes. So I feel your pain too.