Lore

So I dropped my 04 TL at Oakland Acura today so they could fix the 4 rattles that have come up in the past month (I have made it a regular habit to go to Oakland Acura once a month to take care of rattles... pathetic, I know).

I argued for a loaner TL so I could get some errands taken care of, so I went to Costco, bought some stuff, and went to the grocery store to get a few additional items.

What do I see when I get back from the grocery store? Someone scuffed the driver's side rear bumper as they were pulling in, AND wiped it down so none of the paint would show! What an :ar15: :ar15: :ar15: ass! Of course, it was hit and run, so I'll be responsible for the damage.

I am soooo pissed off. The dealer's going to get an estimate on the damage, but my guess tells me it'll be about $250-$350 depending on how much of the original bumper paint they'll have to sand off and redo.

NBP04TL4ME

That sux. I can't believe they spent the time to clean the paint off thinking it would be less noticable. Might have been worthwhile to ask around to see if anyone saw anything.

Sorry!

Lore

I thought it might have been the car next to me, but upon looking at their car, it was too low to have hit the TL where it did. My guess is they pulled in, hit the car, and panicked and parked somewhere else...

I did the same thing a few years ago, but I actually left a note with my information so they could get it repaired under my insurance. However, the other party was so happy that I left my information instead of doing a hit and run that they told me they weren't going to get it fixed since it would have been $400.

Mylriahd

Its a crappy situation, but far better than your TL, right? I hate the feeling of... violation when that kind of crap happens; its worse when its something your particularly proud of.

Xpditor

I'm so paranoid about parking my TL in a parking lot OR on the street, that I photograph the cars in front, back, and each side in case something like that happens, I will have a record of the car and the tag number. If it's OK when I return, I just erase the pics from the digital camera.

If it's not alright, and the paint on my car matches one of the cars I photographed, it's either the cops or vigilante justice. :ar15:

In your case, that wouldn't have helped.

nking54580

was some of the other cars paint on your bumper. Was there a dent etc. If not then you should have just tried some compound. I'm almost sure it would have taken the paint off.

Lore

You know, I used to do that too -- I'd write down the license plate number and color of the cars next to me... but then I stopped because it was taking too much time!

nking54580: No, there was no dent or paint on the loaner TL, so I couldn't trace it to any car in the nearby area. The car next to me was an old red convertible type car and was far too low to hit my car where it got hit. My guess is an SUV pulled up too close. By the way, it wasn't that the other car's paint was on the loaner. They chipped off 3 areas of paint from the loaner.

I need to talk to the Service Manager on Monday to work something out. This is so frustrating. That's cash I wanted to save to buy a home, and now I have to fork it over because of a stupid sonofa...

04tlnbppar

I could definitely feel your pain Hopefully, the paint work won't cost too much (better to spend that money for body kits, spoiler etc., doesn't it?).

JoganJani

That sux Lore. It's a relief that it was not your TL though. See if the grocery parking lot have a camera somewhere. You can request the security company to find out who did it.

Hal

That's 3 bad stories that I've heard about Costco parking lots on this board. Geez.. wtf is it with people?

nking54580

damn man that really sucks but as someone said at least it wasn't your TL.

zexi

DON'T park your car anywhere but Away from the rest of the uncaring, jealous public. I always park away from everyone else. The one time I did park in crowded lot , I got a nice ding on the passamger door. It sucks but owning a nice car is a tough ....

kosh2258

I just had that happen on mine.

About a 12 - 18" scuff on the passenger side rear bumper, rubbed the paint off right down to the plastic in several spots, but, thankfully no other damage.

In my case a witness saw who did it so the other guy's insurance had to pay for it. :hitit:

The total to do the repairs on mine came to $423.60.

Also thankfully the repair work was flawless, not a trace that it ever happened.

Pot80h

That sucks - I hope the other guy gets his in some spectacular fashion.

3 weeks after I got my 02TL, the rear bumper was rammed by shopping carts in Sams Club's lot, leaving 8 1-inch-long gouges across the back and popping a side cleat. I had parked miles away from anyone, uphill from all the carts. I believe that it was the cart jockeys employed by the store, from the way they behaved. No recompense from the store as I had no proof.

It cost me about $350 to have the gouges and paint fixed, which I paid cash for (less than my deductible).

marquis

Lore, you might want to check at Costco to see if they have any sort of camera coverage in the parking lot and see if you can get the bastard caught on tape.

TLGator

You are frightening me.

mobilezen

There could've been fingerprints on your rented TL.

Lore

I'm sorry - I should have clarified that it was NOT at Costco, but actually at the Ranch 99 supermarket plaza that is right by the Costco. I went from the Costco to the supermarket and was gone for all of 15 minutes when it happened.

Agh ... yes, there might have been fingerprints, but who's going to lift them and scan them in the database for me? It's okay, I'll just work it out with the dealer. Hopefully the service manager will take some pity on me - he's been EXTREMELY helpful in the past few months with the rattles, Turanza tires, etc, so I doubt he'll try to screw me for an extra few pennies. But $423 for the bumper? Yikes.

kosh2258

The biggest reason for the $423 price tag is that the bumper cover has to come off to make the repairs. Materials are like $80 of it, the rest labor.

As it was explained to me by the body shop the close tolerances of the fit between the cover and the body makes it difficult to do the repair on the car. If they mask at the body and taillights there's a visible ridge left in the gap from spraying the paint and clearcoat. In order to avoid that they remove the cover. It was the same thing at each body shop I went to for estimates. Nobody recommended doing the repair with the cover on the vehicle.

Xpditor

I'm not talking to you, Stripe Hater!

TLGator

:lol1:

Truthfully I hope you know by now I have no problem with your pinstripes, and I respect the fact you don't give a flip whether anyone else likes them or not! You do what you like! Amen to you brother!

By the way when are you getting the BSM's installed?

gangus76

Hey man, I'm sorry to hear about that.

You have me spooked now-as I am picking up a loaner for them to redo my headliner (2nd time in 2 months...ugh!)

One month after owning my black 6 speed- when parked on the side of the road-some wonderful human being took a huge gouge out of my front left side.

Oddly enough there was no note left on my car.
Wonderful world we live in eh?

At least it's good to know that there are a few of us out there who
do leave notes if they scratch someones car.

Best of luck to you.

G

Xpditor

Never! I DO have some regard for the classic lines of the TL. The pinstipe is pretty obscure. You can't even see it from 30' away as it follows the "break" in the body panels/doors. The painter did an excellent job. Now, the BSM's are another story. I would love the protection but I'm not willing to pay the artistic price.

I've been busy trying to invent something temporary and portable for those times when you just HAVE to park your car in a lot and you KNOW they're just waiting for you- those blue-haired condo commandos with the Lincoln Town Cars (Cartier Edition with the fake convertable top).

I've learned to stay away from 2-dr models because their doors are HUGE- esp. the Lincolns, Cads, etc.

So, I came up with two things: the first one is a spray foam that is car colored and expands into a 2" buffer wherever you spray it. Then, it peels off, leaving only a slight wax residue which buffs right off. This stuff already exists.

The second one is a guy named "Vito" :smokin: with a set of brass knuckles and an attitude. Or maybe I'll ask that chubby guy with the butt prints if he needs a job.

Lore

I'll find out tomorrow what the service manager wants to do. Hopefully he'll take it easy on me, or else I'll be knocking on my insurance company's door for some extra cash.

Does anyone know if filing a claim on the comprehensive portion of the insurance is bad for your premiums?

Pot80h

Now there's a question! It depends on the company. Each has their own policy (erk, bad pun!). Whenever someone makes a claim, it gets recorded and they look at the loss runs at the time of renewal to see what kind of a risk you are. I had a bad accident a few years ago, and my premiums did go up, but only after renewal.

If you have an idea of the cost to repair and you have a good agent, I'd talk to him and see which he thinks will be lower. Bear in mind that premiums go up for tons of other reasons that just your driving history and claims record. Seems like they never come down! In the end, you may end up paying more from the higher premiums over a couple of years than just paying the amount in cash.

gregtomash

About two years ago, when I had a 2000TL loaner because of a transmission job, I had the rear bumper damaged pretty badly at the parking lot. My Acura dealer (Sunnyside Acura, Nashua NH) told me that it would be unfair to charge me anything given the trouble I am going through now (that was my second tranny replacement). Choose the right dealer!!!

Lore

Just called the Service Manager; he says that he's going to get a paint guy to take a look at the car and give him an estimate, and at that time I can make a decision as to how I want to take care of it.

He says he's going to get an estimate for airbrushing it, because that's "cheapest." If the price comes back as excessive I'm going to take the car into my own body shops for estimates.

We'll see...

Infamous425_RENAMED

that happened to me before except my car was hit on the driver side door and it happened at work by a stupid bi tch who cant park. she tried that backing out and parking in another spot but luckily i had 3 witnesses

KilroyR1

I never take loaners. My wife and I have 2 motorcycles, 2 cars and 1 POS 1989 Chevy S-10 pickup for trips to Cosco and Home Depot. That's what I use when something ends up in the shop.

Don

gangus76

Hey Infamous,

Sorry for the Grease reference, but that is exactly how my nightmares have it how the scratch on my front bumber went down:

Some beeeiiittch trying to park in her minivan whilst gabbing to her girlfriend on the cel phone- and then driving away after she hit my car.


Please expand on the sweetness of revenge that is busting such said perpetrator with the witnesses- I was not as fortunate. and need some closure

G

Sherlock

My TL got hit 4 days after I bought it.. a-hole who was paralleled behind me took off the left rear corner when he pulled out of his spot, of course no note, chicken sh!t.

Can't stand people who can't own up to anything.