jeffie7

I washed the Acura TL sunday, dried with a towel and as always I check for any dings, scratches or anything that might have happened that week so I can fix them... fast foward to tuesday. I park at safeway and walk into the booz store to pick up some good stuff. 5 mins later I come out and as soon as I walk to my car I can see that someone has hit the door with their door. they left a good 14-16" worth of paint scuffs on my door. it looks like its just their paint so it should come off easy. sure enough a simple buffing removed it. 2 days later (tonight) I walk out to my car and sure enough I see that someone has nailed the same spot on the door but this time chipping the paint down to the base, it was so bad I used my finger nail to remove the lose paint around the chip. Its also very slightly cresed the door in that area. with out having an eye for knowing how to look for things like that you wouldnt notice.

but still. twice in 2 days! come F-in on! I just sanded down the spot and I'm applying touch up paint then once that drys I'll sand it back down and buff it out to a shine.

PITA since I just buffed/rewaxed that door all of 2 days ago.

Bah

On top of that I always make a point to park in spots that have lots of room or are far away so no one else parks next to me. I'm bad to the point that when I get out if Im not straight I'll get back in and adjust my park job.

STILL twice in 2 days I had some asshat... oh bah

Drunkenmunky23

damn sucks bro.

see if you can invest in a beater.

jeffie7

This is my beater lol.

even if it wasnt my beater I would still have to drive it everynow and then. I go out of my way to park in safe areas.... its just a matter of luck.

05TLTony

Many people do not have respect for other people's property! What goes around, comes around. They'll eventually get their's!

alexkcha

One thing I do that drives my wife nuts. We go to Borders/grocery store or where ever early in the morning when we're the first one's there. The parking lot is completely empty and I still park in the farthest spot. Because you know if you park somewhere near the front doors, the next car that parks is gonna park right next to you. The result, no door dings (knock on wood).

kkltam

The problem is that those as*&oles probably don't give a flying f%#k about their own stuff anyways and that's why they have sh^t. Better to just stay as far away as possible from them.

crazymjb

Maybe this is twisted but when I park next to a nice car(in any car) I put my hand on the door ege as to not ding their door. The reason somebody would just go about disrespecting someones property like that is beyond me. If I ever saw someone else do that and leave, Id leave the plates for whoevers car they hit.

Mike

elee712

take two spots if you can

datmrman

That sucks man.

This is the reason why I have BSMs and still park far away from everyone. I've been lucky so far.

Good luck with the repairs! I would be pissed too.

jeffie7

Worst advice ever!

This is only ASKING for it.

I've heard way to many horror stories about people taking 2 spots.
from spray paint to people just simply kicking in the side of the door.

elee712

hmm...how about taking an end space and parking towards the outer edge?

I take two spots all the time just cuz of the idiots that swing their doors open with no regard. Of course I use judgement and if the lot of almost full, i'll refrain from doing that

i'd rather just park farther and walk.

TorontoR

You can't prevent an asshole for parking next to you, worst thing you can do is double park. Some idiot would try and squeeze in anyway.

My suggestion would be to minimize the chance for someone to park next to you by exposing only one side of your car (like next to a median as such that there isn't a parking spot on one side of you). Then you would be at 50% risk.

Another suggestion would be those damn minivans have huge blind spots behind then, try not to park in a spot where you can be backed into. Our cars aren't exactly 'short' so try and park as close to the curb up front (or even over it if it is short enough).

neutronics33

Yeah i hate when that happens..so I just got my TL about 1 month ago, well when I boought it, the owner scratched up the back bumper so I got it repainted. So everything was looking brand new. Well yesterday, I parked at work and when i came home i noticed someone pulled in too close to my car and scratched the hell out of the back bumper, so now i have to get it repainted again...f*uckin a

yeahh i think imma park far away from everyone else now but at work, parking is limited so its still hard to park away from everyone =/

Drunkenmunky23

has anyone made use of the "Titanium Package" that Acura offers, which covers the tires/rims and dings/dents for 5yrs that haven't been caused by normal wear and tear?

i they wont repaint, but at least they take out dings/dents....

Xpditor

I look for a parking place away from the entrance and the last spot in a series with the curb/median on the right. I pull in tight to that right curb to give as much room on the driver's side as possible between me and a car that might park there. I will also park slightly diagonal within my marked space, with my rear end closer to the space on the left to discourage them cuddling up to me. That way, my wheels are turned to the right and, if I bump the curb, it's tire and not wheel.

By choosing this spot, I have cut the odds considerably. More than half of the cars parking in that lot will be driver only cars. Since I am on their right (unless they back in), their door will be opening on the other side of me. This alone is about a 50% reduction in exposure. Then, because nobody is able to park on my right (vulnerable) side, another reduction in exposure. There is an inherent reduction by parking away from the entrance. Collectively, I don't have any dings after 27 months (knock on plood).

Another tip: if you have to park next to another car, look for a small four door. Never a big, older American 2 door. Their doors are twice as long and reach out a good foot or foot and a half more than the doors, front or rear, on a compact 4 dr.

I have considered making and selling magnetic foam moldings that you can plunk on if you have to park in a bad spot. I haven't figured out how you keep ppl from stealing them, though.

My best defense is to take my Jeep Wrangler. With the rubber fender extensions, wide tires, and the tubular "running boards" and bumpers, if you hit it with your door, your door is going to get damaged. But you can't even reach any body panels on it with a door. I park that bad boy right next to the front door.

Mnkybiznes

Take TWO spots and you're just begging to get more than a "ding". .......

Mnkybiznes

One more tip .....

Seems many people think it's a better thing to park next to/border a handicap space. Have you ever noticed how the majority of the HC drivers SWING the door wide open when getting out? Many times it isn't on purpose, but DAMN.

I'll hike the distance of the parking lot to avoid and future bodywork. There has only been one occasion where I parked clear of anyone/anything only to find that someone had rammed a shopping cart into my door ..... just two days after bringing it out of storage.

themathguy

Dude, I HATE it when people take more than one spot, even in a half-empty lot. I have been known to park about 3 inches to the left of someone who's parked in more than their space, so that they can't get into their vehicle by the driver's side. A couple of times of having to climb in the passenger side to get in, and they'll pay more attention to their parking!

Xpditor

Elee:

Around these parts, people that take two spots are saying: "I'm more important than you. My car is better than yours"

Here, 2 spots = keying

Almost guaranteed.

elee712

wow! I thoughy floridians were generally laid back happy people..

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

My friends hate when I drive to the store. I will intentionally park in the back of the lot where there are no vehicles. I don't mind the walk, if I'm not in a hurry its good to be as active as possible anyways. Those 300 extra steps in the day might extend your life expectancy!

DMZ

I've often found that even if you park out in deep left center field away from almost (if not) everyone else as I usually do, sometimes some dickhead will park right next to you anyway. Too many people out there have no respect for each other's property.

Time for body side mouldings! I even have them covered with TWO layers of 3M paint protection film (clear bra material) to boot. I live in NYC and park in a PACKED garage and so far, my doors are 100% ding free!

And to make sure I don't ding someone else's door, I have custom cut 3M door edge guard stripping running up and down the entire edge of all 4 doors top to bottom. It's pliable providing a cushioning effect when an open door hits something. Additionally, I have it installed along the entire bottom edge of both front doors in case I park next to an extra high curb. I also have custom 3M fenderwell trims installed as well.

In today's world, you can't take chances!
.
.
.

gurneyeagle

Tony :>) :

You da' man!

gurney

leedogg

I just want to coat my car with a couple layers of ppf so it's impervious to everything.

Fyi, those of you who park furthest away, if your with somebody else, consider dropping them off first before you park. You get chivalry/consideration brownie points and less nagging.

Will Y.

Good advice. I also park in the back 40 of parking lots or on the street if I can. In SoCal, few people choose the free parallel street parking next to parking lots!
The worst areas are shopping center and theater garages where the "standard" spaces are really narrow, and half the urban population drive full-size SUVs to go buy a shopping bag of clothes or see a movie. Then the trick is to go to the rooftop uncovered parking or take your chances.
I just hate it when I park on the rooftop 8 empty spaces away from everyone else, come out a half hour later and find that the only other spot taken is the one next to mine where driver has decided to park 6 inches from my driver's side door in a Ford Navigator. No passenger in SUV (paperwork and stuff on passenger side seats), but why park next to me??!

levon1830

Many Floridians are. However, people move here from ALL over the country, so you won't run into many people that were born and raised here. And that's not to say there aren't some mean, nasty natural-born Floridians out there as well.

To the OP, sorry that happened to your car. At least you possess the know-how to correct the problem yourself without having to come out of pocket to pay someone else to do it.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and nice beater car!

Bo_Darville

i think this is your problem right here

BG74

I went to eat at the Outback a few weeks ago and I intentionally parked as far away as possible where there were literally NO other cars. When I came out, there was a POS old Saturn parked so close that there's no way I could open my door. Just as I was going around the passenger side, two punk teenagers came up to the Saturn. I grabbed the apparent driver by the shirt and yelled at him for a bit. He simply said, "I didn't hit your car, man." He squirmed away from me, jumped in the Saturn and drove off. His buddy jumped in about 20 feet away.

There was no damage to my car, but WTF are people thinking?? A$$holes.

jeffie7

Believe it or not, when you live on your own you do at times need to head to stores like safeway. even more so if you're like myself and cook all the time.

Knock on wood my 350Z is spotless after 30K miles. I always park near a curb and as close as I can get.

I have tons of know how on keeping the car from being hit/scartched. however my TL is my DD and becuase of that I will park at places other then the other side of the store. I will try to find the best most open spot and I will always park as center as I can.

My problem is, jackasses just dont give a damn and wont think twice to hitting your car.

and FYI I've had too many times to count whre I've parked my 350 out in the middle of no where, only to come out and find someone parked right next to me.

happens all the time.


asshats!




*knocks on wood over and over and over and over and over again*

Xpditor

Nice shine.

Do I detect Zaino?

jeffie7

Nah, never used it before. I use a really hard wax on the Z I can't remember the name of it.

PSW

I remember sitting in my car in a shopping mall parking lot while making some phone calls. A lady pulls into the spot next to me, opens her door hard/fast, and scratched the hell out of my pssenger side mirror. I get out, walk over to that side and look at her with death in my eyes. She then proceeds to pick at the scratch wih her fingernails and says that I should be able to buff it out, then walks away. After she left, I was really tempted to dump the rest of my milkshake into her open sunroof...somehow I restrained myself. I'm getting angry just thinking about it again.

TorontoR

Did you exact revenge any other way? Cooler heads prevail but damn, and unfortunately I think if I was in that situation, I would have kicked her door in and say, oops, should buff right out.

jeffie7

I would have called the police and made her pay for it.
she'll know better next time when her "it will buff out" cost a few hundred out of her pocket.

gdfthr

Last week at Best Buy I parked away from everybody. The nearest car was about 15 spaces from my passenger door. When I got back to my car there was a Saturn parked pretty much on top of my passenger door and I was left with a big brown paint mark and a dent. I was so pissed especially when I remembered that he had dent resistant pannels that I snapped off all four of his valve stems. I hate inconsiderate people.

Dooley

wow.. so many angry TL owners...

I try to park WAY away from anyone else... especially since I park at a University. I also try to make it a habit to always park next to a curb so only one side of my car is vulnerable to dents. I also make sure I park exactly in between the lines as well...

And to inconsiderate people.. I was waiting for my take-out food to be finished being packed and I was just watching out the window when I saw a passenger climb into his friends car but while opening the door he just FREELY let it swing open to slam into the car beside it. What a f-ing douche.. I wanted to go out there but there were four guys.. and 4 > 1. Just shows how people can be so inconsiderate.... so sad.

PSW

No, no revenge. If I were 16 again though I probably would've done something utterly senseless, demeaning, and satisfying. I hate being an adult. I just have to tell myself that what goes around comes around. Farkin bltch

JetJock

Guess I've just been lucky picking good parking spots. In 10 years, I have never gotten a ding. I'd never park at a crowded supermarket...if I had to shop, I'd take my beater, or park the TL in the rear of the store where the trucks load...nobody parks back there.

A_UFO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxnV1YekO0

tekageek

Florida. What a place. I've only been here for about 4 years and starting to not like it.
Went to the movie theater with the wife the other night and parked far away. Parked next to an old accord and thought it would be ok. Parking lot was packed and they blocked off a section of parking spaces for valet. Next day I did a once over on my 04 TL and saw the damn scratches on the drivers side right in the corner of the hood near the side mirror. Damn punk must have took a pocket knife and started cutting into the paint then picking at the paint all the way down to the bare metal, there wasn't just one cut but about 15 cuts and one damn small one in the quarter panel!?!?!?!?! :angryfire I just washed and waxed it to! I worked hard for this car and having to see it everytime I open the door is pissing me off. It looks so minor but when you look at it grouped together I can't stand it! You can't seem to own a nice car around here without getting messed with! I know it's not much but I'd really like to get a quote and see how much it's going to cost to get repainted. If I ever see somebody scratch a car intentionally regardless what kind of car it is, I'm going to have to put on my ninja suit and take them by surprise.
What do you guys think? Worth fixing? Such a damn eyesore. I just touched it up with some touch up paint but it's even more noticeable now. I'll post a picture when I can find somebody to host it.