silverTL6

iTrader: (2)

Upon returning home tonight, I noticed one of my good-for-nothing roommate's friends had parked their car directly in front of the garage door. Seeing as there was no way I could park in the garage, I decided to park temporarily across the street. Bad move right there. Hours later, I finally see the other car leave, so I go out to move the car inside the garage. That's when I see the damage...

Damage description:

* Bright orange paint splattered multiple times over the entire front passenger door, with strays splatters on front passenger window, rear right passenger door, and front passenger-side rim and tire. My guess is that this was done with a paintgun, but never having owned or seen one in action, I can't be sure.

* Three dents in the rear right passenger door, each about 1-2mm deep. Two are circular in shape, the other being more of a 1-inch gash. My guess is that this was caused by rocks thrown deliberately at the door, or some other blunt, hefty object. The dents are too big to have been caused by BB's, so I've ruled out BB guns. Any chance a paintgun could also do this?

Needless to say, I'm so pissed I could murder someone. But I'm trying to keep my head straight and figure out a sensible plan of action. I definitely don't want to pay for repairs out of my own pocket, since I'm 99.9% sure someone who knows me (i.e., one of my roommate's bastard friends) intentionally did this to get back at me for not wanting them around the house. Keep in mind that the people I'm dealing with are low-life, high school dropouts who have nothing better to do than throw lemons at each other and practice "fighting" in the backyard (I'm not kidding).

This is mainly just to help me defuse, but any advice on how to go about resolving this (or even fixing some of the damage) would be GREATLY appreciated. I apologize for any bad language, but I'm so furious I can barely sleep or eat...

campIIIMAF

man that sucks. I'd file a police report. people who do this are so lame and so friken jealous

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

Burn them ... burn them all (says the leprechaun on your shoulder)

silverTL6

iTrader: (2)

I suspect this was motivated more by revenge than jealousy. The way the damage was done looks intentional. This was definitely also done by someone on foot, as the damage is ONLY on the right side of the car, making it impossible for a passing car to do this.

My roommate's idiotic friends also fit the profile of someone who doesn't own a car and walks around causing trouble in the middle of the night. Problem is that I have no hard evidence to prove this, even though the finger of guilt points entirely in their direction. I fear this may also cause any police reports to be filed in vain.

Oswald Vater

I understand your frustration and feel bad for you. I definitely would get a police report. Be careful if you try to remove the paint yourself; you don't want to damage the finish. For the dents, I might try one of those DIY kits like dingking or paintless dent removal to keep the cost down. Also get some estimates to see if damages exceed your deductible so you know whether or not to even file a claim. Whether you knew the person(s) responsible or not, this is a warning to all of us that this time of year there are many "mischief makers" about and we need to keep our cars inside as much as we can. Hope you get your car looking like new again. This too will pass.

Brewmaster

SilverT6 is right, sounds like they know you and were out for your car. Find out if your roommates' buddies have paintball guns, it may be time to give your roommate the heave-ho.

silverTL6

iTrader: (2)

I'm not so sure paintless dent removal can fix this. The gouges are so severe that they've damaged the paint - another reason I believe they were caused by some high-impact shooting device. I think the car will need to visit a body shop, unfortunately.

UglyPsycho

from the sounds of it, it seems like paintball marks. my brothers prelude got hit with a orange paintball about last year and it left about a 3mm dent.

J RIDE 81

Sorry to hear this. I would be just as angry as you. If I was in your shoes I would start investigating. Though your chances are low, I would try to find out who did this. Also file a police report and claim it on insurance. Sounds as if the repairs won't be cheap. AND FINALLY, FIND A DIFFERENT ROOMMATE! G'luck!

@cUr@-TL

sorry about that man, find out who did that to ur car and em

havokgroup

Sorry to hear about your car. I hope it won't cost too much to get everything fixed.

You should look into getting a new room-mate if the current one has friends like this. Next time, I would ask them to move the car out or give you the keys so you can do it. If that's not done..than call a tow truck and get it out of the way.

Hawhyen51

Silver, sorry to hear about what happened to your car. Unfortunately the damage is already done. What I would do is file a report with the cops and then call your insurance agent. It should be covered under comprehensive. Finally, time for some new housemates and maybe find a different neighborhood. You got tagged once, chances are it will probably happen again.

Ron A

This is one thread that definitely does NOT need pictures.

I am sick at the thought of what they did to your car, and can only guess at your discomfort.

I hope you can get it fixed to your satisfaction. As said above, this should come under the comprehensive part of your insurance, which sometimes has a lower deductible than the collision part.

rifleman-cl

Sorry to hear what happened.... Leaving circular marks are from a paintball gun....Leaving a deep mark indicates it was shot directly on the street to the car or (from a window). Remember paintball guns have a velocity of 250-300 psi. I know cause I own a semi-auto paint ball gun & we must chrono the gun to meet psi requirements. You can image getting hit from a paintball that leaves marks on your body even not at close range.

F23A4

I'm getting angry just reading this. Silver, if you find out that it was your roommate's friend, tell the prick to come out to NJ and try that on my Maxima; he may fly out here in coach but I guarantee he'll fly back (to San Jose) in cargo (specifically a wooden box).

mobilezen

Jealous people. They take the bus, you have a nice car, they will try to do anything to make themselves feel better about their low lives. When I was living in an apartment complex, I started fixing up my accord. That night when I was thinking about moving back home to help out my parents, I was thinking how bad it would suck if my car got keyed. Woke up the next morning for work, sure enough, trunk and rear bumper were keyed ... needless to say I moved back that weekend.

cvajs

x10 video cams to a protected time lapse vcr or digital vtr unit. i don't have the x10 cams, but i do have multiple cams around my house.

JoganJani

Silver sorry to hear this? Where in San Jose are you? I'm in the bay too. As people said earlier, I think this will be out of some personal hatred may be. I'll say ask around the hood to find out who plays paintball and you might have a suspect. I'll say call the cops ASAP and insurance will cover this, less your deductibles though.

terse

you should buy a new car and toss this one away

Dr.Murdock

Wow. I got nauseous and dizzy reading this post. What a low life scum whoever was responsible.

This is what I would do:
Get the car fixed as fast as possible, just fixing the most obvious damage. Park the car in the same place and each night, go stay inside the car all night - make sure no1 sees you. Hopefully if those idiots see that your car was fixed so quickly, they will decide to vandalize it again. As soon as they start, you come running out your car with a bat. They will have no time to run because they will be frozen with fear. Then take a bat and smash their f*cking heads open so their dirty brain falls out. Then go into their wallet and take the pennies they got in it, but more importantly take their ID so you find out their full name and can hopefully find out where his parents live so you can send his brains to his family in a small soup dish. Then cut their necks open and rip their heart out through their throat. The last thing I would do is find out if the roommate knew who did this to the car but wouldn't say who it was. If he hid the truth from me, I would break him arms and legs by stepping on them with my foot and bending it the opposite way its supposed to move with my arm. I would then cut his tongue off since he sees that it’s unimportant to tell people things. Lastly, I would make him eat his friends' hearts raw and uncooked. If he vomited, I would make him vomit into a bowl and make him eat it again until it’s all gone. After doing this, I would feel real good knowing that I punished them and treated them like the animals they are. Any price to pay would be worth having this feeling.

J RIDE 81

^--- I would not mess with this guy LOL

quattrodude

Better yet, get all of us together, you can be inside say watching TV, as your roommates buddy comes back to hit your car again, about 50 of us can be there with paintbal guns and return the favor, that way you cannot be blamed as you were inside and not aware of what was going on.

(Hummm, wonder if they make paintballs with mace in them?)

But for now, just put some Visin(clear eyes) in their food(like a few DROPS is all), that will give them stomach craps for days!!!

But you did not hear that from me...

SouthernBoy

Take your time. Find out who is responsible. And take some serious revenge.

silverTL6

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for all the replies - it's great to see all the support.

After visiting a few bodyshops in the area, it looks like the damage will be approx $600-700 to refinish the dented door. One shop recommended I try paint thinner to remove the paint, so I tested this on the dented door (which needs to be repainted anyway), and the orange splatters came right off. I can't say whether or not the clearcoat was damaged, but it's pretty damn hard to tell the difference.

Anyway, long story short, I've let my roommate off the hook (for now). Turns out several cars nearby were also hit, so it seems to be a completely random attack. Neighbors indicate that a silver van circled the neighborhood several times last night, but that wasn't enough of a lead for the police.

Oswald - that's great advice for everyone. KEEP YOUR CARS PARKED INDOORS !!

Ron - Unfortunately my comprehensive deductible is no less than my collision ded. ($500), so I'm thinking of skipping insurance altogether. I'm actually worried that filing a claim will result in an "accident" notification on my Carfax report, and possibly increased premiums.

JoganJani - I live in the South Bay (border of San Jose / Milpitas). Any recommendations on a good but inexpensive bodyshop? I'm a bit leery of shops that can't match paint worth %$@#

Dr.Murdock - Thanks for the tips on revenge Apparently a guy down the street had the same mindset as you, and broke the arms and legs of some kid that he caught vandalizing cars a few yrs ago. Needless to say, he got arrested for that, but an eye for an eye, ya know?

Dr.Murdock

Its great to hear of someone that thinks like me. Im sure he felt real good at the time he was breaking his arms and legs, and even after he got arrested he probably felt real good, i know i would have. To look the vandal right in the eye and give him a cold look. Never again will he think about vandalizing other people's property.

I do have a rage within me, but i can easily control it unless something ignorant happens or the ignorance of people is involved, which pisses me off a lot. Not too long ago, i took a walk down the block to pick something up from the neighbor and when i returned i found the words "Please clean me" on my window. Landscaping and digging was being done on both sides of my house by the neighbors, so i didnt bother cleaning the car at all since it would get dirty right away. I do have a remote garage where i will store my TL in the winter, but since i drive it each day thees no point to put it there when its safely in my driveway - or so i thought. Well back to the story... as soon as i saw those letters written there by tracing the finger over the dust on the window, i felt a terrible rage overcome me. I know, big deal that someone wrote that on my dusty NBP, but what really enraged me was the thought that someone would have the balls to come into my driveway in broad daylight and write somethnig on my car. If they could have done that, they could do anything to it. I was real mad and got into my car and began driving down the street looking for anyone that was walking since theyt could not have gone far since i was gone for 30 seconds. Good thing my neighborhood is a dead place for walkers. Eventually i calmed down and my anger went away. I walked inside my home and there was my cousin, thinking im a sick maniac. He was the one who wrote it on the window, and even left his name on the bottom. I just got too mad and didnt pay attention to any of that, and just began to look for someone to yell at. At least i had good reason to be mad since there were a bunch of schoolkids walking around my neighborhood.

savageTL

I think you mean FPS not PSI (Feet per second not pounds per square inch). A chrono measure velocity ie FPS not pressure.

As to the topic, police report and insurance claim. Taking the law into your own hands hotugh initially satisfying usually causes heartburn later. However, you can try to be more careful (hard in the situation) and possibly use cams if you think it will happen again, like after roomie gets kicked to the curb.

Vandy