aks2014

Hi,

This is my first real post, and an unfortunately sad one for me..

I just got my new IS350 F Sport less than a month ago, and took so much care of it, only to find this afternoon someone had keyed my car from the front light all the way along the side to the tail light. Some parts of the scratch is realy deep and wide.. flakes of paint were everywhere along the scratch..

I almost cried (no joke), as this is a gift to myself after working tirelessly for years and was the first gift to myself in my life.

I called the insurance and of course will get it fixed, but I have no idea how body shops fix these kind of scratches. The scratch is pretty darn deep and wide and long, and I doubt just touch ups will be sufficient (nor do i want just touch ups). I'm hoping they will repaint the whole thing. I do not want any trace of the scratch...

Does anyone have any experience in getting fixed something like this? Let me know your experiences. Appreciate your inputs!

drbazing

Damn where did you get keyed? I think the bigger problem is if someone is targeting your car specifically, they'll just do it again. I'm thinking they would repaint the panels and doors.

aks2014

Thanks for the input.

It was in the apartment parking lot between 11pm last night and 5pm this afternoon. I worked through the night from home to finish a project, then came out to go grab dinner to find the scratch... I know its between those times, because I do a walk around of my car every time i get in and out of the car...

In case someone really is targeting, I'm considering renting a garage from the apartment... I should've from the beginning..

And I'm gonna consider getting a dash cam with motion sensor...

I'm really hoping they repaint the doors and the quarter panels... T.T

IS1911

I'm very sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, there's no quick fix for this. Each panel is going to have to be sanded, primed, painted, blended and cleared. It's not cheap and I hate to tell you this but it will never look exactly the same as factory unless you go to a world class custom painter and he re-paints the entire car. No insurance company is going to pay for that.

Your post reminded me of a similar situation that happened to me many years ago. When I was in my mid 20's I managed a teen nightclub/entertainment center in NJ. Some of the kids started a fight and I tossed them out. They got even with me by keying my month old RX-7 from front to back on both sides. Fortunately, I was able to blackmail some of their friends into rating them out and I pressed charges. They were all minors so their parents had to shell out almost $4000 which was the cost of painting my entire car but it was still never quite the same after that and I wound up trading it in.

dasbuch

Well if there's anything good that can be said is that a douche-key job doesn't show up on a carfax report. In other words if you get it repaired from a decent shop, you might be able to see the difference in certain light, but 99% of other people will never know it happened, and it's not like it decreases value on resell/tradein etc. A decent collision shop will be able to get it to the point where only you will know, so don't let it eat at you.

On a slightly different note, I think cars that are in the $45k+ range are meant for folks that have already moved beyond the apartment stage in their life. I don't mean that in any sort of insulting way, but when you are parking a nice car among college kids, 20 some things, or just folks who will never amount to anything, they are likely to key you purely out of jealousy, and if they don't do it their destined-to-be-nobodies kids will damage it eventually just from being stupid and careless. A garage is the only real answer for most folks.

Trish67

I'm so sorry to hear that! Especially when you've worked so hard for it.

Out of curiosity, what's the color of your car?

aks2014

That's a good point. I am in my 20's, but I (thankfully) am fortunate enough to be able to afford the car and also buy a house if I want. I just chose not to buy a house because 1. I just moved to a new town, 2. I'm not married and don't wanna live in a house by myself (considering buying a townhouse or something and renting it out). So no offense taken.

But I do understand your point garage is the only answer in my situation. I just thought that my apartment complex being a more family oriented community (mostly i see well-behaved families, many with decent to nice cars some being BMW / Caddy / Lexus / Audi / MB etc), I thought maybe I dont need one. Well... lessons learned..



Mine is Nebula Grey Pearl. It just sucks cos I really really really like this paint job... lesigh

goshawk823

Someone at work scraped my passenger side door with the very edge of their door. No dent, so the repair from this small scrape was to remove mirror, door handle, door edge guard, sand, paint, (3 layers, since I have starfire pear) and finish.

That was a $400 repair. Done right, yours is going to be expensive.

A garage is a must have. Unfortunately, there are *******s everywhere, even in nice family neighborhoods.
I hope your car looks like new once it's done.

SC300Es

Sorry to hear this. Unfortunately stuff like this can happen anywhere, you can't just shelter your car from the elements. Most damage to my cars have happened in parking lots while shopping, going to the movies, or just being out and about.

Get it fixed and don't think about it. I know you paid a lot of money for it but it still is just a car. More important things to worry about.

Spagolli94

Years ago, I bought an Audi A4 - it was my first "premium" car and I was so excited to have it. On only the second day, I screwed up a rear ended a Lexus RX300. My front end was smashed, steam was coming out, etc. However, it was not enough damage to total the car. I wondered if my car would ever be the same, both cosmetically and mechanically.

Well, two months later, I got the car back from the body shop. The total bill (which insurance paid) was over $10k. But to my surprise and delight, the car was as good as new. It was literally as good as new. I never had issues with the paint fading or chipping, nor did I ever have any mechanical issues related to the accident or repairs.

So, yeah it sucks. But keep your head up. Assuming you take it to a good body shop, it will be fixed, good as new.

aks2014

Well, I just talk to a guy that lives in the same building, who apparently moved in ~2 weeks ago. He said his car was keyed badly a few days after he moved in too. I didn't ask him if it was in the apartment complex or not, but something's definitely fishy here...

Just talked to the apartment management, and thankfully a garage just opened up right next to me. I'll be renting that garage out once my car comes back from the shop...

And as sad as I may be, being an uber car geek, i'm excited to drive a different car (albeit a rental car) for a little while. lol

daobn24

Damn sorry to hear this dude. One of my fears. Keep us updated on how your card turns out.

Dark9t316

I had the same problem with my Camry many years ago. I have AAA insurance and I filed a police report and claimed it as vandalism. Paid my $100 deductible and got the trunk, and two rear fenders repainted at a cost of $1400 to the insurance company. Because it was considered vandalism, it did not affect my insurance premiums, also I negotiated my deductible back from the shop.

aks2014

Fixed! 99% like new

Took a while because I couldn't pick it up for 1.5 weeks due to a business trip.. Insurance was very nice in allowing me an extra 1.5 weeks of rental car.

The car lives in a garage now and now has a roof and a door (other than its own). Man, having a garage really puts your mind at ease!

jbkhat303

Did you have the car resprayed or touched up?