Someone backed into my LS and almost hit-and-run
10-05-17, 02:26 PM
#31
Beater cars are very handy. Have a well worn 4WD truck. Never worried. My older (for this forum) LS 430? Park away from other cars. Ideally shade. Cruise around (or walk farther) if needed. Toying w/ the idea of upgrading to a 460. Sounds like the unreliability stories are limited to the first year of production. Also handy to know that aftermarket control arms now available if needed.
10-05-17, 02:30 PM
#32
Just got the repair estimate for the door dent...a whopping $156! The plan is to try Paintless Dent Repair first. After that, if the paint appears broken then they will need to sand the area and repaint, which will increase cost to insurance.
Since the other party's AAA accepted full liability, I am going through them directly and will utilize a rental after all. After AAA accepted full liability, I got the sense Farmers didn't really want to get involved on my end and, thus, I won't be eligible for $50/day reimbursement that I was going to use to get those security guards some gift cards. I still pan to reward those two security guards on my own dime. I could still insist to have Farmers represent me but I also don't want the claim to cause an increase in my premiums next renewal, even if I wasn't at fault. I posed the premium increase question to my Farmers adjuster and she couldn't give me a straight answer, so I don't want to chance it.
I did learn from the repair shop that the industry doesn't use Bondo anymore. If they have to fill anything then they use some liquid polymer that is more inert and not prone to moisture contamination like Bondo. Hopefully I don't need any kind of filler material. If all goes well then the repair can all be done in one day, barring any need to repaint. I just want to get my car back soon so I can embark on my first real DIY detail job after having researched the Car Care section of CL. Of course, I will possibly need to stay away from the driver's side rear door for a month if it needs to be repainted.
Since the other party's AAA accepted full liability, I am going through them directly and will utilize a rental after all. After AAA accepted full liability, I got the sense Farmers didn't really want to get involved on my end and, thus, I won't be eligible for $50/day reimbursement that I was going to use to get those security guards some gift cards. I still pan to reward those two security guards on my own dime. I could still insist to have Farmers represent me but I also don't want the claim to cause an increase in my premiums next renewal, even if I wasn't at fault. I posed the premium increase question to my Farmers adjuster and she couldn't give me a straight answer, so I don't want to chance it.
I did learn from the repair shop that the industry doesn't use Bondo anymore. If they have to fill anything then they use some liquid polymer that is more inert and not prone to moisture contamination like Bondo. Hopefully I don't need any kind of filler material. If all goes well then the repair can all be done in one day, barring any need to repaint. I just want to get my car back soon so I can embark on my first real DIY detail job after having researched the Car Care section of CL. Of course, I will possibly need to stay away from the driver's side rear door for a month if it needs to be repainted.
10-16-17, 06:39 PM
#33
Racer
Thread Starter
Thanks, tallca. Today was the scheduled Paintless Dent Repair. It only took a few hours and although it is an improvement, I still see a 1.5" crease left. It is admittedly difficult for passersby to see, but I know it's there and obviously see it. My Dad, wife, and daughter couldn't spot it on their own. It bothers me that there is still a remnant of the damage. I want it perfect but, at the same time, don't want them to use a filler or make things worse. At least it is still original paint at this point. I voiced my displeasure, not at the body shop, but mostly my frustration at the situation. The body shop will resubmit a new estimate for additional work and I may just decide to have insurance cut me a check and leave the dent. Sigh.
The crease is tough to spot so the body shop places a clipboard pattern as a backdrop to examine the reflection.
Before
After
Last edited by FatherTo1; 10-16-17 at 06:44 PM.
10-16-17, 06:55 PM
#35
Lexus Fanatic
I see it, and it would bug me too, BUT honestly, I would leave it. So much potential for you to have worse problems from a repainted door, paint match, peel match, it could just potentially be so much worse.
Hurts, but on pretty much every car I've ever owned and loved there is some small damage that I've left as well as it can be repaired without repainting the whole area. I see it all the time, but others don't.
Hurts, but on pretty much every car I've ever owned and loved there is some small damage that I've left as well as it can be repaired without repainting the whole area. I see it all the time, but others don't.
10-17-17, 09:27 AM
#37
Racer
Thread Starter
10-17-17, 01:57 PM
#38
Lexus Fanatic
Gotta take a video of it in the shadows with some reflections...I don't see anything there.
10-17-17, 02:10 PM
#39
Racer
Thread Starter
Had a buddy look at the car earlier, which happened to be in the shade, and he pointed out other knicks and chips until finally pinpointing the correct imperfection. It took him a good minute or two and feeling the door to really see it. It is there, but is tough to spot if you're not familiar with it.
10-17-17, 02:47 PM
#40
Lexus Fanatic
Bright light is better for seeing paint match, low light with reflections is better for seeing dents and dings.
10-17-17, 05:31 PM
#41
If worried about seeing the remnant of the dent now, realize that metallic silver and gray colors are very difficult to match to the degree that the new paint would be undetectable from the adjacent panels in bright sunlight - and you would notice that even more than the dent. Consider the car "broken in", such that any future damage will be easier to accept.
See the thread on parking paranoia - this thread makes my "park waaaay far away and enjoy the walk" condition even worse!
See the thread on parking paranoia - this thread makes my "park waaaay far away and enjoy the walk" condition even worse!
10-17-17, 06:51 PM
#42
Lexus Fanatic
100% agree. Remember Nebula is a pearl color too.
With time it won’t bug you so much
With time it won’t bug you so much
10-17-17, 11:38 PM
#44
Racer
Thread Starter
Thank you, all. Yes, I agree as well, not worth the risk of trying to fix the last 5% to make it better. I would really be unhappy to see mismatched body panels.
I went to the grocery store today and parked in the last spot in the row, away from anyone. I was not in the store more than 15 minutes and when I came out there was a red Ford Focus parked next to me, except it was parked slanted and on the line, very similar to the original Miata that backed into me. I just shook my head and rolled my eyes. How did the person even manage to park slanted when I'm already occupying the adjacent spot, let alone why didn't they move over to a different spot?!? The only left me with what felt like 12-inches to open my driver's side door and squeeze into my car. Just ridiculous. I mean, yes, it happened to be a shaded spot but park straight for Lord's sake! It's not like there were other cars to the immediate left of the Focus where they had to be concerned with having room to exit their car. I am really beginning to become more anti-social with my car, even more so than before.
And today at work, a buddy and I park our A6 and LS away from the majority, all the way towards the back. I was just commenting to myself last week how nice it was that there was an unspoken rule shared amongst some of the employees and we all park in every other spot. I didn't have my phone with me at the time last week but it was nice seeing a row of 7 cars spaced apart in every other parking spot. Then today we started out well in the morning, then I went out to my car at 11am and it's all crowded around our cars! I had to tell my buddy because the same black Cayenne that opened their door and hit his A6 (he suspects) is parked next to his A6 again. Anyways, I will be finding a new deserted area to park from now on. Thank goodness we have an over-abundance of parking at work. I didn't want to resort to it but may start straddling two parking spots like I've seen others do at work. I just didn't want to become "that guy".
I went to the grocery store today and parked in the last spot in the row, away from anyone. I was not in the store more than 15 minutes and when I came out there was a red Ford Focus parked next to me, except it was parked slanted and on the line, very similar to the original Miata that backed into me. I just shook my head and rolled my eyes. How did the person even manage to park slanted when I'm already occupying the adjacent spot, let alone why didn't they move over to a different spot?!? The only left me with what felt like 12-inches to open my driver's side door and squeeze into my car. Just ridiculous. I mean, yes, it happened to be a shaded spot but park straight for Lord's sake! It's not like there were other cars to the immediate left of the Focus where they had to be concerned with having room to exit their car. I am really beginning to become more anti-social with my car, even more so than before.
And today at work, a buddy and I park our A6 and LS away from the majority, all the way towards the back. I was just commenting to myself last week how nice it was that there was an unspoken rule shared amongst some of the employees and we all park in every other spot. I didn't have my phone with me at the time last week but it was nice seeing a row of 7 cars spaced apart in every other parking spot. Then today we started out well in the morning, then I went out to my car at 11am and it's all crowded around our cars! I had to tell my buddy because the same black Cayenne that opened their door and hit his A6 (he suspects) is parked next to his A6 again. Anyways, I will be finding a new deserted area to park from now on. Thank goodness we have an over-abundance of parking at work. I didn't want to resort to it but may start straddling two parking spots like I've seen others do at work. I just didn't want to become "that guy".
Last edited by FatherTo1; 10-17-17 at 11:50 PM.
10-18-17, 08:20 AM
#45
Lexus Champion
FatherTo1: what matters is what you see, not what others see. Wouldn't the other person's insurance pay for a replacement panel and painting? A good body shop would do an excellent job of painting and matching, including blending.
For me, I've some paint chips and scratches and one very small crease. While they bother me a bit, it's not worth money out of my pocket at this point to fix them, as they are hard to notice unless one looks closely, in some cases very closely. I fear that just touching yhem up without a much more expensive paint job might make yhem more noticeable to me. Unfortunately, over time, I expect more of the same. At some point, if the car is a long-term keeper, I'll do something aboiut it.
For me, I've some paint chips and scratches and one very small crease. While they bother me a bit, it's not worth money out of my pocket at this point to fix them, as they are hard to notice unless one looks closely, in some cases very closely. I fear that just touching yhem up without a much more expensive paint job might make yhem more noticeable to me. Unfortunately, over time, I expect more of the same. At some point, if the car is a long-term keeper, I'll do something aboiut it.
Last edited by Gbp; 10-18-17 at 09:09 AM.