Body Shop Tomorrow....
 

So, you may remember last May...when my parking attendant scraped the bejeezus out of my driver's side rear bumper, and didn't admit it.

I paid for the new permit in the more expensive lot to avoid a repeat, which means there's usually room still available by 9 am, and I can park it myself (no handoff of the keys).

Two weeks ago, someone in the expensive lot scraped up the passenger side, and left. No note, no nothing. I ended up with dents on the rear quarter panel, a scraped rear door handle, and a scraped/dented rear passenger door handle. I searched the lot for white cars with red scrapes, and no luck.

I took it to the body shop. Estimate: $1800. They'll do the first damage for an additional $500 since they've already got the paint mixed. I have a $500 deductible, so for $1K, I'll get $3K of work done.

I hate rat bastard parking goons.

That is all.

Sandi

yep, and no matter where you park in the future, there will always be someone to park next to you. it has been discussed on here ad nauseum about parking all the way at the end of the parking lot where no one else parks, only to come out of the store and find 5 people parked around you.

the trick I always use is to park on the left side of an area (curb, building, etc)..so that no car will park next to you on your right side (where the driver would get out), thus no dings on that side. and typically, most people drive alone, so the chances of someone in the passenger side of the car to your left hitting your car is slim. also, never be the masengil taking up more than one spot...you're just drawing even more attention to yourself.

I don't trust valet parking, and will refuse to use them. Especially since they take no responsibility.

Sandi,

I feel your pain.

Holy cow, scraped the door handle. One tall vehicle had to do that and must have beat the heck out of your door!

I can't relate to what a mess this has made of your car. <knocking on wood> the worst I have are a couple of paint chips. I can however relate to the hassle of getting this repaired. I hit a deer with my wife's car a few months ago. What a hassle. If it wasn't a Nissan, I'd post the story here.

Anyway, I don't know how you maintain your car. Whether you hand wash and wax, have your dealer do it, or you take it to a detailer. At any rate, just remember to tell them it's been recently painted. The new paint will need to off-gas before you can use certain products on it. Forgive me if you were already aware of this and I told you something you knew. Error on the side of caution.

Again, sorry this happened and good luck with the repairs. Keep us posted. Put up some photos if you have time.

Good trick. And yes, I won't use valet parking anymore. I have seen the valet parking guy performed a drift technique to show off.
It's ready frustrating to see the new car get into these BS. Hope it goes well for u.

Too bad you did not have the type of damage that the "Dent Wizard" could fix. It's a very fast excellent process that they can do with dents, and at a very reasonable cost. Unfortunately it does not work on scrapes or if the paint is chipped out or cracked.

I've had it done twice at my Lexus dealers for dents.

Nope, only if they were dents as I stated. :sad:

I would be inclined to still keep a look out for that "white car w/ red scrapes" in case he uses the parking garage again and is not bright enough to clean off the evidence. Good luck w/ the repairs.

You have to pay for a permit to park, and pay even more to park in a "better" lot. This concept is somewhat foreign to where we live, but I have to ask, aren't there security cameras looking at the lots for the money you pay? I guess that's why we don't live in the big city. Sorry to hear about your damage...we have small dings compared to what you describe.

Um, I've been using that "trick" since 1985, with my 1982 Chevette. :p

And when you work at a company with 12000 employees and only 5000 parking spots, you can't really refuse to use the valet parking. Assuming you want to work. ;)

-S

Yeah, it's hard to figure what stuck out enough, tall enough, to do the two dents plus handle scrape. Certainly not bumper level....


Thanks for the sympathy, and yes, I knew about the need to not wax the car for 3-4 weeks post-painting. Thanks for the sympathy. I get it back tomorrow, and let's hope the red metallic match doesn't suck entirely. They were blending the rear door repair by painting the front door too; the bumper was removed and repaired due to the earlier parking attendant scrape.

I felt like a "scarlet woman" - driving a car with two very noticeable scrapes/sideswipes, NEITHER ONE OF WHICH I did. I'm sure everyone thought I was the bad driver.....

Sandi

Thanks, Jim. Believe me, I'm "hunting for wabbits" every day in the lot!

Sandi

Oh, and did I mentioned the rental I ended up with? USAA and Enterprise assured me I'd get a car "equivalent" to my RX350. Since they told me selection would be limited due to Easter, I waited until Tuesday morning.

When I got to the rental counter, I was given two options: a Dodge Caliber, and a VW Beetle.

I went with the Beetle (27K miles on it) and it is ROUGH. Rough engine, balky acceleration, LOUD with road noise, a VERY jolting suspension....and I miss my sunroof! I will be very happy to have my car back tomorrow. Four days of driving a VW, and I'm SICK of it. :)

Sandi

My gosh you are being brutalized!! And for four days:sad:

Sandi, they should have paid you to drive that Beetle. I can't imagine anyone using that as a rental except maybe clowns. I hope the repair goes well and you can catch the bastard that violated your RX.