Parking Lots %$&*(&^%$

[j-malotky]

Today as I am walking past my jeep, I see three HUGE scratches, down to the metal in some spots, on the rear quarter panel of my jeep running all the way from the back door to the tail lights. I ask my wife what she hit, as she has taken down the mailbox several times over the years and she told me "nothing.... why" and I show her the huge scratches. These are brand new, must have happened when the car was parked when she went shopping yesturday afternoon.

Everyone gets door dings and scratches in these crappy plastic bumpers we have today but this is rediculous. Whomever did this had to have known they hit another car as deep and as long as these scratches are. Some people in this world are just plain A Holes.

And NO, I know it was not my wife. She always tells me when she hits stuff. Like I said she has taken down the mailbox a few times and hit the side of the garage door once, but that is another story [:'(]

JM

[LarryC]

Ridiculous bummer! I'm always fearful of that, got parking-garage nicks for no good reason in my '99, am merely lucky so far with the one I have now.

[jacksonbart]

That sucks, its real bottom notch to not leave a note.

[CECAA850]

Don't curse the parking lots. Its the idiots who frequent them.

[oscarsear]

In one of my 1st jobs I had a company car and did bank vault work. I came out from a job one day and a note was on the windshield informing me that a lady had creased the entire side of my car and took off. The note was anonymous but it did give me the license number of the car that did the damage. Got the police out and they ran the number. We went to her house and her car had damage that matched mine and it had my color paint on it. She denied the deed with her little daughter by her side. The police said they could do nothing because the note was not signed. They had no witness. They told me to take photos of the damage to the ladies car and turn it into the insurance carrier. I do not know how the situation turned out.

[dtel]

" I ask my wife what she hit, as she has taken down the mailbox several times over the years and she told me "nothing.... why" and I show her the huge scratches."

Taking down the mailbox a few times is kind of funny, but not what it can do to a car.

[colterphoto1]

The idiots that design modern parking lots don't help any. Why is it so confusing to stay in the correct lane or understand who has right of way or even have an unobstructed view sans signage and shrubbery?

Sorry to hear about the damage, it's a bummer man.

[SWL]

She always tells me when she hits stuff.

I'm sorry to hear about your vehicle being scratched.........but that statement reminds me of my parents when I was a teenager living at home. he he he []

[oldbuckster]

RESPECT for other peoples property is nill, hell, respect for other people period is lacking in this country lately !!!!!

[Mr. RF62]

Your absolutly right OB, lack of respect all over the continent. I don't mind going to costco here, they have double wide parking spots which gives me a liitle more comfort.

[Coytee]

In some way, I always sighed relief after getting the first ding in a new car. Life's too short for that kind of stress. It's gonna happen sooner or later.

Interesting point and I agree. When I was in Istanbul (crazy traffic), we were walking down the sidewalk and a car backended a Mercedes right there in front of us.

It was only a fender bender and in reality, left about a quarter (25 cents) sized dent in the bumper of the Mercedes. The drivers got out....assessed the damage and the Mercedes driver let it go and drove off.

Here, that would have involved the police, insurance companies and simply put, a lot more stress on all involved. As it was, these guys realize that in their jostling traffic there's going to be bumps and nicks and they simply take it in stride....

[WS65711]

Relax . . .

[kelA]

I see this all the time. The worst garages seem to be at hospitals in my opinion. For some reason it seems the "stalls" are narrower or maybe the cars have gotten bigger. Inevitably whenever I come out to my car there is some huge SUV either taking up two stalls or is parked so close to me I can not even get into my car. That is another rant, people buying these HUGE vehicles and cant park them. On a few occasions I have been so tempted to try to ding their car for parking so close to mine. I figure since it doesnt bother them to park so close then I'll leave them a "gift". []

[oscarsear]

Parking garages....yikes! I took my boys to Universal Studios in North Hollyweird. They have a multilevel parking structure with really compact parking (like sardines) and I'm driving a mini-van (and I'm blind in one eye). At the end of the day we're leaving. When backing out of my slot I am scouring about looking to avoid all the neighboring cars....and backed right into a concrete pillar. It was square shaped and not painted any color. It was greyish concrete like the whole rest of the structure. It was no small dent neither. Jeesh!

[Tom Adams]

What I've noticed (especially with a new car) is that once you get one or two dings and maybe one small scratch (which seems to happen in the first 4 months of ownership), you NEVER get a ding or scratch for the next 4 years no matter where you park or how you park!! It's as if the dings some how protect the vehicle via some Jedi mind trick - "Move along - there's no need to ding this car".

Back in my dirt bike days, the running joke was that when you buy a new dirt bike you were suppose to bring it home, park it in the grass, and kick the darn thing over onto its side. That way you'd get the damage over with. LOL......

Tom

[michael hurd]

I have driven mostly used junk, and it seems that people go out of their way to damage vehicles that are nice..... for example, I painted 2 of the last vehicles I had... one was a nice bright red basecoat clear coat... and the first week someone backed into it. I painted the one I am driving right now about 5 years ago.... and within a month I had a door mark in the side of my car.

When your vehicle is looking kinda ugly, they seem to stay a LONG way away from it. Driving a nice vehicle, you could park at the other end of a parking lot with no one else around, walk a 1/4 mile to the store, shop and come out... darned if there isn't about 5 vehicles clustered around yours.

That being said.... today people can't park. I drive a truck that is 38 feet long day in and day out, putting it in some pretty tight spaces, with mere inches on each side. I think to pass a test to get your licence you should be REQUIRED to be able to drive a standard transmission equipped vehicle... preferably a tractor trailer with 70 ton... equipped with an old 390 cummins and a 5 and 4 transmission.

Let's see some people try and shift that... main and auxilary. Left hand through the wheel... and grabbing one stick... right hand on the other. You'd be too busy to have a cup of coffee and a cheeseburger on the go... cell phones..? forget it... LOL.

[customsteve01]

I hate to hear this. Its just like OB said its lack of respect for other people.[N]

Steve

[Gilbert]

In some way, I always sighed relief after getting the first ding in a new car. Life's too short for that kind of stress. It's gonna happen sooner or later.

That's guaranteed, for sure. Never sweat the little things.

[Jay481985]

I just noticed that I got my first door ding in a car that I owned for about a year. I recently waxed it and there is a small dimple on the door now.... Funny thing is I didn't do it, my parents took it to church and the doctors the last week and I did not use it since I basically waxed it. I love how everyone wants to borrow something when its clean. Oh well.... I think I have to do the dry ice trick.....

[picky]

It was 1969 and I was in High School. My first car, a 1965 regal red, Chevy Impala 4-door, was parked in the lot at my church on Sunday morning. I had attended the 9 am service and was returning to my car. Folks who wished to attend the 11 o'clock service were beginning to arrive. I stood there next to my car and watched as this lame a-hole with his entire family in the car, pulled his ginormous Olds 98 into the spot next to my car's passenger side. I was walking to my car from behind and watched as this ignoramus pulled the front of his car in, striking the right-rear quarter panel of my Impala. "STOP!" I shouted at him, holding my hands up in the air about 10 feet from his window. He stopped, looked at me puzzled and then CONTINUED to plow through my quarter panel! I waited for this moron to get out of his car, and he began to walk away as if nothing had happened. I stopped him and asked him to look at my car's quarter panel. "What? It looks fine. What does it have to do with me?", he said. I told him that I just stood there and watched him put the obvious crease in my car with his front bumper and that the paint in the streak matches the color on his car. "No, it doesn't and I did nothing to your car." I went into max-burn mode and remember, I was only 17 years old. After discovering I would get no where with this coward I asked him for his identification and told him I'd be calling the cops. He said not to bother as it was my word against his and they could do nothing. Then he said, "I should know: I'm an INSURANCE AGENT!" I'll refrain from telling you what I said after that because I know Amy would ban me for life. Can you imagine? OMG! Nothing ever happened of course, and I learned sheet metal, body working in a real hurry that summer. -Glenn