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I bought a brand new car in Jan and just 6 months in, just yesterday, I had parked on the street to go to a restaurant and came out to discover that someone had rear ended my car and left paint marks and a deep crack on my rear bumper. No note, just hit and run. Unfortunately when you are out in public you are exposed to the filth that exist in our society that would do such a thing, cowards who can't take responsibility for their actions and choose to damage others property and run away. I think I know who did it, it was a white SUV that parked behind me... I saw them park after me but they were gone by the time I came out. They seemed like an educated bunch but now I realize that even educated people can have zero ethics or morals.
Has this type of thing happened to you? How do you protect your car from such stuff? Or do you just accept repairs of such stuff as the cost of doing business?
Insurance is pointless I think for something that is just going to be several hundreds to fix, still a steep cost but the possibility of raised rates makes it questionable to file a claim. Off to find a bumper repair place that may fix this for me...but I am more bummed that such a-holes exist...such is life I guess.
Joys of having an SUV with a trailer hitch. I just put a hitch cover on or a hitch step. Can't do much for the front end although I've contemplated a bull bar, but the rear is pretty solid. Last lady to rear-end me did a number on her front end. All it did to me was bend my cover. Took it off and put a different one on, had the dealer check it out afterwards.
It is kinda funny to come down to my car in a garage though and see the imprint of whatever cover I'm using at the time on the license plate of the person parked behind me (I always back in).
All you can do is take reasonable precautions and hope for the best. No use in obcessing over things you can't control.
1. Avoid parking on the side of the street when possible. If you must, park as close to the curb and centered in the space as possible.
2. Parking far away from the store in an empty section of the parking lot will attract the wrong kind of attention. When possible I try to park to the left of shopping cart corals. I park as close to the coral as possible so one side is protected while giving more room on the driver's side. If this isn't possible, I park in an empty section just beyond the last of the parked cars. This won't look like you're trying to protect your car through isolation and thus won't stand out to the jerks.
3. Other than in your own personal garage, there is no way to completely protect your car so don't stress over the small dings. Within a year of buying my car I had the usual parking lot door ding. Didn't even call a body shop. Just keep some touch up paint handy until there's real body damage.
4. A dented plastic bumper may cost more then just popping it out. There are impact absorbing materials inside that are now worthless. Sure it's cheaper to pop it back out, but for safety I'd get a replacement bumper from the dealership. Some shops are notorious for charging customer the price for a dealer part when they're providing a salvage yard or discount store part that doesn't meet crash safety standards of the OEM bumper.
very good points in posts above.
Most smaller damages on parking lots can be helped with protective films like XPEL Protective Films - XPEL Technologies Corporation . They won't help with actual dents but smaller swipes, scratches and doors hitting won't scratch the paint. Also helps with rock chips and highway driving
I have a "beater" that I drive around for public use. If buying a new car then it's a sports car for canyon carving and will never be parked at an Applebee's lot.
K, nothing is practical. Unless you build bull cage around entire car, at any given angle it can be hit. There will always be some panel exposed. Roof. Undercarriage. And so on. Get over it. I understand frustration. i do. This is why insurances keep you at bay with high deductible. Learn how to repair minor scratches and DIY. Or, simply assume NYC state of mind.
Get over it. I understand frustration. i do. This is why insurances keep you at bay with high deductible. Learn how to repair minor scratches and DIY. Or, simply assume NYC state of mind.
Easier said than done... bought a brand new car so that I am driving something that looks nice. If I wanted to drive around in a car that has everything scratched up and broken I would've bought a used piece of junk for 10X less.
Those kinds of damage can fall under comprehensive coverage and will not affect your rates. You'll have to pay the deductible, of course.
Our 2014 Murano is untouched so far. The 2003 got nicked three times.
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