Gaah! People!

[RkyMtHgh]

Ok, bear with me here compadres as I'm going to vent a bit. I went skiing last week and came back to my baby only to find a big crack down the middle of the front bumper, along with some broken grille pieces where someone hit it. This past summer I actually saw someone slam their door into the side of my 'Runner in a parking lot as I was walking back to it. Of course he took off like a coward when he heard me yell 'Hey!' I also have a slightly cracked and misaligned left rear bumper courtesy of some idiot who doesn't know how to park. No notes were left of course.

Before I moved back to Colorado, I had an '02 325CI in a gorgeous topaz blue which I loved. But someone apparently thought it needed some custom pinstriping by way of a key down the entire drivers side of the car. Twice. In a separate incident, the BMW roundels were pried off with a screwdriver or something. Back in Austin, my college car, a stock Jetta, was also keyed a couple of times.

I haven't made a claim with my insurance for any of the stuff to the 'Runner yet but probably will now for the front bumper after this latest episode. But even though it should be a comprehensive claim, who knows what they'll say when they see that it's front end damage. And my premium will probably go up anyway if I ever decide to make a claim for my rear bumper. Why are people such $%^&%$#@!? I know it sounds a little overblown, but it's stuff like this that makes me lose my faith in basic human decency. I guess the reality is that we can't just enjoy our cars without other people trying to spoil it for us. :bash:


I'll get off my soap box now, but before I do, anyone here have similar horror stories to share to make me feel better?:

 

[carina71]

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS get a police report. If the police won't come (because you are in a shopping mall parking lot, etc.--happened to me once), contact your insurance agent ASAP. Draw a map of where your car was and show (with an arrow), where it was damaged. Since you did not see the "accident" happen you cannot give detail there, but document what you can, and witnesses (friends or family members with you at the time) who can back your story will strengthen your argument to the insurance agent.

Just remember, it's only a car. Granted, it is not MY car, but just the same... Perspective: If this is the worst thing in your life you have to worry about right now, you're doin all right. It could be worse, you could live in Indonesia!

Good Luck and I feel your pain.

 

[sharp4runr]

Yeah man I totally hear you about all that. A lot of people these days just don't have any respect for themselves or other people's property. What can you expect from someone with no integrity...

 

[AZRunner]

Three days after purchase I parked at a hardware store away from everyone. As I'm coming back I notice a white piece of junk parked next to mine with litterally a half inch of bird droppings all over the roof. It made me neverous as soon as I saw it. I get to my door and there was a 4 inch vertical white line and scrape where this guy had slammed his door into mine. It probably would have been worse if it hadn't had to knock my mirror out of the way. I had my buddy watch the runner while I went in to talk to the store manager. The guy came out and said we couldn't prove it and drove off. If I thought my buddy was going to let him just go, I would have written down the license plate number.

 

[pat161]

I luck out in that I tend to avoid popular places with lot's of cars. But when I am at a store or something I park as far away as possible, regardless of the outside temp., I would rather walk and have noone park near my truck. Also it seems like BMW's are a target, all my friends with them get keyed, I wonder if it is jealousy.

 

[Border411]

Hey AZRunner---what you needed to do was break his rear lights with a tire iron when he wasnt looking, and when he said that you did it just say "You cant prove it!"

Of course---I am a cop and would never condone such an act!

 

[jharris2]

Hey AZRunner---what you needed to do was break his rear lights with a tire iron when he wasnt looking, and when he said that you did it just say "You cant prove it!"

Of course---I am a cop and would never condone such an act!

Except that you never know where the security cameras are that could prove otherwise.

 

[sharp4runr]

Except that you never know where the security cameras are that could prove otherwise.

Thats very true these days as a lot of parking lots now are being recorded with CCTVs.

 

[spyderdoc]

Why are people such $%^&%$#@!? I know it sounds a little overblown, but it's stuff like this that makes me lose my faith in basic human decency. I guess the reality is that we can't just enjoy our cars without other people trying to spoil it for us. :bash:


I'll get off my soap box now, but before I do, anyone here have similar horror stories to share to make me feel better?: [/B]

Oh yeah. My 4R has a dent in the tailgate just to the right of the license plate where it looks like someone hit it real hard w/ a basketball, or kicked it....I brought it to a "paintless" dent repair shop and they pushed it out. The area is still very visible if you are looking for it. It just sucks that someone would do that and not leave a note...

Then a month later, someone backed out of a spot next to my wife's VW Beetle and ran their bumper up the side of the car leaving a huge deep linear dent that started mid-door, crossed over to the rear quarter panel and fender...No note of course. Cost us the $1000 deductible...

We made a claim on that one because GEICO said that our rates would not increase for a collision that occurred when no driver is in the car (sitting unoccupied in a parking lot)....

I agree though...People SUCK for damaging another person's property, and not owning up to it.

 

[AZRunner]

Hey AZRunner---what you needed to do was break his rear lights with a tire iron when he wasnt looking, and when he said that you did it just say "You cant prove it!"

With the piece of junk he was driving, I don't think he would have noticed. It litterally looked like it had been under a chicken coop and never washed. That's why I park away from cars that don't look taken care of. If they don't care about their own vehicle why would they care about mine. If the parking spaces are small, I take a spot away from EVERYONE.

Except that you never know where the security cameras are that could prove otherwise.

I was hoping the store had one, but they didn't.

 

[blu4runner97122]

something like that happened to my minivan when I had it.. I didn't notice the dings in the sides till I got grounded over it (granted - for one day cause mom wasn't gonna have it... and dad drove it before me).... I had a huge ding running on the passenger side and a small (size of a quarter) on the other side.. don't know why people can't be at least considerate.. leave a note if you are in a hurry. since I was uninsured on that car (and unmarried) it wouldn't have covered anything so we didn't claim it.. thank god don't have that minivan anymore...

I've never had anyone ding my 'Runner.. .but I think they are intimidated by it... the tires are enough to scare the timid.... My brothers are even a little scared to ride with me in it.. I'll get them 4x4in' one day..

 

[Lexusbstrdchild]

sorry to hear about that! yes i think people do key BMW's out of jealousy. and about the CCTV's, it depends on where youre at. I worked at a large grocery store for a while, and the thieves would figure out who worked there by whos car was there for long periods of time. then they would jack your stereo or whatever else they wanted while you worked. the kicker was that when employees turned it in, the security office told us that they cannot provide the tapes as evidence to the police. the only reason they have them there is for physical crime (like an assault, rape, something of that nature) or a crime against the store such as vandalism, or a robbery. thats such crap!

 

[Hank]

Here's a few tips for anyone thinking of filing a claim (I used to work in the Insurance industry):

1) decide whether or not the claim is worth filing. I would file a claim only if the cost of the damage is significantly more than the deductible amount.

2) if you do decide to file, the ins adjuster may ask you whether you've had any previous damage/incidents in which you didn't file a claim and fixed it yourself. if you reply yes, then they will log that in their file, report it to underwriting, and may share this info w/the dept of insurance, which is generally the case. this means that if you've had many unfiled/unclaimed damages to your property/vehicle, you're at a higher risk of future damages. this may lead to higher ins prem for the next 3yrs even if you tried to argued that all the previous damages were repaired out of pocket and didn't cost the ins co any $.

btw, use these tips at your own discretion

 

[EDGE]

I don't know if it's BMW that get targeted, I think it's more the individual, yeah you got to be lucky when having a car, park far away in the back and be careful where you leave the car.

It's more a hate thing towards the driver then the actual car, could also be just cause you have the car, people are jealous and don't care about other people property especially when they have a POS, hell I've seen people with nice new bimmers treat them like crap, guess money means nothing to them.

I think the more you care about something the more you notice stuff.

Just got to believe Karmas gonna get them.

My X had a 2001 M3 that the dealer destoyed on mulitple occassions but they made good on it and she got a loaded 03 330 coupe, don't worry about the M it's fine:

 

[qs933]

I hate to admit it, but I've been known to choose where I shop based on the quality of their parking facilities.

I look for:
- wide spaces and lanes
- lots of shopping cart return areas (folks are less likely to leave their carts all over the place)
- large parking lots (easier to find an unoccupied section, away from everyone else)

If Store A has a great lot and Store B has a tiny lot with narrow stalls, there would have to be something REALLY special about Store B to get me to shop there.

Unfortunately, wide stalls also makes it more likely that idiots will try to squeeze their shopping cart in between parked cars. My Highlander suffered a light scratch down the passenger side while at Costco, presumably from a lazy doofus pushing one of those wide shopping carts between stalls.

 

[Hank]

Another thing I hate to see is a stranger leaning against or sitting on the hood of your vehicle or even a person putting their shoe on your bumper to tie their laces. A few days after I bought my 4R, I brought it back to the stealership to have them wax/buff out the minor scratches on the paint (Black). While my 4R was parking in the service lane and I was waiting for a tech to write up a service request, some other idiot in line leaned against my 4R. Call me anal, but if someone is wearing denim jeans, it's not unlikely that the rivets will scratch, if not dent the vehicle. I didn't say anything at first, but when I was about to, he moved away from my 4R. Damn disrespectful individuals who don't give a sh** for other people's property.

 

[SteveM]

My horror story follows:

My previous car was a 1995 Ford T-bird. I took excellent care of it and there wasn't a door ding anywhere. One day I have to leave work early for a parent teacher conference and I get to my car and find that the driver door and quarter panel are pushed in about 6 inches! Of course, there's no note or anything. I could clearly see the dents from the license plate mounting bolts, but no imprint of the license number. It cost me the $1K deductible for an autobody repair to pull and mud in the repair. I asked if they would section it instead, and the reply was that it was more than the car was worth. argh

Oh yeah, our parking lot appears to have surveillance cameras, but after checking it, they are just dummy cameras to deter vandalism.

 

[Jetprop]

My wife was driving my 4R home one night and she slowed down to make a right turn. The idiot who was tailgaiting her swerved and swiped the left rear. It busted out the tail light and caused some minor dents/scratches on the left rear side. The damage was repaired-good as new/$500 deductable.

What made me mad was-the other driver didn't stop, he left the scene. The cops couldn't do anything. The most important thing is that my wife was ok. We can always buy a new truck.

 

[krizehurley]

95 4runner

damn i feel ur pain my fellow 4rnr ownerz. during christmas i had my RNR outside parked like any other normal night, and when i wake up i go get ready to take y my prized possesion for a ride, when i notice the back has a dent bigger then the grand canyon. ahh and the worst part is that my rear window only goes down half way!!!!!!!!!! i have to get off and push it if i want to cruise with it down!!!!!!! what has this world come to when a mans RNR is no longer safe?

 

[Kmvreter]

Hey AZRunner---what you needed to do was break his rear lights with a tire iron when he wasnt looking, and when he said that you did it just say "You cant prove it!"

Of course---I am a cop and would never condone such an act!

A tire iron is such a big, ugly, loud tool if used this way. I keep something much smaller in my console: a tire valve stem core remover. They will have a very noticable flat (or 2) leaving them stranded and unable to just pump it back up. Quick, easy, cost them $ to fix. Smile for the birdie. Gotcha!