Gaah! People!

[Mark86]

I am sorry to hear what happened to your 4Runner and BMW. People are just idiots. They have no respect for other peoples property. Have you ever been in a parking lot where somebody was finished with their shopping wagon and just lets it go, where it hits three cars while rolling down a hill? Or somebody backs up and accidently "taps" the parked car behind them.

I had two incidents happen to me. First one was I had just picken up my truck two hours ago and had to make a stop at the grocery store to pick up two items. I parked it miles away from any car in sight. I come out and there is this old Dodge van with ladders hanging off the side that parked over the line and was centimeters away from touching my 4Runner. I was ready to flip out on the guy. The other incident is somebody must have backed into my sport bumper and cracked the bottom of it. Of course, nobody left a note and it cost $500 to repair.

 

[DaveS]

We use my wife's PT Cruiser at the shopping mall - it has more dents from careless trolley users etc than I care to mention but what the heck - it's a Chrysler - it loses value and runs terrible with or without dents.

 

[ToyotaDan]

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?:

Have you ever considered that the problem could be you? I am not trying to start a flame war, but I have been driving new cars for over 20 years in Chicago land area, and I have NEVER had someone key me. I had someone break into one of my cars (but it was a jeep wrangler, and they just unzipped it). So maybe you are parking close to people? and pissing them off? or do you have a bumper sticker with some message on it that 50% of Americans don't agree with? Make yourself less of a target!

 

[RkyMtHgh]

With so many incidents, you would think it has something to do with me, but I can assure you it doesn't. I've never had a single sticker attached to my car and I'm probably too courteous when it comes to parking. If I ever pull in crookedly, I always straighten out. I don't make myself a target by parking miles away from everyone else and I never fight over a parking space if someone else wants it that bad. With the Jetta, I happened (I think) to park in this guy's "usual" spot because the apartment complex was unusually full that night and everyone had to park wherever they could find a spot. The Bimmer was just parked at the mall, minding its own business. Granted, the mall wasn't in the greatest of areas and each time the BMW was vandalized, it was in the same general neighborhood. At the time, that's where my ex-girlfriend attended college so I guess it was just a risk I assumed whenever I visited her.

When I went to the dealer to replaces the stolen badges, I asked the salesman if it was a pretty common occurence. He just said, 'You have no idea' and reached under the counter and pulled out a box full of them. I got a kick out of that.

Anyway I'll get off it now, but my point was, it's just a really frustrating thing to have your property intentionally destroyed by people who have no respect or regard for others. Not that there's ever a good reason to key a car, but it's one thing to incite that sort of behavior by being an ***hole, or having some silly message on the bumper and another thing entirely to only be guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then again it was a 3 series, so maybe people just assumed I was an ***hole! With the 'Runner, my blinker actually works when I try to merge!

 

[Kenn]

I hate people. Do you think your car is a target if you park too far by yourself. I usually do this, and I havent had a problem yet. I guess the key is to park 2-3 spaces away from a car that is parked far. That way your precious is not in the open by itself.

People suck.

Some tips I use:

1) Park far but 2-3 spaces away from a far car.

2)Regarding above: Try to park near a car that is more expensive than yours.

3) When parking far, do not park in back of some other car that is parked far. He/She might hit you when they are backing up.

4) Most important: drop off the wife/gf where they want before parking.

5) 2nd most important: Dont forget to pick her up!!

 

[hoss]

:iagree:

i can get used to wife saying each and every time. why do you park so far away.
i say for the exercise.

 

[Sac State]

If you park too far away then you send the message don't touch my car, which makes people in dumps park closer to you. I hate those people who drive a nice car and they park sideways taking up two spots. As a bystander the first feeling I get when I see this is not, gee, what a nice car, but what an ahole.

I never take my rig to any mass public area. I always drive the Subie Forester to the mall, store, etc. And it has scars and dents all over it. It is only an '03. Bastards.

 

[Lime02sport]

hank- you saw someone leaning agaisnt your car and didnt say anything? Jeez man you got patience, I wouldnt say anything either just give him a nice stare and if he didnt get the idea, then time for him to call the health insurance folks about a nice claim.