Door Ding Frustration
 

Only had my S60 for two weeks, absolutely immaculate bodywork until yesterday.

Overnight stay and parked furthest away as usual from all the nutter door bangers. Noticed a car parked next bay last thing but thought leave it, it's fine.

Back out in the morning, their car now gone and a brand new ding awaiting me on my drivers door! Noticed it straight away and my heart sank. No more than a couple of millimetres but enough to see when the light catches and now totally do my head in!

Honestly why can't people just open their doors without banging away?

No respect! I had a fella throw his door open against my wing mirror, didn't give a damn till he noticed me sat in my car glaring at him. Look on his face was priceless! There is a barely noticeable scratch on the indicator lens but I hadnt had the car that long so couldn't say he did it and it could have been there already.

" ... why can't people just open their doors without banging away?", 'wkel24' asks.

I have an idea that the lack of respect of which 'Peter86' speaks may be due to people leasing their cars and not actually 'owning' them. I had a similar experience in 1978 two weeks after buying my first and only new car. That Mini 1000 cost me £2200 and I saved for years to buy the car. To say that I was annoyed was putting it mildly.

It seems to me that paying a few hundred pounds a month for the privilege of owning a car today does not engender respect for others. I have also noticed that those of us who do run older cars, often considered 'bangers' by such people, tend to exhibit much more respect for other's vehicles, be they old or new.

Regards, John.

I think chips away for this one, hopefully nothing too dramatic on the cost.

I've bought a set of those magnetic door buffers. They look a bit unusual, but I don't care as long as they're doing something to protect the car.

The really annoying dings seem to come from higher ground clearance 4WD Chelsea tractor type motors where the carelessly opened door puts a ding in the upper curved part of the door just below the window line - I collected one on each front door last week.

I know it sounds sad, but I usually try to park in supermarket car parks spaces with a space either side of my chosen slot free preferably as far from the store entrance as possible.

:B_rant:
However, of late, it seems to make whichever car I've used a magnet for idiots, some of whom might do well to provide a tin opener to allow other car park users to get back into their cars. They clearly have no idea that the general opinion is one should park in the middle of an available space. The worst offenders are those who leave a nice big gap so they can get out easily whilst leaving only a few inches for the driver of the car on their left to get back in.....clambering feet first over from the passenger seat is becoming painful and tedious.
:B_rant:

"Dent Magic" are good if you can find a local operative.

I feel your pain, as do many others on here too. It's a massive wind-up and totally avoidable. At times I believe it's ignorance, at other times I think it's jealousy: there are some unpleasant low-lives around. I've used PDR types many times before due to car park dings (and I too park a million miles away from entrances/other cars when in my 'good' car), and they've always got the dents out perfectly.

Incidentally I also run an 18 year old mk4 8v Golf GTI banger which is the first car I've ever owned that I don't really care about and DO park it close to entrances, in tight spaces etc. It's silver so doesn't show dings very well. It's been a revelation owning a car that I'm not precious about, I highly recommend it! :teeth_smile:

Whilst most folks on here feel your pain, car park dings are a fact of modern life. Caused mainly by the following:

1. Car park spaces have remained the same width since the 60's yet cars have grown ever wider. Compare an original Golf with a current model or even the original BMW Mini with a current example. the current one appears to be on maximum strength steroids. This obviously makes getting in and out more difficult.

2. The general decline in manners within society. The general attitude seems to be 'I'm all right, stuff you'.

3. Apart from car nuts on forums such as this no one has any relationship with their car anymore. The majority of folks regard their car in the same way as domestic white goods such as a washing machine. A washing machine gets the clothes clean, a car gets them from a-b, end of.

I do the same, park away from most people.
Park in far corner, nobody around then you come out still nobody in car park apart from the car parked next to you!!

I nipped to tesco once, parked alone and only in tesco about 5 minutes then when i returned alas nobody around but a big paint scratch on rear wing.

I should have asked to see the cctv really.

I found out the hard way that most supermarket cctv only covers the entrance to the actual supermarket, if it is actually turned on!