First blood

My first day we drove out to see some friends to show off the car. We paralleled the car and when we came back someone back up into the front bumper on the corner. The backed up so far into the bumper that it put a nipple on it.....I need more than touch up paint now :-( but we are living with the nipple for now

 

I got two little stone chips on my 3-week old Red V too. Definitely bummed! I was originally going to get the paint protection option too from 3M (port installed) but ended up getting my refund back on that deal because they weren't going to be able to get me that car anyways.

Oh well, touch it up and wax over it. Nobody (but you) will notice.

 

I did it to myself the day after I got my car. I was hauling the floor jack around by the handle and it came out. I brushed the side of one of the doors. I was very impressed how the paint and the metal handled the handle though. No dent and it appears only the clear coat scratch off. You really can see the scar (1"x.5") unless you see it in right light. Being the Pearlized white helps a lot I suspect.

Sorry to hear about all the dings though. They just don't last in pristine shape for long.

 

First week, washing the top, my belt buckle put a 3 inch zig-zag scratch in the clear coat on the passenger side door. Uggggg, I was so pissed at myself. Like the post above, you can only see it in certain light but I know it's there and that sucs. I haven't decided yet just to let it be and not make it worse or use touch up or rub it out.

 

I have my share of character-adding boo-boos, mostly confined to the interior.

 

I'm afraid to look at the front end of my car. I've already put over 500 miles on it. I guess I'm hoping any more flaws that show up will disapear like the first one did.

Do you think I could wash it blind folded?

 

Yikes -- sorry to hear that Tideland Prius! When I saw your thread title, I grimaced knowing that it wasn't going to be good.

I'm still going out of my way to protect Pearl (my 2010). I always park in a spot where I can't get a door ding. Even though it means having to walk further, I justify it knowing that I'm getting more exercise, which is never a bad thing.

I was very protective over Stealth (my 2006) until one day it received a monster door ding. Now that it's a little over 3 years old, and has numerous door dings and a pitted hood, I don't seem to freak out as much. But starting next Spring, things are going to get a little interesting.

Now that my Explorer was traded in for Cash for Clunkers, Stealth is going to become my primary storm chasing vehicle. It's already being referred to as "The Sacrificial Prius". It's very likely that I'll drive at least 15,000 miles during the chase season, which generally runs from April 15 - June 15 in a given year. And while it's fairly easy to predict where the hail core is in a supercell thunderstorm, sometimes you just can't avoid it. The damage that baseball-sized (or even softball sized) hail causes is pretty dramatic! But regardless, I'm looking forward to outfitting my Prius for storm chasing. The monetary savings from the fuel economy is substantial.

Bryan

 

I think it's worse when you wash your car... then you notice every little nick and scratch.