So I parked my 2 month old Prius next to a Hummer this evening. I went into a store for about 30 minutes and when I returned to my Prius the Hummer was gone and I had a couple of nice deep scratches in my door on that side. Makes me want to cry. Is the dealer my best bet for getting good touch up paint?
yes, you were victimized. as many here have been. any good body shop should be able to take care of it. if you are paying, get a few quotes from some recommended shops as well as the dealer. we never fixed ours (it's been 3 years) so hopefully no one would bother to do it again! it's a bummer tho. all the best!
Concur. Although a dealer will be able to give you a small bottle of "touch-up" paint, a body shop will be your best bet for repairing the scratches. It'll cost a little more...actually a lot more, but the results may be worth it to you. I hope this was a case of carelessness on the part of another driver's door rather than a malicious act against you or your car. All the best. BTW... :welcome: Welcome to PriusChat!
FWIW, I usually try to park further away in spots that are in theory, less used to avoid door dings. I also try to park away from other cars, if I can. If not, I avoid parking next to junkers (since they don't care about door dings). Not sure it'd help in your case vs. the Hummer.
So sorry your Prius suffered some damage. IMHO It looks a little too random. Perhaps the person bumped up against your vehicle and whatever they were shouldering had hard/sharp objects on it. I'm imagining a big 'ole diaper bag with keys attached. Vehicles I've purposely avoided parking next to have been any two-door model.
On my past cars, I preferred parking next to the two-door models, as the rubber side strips caught 95% of adjacent front doors with straight edges. But the rear doors of four-door models are shaped around the wheel well, usually with sharp corners that miss that protective strip. And rear doors are most likely to be operated by the young who don't yet have any concept of not striking other cars. In the old days, parking spaces were wide enough that decently parked four-door models didn't have the door reach to hit the adjacent car. Nearly all of those spaces have been restriped into very narrow spaces, so that all doors easily hit the neighbors.
I'd like the loser keying your Prius to have a moment like this. Southlake police arrest man in Hummer vandalism case | Crime Blog | dallasnews.com
I was thinking the same thing. That type of damage doesn't look deliberate. An U-shaped scratch and who would key another such small scratch so close to the end?
^Yup, if that "U" was given an associated pair of eyes and nose, I might be more inclined to think it was intentional.
So sorry your new Prius was vandalized -- looks like intentional key scratches to me, especially if they are deep. The dealer's body shop will be the best place for an exact color match, but it will be expensive to repair if the scratches are deep. In 2008 I had a brand new Nissan Armada V8 silver metallic that I parked in a commuter parking lot in the first space (within the narrow lines) next to a pedestrian crosswalk. Well, guess what, my Armada was only 1 month old at the time and someone keyed a long deep scratch (about 15 inches long) on the passenger back door. I never got it fixed either at the time, and that was the only scratch the vehicle ever had. I guess some people just hate brand new vehicles and intentionally key them -- that was not an accident on your car. So I have learned the hard way where to park my car, especially when it is new. Again, I am so sorry this happened to your beautiful car.
My condolences too... always a sad thing to find, esp when the car is newer. I've been very lucky so far with my '10 - over 2 years old now. Not a single ding or scratch. I consider parking lots enemy territory; both when moving and parked. My practices: - finding a further-to-stores spot is OK, and I can afford a few more steps to walk. And more shopping carts in close-to-store spaces. - Never park in the middle of 3 open spots. The ones beside you will be parked in with fresh swinging doors. - Try to get a spot with one 'safe side' - next to a median strip or such. - Don't park next to junkers or 2 doors. Hope this doesn't jinx me now.
If they're actually deep then I'd agree they were intentional. Otherwise, they don't look deliberate because of the pattern. I don't think 4 doors are necessarily any better than 2 doors. While the doors may be shorter, if there are kids in the back that just mindlessly swing them wide open that's just as bad. Also, don't overdo parking too close to a line or over it and especially don't take up two parking spots diagonally. That just pisses people off and makes your car a target, whether it's a Prius or a Porsche.
OP: any chance the store you were at has parking lot surveillance cameras? Maybe the vandal was "caught on tape".
If that is intentional, who ever did it is a coward. Just get it repaired and move on with your life. Nothing you can do to prevent such an act from lunatics and low life.
It may happen but you should have the sack to own up to it. My Prius has had its rear bumper punctured with a shopping cart and has a nasty key scratch right past the drivers headlight. Lastly she has a dent in the front bumper from where a clown pulled out in front of me and stopped and I had no action but to t-bone him...S-happened on that one, the other two...total BS.
