My wife parked our 2006 Prius outside a friend's house, in the street. The house in a very quiet neighborhood with a cul-de-sac and little traffic. She came back after dark and noted nothing amiss. The next morning I found two big yellow paintball splotches on the car - one just to the left of the gas cap and the other right under the driver's door handle. Unfortunately the balls also made pretty big dents, about the same as a bad door ding. The dents look like they would be difficult to repair using the cheap $50 "push the dent out from the inside" method, so I'll probably let them be. We called the friend and asked if anyone else had been hit that evening and she didn't know. The attack had definitely taken place when the car was parked judging by the way the paint dripped straight down - if It had been a drive-by, I would have expected some sideways streaking. Was it a case of hybrid hate, or just some undisciplined kid having fun? I'll probably never know, but what a pain to get the dents on an almost new car! Anyone else have something similar happen?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ari @ Sep 17 2007, 04:16 PM) [snapback]513897[/snapback]</div> Based on a little googling, I'd say this is just kids being stupid. There are plenty of other examples, with no mention of hybrids (represented below incidents, not all of them recent, from Kansas, Florida, California, Colorado, Canada, and New York). http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/07/15...5_057_14_04.txt http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2007/9/...s39_arrest.html http://publicsafety.com/article/article.js...;siteSection=12 http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cachetg6B...cd=10&gl=us http://www.thestar.com/News/article/256218 http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A00252
I agree, just kids being stupid. I had a 17 year old Volvo paintballed along with the late-model Ford and I think a Honda also parked next to it. (No damage in my case, though.) But hey, it could have been worse. Ever watch "Dazed and Confused"?
Get a quote to have the dents pushed out, it is going to bug you if you leave it, wont it? If there is no creases in the panel a paintless repair should be pretty successful. Good luck tracking down the paintballers, silly people. I hope they never have to get their stuff damaged by silly people when they grow up.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Sep 17 2007, 09:37 PM) [snapback]514073[/snapback]</div> I got hit with a couple on I-880 driving through Oakland a couple of years ago in my other car. Most of it washed off with water from the gas station hose. Washing with detergent the next day got it all. But I suppose it depends on what kind of paint . . .
If it is paintball paint it should wash right off in soapy water. Even solvent based paint should wash off if it's fresh enough but I wouldn't count on it.
yeah don't leave that paint on there. they must have been fairly close-range if it dented. when we lived back up north, our duplex-neighbor would regularly paintball his old bronco for "target practice" but i don't remember any dents in his car from it.
On a somewhat related note, does anyone else find the paint on the Prius rather weak? I have three very minor dings on my Seaside Pearl 2006 so far, and every one of them took the paint off as well, not just a small indentation. Incidentally, this summer I have also had two small rocks glance off the driver side of the car while driving ~ 70MPH; the first left a 1/4" scratch about 12" ahead of the driver door handle (and a smaller chip on the handle itself) and this weekend I found a set of three(?) small 1/8" scratches in sequence near the bottom of the driver side rear door after driving through a highway resurfacing area. My point is, the paint on this car seems to chip real easy, much easier than my old car (96 Integra)... has anyone else noticed this?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sarge @ Sep 17 2007, 11:15 PM) [snapback]514143[/snapback]</div> Actually, I've never had a car with paint that chipped as readily as the Prius. I really wish I'd gotten the door guards with my initial purchase. Then again, I've never had a NEW car before, so perhaps I just never noticed on the others.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sarge @ Sep 18 2007, 12:15 AM) [snapback]514143[/snapback]</div> I recall some earlier discussion on the paint process used for the Prius. If my memory serves, Toyota used a process with low environmental impact, but the final product is somewhat less durable. If anyone remembers the details, chime in here. Tom
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Sep 18 2007, 09:41 AM) [snapback]514231[/snapback]</div> Thanks Tom and MegansPrius - at least this makes me feel a little better in that it is not just my imagination or me being my obsessive self... :mellow:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sarge @ Sep 18 2007, 12:15 AM) [snapback]514143[/snapback]</div> Yup. The paint is not very durable. Best reason to get a clear bra.
