dings

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Collin @ Nov 23 2006, 12:53 PM) [snapback]353519[/snapback]</div>

Hey welcome to you Collin!

I'm seriously thinking about the side guards too. I have two door dings, one on the front drive, and other passenger drive side. Let's not talk about the back bumper. That's the one thing is dislike about urban city living, parallel parking, it's like someone made a law that it is mandatory to hit the car in front of you twice and the one behind once to get out of a parking space, sheesh!

$50/month? Hmmm? What is the cost to grief ratio anyway, is it 5 dings => repair? All ego? Interesting

 

i've gotten a couple of dings, mainly on the passenger side. most cases they're minor, and we can yank the door panel and push the dent from the inside.

had one instance of road debris knocking a big dent and paint chip into the door right where it creases at the bottom, but DH knows the paint and dent guy contracted out by his shop and he fixed and repainted for $75. looks like brand new.

 

My strategy in preventing dings was to park far away from the rest of the drivers. Been doing it for the last 6 years, and I am ding-free. I don't care about parking close to the entrance, since I do have legs that can get me there after I get out of my car

 

I'd like to get airbags for the outside of the doors, which would deploy when they detect an imminent impact. They could be put in the side moulding and pop out like the side curtain airbags. I guess they'd be called OUTside curtain airbags. Either that or side cameras as well as the rear backup camera, maybe an ultra-wide lens to capture the license plate of the adjacent car, and a Tivo recorder in the rear wheel well to record it for playback at the police station.

Until that happens, I'll just have to keep parking next to the newest vehicles I find (where the owners actually give a damn about their vehicle in the first place).

Or an all-over bubble wrap cover.

I've seen others get out of their car, let their door swing against the next car, have their door BOUNCE OFF of the other car, and they didn't even care. Absolutely incredible.

 

???

 

Well, my plan for door dings is to live with them...it's a car. I think my side mouldings help a little...but it's a car.

Now, my SHOW convertible, that I'll spend money to fix...but then again I already have some trophies from showing it.

 

Getting dented because others are so careless and inconsiderate really ticks me off.
Dents/Dings etc are damage to your vehicle.
The most dangerous thing to do is park near somebody who has a child seat in the back.
Inevitably they'll have to open the door real wide and you'll take a hit.

I do go to great lengths to avoid dings by parking away from other cars if I can. - and so far I'm ding free for over a year.
I hate to admit this but when my Prius was brand new I made a note of the other cars I was parked next to - just in case !
Sad but true

Dealers will de-value your car when you trade it in and there are lots of dings or some bad dents

 

I work at Cal Berkeley and have to park on the street each day. In the last 23 years with 6 different cars and trucks Parrallel parking by others is more like park by feel. Other people would crash into bumpers and corner lights all the time and every dent I had on my cars were from careless drivers. My last car, a toyota pickup, the front and rear bumpers and driver corner lights were destroyed by careless A$$ Hole, park by feel drivers. I replaced the front and rear bumpers with Smittybuilt bumpers and always left the hitch and ball on and an additional brush guard on the front too. To add those things cost about 1200$ but they were well worth the cost. After those additions, If they parked by feel they would suffer major damage to THEIR cars and often did. I would just laugh when park by feel drivers would run into my hitch at 5 mph and leave their front bumper stuffed in 6 inches and when a car would back into my brush guard at 3 mph they would always crush their trunk lid or rear bumper or break out their lights. I really considered welding spikes on them but figured that liability would be real bad if I hit someone so I never did those additions but I really wanted to. After work and you walk out to find another 500$ damage to your car each month, you get fed up.

I really worry about my new Prius there each day all day. Most drivers today have no idea how to parrallel park.
-Paul R. Haller-

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pinball @ Nov 24 2006, 08:01 AM) [snapback]353661[/snapback]</div>

When mine was new I didn't even park in the same lot with everyone else!

 

I have two new prius's since January.. both of them have no dings!.. Yay!

But if you insist on saving 20 seconds of walking by parking in high traffic areas, you will get dings!!!

Park next to handicap spots, next to curbs, never next to big ugly trucks or beaters or cars with long doors, all else, park where there is less traffic, people compete for the desirable spots and you may have 3 different cars pull in next to you and back out if your in the store very long tripleing the likelihood to catch a ding.

Park next to other "nice" cars, they will be more likely to respect your car and they don't want thier door hit either as they open thiers.
Stay away from clues about being next to vehicles that have small children.

Once you get used to what to look for, you'll be in the store usually faster than the person that waits for 2 minutes for some guy to back out so they can get his spot anyway.

Often parking just two rows away from the main flow and another 50 feet out can make all the difference in the traffic around your car, give yourself another 15 seconds of walking.. we all need the excercise!

When you do park next to someone, choose your evil.. what side?
Usually next to the drivers side of the other vehicle will help avoid children who are often riding on thier other side, but if the car is driving solo, "more likely in a business area during the day", then the obvious choice if the passenger side.. sometimes you just have to guess.

I rarely park with one vehicle on each side of me unless there is alot of room on each side.

And lastly, if you must park next to someone.. park next to a skinny car if possible or one that is positioned center or even offset to the other side, that gives you more room... and obviously, don't park bad yourself offset next to them... thats really asking for it!

Have fun on your holiday shopping!.....

 

<_< At less than 300 miles on my new 2007 Touring Edition, I had Body Side Mouldings installed

Total cost: $161.90 [$115 mouldings, $6.90 shipping, $40 body shop charge]. I had the same mouldings installed on my 2004 which, in over two years, got one small ding HIGH on the left passenger door just under the window - had to be a pickup truck or SUV. If you're courageous and a DIY type, you CAN install them yourself, but I preferred my dealer's body shop.

There's no real way to determine whether the mouldings prevented dings, but I felt better with them and actually prefer the "look" with them. I ordered them from www.metrotoyotapartsnow.com on a Saturday, arrived the following Thursday.

Here's a stock photo [not my Prius] :

[attachmentid=5743]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Charles Suitt @ Nov 24 2006, 11:29 AM) [snapback]353714[/snapback]</div>

Dyslexia is when you get your right and left backwards... what is it when you get your up and down backwards? Maybe the 9 is a 6? :lol:

 

ah the drawbacks of aluminum body panels. my 2 month old 2006 already has a small crease on the front hood from what i dont know. it shows up pretty good too.

by the size, a regular steel hood would have probably chipped the paint instead.... guess a paint chip would be much easier for do-it-yourself fix but

damned if you do and damned if you dont.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Nov 24 2006, 02:14 PM) [snapback]353752[/snapback]</div>

Thats the only imperfections on my car... the stinkin hood.. from tiny rock dingy's.. hard to see unless your close, but like you said, a normal hood would have just bounced them off.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Paul R. Haller @ Nov 24 2006, 08:01 AM) [snapback]353663[/snapback]</div>

hehehe. I know exactly what you mean about people parallel parking by feel. I got several scrapes on the corners of my Corolla bumpers parking on SF streets. Although, with such tight spaces I am guilty of gently "kissing" other car on rare ocassions.
Btw, what's a "brush guard"?

 

Yeah, I hate those careless, self-centered people too. I use dentless paint removal and so far so good. Had two dings removed from the Prius in two years. I too park as far away from the business, store, etc. as possible. I try to park next to poles or curbs to keep one side safe and then park right next to the curb to give the other driver as much room as possible.

Twice I have caught the person putting the dent in my cars. On both occassions they paid for the damage in lieu of my calling the police. I have never hit anyones car and seriously dislike those SUV drivers who just pull in and let their doors fly open and bounce off the car next to them. Were I a different type of person I would key their whole side. Fortunately for them, and probably me, I am not that way. I believe they eventually get what they deserve.

Oh, the two does not include a ding in my hood when an acorn fell on it while driving down the street. I was shocked it dented so easily. It hit where the clear bra was and despite that little protection, it still dented the hood. Fortunately the dent came out without any evidence remaining.

Dentless paint removal rules!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cairo94507 @ Nov 24 2006, 04:17 PM) [snapback]353788[/snapback]</div>

elaborate please

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cairo94507 @ Nov 24 2006, 07:17 PM) [snapback]353788[/snapback]</div>

Do you mean paintless dent removal?

Or are you describing what you do to the other cars that ding you?

 

Hey cairo94507
How do you remove the dents ? - I've always wondered.
A dealer over here told me they pay £50/$95 a body panel