...with PEOPLE today???? I am walking my dog yesterday afternoon around 4:30 pm. Beautiful April afternoon...sun's shining, a little breeze but unseasonably warm in the Northeast. I'm feeling great!! Then, I glance at the right-hand rear door of my car for a second...and it hits me like a ton of lead. Some complete JE*K-OFF must have slammed their door into my door, causing an unsightly ding about 3/4 inch in diameter where the paint has literally chipped off, and a nice little crease dent about 3 inches long to go along with it. Can I tell you all...it's like a big dark cloud suddenly appeared over my head, and the rains began to fall like so many swords of damacleus!!! Am I upset about the damage to my car, which I care for meticulously? Yeah, to be honest, I am. However - what REALLY ****es me off about this whole situation is what is happening to our society these days, where... A) You can't be considerate or careful enough to open a car door without using it as a battering ram against the car next to you, and B) You can't be considerate or.,,nay, let me say, HUMAN enough to leave a note saying you're sorry, and maybe, where to get hold of you for compensation, since you made a mistake. Really???? This is not the country/world/society where I was brought up. I was raised and taught to do my best to be considerate of others. To take responsibility for your actions. To do the best you can to be the best PERSON you possibly can. And during those times where we fail to do these painfully simple things (and we all fail at this from time to time - heck knows I've made many mistakes and I will make them again!), I was brought up to OWN UP TO YOUR ACTIONS and MAKE AMENDS where POSSIBLE, whenever possible!!!!! So...you are that self-absorbed, and in that much a hurry at a convenience store that you have to damage someone else's property?? What, are they going to run out of coffee or cigarettes if you spend the precious 2 FRIGGIN' SECONDS it would take you to insure your door doesn't slam into mine???? Furthermore, you are that big of an A**HOLE that you can't take a second to jot down an "I'm sorry" note???? WHAT THE HALIBUT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE????? Sheesh...IMHO people today just plain suck...sorry for the rant.
We've always had jerks.. Sorry about your car, we OCD types have a low tolerance for such mindlessness. Consider paintless ding repair if available in your area. 1967- My friend John went to his car, a cherried 1954 Ford, in the lot at the local JC. People were standing about & pointing to the fresh major door/fender ding. His initial shock was mollified a bit by seeing a note on the windshield. It said "people are standing around expecting me to do something- but all you get is this note- sorry sucker!" 1975- My friend Jim was spending a 24 hour shift on OB during his internship. Around midnight he looked out of a window from the 3rd floor at his car in the lot below. It seemed like it sat a bit askew in the space, but thought little of it. The next day as he was leaving the huge dent in the fender was obvious, as well as being shoved over ~ 2 feet. He too had a paper on the windshield- a ticket from the parking police because he was taking up two spots. It could be worse
Sorry about you car. Unfortunately the world has gone mad. Many people refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. Irresponsibile, irrational, unacceptable behavior is applauded or supported by many in the media. It's simply outrageous IMO. Our values don't fit into this world gone mad.
Some jerk hit our car too! (Not a Bimmer.. thank goodness, I might've cried or something..) Just our Kia, We went into the store- came out and like WTF the seam between the driver door and rear passenger had a ding in it! Looked like someone tried to use a crowbar to open the door- it was the weirdest kind of hit I've ever seen! MADNESS in this world- COMPLETE MADNESS.
Back around 1998 I sold my immaculate 1994 Porsche 968 to a guy from North Carolina. He wanted my car because it was flawless, never been in an accident and only had 25K miles. He flew down, started driving home the same night and made it in one piece. The next morning he went to breakfast with his wife before getting the car titled and when he came out... someone had sideswiped the entire driver's side of the car.
Sorry to hear about your car. It's a pathetic society we live in these days where people just have no respect for others' property. There is no real solution for this. I try to avoid the closer spots that have high turnover, avoid parking next to coupes with long doors, avoid any type of commercial vehicle or vans, generally crappy appearing cars and cars with shady looking owners and large owners. This generally means parking far away from the entrance to where you are going. Which is just fine 'cause a little walking never hurt anyone.
Thanks, I agree with you. And yes there is (a solution)...I believe it's called the 2nd Amendment... !!! I do likewise...and I agree...a little walking is good for one's body and soul. I almost always seek the end (first or last) spot on a given aisle in a parking lot/garage, and I pull as far as I can to the side away from the car in the spot next to me. Or, I will park far enough away that I need a back-pack, compass, and walking sticks. But on this particular day, I just wanted a lousy cup of coffee and I wasn't even there very long. This is the price I pay for having a stinkin' caffeine addiction! Ohhh well...the car will be fixed, and life will go on. Not the worst thing that has happened to me this year, by a long shot!
Ditto, drummer! I reached for the passenger side door handle on my car Monday morning only to discover a half inch long section of bare metal on the edge of the handle. Likewise, no note. Nothing. I don't truly advocate violence, but I have thoughts of tire irons and remorseless revenge once in a while.
My personal opinion is that the current political climate of the past few years has fanned the flames of so-called "class-warfare/jealousy". People assume that if you drive a BMW (or any vehicle like that...MB, Audi, etc..) that you are in somehow living a life of privilege and the "We'll show them that they are no better than us!" mentality takes over. It doesn't matter if the BMW is 2 or 20 years old. I've seen it time and time and again over the 12 years I have been driving BMWs and more so the last 3 years or so. My .02 and feel free to disagree. Cheers...
Depending on the locale, this type of thing can be charged as a hit and run, and if the damage is greater than a threshold amount, the person potentially faces felony charges. A person's careless disregard for private property is actually still against the law (for now anyway). My wife's E90 had a NASTY SUV-induced door ding/dent. It was right on that side crease along the door on the E90. I looked at it and assumed it would need a new door skin to be fixed properly. A local paintless dent repair guy who had super-high recommendations spent about 30 minutes meticulously and gently working on it, using a propane torch to heat the surface some, etc, and afterward I was amazed he was able to fix it. If you look very closely you can still see the paint is slightly scarred, but the body line looks perfect. From more than a foot away, it is invisible. Of course you need to find the "right" dent repair guy to achieve this result. The first one that looked at it said it couldn't be fixed.
In a way, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case...and I agree with you to a point. However, in my neck of the woods (Philadelphia area) there are so many freakin' BMWs/MBs/Audis/etc., a person would have to use a medium- to large-sized army to get that kind of a message across. It's not like I'm the only bloke driving around in a Bimmer and the rest of the "dregs" are driving 1980s Oldsmobiles!! I wholehartedly agree with you about the political climate of the day and the jealousy that goes with it. Used to be, this was a nation where, if you saw something you wanted but couldn't afford at that point in your life, you would make the necessary changes allowing you to realize that goal (change careers, work harder, sacrifice in other areas, whatever.). Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but that's how I was raised. Nowadays, people simply think they are "entitled"...like they're owed something simply for being alive...but it's not even that simple. Not only do these morons think THEY are "entitled", they also believe that YOU are NOT "entitled"...or even WORSE...they believe that they are "entitled" to what YOU worked for! If I met a genie who granted me ONE WISH, it would be to change the attitudes of people - hands down!!
Don't even get me started on how much ire I have for the "typical American". Arrogance, lack of respect, lack of courtesy, expectations of entitlement, irresponsibility, and the list goes on! Sure, I'm not perfect, but I sure do try to be a decent human being. The problem with most parking lot incidents is that there's no way to know who caused the damage. It's rare for a witness to see anything happen (or even care) and leave a note if the offender did not. I've seen parking lot incidents and will always leave a note, call security or the police with information on the offending party. I tend to park in the outskirts of the lot. Walking is good for me, after all. I also tend to try for end-spots, so my chances of getting whacked are only 50%. But even then you get idiots who park in the painted no-parking area, or even ON the island, like some bonehead did at a Six Flags and put a dent in my door. I've been sitting in my car and the person next to me hit my door, shrugged and drove off before I could do anything. I've seen a woman in a beater destroy the driver's side of a brand new Lincoln Towncar (back in the day) from bumper to bumper, shrug and walk away! My wish would be for a Karma Cannon. Whenever I see these idiots, I'd shoot them with it and let karma take care of the rest. What better way to get satisfaction than for the idiot who damaged your car to find his wrecked or stolen the next day!
All this banter reminds me of a pretty funny story. Good friend (and co-worker) is a retired CW4 Apache pilot. He and I use to have conversations regarding this type of behavior. We went to lunch one day and he reminded me of our conversations and took a ball-peen hammer from behind the seat of his immaculate Chevy truck and showed it to me with a slight grin. I have no doubt that this former combat pilot and Ranger would "quid pro quo" as necessary.
I fear...no, I know...the "us" vs "them" class warfare game is only going to be fanned to all new temperatures with the FY12 budget deliberations. My only wish is that our elected representatives would grow up at some point and start thinking...and fixing...instead of rhetoric mud pies across the aisle.
I've been sitting in my car three times in the last year when someone parked too close and nailed it. Not one said anything to me while I sat there cringing (one in my Mercedes and twice in the 335i). However, I would like to note here that it is almost always a kid in the back seat or an an elderly person who can't control the door swing any better. Frustrating as it is, I've decided things happen and to try to be kind about it. Afterall, I'm likely to be in something different in a few years.
AMEN. I can't even describe how bloody sick I am of the R. vs. D., Donkey vs. Elephant, "us vs them" as you say, rhetoric and attitudes in this country today. Every minute, every hour, every DAY wasted arguing is yet another lost opportunity. I used to get heavily involved in political arguments, both live and in the "blogosphere" if you will, and all it ever got me was aggravated and even higher blood-pressure than I initially possessed!! It's just not worth the precious time and energy any more. We are waaaaayyyyyy past the point of who's fault it is, and we can't expect everyone to agree. I just want to know who's going to finally step up to the plate and do what needs to be done to fix things. Both sides are going to have to sacrifice...everyone's going to have to give a little now to get a lot in the end. We have to dispense with the "me first, screw you" attitudes.
I could live with that. An elderly person or a child who can't control a heavy car door is one thing. The elderly person needs to step up and apologize however. The disrespectful carelessness is the issue I simply cannot wrap my head around!
My late father backed into someone at the local grocery a few years ago. He left a note on the car and told them to call him and that his insurance would take care of the damage. The person called and apparently went on-and-on about how honest he was. He was bit surprised in that "Well, that is what you're supposed to do if you damage something and it's your fault....". Dad was a good man; I miss him every day....
