Irresponsible Idiots who hit parked cars!!

[N10S]

Ever want to choke someone but don't know who?

I literally left my car for only about 30 minutes tops while helping the wife pick-up and deliver a table in her SUV. Parking lot was pretty empty and it was after sunset so pretty dark and I did not notice anything at that point. I hop in my car and go and fuel it up for the week and under the lights see this major smudge on the back of my bumper cap. Its been crappy weather so its pretty dirty looking and definitely something new. I take it home and wash and rinse it off, and sure enough some A$$-Hat has hit it and didn't have the nuts or probably the insurance to take accountability for their actions. Just turned 1000 miles with this new car and now I have two nice little black divots in the paint of my bumper cap where it took the worst hit. I guess I am lucky its not worse than it is but man, that sure takes the new right off the car.

I know from owning a suby in the past that a lot of the plastic body parts come pre-painted from the factory. Anyone know if this is the case for the rear bumper cap? It would be worth it to me to buy a brand new one rather than get the original fixed and painted. I am thinking that the likelihood of this bumper being painted and ever matching in the WRB color is unlikely. Anyone have any experiences with this kind of repair?

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[Napalm3nema]

Man that sucks to hear... I found a really cheap place for a replacement bumper I thought about getting from, don't know if they have what you need: http://subaruoemparts.net/

I haven't used them as a vendor yet, but their prices seemed very reasonable, and it lets you get the small parts of a car...

Good luck, glad the damage wasn't worse.

I had a 2004 Cobra, parked at the back of a lot, alone, at a restaurant. Some drunk asshat backs up like 75 feet easy, hits my car, then leaves the scene. Never caught him. Car was never the same and I ended up selling it a year or so later. So it could be worse!

[N10S]

Thanks for the link. It looks like they have the bumper covers for a pretty good price. Since there is only one choice I am guessing that the only way these come is in an unpainted state of finish. If thats the case then I am sure my original can probaly be fixed and repainted since the damage is more aesthetic than anything. Just hate to have to take the chance that the blue won't match for some reason since the bumper cap wraps around like it does. Arghhh!!!

That cobra incident was pretty ugly, and once again a great example of some of the scum that our society pukes out..

[Napalm3nema]

There are also a lot of guides on how to take off parts yourself. You can save a lot of time and money by removing the part yourself, taking it to get painted, then putting it back on yourself.

Also please wait for others to chime in on parts places, I've never ordered from this place, so there might be better places that have just smaller components etc..

Yeah Cobra damage was the entire front fender and driver door. He must have hit it about 20mph I'd say. Car was never the same... If I could have found him I dunno what I would have done.

[wrxgirl08]

Do you know if there were any cameras in the parking lot you think it happened at? This is the reason I always park in view of a camera when i'm working just in case. People are just scummy, i'm really sorry to hear that man. I couldn't imagine how enraged I would be if someone hit my brand new car.

[Don Grafmyer]

I have a 2011 WRB WRX Limited sedan with 4300+ miles on it now. Two weeks, and about 130 miles after I got it, while parked on my employer's property, it was vandalized. It was parked in a spot with no vehicles on either side of it for less than 15 minutes. When I returned to the car there were still no other vehicles on either side of it, but there was a 24 inch scratch in the driver's side of the rear bumper cap.

My outcome was, a report to my insurance company of vandalism, $500 deductible on the claim, and overnight at the body shop with a rental vehicle covered under my insurance. The body shop was able to match the paint perfectly, as it was current year and had not weathered/faded. The cover/cap was removed, completely stripped, reprimed and painted just as it was done at the factory. The shop manager took the job himself. He drives a yellow Cobalt SS, which he parks in a chain link fenced lot where only his car and the jobs he works are parked by only him. He knew exactly how I felt. I can't see any difference between the refinish and the surrounding panels.

I understand your emotions, but it is afterall a car that is going to have a lot of exposure to idiots. You or I can't avoid that fact. You just have to get used to the idea that it hasn't the same value to other people as it has to you.

[N10S]

No, this is an outdoor factory outlet mall thats losing stores and on the verge of shutting down. My wife works at one of the stores there and unfortunately no cameras.

Don, your experience is way too familiar. Good to hear that the paint could be matched. I have owned a lot of cars like M3, Mcoupe, S4, Evo, Rx8, etc.... Its terrible to say but the truth is that there are a-holes out there that would do that out of jealousy.

[somethingpink03]

Ugh. That sucks. It seems as if I'm finding a new door ding on my car every other day or something!

My idiot neighbor parked his car ON MY CAR for an hour or so while I was in my apartment (parallel parking). I noticed a mark in my bumper later on that day but didn't know where it came from. Turns out my other neighbor saw his car parked into mine and snapped a pic for me.

Hope everything turns out alright for you.

[Scooby207]

I lost my Saab to a hit a run right outside my apartment. I even heard it happen but didn't get to the window in time. My car totaled and they were gone... No idea how they could have driven away with the amount of damage that happened to my car

Sorry about your car but at least it's not totaled

[N10S]

Thanks guys, and sorry for venting. I was really stressed earlier. At this point I will have to see how the insurance will cover this kind of damage. Not sure if it falls into collison or not since I can't say for sure what the cause was 100%. The paint is scuffed some, but maybe that can be buffed-out leaving two small black spots where the finish was removed. On one hand I want the car to look like it did, but on the other hand I am worried about the color match with the way the bumper cap wraps around with the fender panels. Any deviation in color would really be noticeable. It may be easier to just try and buff out the finish scuffs and then just grin and bear the damage.

[Napalm3nema]

I dunno if you should hit up insurance for something so minor. Check a body shop, see how much it will run, then decide.

If you make a claim they will get you for it, and if you try and switch insurance they will get you for it then...

I hit a dog once, and ate 1300 out of pocket on my Subi... Insurance is only used for something way beyond a deductible imo. That's also why I have a 1000 dollar deductible. Anything less I wouldn't claim it, and my monthly is much lower because of that higher deductible.

[lordgrinz]

Originally Posted by Napalm3nema

That's also why I have a 1000 dollar deductible. Anything less I wouldn't claim it, and my monthly is much lower because of that higher deductible.

Same here, not worth adding things to insurance just to save a few bucks and increase your premium rate.

[Zachfeen]

WRB is pretty easy to match. I'd have the stock piece fixed up

Same thing happened to my 11 SWP wrx, except someone got up against the rear passenger door. Now I am dealing with a shoddy repair job done by the subaru paint shop

[Lazer84]

I feel the pain. I have to park on a side street (no garage for my apartment) and people seem to think that it's ok to just keep backing up until they hit you in order to parallel park. These dingleberries are the reason I have a trailer hitch now. Let them mess up their own bumper! As for the front...well, when I actually have a garage I'll just take it off, strip it, and re-paint it myself.

Found this website that does OEM paint in aerosol cans, I'll most likely use that

http://www.paintworldinc.com/default.aspx

[N10S]

I read about the difficulty of matching the SWP. Beautiful color, but looks like its the hardest of all to match. Heavy metallic silvers are bad too.

Lazer84 thanks for the link, I also found this as another WRB paint solution from Grimmspeed.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...ight=wrb+paint

I wonder what kind of base primer goes on under the factory WRB color?

[N10S]

I am thinking my best solution might be to buy a new OEM bumper cover via the internet, and then have it painted by a shop that does a lot of suby work for the dealer. Then just install it myself. Need to research the R&R DIY for the removal of the bumper cap, but from past experiences with Subies it should not be too difficult.

Thanks again guys.

[10splaya22]

Originally Posted by Napalm3nema

I dunno if you should hit up insurance for something so minor. Check a body shop, see how much it will run, then decide.

If you make a claim they will get you for it, and if you try and switch insurance they will get you for it then...

I hit a dog once, and ate 1300 out of pocket on my Subi... Insurance is only used for something way beyond a deductible imo. That's also why I have a 1000 dollar deductible. Anything less I wouldn't claim it, and my monthly is much lower because of that higher deductible.

Thats not always true, my premium only increased $9 per month with USAA going from 1000 deductible to 300 deductible. It would take me over 6 years of not getting into an accident to make that back. But I guess it all depends on the situation, hopefully Ill never have to use insurance.

[SubieScott77]

Oh that's nothing, I've had all sorts of bad luck with my wrx.

1) Significant rock chips on the hood from the interstate. Cheap paint...
2) Was rear ended about two weeks ago, in the process of having the other person's insurance pay for it.
3) Lastly, I misjudged a gas station curb height. Cracked my front bumper on the lower right corner AND scuffed the wheel. However, I've since fixed both back to stock condition.

Either way, careful or not...personal mistake or someone else...it's gonna get roughed up a little. Makes me wanna buy a whole new car though, haha. :-/

[Neurodancer]

Originally Posted by Don Grafmyer

<snip>Two weeks, and about 130 miles after I got it, while parked on my employer's property, it was vandalized. It was parked in a spot with no vehicles on either side of it for less than 15 minutes. When I returned to the car there were still no other vehicles on either side of it, but there was a 24 inch scratch in the driver's side of the rear bumper cap.</snip>

Not saying this is the case for any of the posters here, but:



*from DamnLOL.com - not pitching the site, but I thought this was hilarious...

[Lazer84]

^^^^Kind of funny, but a real asshat move too. Insult to injury

[s2ktosti]

Originally Posted by Lazer84

^^^^Kind of funny, but a real asshat move too. Insult to injury

Hey anyone dumb enough to take two spots gets what is coming to them.

OP I feel your pain. I was at my local auto shop with my brand freaking new Evo IX MR a few years ago and some girl in a celica backed into it. Luckily lots of witnesses so she didn't run. When the cop showed up she tried to blame ME . The cop looked at her, and I quote "Lady, I don't care if he left it in the middle of the damn street, you hit a PARKED CAR! If this wasn't a private lot I'd be giving you a ticket." It was freaking classic. The cop was actually being really nice to her until she pulled that, then he was only nice to me

Ah well cars can be fixed.

[N10S]

Haha..that car parked in two spots is kinda funny in a sick sort of way. I was not parked in two spots, and dont ever angle park in a spot either. I am guilty of parking further away than necessary at time to avoid door dings. That can draw attention at times too.

You know that last post is truly telling though. After further research I realized that in Missouri (maybe anywhere) if you get hit on a private parking lot there is not much that you are going to legally be able to do about it. I guess that doesn't keep you from having your insurance company beat them down, but there is definitley no guarantee that you are going to come away satisifed that the culprit has paid for their mistake.

[Ben98t5]

Originally Posted by Neurodancer

Not saying this is the case for any of the posters here, but:



*from DamnLOL.com - not pitching the site, but I thought this was hilarious...

love it! haha! If you are going to park in several spaces, at LEAST do it in a less busy area of a garage. Common curtsy really.

OP, sorry about your bumper. Having just graduated college, where no car was safe regardless of parking position, i have more than a couple dings and scratches. At least its only on the bumper cover and not a hood or part of the unibody.

[oxtox]

Originally Posted by Neurodancer

love it! i may have to write up a couple of these just to have on hand.

[Thermal.Noize]

It sucks! My '11 STi was hit twice in three months