I guess this really belongs in car chat, but I thought I would start here since a lot of you guys don't get over there that often.

My 5-year-old had a basketball game tonight. I parked my car in the lot (an end spot, of course) and proceeded to walk away from my car towards the building. As I was walking through the lot, I saw a middle-aged woman getting out of an Mercedes S430. She went to her driver's side rear door to get one of her kids out of the car. She opened the door and it stopped at its natural stopping point (but not all-the-way open). As her child got out, she opened it a little further and it bounced twice off the car parked next to her (a relatively new Honda Pilot). She saw what she did, looked at the door of the Pilot momentarily, continued to take her kid out and locked up her car and went inside. I'm not sure whether she actually left a dent.

Once I got inside, I told my wife the story (she knows I'm anal about door dings) and she stopped me mid-story and began to ask questions about the Pilot. As it turns out, it was one of her close friend's cars who happened to be sitting next to us, so I told them what had happened. I even went so far as to point out to them the person that did it.

Here's the question. Very rarely do you actually see a "door dinger" in the act of dinging a car. If you were me, would have said something to the dinger at the time the ding occurred? It clearly was an accident, and she was trying to get her kids out of the car, but come on. If that were my car, I'd be pissed. As it turns out, the people who owned the Pilot were mad, but not mad enough to go up to the woman and say something.

That lady would be payin to fix my car,i too am very anal about door dings.

You told your wife which is what you should have done. Whether the woman meant to do it or not is irrelevant - she still did it. I just found a new ding on my Expedition from some selfish moron who chose not to leave a note. Those people suck :thumbdn:

Jonny

You told your wife which is what you should have done. Whether the woman meant to do it or not is irrelevant - she still did it. I just found a new ding on my Expedition from some selfish moron who chose not to leave a note. Those people suck :thumbdn:

Jonny

Just so we're clear. It wasn't my or my wife's car. I didn't know whose car it was until after I told my wife the story (because she knew that her friend owned a silver Pilot and was parked in that area of the lot).

Paintless dent removal is $80 bucks a ding.

I used to get mad, but around here it's only $50 a door to remove a ding, so I just blowit off and write a check.
A few years ago I went off the hook on a chick that let the wind slam her door into the side of my car. Ended up not getting anything but tears from her, so now I just walk away. Not worth the ulcer.

This is how it should be handled...

Insurance writer of the Pilot should send a certified letter to the owner of the MB asking for details of their inurance carrier to pay for repairs. It must include the date and time of the accident and beleive me it is a "hit and run" even if the damage is $80 or so. If deemed necessary, the letter should mention that witness(es) are available to confirm the accident happened. [It should not mention your name].

All this is totally bussines and no personal feelings need to be brought into it. That is why we are asked to carry insurance.

Salim

This is how it should be handled...

Insurance writer of the Pilot should send a certified letter to the owner of the MB asking for details of their inurance carrier to pay for repairs. It must include the date and time of the accident and beleive me it is a "hit and run" even if the damage is $80 or so. If deemed necessary, the letter should mention that witness(es) are available to confirm the accident happened. [It should not mention your name].

All this is totally bussines and no personal feelings need to be brought into it. That is why we are asked to carry insurance.

Salim

I like that approach. Interesting.

that sh#t pisses me off. I'd have done the same thing you did e. I can't believe your wife's friend didn't say/do anything.the pilot owner should start out by politely telling the dinger that they dented the car and see what happens from there.

how bad was the ding?

that sh#t pisses me off. I'd have done the same thing you did e. I can't believe your wife's friend didn't say/do anything.the pilot owner should start out by politely telling the dinger that they dented the car and see what happens from there.

how bad was the ding?

It was dark, so I couldn't really see it. However, I was passing by on the passenger side of the Mercedes when the woman opened the left rear door to get the kids out, so I was pretty darn close to the whole incident. The fact that the door (which, being an MB door, is probably pretty heavy) bounced off the Pilot and hit it a second time tells me that it probably left a nice sharp dent. I agree with the previous poster that this is no different than a hit and run. Why should this be any different than someone tapping your bumper in a parking lot and scratching the paint? We can all agree it's an accident, but little accidents happen, and the person who caused the accident should be responsible for the damage. That's the way I see it.

yes, same here as well, i will definitely be pointing that out and she will have to pay for everything. that's other people's property and it's not up to her to damage and walk away

Part of the problem is that the factory door-guard strips are almost always too low. Most of them need to be about 6" or so higher up the sides of the car for best protection. Even then, a lot depends on the shape and size of the other car's doors, how far the bottoms stick out when opened ( this is a common problem ).

You can add protection by buying aftermarket self-adhering vinyl door strip moldings....generally available at auto parts stores. The adhesive backing peels off and they go on the sides of the car pretty much like tape stripes. They definitely add protection...at some cost to the car's clean looks.

Here are some examples:http://www.midwayautosupply.com//manufacturerminorcategory.asp?Door%20Moldings

I have used them and put them on myself over the years and have had good luck with them if applied correctly.

personally i think those door-guard are completely useless, like you said marshall a lot of times they are at the "wrong" place. and on top of that, if my cars have them, i would be mad if my door guards have marks as well from other doors. my cars just have to be perfect.

but then again, bot my cars don't have door-guards at all now :)

As it turns out, the people who owned the Pilot were mad, but not mad enough to go up to the woman and say something.

Interesting reaction. I'd for sure check the car to see if there was any damage.

Wish I could say I'd have the same calm reaction, but I highly doubt it.

What I find interesting is that they wouldn't confront her. Try as I might I can't imagine what would keep them from asking her about it.

Yes, I'd recommend the dentless ding removal as well.
But if you want to experiment and save a few bucks, try a product called Ding King. It worked for minor not-so-deep dings on my hood. If you take your time, you can get a pretty decent result. It is priced around 25 dollars.

What I find interesting is that they wouldn't confront her. Try as I might I can't imagine what would keep them from asking her about it.

I agree. I told them that I would go with them and act as a witness. After all, the woman looked at me right after she did it so she knew I saw her. However, everyone's kids were there, and maybe the Pilot owners felt that they didn't want to cause a scene. I don't know. If that were me, the first thing I would have done would have been to run outside and take a very close look at my car to see if there was any damage. The second thing I would have done is get the exact car, color combo and license plate written down. Then, I would have waited until the game was over and calmly approached the person to let her know that my friend (who is sitting right there) witnessed you open your door into my car, and that I intend to get it washed first thing in the morning and if there is a dent, I believe she is responsible for fixing it. If she protested at that point, I would call the police right then and there.

e