So my wife and I went out the other night, shes driving and we get to where we were going and I tell her to pull in a specific parking spot. She tells me no I see a better one, and she pulls up. Looks like an innocent spot right, wrong infact there was no noise but she had pulled the front lip up over and along the parking stop or block. It was high enough to scrape the underside of the lip to a point where there is now white "Curb Rash" visible from the front.

Needless to say I was in a bad mood for the rest of the evening, but then we later kissed and made up. Well today I get home at the same time my wife give or take 2-5 minutes and I see my wife standing in the garage looking at her car funny. I jump out and she tells & shows me where someone had parked next to her and opened their door into the right rear quarter panel of our C300 sport At this point I am boiling but control my anger and temper and for the life of me can't figure how we can almost go a year and a half into ownership unscathed and get two major dings or damage in less than a day

I can honestly say no matter how much I pamper or baby my vehicles it's nearly impossible to own a car longer than two-three years without damaging it. I envy those of you who do and can. Believe you me I am that guy who parks way out in the sticks, and my wife is trained to do the same. I've even given her instruction on how to avoid scrapping the lip and such. I'm venting still but I so wish I could have her drive a big truck like I had her n before we got the W204.

-Ryan

Yeah I feel your pain man.

We're the same way. We do everything imaginable to take care of it and rent cars or use the old car, if we're going anywhere dangerous (places with parking lots being a key one).

Sadly, I got a scratch only 1 month into it. Flat tire, and then the jack scratched the car, and the lug wrench scratched the wheels. ha-ha.

Wild.

Hey, I'll cross my fingers that both of us won't have anything else happen for a very long time, if ever!

ouch. That sucks man. I always get like stupidly paranoid when I park in public. I hate how people just don't care about other people's property.

I am beginning to think all our attempts at keeping our cars safe is futile...I have been very particular for 20 years and there are always @$$holes that seem to go out of their way to ding our cars.
I have recently began to think that we are going about it all wrong...maybe we should shove our cars into the tightest, worst spaces possible...I do this with rental car almost weekly, and even though it's a rental, I still look for dings(can't break that habit) and they NEVER get any. Maybe it's the fact that they are wedged in too tight to allow the next car to get much momentem to open their doors. Problem is we may be parking just far enough away to allow everyone to get a good swing going with their door just as it gets to our sheetmetal.
Just a thought....

Additional thoughts are that when we park a nice car out by itself, it seems to attract a certain element that is jealous and seem to want to make trouble. If we are parked in the scrum, we are just another car too close to allow them to open there doors to the last detent...therfore maybe a little bump but no big dings.

I feel your pain my friend...

I hate that kind of people, I got a ding on the rear left wheel panel even that I always try to park as faraway possible

Um, get over it.


For years, driving in Seattle meant that your car would be damaged. There was no option. I've been slammed into by cars trying to make a "blind" lane change, by guys falling asleep while driving, by kids pulling out of a stalled lane without looking first, etc. At one point I had 4 cars and none of them were virgin and all of that the fault of the "other guy.'

You put the car on the road and you have to assume it's going to get dinged up. No option. I actually had one car go 12 years without dings or collision, but that is a rarity.

Me? I'm just waiting to boil over with that first ding

You got a point, I drive a $1500 beater truck 70% of the time, like another guy said in this post he parks his rentals everywhere and they don't get dinged. I park my beater wherever I can and out of force of habit look for dings and swipes from parking lots and never find any. However the Benz we are always being extra cautious and it's like a damage magnet. I honestly think there are people less fortunate and if they see a premium brand in a parking lot, especially clean and looks like the owner loves his car. These folks will go out of their way to leave their mark on your car. Gone are the days where you actually would come out to your car, even have so much as a small ding and there is a note on your glass.

-Ryan

dammmm i feel ur pain cuz my bottom lip got scrapped yesturday too !!!!!

mmm...also i hate it when ppl park close like ...really close to me...!!

you know what I also have noticed?...

Im the same way, I park way out with the other **** car enthusiasts in the far back of the lots. I got friends who have nice cars as well but just arent so particular about their cars, they park wherever. dont care.

one of them hardly locks it, sucks at parking, hardly washes it...AND HAS NOT ONE DING! he gets it detailed like 1-2 times a year and I swear when he does his car looks just as good if not better than mine! during spring-fall I wash my car every weekend, handwash with microfiber mit. just baby it, I probably handwax it once a month. he gets better results with 15% the effort its rediculous.

everytime I try to think oh whats the chances something will happen or "ill just be in and out" Chances always seem to be against me. If I see a different car parked on either side of my car that wasnt there before I start RUNNING to see what I already know i am going to find. IT SUCKS!!!!!! I would go crazy if i didnt have a beater to drive everyday.

this is why I luv this forum, doesn't have to be posting real info all the time

support!

but yea, sry dude, it sucks... the first time is always the most painful... after that it gets easier...

Yeah, misery loves company...

Yep.

Unfortunately, I was the one driving when our C300 (my wife's car) got her first lip scrape on a parking barrier. I thought she was gonna drag me out of the car, place me under the wheels and just drive back and forth for a while. Fortunately, you can't see the damage and she didn't actually kill me, I just got "the silent treatment" for a while.

btw, the parking spaces are much smaller here in Japan, so it's pretty much a given that you'll eventually get those little door dings.

With regard to people leaving notes after hurting your car, we actually had a guy leave a note after he crunched the front quarter panel on our W208 (CLK) a few months ago in a parking garage. His insurance company paid for it and the dealer made her look as good as new. Not everyone is an @$$hole. Yet...

I can only think of Japan where a guy would still take responsibility for his error in this way.....