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I know that a lot of you are like me, we are not fools taking 4 spaces to park, but we park away from the main areas, look for an end spot, etc. Anything to minimize ding and dents.
But sometimes it just doesn't matter ......
Small parking area at a strip center, despite parking away from everyone, an elderly lady didn't pay attention and got my drivers door. Of course I was upset but she actually came and found me to tell me and it's already acknowledged through her insurance. So the only thing I could do was tell her I appreciated her telling me. But it just makes me sick to look at it.
Anyway, it goes in to MB approved shop next Monday, new OEM door, no aftermarket.
That's life but it just shows when you are in the wrong place at the wrong time
Same happened to me, I got an end spot near some poles and a tree, I parked as close to the poles and tree as I could so there was like 3 feet of extra space between my car and the parking spot line. Someone still managed to scrape my door. I got the dent pulled out but I left my clear coat scratched since it wasn't that bad. The person that hit me didn't bother to leave a note :B
Yeah, that is a drag and hopefully you will get a good match on the paint. Good lady though. Did the cops come? Hopefully you took care of it directly and no police report generating a Carfax blip on the record.
Oh man that blows! Hopefully everything gets taken care of. Couple things to note though, there's really no such thing as an "mb approved shop". They're just regular body shops that make a deal with dealers. Depending your insurance it's either a new door or a used mb door, there's no aftermarket on doors.
Carfax though.. Depending on your insurance, a collison is a collision and they may report it regardless, hopefully they don't though!
Make sure things like your door handle and windows work properly after it's repaired.
Thanks everyone, I know this is minor compared to some of the stories I've read. No police called or needed. Despite my angst, I have to say she was a nice lady.
Yes I understand about the MB "approved" part but I figured if the end result is not satisfactory I'll use any additional leverage I can.
I know that a lot of you are like me, we are not fools taking 4 spaces to park, but we park away from the main areas, look for an end spot, etc. Anything to minimize ding and dents.
But sometimes it just doesn't matter ......
Small parking area at a strip center, despite parking away from everyone, an elderly lady didn't pay attention and got my drivers door. Of course I was upset but she actually came and found me to tell me and it's already acknowledged through her insurance. So the only thing I could do was tell her I appreciated her telling me. But it just makes me sick to look at it.
Anyway, it goes in to MB approved shop next Monday, new OEM door, no aftermarket.
That's life but it just shows when you are in the wrong place at the wrong time
this sucks. I literally feel your pain. I had the same thing happened to me a few months ago. I know people say that cars are just material items, but this material item I value and worked hard for. It just angers me that even though you go through Great Lengths to protect your pretty baby, people are still very careless and inconsiderate.
Yes for me luckily its just the one door and I'm grateful that its not on my insurance. Just a reminder to me that despite our best planning, life happens ! I'll post later about repair quality.
I know some people demand the whole side to be repainted so you don't end up with one door that may look slightly different from the neighboring panels (especially over time). It's harder to see the difference when the transition happens going from vertical panels to horizontal panels. Just something to consider... There are pros and cons to both.
I'd personally also make sure door handles etc get always removed (I know you are getting a new door so this doesn't really apply to your driver door). I absolutely hate when they just tape around handles, trim etc.
Thanks! Yes absolutely items will be taken apart and it will all match. I dont have a shop but I've done restorations for about 30 years now, including trim and paint. Had the discussion with the body shop, I'll work with them and the service mgr was very good about highlighting their game plan. And I'm clear that I'll take a while to go over the car when done 😁
I appreciate the inputs, its always good to keep these things in mind. I also noted on the contract that when I leave the car they acknowledge condition of interior, paint and rims. Just trying to reasonably cover the bases and they were ok with that.
Thanks gents.
Just winding this up, I picked up the car today. It was taken in last week Monday. This was the Caliber Collision in Conroe TX.
Whew. They did a great job. Paint match is dead on and the final fit and finish looks OEM. Aside from a faint wiff of paint you would never know anything happened. They installed a used door that looked perfect, used my original inside panel and tinted glass. Everything works and no scratches on trim, wood panel, or any plastics. New weatherseal as well. The only thing that I had to do was re-wrap the new lower door chrome trim. They did have to repaint the used door but even the door jambs and bottom were finished like factory.
I didn't post a picture because it looks just like it did before, which was the intended outcome.
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