mmereos

I have an Andorite Grey 2007 s550.
I parked my car on the street last night when I went out to eat and this morning I saw that my car was keyed very very badly by someone; they started at the front passenger side and scratched it deeply alway way back through the gas cap door and just beyond it.

I was going to get the car traded in for something else and now I don't know if I should get it fixed by the insurance company or leave it as is so that the dealer doesn't think it was in an accident by getting it painted. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

trumpet1

I wouldn't get it fixed if you're about to trade it off. They will kill you on the trade-in if they detect it painted. Just my opinion. Hopefully the vandals gets a horrible case of chicken pocks and has a scarred face for life.

S5LorinserF1

that really sucks man... i had some ******* do that to my car last year.


they keyed the car from the front fender all the way to the gas cap.


I had it parked at the end of the parking lot where there were no cars, so some real low life had to drive out there and key it...whats haters there are out there.


Anyways the best advice i can give you is make a police report...AND CALL YOUR INSURANCE. YOUR RATES WILL NOT GO UP AT ALL BECAUSE IT IS CONDSIDERED VANDALIZED. And you can bring it to any shop you want.. i would recommend the best shop you can find... and make sure its a paint shop that has a bake room for the paint.

You Def do not wanna trade it in with that Huge scratch because

#1- it is very visible
#2- there gonna wanna low ball you at least a couple grand off for that scratch.


Get it done how i told you, as thats how i got my car taken car of.

06CLK350

I recently had my range rover keyed. You can either leave it the way it is, or take photographs and document why it was painted so the dealership has the info. Im really sorry to here that and i hope the morons that did this have this done to their cars one day.

trumpet1

If he gets it painted, the painter better really know what he is doing to make sure that it will go undetected by a paint meter.

Also, that is a good idea of reporting it to the authorities for full documentation of vandalism.

Yes, this whole story sucks. Nobody is a winner and we sure who know who the losers are....the little pr*cks that did it.

One question for the OP: Were there any surveillance cameras that might have picked up the crime?

AsianML

That really sucks. I really hate these POS scumbags that feel like they have some sort of right to key someone elses car or just vandalize it in general. If it's out of envious hate, then they should do something about it...like go to school...

/rant

bigben320e

`Go to school, make some money, and get a life. SUCKS to be them obviously. I was watching a special on about people getting jacked in Florida, Miami and these idiots that were caught actually made this statement: "We feel that those things were ours, because we saw them." Huh???? WTF?

Made my stomach turn, and not to judge anyone, but what do you do with people like that? Throw the switch? Jail for life? IDK.

On topic, that sucks about your car. The suggestion earlier to get a police report and get it fixed is the best route I think.

BlackMamba24

sucks man...sorry to hear that...i agree with the other posters...get it reported and get it fixed...good luck.

jherbias

Call the cops... sometimes it might be part of a spree of random vandalism. Also tell them you're going to put a bullet in those guys' heads.

hotwiredbenz

I've had cars keyed in the past, and in my experience the best thing to do is file a police report and then claim it with your insurance company. After your insurance approves the repair, get it fixed at a very good shop like mentioned in this thread. The paint meter check on used cars is not always accurate anyway since even detailing and buffing the car can affect the paint thickness. If you end up trading in the car, the dealership will most likely just look for visible signs of repaint and check the car fax. If the repaint is done correctly, there should be no visible signs and typically these kind of things do not show in a carfax report anyway. Most dealers and private buyers will never know it was keyed unless you tell them.

AustinGuy

I feel bad for you. Good thing you are not that attached to the car (in that you were thinking about selling it)...

Nonetheless, it says a lot about the society we live in: There are jealous people out there who don't particularly like successful people - at least those with nice luxury cars..... and probably think that their sense of entitlement is being hampered.

That being said, I would pony up the $$$ and paint it without getting insurance involved. I'm not sure a dealership is going to look THAT closely and notice it. Otherwise you are going to lose a lot in the trade/sale

j_belll

u gottta have the whole thing repainted. its happened to me already. for me however it was just an inch and a half.

sucks dude i know how u feel

mmereos

Thanks for the idea of the Bake room. I would have never thought of that. Although my insurance company recommends a few places I will also check with Mercedes here in Miami and see if they have the Bake rooms and also how they will go about fixing it, I will also talk to the 2 places Progressive recommends and see how many s550's they have done and see if they will order the paint from Mercedes or just try and match it.

hotwiredbenz

find a place in your area that does high end cars. Maybe ask where the local ferrari dealers get their work done I wouldn't go with the insurance company's recommendation. I had a car keyed last year and took it to a place of my own choosing... and my insurance still offered to pay for it. Don't worry too much about where they get the paint. Even paint from mercedes will vary a bit depending on the batch. A good body shop will be able to blend it perfectly. Most likely they will have the repaint all the damaged panels (and parts of the surrounding areas) to get a smooth blend. If it's done right, it should look 100% new. Oh yeah, once it's done, make sure that the orange peel (the ripples in the reflection) match the factory paint. if it doesn't, ask them to redo it. A difference in the orange peel is a dead giveaway of a repaint job.

mmereos

I called a friend that has a Ferrari and he recommended a place called Karosserie in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. They are supposed to be one of the best in the country and speaking to the owner he said there will be no way at all that even an expert will be able to see that it was painted.
He said that unless I want to take it to the West Coast where there are plenty of high-end paint shops he recommended I take it to them because they are one of the best.
If anyone knows of any shops in South Florida I am open for ideas but I feel comfortable with those people already because they seem very proud of their work.

konigstiger

Always saddens me to read about occurrences of this sought! If it is any consolation, look forward to getting your replacement vehicle. My suggestion would be if you decide to keep the vehicle for some reason go with Karosserie if not, choose one of these certified shops: http://www.mbusa.com/care/service/co...ers/results.do - best of luck!

Chargin55

I agree. Get it fixed for sure prior to sale.
Reading this thread it looks like a common problem. Report it to cops. All minor incidents should be reported as much as a time waste it seems. If statistics say a heap of cars are being keyed in a particular area a sting will be set up to catch the looser. They might catch your old girlfriend

Phin

Sterilize comes to mind.OP, sorry to see this happen to you bro.I believe in karma,the little "waste of skin" will get his.OP,just an after thought,but you haven't pissed off any females lately have you?

trumpet1

If that isn't bad enough, today I heard on the local TV news (Birmingham, AL) in a suburb not too far from here that someone went on a tire slashing spree and slashed tires on 73 cars in just a few hours!!!!!

Unbelievable spree of automotive vandalism this past week or two. This almost makes me feel there is a nationwide gang related thing going on. You never know.

I also posted this on the C32 forum. Someone else there has had a keying issue, busted out windows, etc. What the heck is going on?

Mrkhan347

mmereos,

**** like this really ticks me off. I hope you find out who did it and do whatever you can legally against him. This is unacceptable and frankly, trashy.

AustinGuy

Like I said earlier - some gonads are just plain JEALOUS! Period. It makes them sick that some can afford to drive nice cars and so...... they take out their hate/frustrations on that symbol of their fear/jealousy. How else do you explain such low-life stuff?

It's like what you sometimes notice in parking lots ---- people double park their expensive cars or park at an angle so that 2 spots are taken and no one park next to them..... It's an invitation to tick people off and bring on that key scratch or whatever.