mikeinsf

I knew better...

I knew better than to park my car a 24th and Folsom. It's one of the most dubious areas of SF. I'm seeing someone who just moved there. I told him I wasn't comfortable parking my car in that area. I know this city, and I know the type of people that inhabit the various neighborhoods. He told me everything would be ok. I hesitated, really didn't want to stay because I was worried about my car, but gave in. I was parked there for an hour and a half last night around midnight.

Now there's a nice key stripe across my rear quarter, door, front quarter, and hood.

Another thing I've noticed since buying this car is that it really seems to bring out the resentful ***** in other people. It's a sh*t magnet. I get harassed on a regular basis now, in ways I never did driving my Z3 around the city. People seem to just take offense at the most random things. This morning for instance, I'm drivng down Market on my way to work. One lane is a bus/taxi lane in certain sections. There were no buses or taxis anywhere, and the lane was about to become a normal, any-vehicle lane in about 50 feet. I pulled into this lane waiting for the light to turn green. A cyclist on my right decides it's his duty to lecture me about being in a taxi lane. Not exactly being in a serene state of mind this morning, I told him to mind is own f-ing business. This is not an isolated incident. The occasional person just seems to go out of their way to be offended by innocuous things when I'm driving this car.

Has anyone else noticed a level of hostility at times because they're driving an SL? I'm just about afraid to drive the car anywhere at this point. A favorite phrase of a friend of mine comes to mind... "See? This is why we can't have nice things."

I just remembered another thing. Two months after I bought my Z3 back in 1999, it was keyed overnight too. It's like a goddam right of passage.

djamer

That really sucks to hear. Economic hardtimes are causing many ppl to become resentful and jealous of others. It's certainly not a justification but it's happening. To lash out against someone for owning a nice car is downright retarded. I am a firm believer of what comes around, goes around.
Enjoy your car, be viligilent of your surroundings when you drive/park your car, because it's definately an eyecatcher. Its unfortunate when cars get keyed, and defaced, but those who do such things have nothing in their lives going for them and that is the only source of fufillment. Such ppl won't amount to much in life anyway, so just let it be..

Hope you get your car fixed soon, and hopefully this type of incident won't happen to you again..

Amer

Rook3300

Aw man, mikeinsf I'm sorry to hear about that. Thankfully, in my 9 years of car ownership I've never had anyone key or even ding any of my cars. (Knock on wood.) Of course, I live in little ol' Lafayette, Louisiana where there aren't as many eco-mentalists and general crazies about. And here it is legal to carry a weapon in your car in order to protect yourself and your property as it is considered an extension of your household. Maybe there's a correlation?
The worst part is that when you claim it on your insurance to get it repaired, it will be flagged as a claim over $1000 which will continue to show up for either 3 or 5 years (I can't remember) and may affect your rates at some point. I hope it doesn't but I'm just letting you know.
Good luck, and stay safe!

Rook

mikeinsf

Well, one piece of moderately conciliatory information... my agent told me these claims don't affect rates. So I pay my $500 and don't worry about it. It's really hard for me not to feel ****ty about people right about now.

Thanks for your words of encouragement. They help.

mikeinsf

It just occurred to me that I may use this opportunity to upgrade my front bumper to an '07 amg version since they keyed part of that too. The paint needs to be shot at the insurance company's expense anyway. I can buy the parts and make this a bit of a win for me in some respect.

AMGTTV8

That's some bull**** - sorry to hear about your troubles..

However, know that you are not alone!!

Living in Chicago, S*** like this happens all the time.

My car has been keyed numerous times for no reason, and I've had to replace three doors, a fender and a quarter panel in the past 4 yrs due to people squeezing into spots and brushing the side of my cars with their bumpers which leaves a crease in the metal which can't be hammered out..

To make a long story short, no one has the common decency to leave notes in order to compensate the other party.

Just the other day I was leaving my garage in the city with my girlfriend and as we are leaving, some idiot decides to try and pull a u-turn in the garage (which is about as wide as my car is long, if that), and hammers straight into the front of an ML...

After the thunderous bang stopped resonating through the garage, I sat in amazement as the guy simply parked and walked out of his car as if nothing had happened. I asked him if he realized that he had just cracked and knocked out a 5 x 3 in piece of a bumper which costs over 3k...

He responded casually and with a dumbfounded tone, "Oh no, I didn't realize"

My immediate response to him was "You honestly didn't just feel yourself slam into that car??"

"Uhhm, n-no, not really, I thought something happened but I didn't realize.."

I got out of my car since he hadn't "realized", picked up the pieces of bumper, showed him the hole and large crack he created, informed him that since he didn't seem to care, that I lived in the building and that I was running out to get food and would be back in 10 minutes.

If when I returned, there was no Police present to report the accident in order for the MB owner to recover cost of damages as a result of his actions, I would call the Police. I showed him the camera's that were all around him ( as we were at the entrance/exit ) and informed him that since he didnt have too much of an idea of what was going on around him, that him not initiating contact with the Police would equate to him fleeing the scene of an accident, and that I had his license plate written down for him to be found at a later time and/or possibly arrested on his way home...

Of course he didn't care, he was driving a Toyota RAV4 (And i dont judge people on what they drive), but what a complete *****..

The audacity...

Oh, I also sowed on his head so that he wouldn't leave it somewhere by accident...

1QWKJEEP

I feel your anger buddy of mine just bought a new ML550 last week and we parked in downtown Dallas to see an IMAX movie, came out and someone had keyed it front bumbper to bumper and between the windows.

omar26

these are some crzy stories, my cuzn was followed by a guy who just stole a truck, n when my cuzn was getting out the car the guy approached him with a gun n told him to get in the pass. seat. he dropped him off two blocks down the road. crazy how thus guy jus stole a car, but the SL caught his eyes. the guy drove 10 miles on two blown tires frm the spike strip and finally decided to pull over n jump into the bay bridge in the middle of december.

Rook3300

@mikeinsf, I'm glad to hear you've found an upside to the situation. I'm sure the fact that your rates won't go up helps a little.
I probably would have been blinded by rage for a period that could be deemed indecent. I just pray it never happens to my new best friend -- the Iridium Silver on Charcoal 2005 SL500 parked in my garage.

@WWMIndy, people like that should just be shot and taken out of the gene pool. I mean, would he want someone walking up to his house with a sledgehammer and just take a chunk out of it? Most people's vehicles are the second biggest purchase of their entire lives and they just treat it like crap. Have some f-in respect for Heaven's sake. Some people.

CakeDaddy

"leftist area" What the f uck does that have to do with anything? "leftist" LOL. That is the dumbest sheit that I've ever heard in regards to a car being scratched. ~~Oh my god!! My car got scratched and I think it was the left that did it.~~~ LOL.... sorry to hear about your car, but I doubt if it was politically motivated.

mikeinsf

CakeDaddy, chill the f*** out. I'm not exactly the most conservative person you'd ever meet. How exactly do I describe an area with projects, marxist bookstores (leftist), crunchy hipsters riding fixed gear bikes, illegal immigrants. You should change your tone pal. Point is it's a neighborhood with a fair number of have-nots and a dubious reputation. Maybe I was putting a little too much emphasis on that Marxist bookstore 500 feet from where my car was parked. I'm sure it was not someone from there that did it.

There, changed. Happy?

CakeDaddy

Bingo... "Projects" Good job! "Leftist" again... sorry about your car.

fyi... every car is a target in the hood

DeLorean00

Mike sorry to hear that. I live only about 90 miles inland from you, and have these things happen to me as well. I remember in the 1990's when I was a really young man and just bought my first Mercedes (190e), and it got damaged many times. My hood ornament got stolen 3 times, my car got keyed, someone threw ice cream all over in when I was at a store, etc., etc.

With my R230 I just don't drive it a lot of places because I don't want the drama. I am currently looking to buy a Lexus IS300 just to drive to areas I don't want chaos. With the SL everyone treats me like I am some stuck up snob. I hear people making rude comments when I park it places, just the other day I was at a tire shop to dropping off our other car for an alignment. When I got out of my SL with my girlfriend I heard a couple of guys talking about me along the lines of "do you think she (my girlfriend) is only with him because he has that car?". I love the car I just hate the negative attention. And people think I am crazy when I say I don't want to park my car is some areas.

Sorry to hear about the key damage. I hope all goes smooth with the repair. Know that I feel your pain.

-Chris

jfk0816

I just picked up my SL500 and wanted to take some pictures of it. By the time I got it home, it was dark and starting to snow. So, I took it up to the BP station at the end of my street. I overheard a guy gassing up his car talking about the rich, dic*, a##hole, taking pictures of his Mercedes while he was complaining about the economy. I also have a brand new Cadillac Escalade and got it keyed in the first month. Nobody's kicked over the Harley yet though.............

Rook3300

Granted, someone being "right" or "left" as far as political leanings are concerned has little to do with damaging mikeinsf's car. But, I believe he used it in the context of an environmental extremist (or class warfare extremist) who feels justified in lashing out at others for something he/she does not have or does not feel they should have -- in this case, using the "liberal" meaning. It's just like when describing a person to someone else. Yes, it does make it easier to point out their ethnicity or skin color -- that does not mean it is racist to do so. (As a not-on-topic question, WTF is up with the word "racist" being used in a "whites" vs "everyone else" context by default?) Anyway, the term "leftist" can be used to describe those who feel or act more liberal or extreme when dealing with topics or situations that aggravate them. Whereas "right" or "conservative" is used when describing someone who is a little more conservative with their beliefs and/or actions. Strange how "right" people have no problem with someone running a Marxist bookstore down the road, but the "left" people cannot stand someone who temporarily parks an inexpensive used car in their "territory". I think that's on the list of "Things That Make You Go... What the F^ck?!"

If only those sorts of people knew how little we paid for these damn things, I think many people would change their tune.

You guys need to move down here. I've only had compliments on my SL500. I do wonder if it is because I look kinda like a psycho knife murder.... hmmm.

Rook

Rook3300

@Delorean00, LOL only on a Mercedes board would someone think that a Lexus sedan would bring less class envy than their Mercedes-Benz. If you really want to blend in, just go pick up a used Altima 3.5 SL with leather. They're cheap and still ride/handle quite well and should blend right in to the background as there are a million of 'em (well, the 2.5's that is). Either that, or just go full camo with a Toyota Camry. Ugh, I can't believe I just suggested that.

Rook

1QWKJEEP

That would just be plain UN-American or LEFTIST-LOL

Rook3300

@mikeinsf, as an aside I remember the several times me and the wife travelled to SF. The first time we stayed in a little hotel off of either 13th or 17th (can't remember) and walked up Market to Embarcadero and all the way over to the Golden Gate bridge. Coit Tower was really cool as well as those neighborhoods over there. Walking through the little Chinatown area made me want to punch people as you basically have tons of little people banging into you and stepping in front of you. Good food though. The "Art & Theatre District" was really neat as we don't have anything even remotely similar in Louisiana. Even though we went in July, it was cold as frick and I had to buy a pullover just I wouldn't catch pneumonia. Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. (And since all the illegal immigrants were granted safe haven and SF is basically bankrupt, we're not going back. You may want to get out while you still can.)

Rook

mikeinsf

Rook.... Thank you very much for putting into words what I didn't really have the patience to parse out for CakeDaddy. I'm a center-left person myself, who has little patience for the fringes of either side of the political spectrum. Every neighborhood in SF has its own flavor, and there is a reason the Mission has the reputation it does. Alot of the more activist lefty organizations in SF identify with this neighborhood, and those people also tend to harbor quite a chip on their shoulder when it comes to things they perceive as "classist". I bet I could street park my car in Pacific Heights (a neighborhood lovingly referred to by SF residents as "Specific Whites") for years, and never have my car keyed. Same with my neighborhood, Corona Heights. My car was in the Mission for a total "park time" of 1.5 hours before someone had their way with it. Coincidence? I think not. Though I'm on the left side of things, some of the activism in this city has me shaking my head. All of the valets that work in the Mission know what happens to nice cars there, and will tell you you're nuts for street parking a nice car. I thought a short time would be ok, but nope.

It's funny to hear you speak of your time in SF, because you confirm just about every impression the average tourist takes away. Those souvenir shops in Union Square and Pier 39 make a fortune off tourists who come here shivering in shorts and a t-shirt. The observation about the Chinatown mobs are what made me laugh though. I resolved long ago that I would never ride a bus in this city because of all of the little mainland Chinese women that have ZERO respect for what a queue is, all scurrying like little rodents pushing you around with their little pink plastic bags full of groceries so they can be the first onboard. The rudeness in Chinatown is well understood. I get really spoiled by the restaurant scene here. When I go to other places, like to visit my parents in Louisville, it's almost impossible to find a meal that isn't Chili's or Olive Garden. Blech! And the homeless situation is probably one of my least favorite things. Before moving here I had much more sympathy for homeless than I do now. Gavin Newsom started an initiative called "Care not Cash" though, that has ended city-sponsored paydays for them, and puts up signs that discourage handing out money. I could go on about my city, but I'll stop.

CakeDaddy

You speak as if your sheit dont stank. What the f uck........ "Left Organizations" You should stop talking or just let Rook3300 speak for you. Your above statement is absolutely ignorant and is the least bit humbling or can I say…. Stuck-up. I'm beginning to think you got what you deserved.

Here are two quotes in your above statement that needs some deep thought and serious attention:
1. Activist Lefty Organizations
2. Those people



Your car got scratched, plain and simple. Get it fixed and keep it moving! There is no need to single out "lefty organizations" and/or "those people"

mikeinsf

I deeply regret you don't agree with me Cake. I'm humbled by your far more enlightened viewpoint on things. Truly.

I love my city, that's why I live here. There are things I like and things I don't like about it. Crazy left-wingers are one thing I don't like. Just like I don't like crazy right-wingers. For the most part, the crazy left-wingers will let me live and be who I want to be without harassment or oppression moreso than crazy right-wingers. That's why I live here and not somewhere like Orange County or the bible belt.

You can disparage me all you want. Each post makes it more clear you're just a a-hole who gets off on berating other people for calling a spade a spade.

My car could be parked in Pacific Heights forever with nothing happening to it. My Z3 was parked in my neighborhood for 9 years with no incident.

I park the Benz in the Mission, a neighborhood I happen to spend a LOT of time in, a hangout for eco-fundamentalists and crazy-kook political groups of other varieties, for 90 minutes, and the car gets defaced because it's a symbol of economic repression. Nice cars are ~routinelly~ vandalized in his area. More often than not keyed instead of being broken into. Keying is an act of willful malice and nothing more. These are the facts. I called this in to my insurance co yesterday (Mercury). I told her the street address, and this is no lie, she said there were five other vandalism claims that she's handled in the past two weeks in that area, all on high-end cars. This is one adjuster at one company.

You can get pious with me all you want Cake, it doesn't change these facts.

Rook3300

Now if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black there. Who the f^ck are you, the Politically Correct police? Unless you live in a damn cave somewhere, you do find out over time that certain people do live and act a certain way. Have you ever heard of a non-PETA person throwing blood on someone for abusing animals? I haven't. Have you heard of an atheist beating or killing an abortion doctor? Nope, I haven't either. There are nuts on both sides and it is much easier when one can openly identify them so that others may be warned. I would even go so far as to guess that even in your city there are places you wouldn't dream of walking late at night or parking your nice car. I know that there are those places in my city and it isn't "stuck up" or out of place for me to say. I just stay the f^ck outta those places and warn others to do the same. And don't even dream of stepping to me on talking about them that way. I grew up around the lazy *** f^ckers and had to watch my back all the time. We were poor too. In the meantime, I worked hard, went to school, I have a degree, a nice home and drive a Mercedes. What's that? Oh yea, those other people still live with their lazy-*** parents.

By the way CakeDaddy, whatever rule or law gives you the right to be a PC policeman here also gives mikeinsf the right to say what he pleases about whomever he wants.

Now let's all have a nice tall glass of STFU and sit in the shade admiring each others Mercedes.

Rook

P.S.- They finally stopped giving the homeless people their paychecks at the first of each month? That's great news. I shook my head so hard when I first heard that, I think I pulled a muscle. Now if they can just shut down free medical care for illegal immigrants and giving them driver's licenses, they'd be on the way to getting their books back into the black. Money isn't free and even the city of SF can't quite print their own yet.

mlandis

OK, I think we're getting pretty close to Godwin's Law...

CakeDaddy

Have a good weekend people. My work is done here

Rook3300

Oh you have no idea. I actually typed the bad N-word (the one with a "z" and an "i") and then quickly deleted it after remembering Godwin's Absolute Law of Internet Discussion Dynamics (my name for the Law, google Godwin's Law if you don't know what we're talking about).

I'm done with any sort of "discussion" on this subject. My condolences are with mikeinsf and I'm sure he knows that. Any other topics/points are moot here.

Rook