First carpark dent after 4 1/2 years...

[01CDsedan]

I suppose I should be thankful in having had such a good run with it...but while washing the Astra today (5/01 build TS CD sedan), I came across the first dent in its side caused by wayward shopping trolleys/carelessly opened doors etc in four and a half years of ownership.

Just a small one, with a corresponding paint chip, on the rear quarter panel about 10cm behind the rear door. Right on the crease line that runs down the side of the TS Astra.

I guess the run of good luck in carparks had to end sometime (if you exclude the time it got hit by another car in a hospital carpark and I had to get the rear bumper resprayed). Still ****s me though. (And let's not talk about the bug marks that won't come off and paint chips on the front end after 131,000km of mostly highway driving).

It's a much better run than I had with the Gemini, though - in that car, I must have picked up about a dozen of them in four years. Then again, I used to work in retail at the time and the Gemini was noticeably less solid than the Astra is.

[CJB]

Sorry to hear man. At least 4 1/2 years is a good run. Very good infact, what's your secret :)

I have three on the drivers side, from doors, and two chips in the back where someone from here ran into me, carelessly of course :eek:

AND YES I know exactly what you are talking about with the marks on the front! What are they? Because unless they are bugs extremely flattened they aren't coming off!!!! grrr...

but sorry to hear. are you having it fixed or just consider it something minor?

[01CDsedan]

I think my secret might actually be living in Canberra, where parking is easy and a lot of the time there's no need to park next to any other cars. I also don't go shopping during busy times :)

With the marks on the front, I'm pretty sure they're dead bugs. It takes a lot of scrubbing to get them off and a lot of the time the acid from their guts has eaten through the paint in the meantime.

I don't think I'll have it fixed - it's pretty small and given that it's right on the creaseline it would probably be a bit difficult to fix. I'll just leave it alone and let it annoy me every time I see it.

[Lucky_Astra06]

Little bug removal secret:

go to bunnings and buy a bottle of Simple Green.This stuff is GOLD removes all bug n tar crap from cars and best thing to wash wheels with. just spray on leave it for few seconds then wash off with a cloth.

Works evertime 4 me. Best thing about it is that its car and boat friendly (doesn't affect paint work even on black cars-unless u let it bake in da sun...lucky 4 me it was my sisters barina)

[btm]

No good to hear... and right on the crease line... makes it more expensive to fix (if you decide to)

my secret is trying to park between/next to one or two concrete poles as much as possible - they rarely move and hit my car :)

[01CDsedan]

And this morning...first flat battery in four and a half years!

[btm]

And this morning...first flat battery in four and a half years!
still a very good record... and one that will be very hard to beat

[CJB]

watch out it comes in threes :) :) :)

That is bad to hear though. But, a reasonable life out of a battery right?

ahh yes btm, I park next to them as often as possible, and I always hug the pole, so there is ample room between me and the car next to me. :) But like I said before, most of my dents come from the Garage, where you would think the car is safe! WRONG!

[caspers turbo]

sorry to hear it mate, yeah i always tri to park between fixed objects if i can or at least 1, rarely go shopping when its busy if i do i always park as far away from shops as pos, plus you get a walk in as well, being anal about car leads to fittness, lol, or just find a BMW or other expensive car an park next to that, they usually look after there cars, so they wont open the door up onto your car.

Carpark rage, term for the new millenium, lol

[rusole21]

being anal about cars is so annoying. buying new kills cos from the day you drive out the car is never going to be good again. aaaahhhhhhh
i stress soooo much about my wheels. 17s that scratch if you look at a curb:mad:

[180HOA]

being anal about cars is so annoying. buying new kills cos from the day you drive out the car is never going to be good again. aaaahhhhhhh
i stress soooo much about my wheels. 17s that scratch if you look at a curb:mad:

Obviously you're not looking hard enough if they end up scratched! :p

[CJB]

Obviously you're not looking hard enough if they end up scratched! :p
hahaha, I had the same problem though.

Just got 17"s from 15"s and in the entire 12 months I had the 15"s no gutter rash (and no tyre valve cap stealings) but now I have the 17"s both have happened. It's annoying.


ahh, acidic bug guts :eek: no wonder the marks seem to be imprinted. I need a bonnet respray - 01CDsedan - do you get stone chips from highways?

I am always driving along with cattle trucks and poo and rocks fly out all the time. Makes a hell of a mess, and I have a stone chip on my actual Opel front chrome grille :eek: That's going to be impossible to fix.

Oh, and lucky you dont live in Ipswich - when I was working at a supermarket one of the trolley boys was fired for letting 10 trolleys run down a hill and smack into some ladies Camry.

Another thing I was thinking about when I was at the shops this morning, try and park next to a nice clean, expensive car - because you know they wouldn't risk their car to hit yours. :)

[=PaRty_PR!nce$$=]

Hey Mate,

Sorry to hear :( bout the damage.

You've had a bloody good run though. After 2days in mine, some idiot opened the back doors of his 4WD into the hatch of my car. Left a nasty dint there and all he could say was, you parked 2 close 2 me(those who dont know me, i work in a shopping centre - i start at 8.30 in the morning, when there are barely any cars parked there anyway! and no, he wasnt there when i got there).

Helpful hint: its basically like everyone has said, park next to a pole, if possibly against a back wall or somethin, that way the back and one of the sides of ya car are at least protected.

[bill142]

I dunno. Canberran's can be pretty ignorant to their surroundings. Could have something to do with the fact that there are less of us and our car parks aren't (usually) like a can of sardines.

[180HOA]

I dunno. Canberran's can be pretty ignorant to their surroundings. Could have something to do with the fact that there are less of us and our car parks aren't (usually) like a can of sardines.

That's not Canberrans, it's just people in general...

[01CDsedan]

I do get stone chips from highways, but not too many, as the Canberra to Sydney run is fairly good with not too many stones and so on flying about the place. My bigger problem is acidic bug guts. Having said that, my in laws came down on Friday in their '03 TS CDX and copped a stone in the windscreen which has opened up a 20cm long crack :(

It might have a lot to do with Canberra, though - my parents' ZC Vectra CDX has a lot more 'battle damage' than my Astra does, and they live in SW Sydney.

[CJB]

hehehehe, well, you aint seen nothing until fresh cow turd comes flying at you :p


but yes, acidic bug guts seems to be the problem that affects us all. And is it just me, or do they seem to hit the car more often just after a wash?

Bugs, dents, poop, it all wrecks the car!

[eld0ra]

I suppose I should be thankful in having had such a good run with it...but while washing the Astra today (5/01 build TS CD sedan), I came across the first dent in its side caused by wayward shopping trolleys/carelessly opened doors etc in four and a half years of ownership.

Just a small one, with a corresponding paint chip, on the rear quarter panel about 10cm behind the rear door. Right on the crease line that runs down the side of the TS Astra.

I guess the run of good luck in carparks had to end sometime (if you exclude the time it got hit by another car in a hospital carpark and I had to get the rear bumper resprayed). Still ****s me though. (And let's not talk about the bug marks that won't come off and paint chips on the front end after 131,000km of mostly highway driving).

It's a much better run than I had with the Gemini, though - in that car, I must have picked up about a dozen of them in four years. Then again, I used to work in retail at the time and the Gemini was noticeably less solid than the Astra is.

Wow! Your so lucky!

I bought a brand new Astra h and in 1 week i got a dent on the side at eastgardens shopping centre from some ****head banging their door into my car! To many careless people around in sydney and it ****s me even when i try to park where there are no cars.

[CJB]

People don't go up to your house and just start denting things, so why should they do it to your car and not feel the same way.

I hate when people say "Chill, it's just a car".

Yes it is just a car - but it's very expensive to fix, looks bad when you dent it, and is representation of yourself to the world. Not to mention it's YOUR hard earned money that is paying for it.

That's the way I see it. So if anyone felt the need to purposely dent my car, I'd feel the need to just 'dent' something of theirs they value.

(had experiences with people like this, funny though, when they got a brand new car suddenly they adopted the same views... *sigh*)

[01CDsedan]

I hate the "it's just a car" attitude.

Yeah, I mean it's only the second most expensive purchase most people make in their lifetimes, behind only houses. Why would you feel the need to take good care of an asset worth many thousands of dollars? Thrash it, treat it like crap, don't wash it, get it dented in the carpark, don't service it and then wonder why your resale value is shot five years later...

(sarcasm mode off now)

[CJB]

Such a good point though :)

OR - I hear all the time "Why worry, it's a depreciating asset anyway"

grrrr... like you said, if you take care of it, the resale value may hold. I understand some cars just dont hold their value *coughs* KIA! But there is always a better chance if you take care of the car.

So now, I am really feeling your anger toward the dent, and whoever did it!