I'm Sick!

[13IS250C]

After 44 years of driving, I was finally lucky enough for some A-hole to key my pretty baby. I just want to cry. I tried my best scratch remover....it is too deep. I have a friend that works at a high end used car lot. I'm going to stop by there today and see if she can recommend someone that might be able to touch it up. I really don't want the whole quarter panel repainted.

[VBdenny]

Sure will be nice when keys are a thing of the past. Hard to scratch anything with a key fob. This situation is why I almost always drive another vehicle when I have to park somewhere. Not sure why people do such things but obviously some low lying mental issue.

[LEX-SV]

Sorry to hear about that, sad.

[13IS250C]

Thanks guys. You know I usually park way out away from everybody else, but I am having to do a lot of things for my mom now and I'm having to take whatever space is available. I wish I did have a beater car.

I have an appointment at a body shop today at 4. Keep your fingers crossed that I don't have to get the whole quarter panel repainted.

I'm having to put my mom in a nursing home. I REALLY did not need this. People are heartless.

[pj8708]

First, I'm so sorry about your Mothers transition. I had the same experience with both my parents. I hope she does well in the coming weeks.

The old key on the car body trick is an act apparently reserved for those with IQ's of a head of lettuce. I've often thought about the LOC forming it's own squad of "Lexus Seals". There mission would be to track down "Keyers" and put super glue in all their house key locks. That way, they wouldn't be able to get out of the house so they couldn't key anymore cars.

Paul

[13IS250C]

Thanks for the laugh Paul. I haven't had many of those lately

Well...It will take getting the whole quarter panel removed and painted. $620. I started to cry when he said if it was his car he would just leave it alone. Some people just don't understand. You don't drive a beautiful car like that with a foot long scratch on it.

I like this shop. They have great reviews.

[1990LS400]

Maybe the damage was not caused by vandalism. I've had similar damage caused by shopping carts including one event in the parking lot of the grocery store I frequent which badly scarred a headlight lens and the surrounding bodywork of the 00 LS I sold last year.

I've seen my own wife drag the zippers of purses and softsided briefcases along the sides of our vehicles - I keep asking her to STOP IT!

And I've seen people drag briefcases, shopping bags - you name it - countless times along the sides of vehicles in parking lots. I've had exterior mirrors of my cars get banged up by people walking between my vehicles and vehicles parked beside them. I've knocked against exterior mirrors myself numerous times when the mirrors of two vehicles parked side by side were aligned and left little space to walk between them.

My take is that most people view cars only as transportation devices and about all we can do is to try to park defensively as much as we can and have damage repaired when it occurs. Now that I have a vehicle with electric folding mirrors, I always fold the mirrors inward when I park in public areas

An alternative to having paint damage repaired at a regular body shop is to use a mobile painting service. I've had the same guy who touches up cars for the local Lexus dealer touchup our cars while they were sitting in our driveway. I thought the metallic white of my LS would be hard to match but "Picasso" (that's his nickname) did a perfect job and charged only $100 total to respray areas of the LS and the Camry the last time he visited.

And I love Dr. Dent. They apparently use magic since I can't tell where the dings were.

[VBdenny]

"The old key on the car body trick is an act apparently reserved for those with IQ's of a head of lettuce. I've often thought about the LOC forming it's own squad of "Lexus Seals". There mission would be to track down "Keyers" and put super glue in all their house key locks. That way, they wouldn't be able to get out of the house so they couldn't key anymore cars."

OR, take away their bus pass for a year.

[1990LS400]

I'm having to put my mom in a nursing home. I REALLY did not need this. People are heartless.

One of my tasks during the 2010 U.S. Census was to interview administrators of nursing homes (and group homes, prisons, convents, hospitals, hotels, etc. - places where groups of unrelated people live in structures they do not own.)

I quickly noticed the potential of vehicle damage while parked in nursing home parking lots. Residents of nursing homes are usually elderly and so are a significant percentage of the people who visit them. I'm not saying that all or most elderly people are bad "parkers" - it just usually gets more difficult to maneuver a vehicle as one gets older.

So ... from my experience, a nursing home parking lot at top of my list of places to be vigilant when parking.

[13IS250C]

I'm about due for my 25k checkup. I'll see what the dealership recommends. I'm really not excited about them removing my quarter panel.

I saw a man walk by my car with a walker one day when I was visiting mom. It could have been him. I would think with a walker it would have been a perfectly straight line since they just roll on the ground.

Mother is in the back of the building of a large complex. At the front where she used to be, the spaces are large and pie shaped. I'm just going to start parking there and walking through the building. It is a long walk, but I could always use the exercise!

[LEX-SV]

becki - I hope everything is better now.

[13IS250C]

I have an appointment at the body shop for 8/10 to have the whole quarter panel repainted. I paid the Lexus dealership $82 to touch it up and it looks like a 2 year old fixed it with a white crayon. Idiots! If they couldn't fix it, they should have just told me that. It looks worse than it did.

[VBdenny]

or at LEAST not charge you.