scumbags hit my car!!!!

[bigyin1]

Woke up this morning in a bad enough mood, drove to work. Then a colleague said something like - "bashed the titanic did you", eh? Turns out my nearside front indicator has been bashed in, bumper scraped and worse of all, the bodywork area around the indicator has been dented and not getting in from that side i didn't notice it at all!

NOT a happy bunny just now. The neighbours will be having a visit from me later..... grrrrrr

Why do folk do this sort of thing?? It wasn't like they just slightly touched it, its dented ffs! Aaaaaaaarrrgh.

 

[219]

Scumbag lives in Oban , pretty far from Brighton - what makes you think it was HIM ?

Can you remember the last time you looked and it was definitely NOT damaged ?

I'm just thinking in case it happened in a car park somewhere recently as it would be a shame to fall out with your neighbours if they are not to blame . Office car park / supermarket car park ?

Are there any deposits of paint left behind on your car which might indicate who the culprit was ? Might be worth quietly looking around the neighbours cars/office car park for
other vehicles with corresponding damage before falling out with someone ?

Sorry to hear about this - finding damage inflicted by persons unknown is one of the most annoying things .

 

[rag1873]

B%$***^$!!!

 

[d w124]

Sorry to hear about that.

 

[bigyin1]

Thanks, but, it was definately OK when I parked it last night, didn't stop anywhere on the way home and didn't move it again until this morning and as I walk towards the car towards the drivers door I didn't see anything wrong! I'll take paint sample then cross reference against all cars in my area.... just wait 'til i get home...

 

[stevesey]

Same happened to me when I was a student (very similar damage as well), it was only when walking back to the car having nipped out for some milk I noticed the damage. When I got back home there was plastic on the road where the car had been parked. Found a Cortina nearby with matching damage (not a neighbours car) and matching rear light plastic on the floor by my car, so wandered off to the police station to report. Guess what - at the police station was a chap reporting his cortina had been stolen and then returned to a nearby parking space damaged. Likely story - little I could do, the officer on the counter asked him a couple of stern questions, but he was adamant. More likely story was that he'd been to the social club down the road, had one to many, hit my car turning around, then decided he'd better walk home (and was reporting just to cover his back).

Anyway - trying to be +ve perhaps you will have a visit from one of the neighbours tonight.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Ban scumbag. hitting a members car isnt nice.

on a serious note, i hope you get it sorted and the neighbours are upfront about stuff. dont go in with all guns blazing - they may of intended to knock on your door tonight after returning from work....? although its pretty poor. i suppose it depends on your current relationship with them

 

[bigyin1]

cheers, i'll be calm and just ask them if they heard anything.... Following on, does any one know prices on nearside indicactor and bumper - would i need a whole new one? Also nearside front metal panel? i can see my insurance going back up due for renewal next month... Also where would they go? should i insist on an MB indie or similar that I approve of? i don't want any old bodge it company touching my car...

 

[SilverSaloon]

you can buy the indicators quite cheap 2nd hand (they are always on ebay)
if the "pad" of the bumper is just damaged, this clips out and can be replaced easily. some say they come pre-painted from merc but i dont think so.... but who knows.

the metel panel just under the light is very cheap new from MB.

make sure you get the facelift 93 onwards for all the stuff as older are different. all this stuff is easy to replace yourself - probably be able to get these bits 2nd hand - i'd avoid insurance if thats the case and fix myself if no one owns up.

is the actual wing damaged? these bolt off so if you can get a good panel its easy to replace. beware 2nd hand ones as they will probably be rusted and also beware pattern parts that may not fit well. Hadrian panels are good however if going the pattern part route (from what i've heard). i've just bought a new wing for my SL from them

 

[bigyin1]

Picture of damage...

The metal underneat the headlight from the wing is dented and scraped back to the bare metal so not sure if new wing (s/h same colour) is best or what? The metal insert on the bumper is intact thankfully so other than a new indicator and seeing if i can fix the bumper that will be that...

 

[nick mercedes]

Picture of damage...

The metal underneat the headlight from the wing is dented and scraped back to the bare metal so not sure if new wing (s/h same colour) is best or what? The metal insert on the bumper is intact thankfully so other than a new indicator and seeing if i can fix the bumper that will be that...

If it's a rust free wing, your best bet is to have it repaired.

Any closer to finding the culprit?

 

[blondebier]

Sorry to hear this Bigyin1.

I guess the only good thing is that it happened in the summer time and there is no grit on the roads...

From the photo it looks like a fairly straight forward repair for a body shop. If you can see bear metal, I would clean the affected area thoroughly, dry it off and then rub some vaseline over the area to keep moisture out.

Hope the quotes aren't too bad.

 

[bigyin1]

Thanks for advice, will ask about for a good body work repair shop and then ask for a quote. No, given up on looking, figure it wasn't someone local and as i was parked between two cars, and it wasn't either of them, it had to be a passer by... unfortunate but hey-ho.

 

[cjab98]

Bigyin, you're in Daventry right? Try Long Buckby Motors, he did some rust repair on my C43 and previously sorted out my old 306 after someone left me a nice dent parking at Tesco.
He's pretty good and reasonably priced too.