Respect

Vibegrrrl · Post by **Vibegrrrl** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 9:13 am

I just don't understand...Why do people think it's ok to open their car door into mine or back up into my front bumper. I go through the trouble to park as far as I can from other people and I still get dinged. Once I parked at the end of a very large safeway parking lot and when I came out someone was parked next to my Vibe. What is that all about? When there are loads of parking spots closer they opt to park next to me.This rant started because I have a new chip on my driver's side door. Arrgh!!! (removed) me off.

millster · Post by **millster** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 9:17 am

I know how you feel. I got a big one a couple of weekends ago when the wind was terrible. Apparently the driver of the GMC Envoy didn't realize the wind was blowing so strong and lost hold of the door. It's frustrating but unfortunately, some people don't care as much about their cars, or for that matter, other's cars as much as we all do. Sorry to hear that happened to you though.

drb22 · Post by **drb22** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 9:24 am

I know exactly how you feel. I always try to park away from other cars - if I have to park near other cars, I try to park near other new car thinking they won't want to scatch their door by banging it against mine.

HIGHREV · Post by **HIGHREV** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 9:26 am

Unfortunatly this stuff happens. I washed mine yesterday and found two chips in the right rear door. I can see how it happens, I have an active three year old boy. Once he opened my old Altima door smack into my tenants two week old red Taurus. I have to keep the child safety locks on to protect other cars. The down side is that he likes to be a big boy and let himself out, so he climbs up in front and opens my door. At least I can hold the door before any other cars get hit.My opinion is that when you make a point to park far away from other, un-respectfuls find it amusing to mess with you. I try to park next to a car that looks as new/good as mine,

Vibegrrrl · Post by **Vibegrrrl** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 9:29 am

I thought about laminating a sign for each driverside door and passenger door that I can remove whil driving. The signs could say something like...hmmm. I don't know...maybe..."Hit my door and I'll break your fingers"Does that sound too forcefull?Or maybe..."Hit my door and I'll break your kneecaps"I am joking of course. It just makes me so frustrated.

Vibegrrrl · Post by **Vibegrrrl** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 9:31 am

I too understand...of course if it is a child or and elderly or frail person...I would not break their fingers. (-:

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 9:44 am

quote:This rant started because I have a new chip on my driver's side door. Arrgh!!! (removed) me off.I hear ya!! Stupid people (removed) me off.I've wondered how difficult it would be to make some door edge guards out of lets say something similar to the carbide runners on snowmobile skis.... Make them somewhat sharp so they would dent the other A-hole's door edge, instead of your door.This sounds a little far fetched, but the more I think about it (and seeing the new gouge in my wife's Dodge Stratus R/T's door), it's sounding better all the time.See Ya,Carl

meathead333 · Post by **meathead333** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 10:15 am

i think that would just egg someone on to hit your car

KSNeptune · Post by **KSNeptune** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 11:24 am

quote:i think that would just egg someone on to hit your carI agree. Parking away from other cars announces "I'm afraid to park near other cars", and that unconsious statement attracts what I'll call Bullies. People who think "Hmmm, there's a car just begging to get a door ding."My advice? The Vibe is more narrow than most american cars. Find an empty stall nearest where you want to shop, and park smack in the middle of it. Hide your VIbe in plain site, and the bullies won't see it. And if they do, at least they'll respect your bravery not sense any fears to feed off of.Lastly, if you do notice damage caused by someone else in a parking lot, it may be covered by either the store's insurance or yours. Be sure to let the store know. Call the police too. The store may actually have video tape showing the car that damaged yours. If they do, that person may be identifiable and thus end up having to pay for the damage caused. Take control.KSNeptune

NovaResource · Post by **NovaResource** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 11:26 am

Don't get me started.

slovibe03 · Post by **slovibe03** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 1:29 pm

I think this has happened to everyone I had my viynl graphics for 2 days and somebody got the right front door ripped vinyl and chipped down to primer the only plus side is that door had to be redone anyway to many wrinkles so they moved the new piece enough to cover the chip,somedays you just cant win, sorry to hear about yours

Flip-Side · Post by **Flip-Side** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 3:09 pm

quote:"Hit my door and I'll break your fingers"Does that sound too forcefull?Or maybe..."Hit my door and I'll break your kneecaps"I'm vicious when it comes to my car. I take pride in it. So when people violate my vehicle that I've clearly parked AWAY from other cars, they'll find themselves driving a nice new pair of "Deflate-A-Flat" tires, or with a foot sized ding in their door. The crime determines the punishment really. Just too bad it always happens when they are already long gone. I'm pretty understanding, but when someone DRIVES into your car parked way out in wa-zoo, I get ticked.

Triton · Post by **Triton** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 10:43 pm

I know how you feel. I try not to park in an obvious location that would show I am trying to park away from cars because there is always some butthead out there that will intentionally park next to you in some piece of crap car. I usually try to park among everyone else in a decent sized parking space. That is your safest bet. Or park on the end of a row. I would be pissed as well if someone dinged up my car. I'm sure that it is going to happen at some point though.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Thu Mar 20, 2003 10:53 pm

I honestly think that there are a lot of loser's out there driving junk that just get off on dinging doors of nice new cars. I try to park next to handicap spots-since they are not always used, but if it's gonna happen-it's gonna happen, so try not to lose any sleep over it. Wouldn't it be amazing if everyone respected everyone else's property?

red · Post by **red** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:20 am

i sympathize and totally agree with the idea that people who dont give a s**t about their stuff arent going to care about yours! my vibe was 2 days old when AT WORK a coworker put a nice 1" scar on my door moulding....being that the car is white, that black mark stands out...when i confronted her on it she first acted that she didnt know what i was talking about, then said she couldnt believe that her door would leave that 'big' of a mark of course she was parked in a handicapped slot (she's not ) and her jeep cherokee looked like it should have been left at the dump....i was soooooo mad, i could of cried...now i park inside the company garage, in the slot my work van normally sits in......thank god for door rub strips...i can imagine what would have happened to the door if that wasnt there

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:20 am

See, I have a method. I don't park too close. Because the majority of senior citizens will park as close as they can, and we all know they drive boats, can't handle them well, and make no effort to respect other's property. I, of course, excuse the few senior citizens (less than 1%) who are respectful of others and don't feel the world should bow down to them. The second part is not to park too far. as many of stated, when you park in the farthest spot, you're stating "my car is my baby, don't touch it (or something of equivalent value). Thus egging on people who need a good laugh. So I try to park in the middle. Usually, based on the lot, I can gauge where the typical rush of cars ends and the empty pspots begin, even with the turnover. I park about 4-5 spots beyond that. Doesn't seem abnormal, but often spares my car of damage.See, with my sunfire, I used to work @ Target. We had a designated employee's lot, off to the side. In the 6 months I worked there, I had my car keyed, my right mirror smashed, and my left front tire slashed. So I've tried to devise a system that saves my car, but doesn't make it so obvious that it asks to be hit.But I think another concern we have raised here is the durability of the paint. Not that GM is necessarily at fault...but I would like to see someone develop a paint and/or clearcoat that is truly durable. I just had three paint chips filled w/ touchup, and they look like garbage. Even after only having the car for a few months, the paint has faded enough that the touchup looks horrid. Either that, or the touchup isn't a match, which is also a distinct possibility. In either case, I have read up about some new application of LEXAN plastic that GE has developed. Something that when used on cars, is colored all the way through, so even the deepest gashes are harder to notice from a reasonable distance. But also, of course, it's more durable. So it's better on both counts.As to the cladding, I have found it isn't much more durable than the paint itself. It has many scratches from rocks, and it also has stains on it that appears to be from some chemicals that flew off the tires when they were new. :- Happened on my sunfire too, but i got it off the paint then. It seems to have "baked" into the cladding, and won't come off. *shrug* Such are the hassles of car ownership.

red · Post by **red** » Fri Mar 21, 2003 5:36 am

yeah, the cladding and the paint are none too tough....my cladding on the side looks totally chewed up and the hood getting "dotted".

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sat Mar 22, 2003 5:20 am

The inferior paints and plastic mean lower trade-in value too, cause by the time i trade it in, the paint will half be gone, and the cladding will look like i used it for a cutting board.

esjones · Post by **esjones** » Sat Mar 22, 2003 9:06 am

quote:I hear ya!! Stupid people (removed) me off.Who knows if they are smart or stupid? They are unconcerned about the consequences of their actions, and don't take care to open doors slowly, or they park in spaces that are too narrow to get out of their cars safely, or they're not concerned enough to teach their rug rats not to swing open the back doors of the Family Truckster.They may be brain surgeons in the IQ department, but sorry losers in the Decent Human Being department.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sat Mar 22, 2003 9:19 am

quote:They may be brain surgeons in the IQ department, but sorry losers in the Decent Human Being department.TouchÃ© my friend!

cohocarl · Post by **cohocarl** » Sat Mar 22, 2003 10:39 am

quote:I hear ya!! Stupid people (removed) me off.Sorry, didn't mean to offend anyone.

Vibegrrrl · Post by **Vibegrrrl** » Sun Mar 23, 2003 3:54 am

Thanks for everyones input. Glad to know I'm not the only one out there that will respect a nice looking vehicle.

Big_Red · Post by **Big_Red** » Sun Mar 23, 2003 7:51 am

I feel for you. Since last fall, and due to the cold weather - I haven't checked my Vibe for dings....but yesterday I noticed 5 small scratches on my left side (3 on my door). I know for a fact that I never hit anything, so I am assuming that 3 people have hit my car....and 2 on the other side.

joatmon · Post by **joatmon** » Sun Mar 23, 2003 10:54 pm

Birthdays are like scratches on your car, after so many, they don't seem to matter anymore. This doesn't apply to your new Vibe. So far mine has escaped the inconsiderate, sorry to hear about yours.

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ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sun Mar 23, 2003 11:50 pm

quote:Birthdays are like scratches on your car, after so many, they don't seem to matter anymore.Interesting analogy. And surprisingly true.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 6:15 am

Luckily, no scratches yet on mine, either. I have a good story about this very topic. A guy I used to work with was shopping at a grocery store. At the time he had a full-size pickup truck that he tried to take good care of. He came out of the supermarket one day to find a woman who had parked her shopping cart against the side of his truck to unload her groceries into her newer Cadillac. He appoached her and gestured toward the cart and asked her, "what the hell is this?" She replied that "it is just a truck". Being the quick tempered guy that he was, he became infuriated by the woman's actions and even more so by her attitude. So when she finished unloading the groceries, he took the cart from her, picked it up, and turned it upside down and put it on the roof of her Cadillac. He then told her that "it is just a Cadillac", got in his truck and drove home. She took down his liscense plate number and called the police. Shortly after he got home, he had a knock on the door from a member of the local police department. Luckily, he knew the officer and was only told to call the police himself the next time he should encounter an unfriendly shopper. After he told the full story to the cop, they both laughed at the situation, but he was still reminded to behave himself the next time.I love that story and thought I would share it with all of you since it was so fitting with this topic.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 7:09 am

(removed) that story is awesome! PRAISE THAT MAN! He has paved the way for those of us who care about our cars!

canadavibegt · Post by **canadavibegt** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 2:08 pm

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH......... . I could seriously sting people up by their privates for doing this stuff (@#$%^&*!) holes............ I had my Vibe for 2 weeks and the stupid FKN C___ that parks next to me in the my building aready took a chunk of paint off the molding strip on my passenger door........ Of to the the dealer for touch up........ Thank god I took all that body shop in Highschool..... and for some friends in the detailing business...... should be able to make it disappear........

canadavibegt · Post by **canadavibegt** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 2:10 pm

He should have put the lady in the cart first then out bolth of them on the hood upside down.

meathead333 · Post by **meathead333** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 2:21 pm

you sound very bitter...its only a car, but as bill clinton would say " i feel your pain"

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Mon Mar 24, 2003 9:11 pm

Hey, to some people, cars are like family members. Especially when hey spend so much time caring for their car - washing, polishing, waxing - just to have their car destroyed.Plus, if you can trade in a car with minimal paint damage, it does help with trade in value.

Stang2Vibe · Post by **Stang2Vibe** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:17 am

I must completely agree with ragingfish on this one.

iwannavibe · Post by **iwannavibe** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 3:29 am

I totally agree. One thing I do in a parking lot that has those carriage return places is I park next to the carriage returns. Sometimes the carriage return bars are thinner than an actual parking space, so it makes the parking space next to it bigger. I park as close as comfortable on the drivers side to the bars, and make sure not to let my door open all the way and hit the bars. That way, the car on the other side of my car has extra space and won't be able to hit my car, even if they try. Doesn't always help, but sometimes it does.And on another point of view, as a driver of an old beat-up-mobile (I'm still dreaming of a vibe), sometimes I come out of a store to find that someone has parked so close to my car that I can barely get into it. And, having kids that need to be buckled into a car seat in the back, it makes me mad because I can't get my kids into the car unless I go around to the other side. When that has happened in the past (only a few times) I have let my door hit the other person's car on purpose. Is that inconsiderate of me? Perhaps. But, it is also very inconsiderate on the part of new car owners to think that if you drive an older and somewhat beat up model that you are some kind of low-life and don't deserve a little respect. I may drive a 10 year old car with 150k miles on it, but I still want to keep my car looking as nice as possible.Cheers!-K-

canadavibegt · Post by **canadavibegt** » Tue Mar 25, 2003 2:46 pm

One could say it is just a car but I work realy hard to pay for it and keep it in mint condition (no real reason just something I like to do) I do not do it so some scum bag can trash it just cause they do not care about their car......... And when I catch someone doing it they will feel my pain................ hey it's just their arm it will heal..........

philndz · Post by **philndz** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 4:14 am

i just plain old care about my car....i take pride in the way it looks and drives and i have been the same way with all my Cars. I even took good care of my old '86 volvo...I picked up the wagon for $1,500.00 but regardless, but I still took great care of that vehicle , it was always well waxed and I even put $3,000.00 of restorations work it into it . on some occasions i will park my vibe at the back of the parking lot and spread the car over two spaces so that nobody can park close enough to damage it .

KSNeptune · Post by **KSNeptune** » Wed Mar 26, 2003 4:22 am

Cars normally have to live in public with other people. That means in their life they will all eventually get wounds from the experience. Just like we do.Want to keep your Vibe perfect? Keep it in the garage, and don't late anyone even you go in there. Want to drive it? Wait until about 2:00am and check that no one else is awake in your town. Then drive around all you want. There's still a chance the Vibe will get damaged, but it will be your fault for taking it out of the garage at all.Me? I'll take the scars, and drive my Vibe. It's the price one must pay to live with other people. KSNeptune

Vibegrrrl · Post by **Vibegrrrl** » Sat Mar 29, 2003 1:25 am

quote:Cars normally have to live in public with other people. That means in their life they will all eventually get wounds from the experience. Just like we do. Me? I'll take the scars, and drive my Vibe. It's the price one must pay to live with other people. KSNeptuneWow...KSNeptune. You are probably a very happy and content person. I will attempt to learn from your post.

frankhd18 · Post by **frankhd18** » Sat Mar 29, 2003 4:16 am

when my vibe came in (dealer trade) it had a large scrape on one of the door mouldings, glad it has them, otherwise it would've been the door. they ran it through the service department under warranty somehow, if it is on your moulding you might see if they will do the same for you.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Sat Mar 29, 2003 4:20 am

If I understand correctly, it had a scratch before you even took delivery, in whcih case, they certainly can't expect YOU to pay...whether it was warranty or insurance is another question...

frankhd18 · Post by **frankhd18** » Sat Mar 29, 2003 4:43 am

yes it did have a scratch before delivery, but if you are in good with your service writer, then you may be able to get them to warranty one any time. i know that mine would if it happened again.

Fievel · Post by **Fievel** » Sun Mar 30, 2003 1:04 am

I'm extremely (removed) about my Vibe....When I bought it, I got an indoor parking space at my apt complex. I actually lucked out and got an old handicapped space at the very end of the row. So I have a wall on one side and my fiancee's sunfire on the other. Between us is a support pole, so even if she does open her door all the way, there is a good amount of space between our cars.At work, I park next to a guy who has a pimped out Monte Carlo SS. We park in very back of the lot, where nobody else parks.....and since I work retail, it's an employee lot, so regular cars never get out that far.