Unbelievable story of my wife dinging my door

[DaveA]

Literally 100% true.

I just bought my wife a Lexus for over $40,000.

I brought it home today. Day one. She goes outside to take it for a drive, opens her door and hits my camaro on the passenger side.

We are at a condo complex and I always take an edge spot and park of of our other cars next to my camaro as a buffer (we have three cars). It has worked great until now.

I'm so unbelievably pissed off right now. It is taking all my effort not to go ape shit on her. It is just a car and she is my wife. I have to keep telling myself that.

Can this be fixed? I was the type of person that really didn't care too much about how my cars looked but this is the nicest car I've had and I have kept it nearly mint for the past year of ownership. I'm so upset.

Dave

P.S. I know the car is dirty. It's been a solid week since I washed it. Damn black cars.

[DaveA]

It's really just that dimple in the center of the circle I drew. The rim reflection makes it look worse. Though you can see some white scuffing. I'm not too concerned about the pain I think I can repair that on my own.

[CCMADONNA]

you should have bought her another Camaro - if it's just the ding and the small paint issue, it'll run @$200 - if it's that extended scrape, it will be more. but not as valuable as your wife.

[JTruck]

The scuffs look like they could be polished out. Look into a local PDR guy, I would think this could be fixed fairly easy.

Sorry to hear about the misfortune, but things could be worse, be glad it was just a small dent. This women is going to be with you for the rest of your life so don't let something like this get to you.

[DaveA]

Yeah I'm hoping a PDR guy. I don't care about the paint, really. I too think that will buff out.

[Muscle Car Lover]

Totally fixable and the best thing to do was not even get worked up and let her be excited for HER new car. What a gift man, nicely done

Black Camaro huh? Me too. I am a bit North of you but keeping them clean this summer is Fii'ng impossible.

[TommyTheCat]

Oops, you accidentally slammed her new Lexus door into a brick wall repeatedly after seeing your Camaro.

(;

[Ksmoke]

Fixable, yes. Probably gonna cost you some cash. I had my camaro for 3 weeks and someone dinged it in the same spot. Luckily they actually came and found me, got it repaired through their insurance. Cost upwards of 600.

[Todd in Vancouver]

I see that picture and read the story and my first thought was "Bonus kitchen credits for a few months"
Just say "remember my Camaro door" after any of the following;
- I'm thinking of adding twin turbos to my car. Your thoughts...
- I'm going to the racetrack for some HPDE and will be gone for the weekend if that's OK...
- no I can't turn off my shows for your show because...

You get the idea. Some may say this is sad she hit your car but I see opportunity.

[Pace]

What was her reaction? If she was pissed and upset then you have a keeper...

[DaveA]

I was very upset last night. She got home from doing her errand. I told her to come outside with me; I wanted to see what she did to her car. There is some slight black mark on the edge of the door but it will likely buff out. We did discover an unrelated paint chip elsewhere. I shot off a nasty email to the dealer. Needless to say that will be getting fixed.

When we went outside, she asked me what my problem was. I wasn't yelling or anything but was clearly upset. At that point I explained to her, in a strained but controlled voice, that she damaged my car. She was apologetic but somewhat dismissive because "it was an accident". Obviously it was an accident. That doesn't change me being upset about it.

Anyway, I love the girl so I apologized this morning. It is just a car. Keep telling myself that...

I had a PDR guy some by today. He called me on the phone. I sent him two pictures. He quoted me $250. Said it would be $25 if he decided he couldn't do it; to cover his gas. No problem I say. He comes by and starts getting all upset, going on and on about how he always asked customers to send pictures of the entire area, etc. He says "even if you included the Camaro emblem by the wheel, I would have been able to tell you I can't do it without taking the door off". He can't take the door off. He says find a shop that can do it and I'll go there, drill a hole in the side and fix it.

Whoa. Drill a hole? Says he would patch it after - no rust issues or anything. Offers to have me jump in the car and he'll follow me to some local shops to have them pull the door. Says it's typically $100 or so.

I told him that wasn't happening. I wouldn't have to think about it. Have young kids in the house that can't be left alone. I pay the guy $25 and tell him I'll get back to him.

I go back in, check my sent emails, and sure enough both of the pictures I sent him clearly show the Camaro emblem and the front right tire - which he specifically told me would have clued him in that it was the front part of the door and that he wouldn't be able to reach it. I email him telling him WTF! He responds saying "Oh yeah, I must have zoned out." Awesome! I told him I want my $25 back and he sent me a picture of a check written out to me for $25 with the stamped envelope to the side. Cool.

Guy is clearly in business for himself. No problem with that and I actually appreciate the customer service at the end. While he did say he would lower the price due to having to pull the door, I'm not going that far. When I buff it out, I actually think I can live with the ding pretty harmlessly. You won't be able to notice it unless you are looking for it.

I'll stop by some body shops and see if anyone can do anything about it. I'll get some idea on pricing and maybe I'll put some money aside to get it fixed next year when I take it out of storage. It's something that will bother me forever but it is what it is.

I do understand the car will get chips and what not. I think it upsets me more that this was preventable and avoidable.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Pace

What was her reaction? If she was pissed and upset then you have a keeper...

She makes twice as much as me, lets me working part time so I can see the kids more (was working 70+ hours a week). And she still was on board with a Camaro purchased after I knocked her up and we had twins. Believe me, she's a keeper.

[JTruck]

You will get over it. I did this (http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=324447) and was so bummed out. I almost forget it's even there now. No one has ever noticed it.

[rickyrocket]

call your local car dealer and ask who they use for PDR,they get door dings all the time &will know someone reputable,that guy you had look was a d bag