Car park damage

I went into Southampton today to get some shoes, which was a success!

However I got back to my car in the multistory car park and walked round to the back to put the shopping in the boot and suddenly noticed the side of the rear bumper was sticking right out! Some ******** had reversed into the corner of my car and then driven off! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Luckily I think the damage looks worse than it really is. I've managed to push the plastic bumper section back in flat to where it was originally so cosmetically it looks nearly the same as it was before. However some of the metal on the actual rear corner is bent where the bumper was pushed into it and the metal work is scrapped on the side where the bumper buckled up on impact. Still it could have been much worse.

There are some complete idiots driving these days who shouldn't be in control of a car, let alone given a driving license in the first place! Every day now I see a lot of drivers do some really stupid things, or take silly risks with their own lives without really needing too. And it is mad how many people can't reverse and maneuver their cars. Why buy a 4x4 or mpv to take the kids to school if you can't actually maneuver and park it? Buy a bloody Nissan Micra!

Sorry to hear about the damage.

It's to be expected around the UK in today's environment. We're all packed in on tight and twisty roads and infastructure that was never designed for the volume of traffic we currently experience. I'm sick of crawling along in first gear - it's a total waste! Space is premium in this country, so tight spaces always seem to popup and there are never enough parking spots.

We basically have too many cars on the road and too many people wanting to use them all the time for the most silly things. This heightens the risk of damage from those not up to scratch - the amount of wing mirrors I see removed is getting ridiculous!

I've been trying to use my car less and less today with increasing petrol prices and car share as much as possible. I bought a mountain bike and haven't looked back, plus I'm so much fitter for it!

Sadly I live too far from work and other places to walk or cycle. And public transport isn't really any cheaper than the petrol!

As for lack of space. I don't believe that. Yes we have a lot more cars on the road than I remember there being years ago, but it is the actions of the motorists that cause the slow tailbacks. If everyone drove sensibly the roads would flow.

Perhaps it's just where I live then. People are always double parked on thin roads; wing mirrors going flying; squeeze their cars into tiny parking spots then open their doors into other cars beside them; long tail backs to and from work at certain hours.....just sick of it. Nearly every person in their car is carrying one passenger, themselves, and would rather crawl along in first gear rather than give up their car or share.

However, that rant doesn't help your situation. I sympathize with you - it's extremely annoying when someone causes damage and drives off. You don't want to claim on your insurance (even if it goes way over your excess), so you have to pocket the repair bill. Modern molded plastic bumpers are crap also - all show for the cars looks and little protection. Those hard core heavy duty dark grey plastic bumpers were indestructible (well. almost).

Driving.... in Portugal there are a lot of ****** crazy people on the weel, ... but if you ever go to Italy..... oh boy...

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Originally Posted by Harrison

And it is mad how many people can't reverse and maneuver their cars. Why buy a 4x4 or mpv to take the kids to school if you can't actually maneuver and park it? Buy a bloody Nissan Micra!

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OMG, do you know how much I want to scream that at the late 20/early 30 women, who have one kid, drive a massive 4x4 - they can't turn, can't park, don't indicate....makes me angry.

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Originally Posted by Submeg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harrison

And it is mad how many people can't reverse and maneuver their cars. Why buy a 4x4 or mpv to take the kids to school if you can't actually maneuver and park it? Buy a bloody Nissan Micra!

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OMG, do you know how much I want to scream that at the late 20/early 30 women, who have one kid, drive a massive 4x4 - they can't turn, can't park, don't indicate....makes me angry.

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It really annoys me that "School Run Mum" will argue that she needs a 4x4 (or MPV) to cart one or two children to school and back, but the kids don't take that much space.
I think 4x4's and/or MPVs should be banned! (Especially for the school run).

Anyway, Harrison, what car do you have?

Make 'em use Reliant Robins.

They're small, easy to maneuver (just pick up the front and turn it around) and don't need much space to park.

Mind you, I never have a problem with parking spaces.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...l/DSCF0743.jpg

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Originally Posted by Tiago

Driving.... in Portugal there are a lot of ****** crazy people on the weel, ... but if you ever go to Italy..... oh boy...

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Ok, perhaps I've been a little harsh on the UK road system. After all, as well as Portugal and Italy, we have France with the The Arc de Triomphe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD5YnjKdcao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3pDh_NslKI

What a great system! ...... NOT!

Why can't we have massively wide and straight roads like America - and no roadabouts, which work great for normal traffic flow but once over a threshold, go into gridlock! Well, there are obvious reasons why, but I want to ignore them. :)

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Originally Posted by woody.cool

Anyway, Harrison, what car do you have?

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It's a Peugeot 406 Exec Turbo.

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Originally Posted by Harrison

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Originally Posted by woody.cool

Anyway, Harrison, what car do you have?

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It's a Peugeot 406 Exec Turbo.

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Nice! I like the 406, they're a great car.

When I used to live in town we had a car park but the barrier entry was bust so folk used to park there and go shopping. My car was damaged 3 times in 6 months by people trying to park beside it or manouvre around people who were double parked behind it - every time it was by a woman! Thank god I moved! I still worry about parking my car in car parks when Im shopping though - I plain refuse to take the sporty car into town through the day.