Time to first damage (The Golf Accident Thread)

[sau_mathur]

Hi all,

Pretty sad really... some bastard dinged our car during the day. Came back from work and saw it parked on the street with a bit of a nasty dent on the rear passenger door. Seems like someone was reversing out and hit it and ofcourse, RAN!! No note, no nothing!!

It seems there is a little paint damage as well. The dent isnt very deep, but it is pretty noticable as it is spread over 25% of the door below the window.

We have 3rd party insurance, but dont think we can claim with this right? Any idea what it might cost to repair at a local repair centre?

Thanks for your advice in advance
A very sad golf owner

[wai]

We have 3rd party insurance, but dont think we can claim with this right?

Unfortunately this covers damage to the other person's vehicle, like if you rear ended a Rolls Royce.

[Corey_R]

Sorry to hear about this.

I'd be concerned if you have a new Golf and you've only chosen to taken up 3rd party damage. This means you are only covered for damage that you cause to others. So you'd be correct in that you can't claim what has been caused to you, whether your fault or otherwise.

If it's just a ding in the door, sometimes they can take off the door skin, bang out the damage, and you're on your way. If there is a scratch in the paint down the to metal, then they'll have to respray. If you have metallic paint, then they'll have to respray the entire side to "blend it in". So minimum it'll cost you $1000. But it could cost several times more if they need to replace the door skin AND respray the entire side of the car.

Based on previous reports (in this thread from memory), door skins are difficult to replace on the Golf or something, so they'll be more likely to replace the entire door, making the repair job a bit more costly than say on a Focus etc where the skins are easily replaced... best to talk to a few knowlegable repairers and get quotes

[Kronik]

I was driving along the road when a small kid (couldnt have been older than 5!) threw a fairly large stone at my car and hit the front left fender. No point in chasing after the kid, just had to grind my teeth and drive on. Quoted $400 to repair.... out of my pocket

[bazt]

Got a stone chip on the roof and another on the bonnet on the day I drove the car home.
A woman noticed the car a few days after in a shopping centre car park and said she was following me on the day I drove it home and smoke was coming out of it for a few Ks
Discovered after two weeks of driving around with the windows down listening to the exhaust note of the R that a stone had also gone thru the air conditioner condensor.
WV charging $1000 + to fix it

[Ideo]

Now have a couple of stone chips and one lightly kerbed alloy. Stupid narrow parking areas.

Ah well. No point being too precious.

[SMOK3Y]

Hi all,

Pretty sad really... some bastard dinged our car during the day. Came back from work and saw it parked on the street with a bit of a nasty dent on the rear passenger door. Seems like someone was reversing out and hit it and ofcourse, RAN!! No note, no nothing!!

It seems there is a little paint damage as well. The dent isnt very deep, but it is pretty noticable as it is spread over 25% of the door below the window.

We have 3rd party insurance, but dont think we can claim with this right? Any idea what it might cost to repair at a local repair centre?

Thanks for your advice in advance
A very sad golf owner

How olds ya car mate?

[dave_r]

Ah well. No point being too precious.

True that, got a few chips across the front of the car. If the 2nd owner doesn't like it they're gonna have to invent a time machine and buy one brand new!

[Frankenstrat]

I was reversing into my garage with the driver's door open to the first 'notch' to ensure that I have enough room to get into the driver's seat when I'm leaving for work the following morning... Dang, I got just a little TOO close to the wall... I manged to roughen up the edge of the door without actually removing any paint.

Two days later as I was straightening up after again getting too close to the wall (without actually touching it this time), I just brushed the driver's mirror on the garage roller-door track. Pongy poo! Time to get my eyes tested again I think.

After 18 months of driving I've got plenty of stone chips, so I'm no longer too precious about minor damage that can be buffed out or touched up.

[easeup]

You buggers. Your obsessiveness wore off on me, as i read this thread at work today. So before i got into my baby to drive home, i did a full circle around it to check for scratches/chips. Upon reaching the front of the car i tripped on the curb awkwardly, caught myself with my right hand on the hood of the car to break my fall. Unfortunately my right hand contained my keys!

And so, i gave the GTI it's first scratch. While checking for scratches!!

It's not that bad. Only the obsessive would notice it.