Stupid horn does not work unless key is turned ON!

[McDub]

I had the most frustrating experience in my car just now, sort of like the slow motion steam roller moment from austin powers.

I was sitting in my car (with parking lights on) about to pick up dinner, radio was on, key in the off position. An old falcon pulls up beside the car further up front (there's a big space immediately in front of me). I can tell by the way the car pulled up that i'd have to watch this guy cautiously.

Anyway he reverses, and gets closer and closer to me... he seems to slow down yet he keeps going....
So i try to horn him to make sure he realises i'm there.
But the horn didn't work. I remember that the horn sometimes needs to be pushed a little harder than you'd expect, so i push it harder. Still not working. The car is getting closer and closer, time has now slowed down, i now basically hit the horn in other places incase i was getting the spot wrong, but no.
Then i realise it must be because the car was not on, so i turn on the ignition (impact is certain at this stage), and then go for the horn. I can't recall at what stage the next bit happened, but by the time i had gotten the horn to work, i think he had already crashed into me.

I mean how stupid, what good is a horn if it doesn't work the moment you need it???

He didn't hit me too hard but he insisted he gave me his number, nice old bloke.
What was annoying was that, as you do, i could see marks on my car that didn't know whether or not they were there before. I could see my number plate had scratched the dirt on his car, but that was the only part of the impact you could see.
I told him i didn't think there was anything damage but i'd check in the day light (well that's what he suggested...)

Fortunately i've got an old photo of my car which shows that the two marks/creases i was concerened about were already there.
The line up top on the color coded rub strip to me looked like it could have been damage, but i think that's just how they come? And the line down the bottome with the arrow, looks like old damage, probably from the time i didn't put the handbrake on and the car rolled down the driveway into nice soft otto bins
(it's actually also on both sides of the car which makes me wonder if it's a normal line also)



Makes you realise how impossible it is to prove what damage gets caused by these sorts of tiny prangs. I've kissed the bumper in front of me in the past and the owner didn't mind (even though it was a new lexus!), so i think this was my turn

[WhO]

I've mostly given up chasing people for tiny little marks, I remember a while back in a maccas drive through a girl in an old skyline (r31) kept getting closer and since i was halfway around the corner in the drivethrough and couldn't go any further forward surely enough she nudged me with the corner of her bumper. It was a pretty soft nudge and i thought she hit my towbar so i just let it slide. Anyway next time i washed the car surely enough there's a scuff mark there and although minor it pissed me off because i'd just had the rear bar sprayed

Truth be told though i'm sure it'd buff out and maybe its just because i'm either too nice or too much of a push over but with things like that even if i confronted the person there and gotten their details i doubt i'd make them pay for a respray or detail for something so minor. Mind you however if there was any gouging, holing or decent scratching it'd be a different story.

[McDub]

yeah it's such a pain, you obviously don't want people scratching your car, but at the same time you don't want them to be $300 out of pocket for something that really isn't that bad...
But if you had a car that was in pristine condition with a perfect paintjob and showcar etc, i can imagine that you would feel justified making sure the person fixes up any scratches they make...

i was more mad at my cars' horn for not working than anything else.
i did shout out a "couldn't you see me" to the man, but he was a nice guy and no point getting angry at him, i'm sure he was as unhappy about it as i was

btw i found a pic of a dif car, and it seems like both the creases i noticed are completely normal. funny how you see things that you never saw before when you look for 'abnormalities'
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4579/sl372210.jpg

[JustCruisn]

Sometimes the horn is not enough to stop someone hitting you. I had a taxi pull a 3 point turn in front of me. I didn't move after he pulled right, but he backed straight into me. Horn and yelling did not help. I even made eye contact with him before he hit. He offered $50 and said it would buff out. Just over $700 for a bumper respray and new head light as the clips had broken.

[dylan8]

So was this about the horn not working or about damage? haha.
I get pretty annoyed by it not working, dont know how many times iv needed it when the cars off!
Im sure all my other families cars work when off

[McDub]

So was this about the horn not working or about damage? haha.
I get pretty annoyed by it not working, dont know how many times iv needed it when the cars off!
Im sure all my other families cars work when off

well i guess there was no damage so suppose it's about the silly horn!
stupid VW!

[dylan8]

well i guess there was no damage so suppose it's about the silly horn!
stupid VW!

is it a safety feature like volvos rear windows only going down a few inches haha?

[NoFidelity]

is it a safety feature like volvos rear windows only going down a few inches haha?

More a sanity feature so rouge kids cannot sit in the car and honk, annoying the hell out of the neighbors. *looks at next door kids*

Maybe I should sell them my car...

[McDub]

but the key was still in the ignition! if they let the radio work, at least let the horn work! obviously someone is sitting in the car and may need to use the horn!

[WhO]

Radio should work even without the key in the ignition, well at least mine does! I wonder what VW's theory was having the horn wired in with the ignition