# First Parking Lot Scratch...



## DJ Dannis (May 9, 2006)

Just when you think more of college will be good for you, your beloved GTO gets messed up in the parking lot. Now... it took me a while to get over rock chips, I finally came to accept there's not too much I could do. But when the damage is done by someone else, errr, I just cringe. My poor baby!! Where is the respect??? Now do I pay to get it repaired (not like that's in the budget) or leave it because it will happen again...? It's like a crisis! The damage is not extensive, just very noticable upon close inspection, three deep scratches, plus some wonderful smudges. Does anyone else share the same pain??

Thanks,
Dan


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## BitterGenius (Jul 25, 2006)

dude....do u have a trailer hitch on your GTO? What the heck it that!!!! Its a sports car man, not a truck!

Oh, and yeah, i hate people that ding my car. Especially when peeps are parellel parking. I caught a guy bumping me once. It didnt do anything but i sure scared the crap out of him when I yelled! Haha!


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## radioboy (Jun 21, 2006)

Dude, I feel your pain. 
As I reported in another thread, a little neighbor kid learning how to ride a bike did a number along the entire side of my GTO. Scratches are too deep, and I’ll need new paint on the door, front & rear fenders, for a total of about $900. At least the parents told me about it and promised to cover the cost of the repair. We’ll see. 

As for front end chips/dings:
While in the paint shop, I had an opportunity to check out very closely a car that had the 3M paint protection film on the front end, including the lamps. It really didn’t affect the appearance. Up close, I could detect the edge of the film on the hood and fenders. On the bumper and the lamps, it was INvisible to me, until someone showed me where the film was applied. Keep in mind this was in shop lighting, not outside. Paint guys also told me it seems to hide better on darker colors. I noticed a slight texture, and it appeared to have yellowed a tiny bit, suggesting the stuff I saw had been on there for quite awhile. These weren’t the guys who actually install the stuff, and the paint shop seemed to have no opinion on whether it was worth the cost (about $600+), but they definitely advised against leaving a black bra on the front end.


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## DJ Dannis (May 9, 2006)

BitterGenius said:


> dude....do u have a trailer hitch on your GTO? What the heck it that!!!! Its a sports car man, not a truck!
> 
> Oh, and yeah, i hate people that ding my car. Especially when peeps are parellel parking. I caught a guy bumping me once. It didnt do anything but i sure scared the crap out of him when I yelled! Haha!



If the sports car gets 13 MPG better than my 10 MPG Suburban, It's a good trade in $$ for long trips with a light load. Plus, I don't see too many ricers doing that... Another GTO show off point. :cheers We have balls under the hood :cool


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## CPO's GTO (Jul 1, 2006)

DJ Dannis said:


> It's like a crisis! The damage is not extensive, just very noticable upon close inspection, three deep scratches, plus some wonderful smudges. Does anyone else share the same pain??


Sorry brother, I know that's gotta hurt! So far so good with mine,
but I know my day will come. Not looking forward to it!


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## 6QTS11OZ (Mar 27, 2005)

Yeah I have a 1 inch crease on the left front fender and a ding on the right rear quarter panel (my own fault- what an idiot). But I figure I will deal with it for another year or two then I'll get it repaired and repainted. I am going to request (no matter how much more it costs) to have the front and side mirrors shot pretty heavy.


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## ShoddyHog (May 17, 2006)

DJ Dannis said:


> Does anyone else share the same pain??


I've owned enough new ones to know that stuff happens, so the chips (very few compared to what I hear about others' here) don't bother me. I also have a chip in my windshield too.

What DID bother me was about 3-4 weeks ago when I went out most of the day driving and/or running errands. The next morning, I washed it, and noticed a small dent and scratches in the hood. From the angle of the scratches and the dent, I came to the conclusion that someone threw something at my car while parked. If something would have hit me with enough mass to cause that, I darn sure would have noticed it.

What can I do? Just fantisize about dismembering the culprit with my .357 magnum. While I doubt I'd ever shoot anyone simply for F'ing with my car, I guarantee you it would be the last time they ever make that mistake.

Gerry


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## PHOTOGOAT (Feb 17, 2006)

Rock Chips = Tailgating.........pass the fools, or back off.

Rocks don't jump off the ground by themselves.......

Almost 10,000 miles and not a single chip.......

:cheers


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## ShoddyHog (May 17, 2006)

PHOTOGOAT said:


> Rock Chips = Tailgating.........pass the fools, or back off.
> 
> Rocks don't jump off the ground by themselves.......
> 
> ...


You must live in Ohio. :lol: 

Man, come to St. Louis for a week, and drive rush hour. You back off like you suggest, and you're going to have mini-vans blistering the paint on your driver's side passing you that fast.

I don't tailgate at all, and pretty much follow your logic, but 10k and no chips AT ALL? I'd have to see that to believe it.

Having said that, I have relatively few, and just flipped 10k yesterday. Some of these folks sound like it is more of a paint issue (bad batch?) than driving habits.

Gerry


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## Cottonfarmer (Jul 11, 2005)

PHOTOGOAT said:


> Rock Chips = Tailgating.........pass the fools, or back off.
> 
> Rocks don't jump off the ground by themselves.......
> 
> ...


Not true! Drive in Louisiana where half the two lane urban roads don't have a paved shoulder. Rocks are constantly being replenished on the road ways by folks who let their cars drift off onto the shoulder and flick them up on the road from the graveled shoulder. All you gotta do is meet another car coming in the opposite direction to get your windshield broken or paint job chiped. It is impossible to drive down here for even a couple of months without getting a windshield pecked or paint chipped.

The auto glass industry is our most thriving enterprise. -Jim


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## ShoddyHog (May 17, 2006)

Cottonfarmer said:


> Not true! Drive in Louisiana where half the two lane urban roads don't have a paved shoulder. Rocks are constantly being replenished on the road ways by folks who let their cars drift off onto the shoulder and flick them up on the road from the graveled shoulder. All you gotta do is meet another car coming in the opposite direction to get your windshield broken or paint job chiped. It is impossible to drive down here for even a couple of months without getting a windshield pecked or paint chipped.
> 
> The auto glass industry is our most thriving enterprise. -Jim


I should have added in my post that we have a lot of rock quarries around here. Most of my damage has been from dump trucks or other trucks that hit a bump and dislodge rocks. And as much as that other fella would like to make it sound reeeeeal simple to just pass or slow down, its not that simple.

Edit: I had my Bonneville glass replaced a few months ago...drove it to work the next day, and had the windshield replaced the following day from yet another rock. At least that was before I got the goat and still had full coverage.

Gerry


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## NT91 (Aug 30, 2005)

Has anyone noticed that on the trunk, on both sides of the license plates
there are two rasied spots. They look like someone took a small hammer from
the backside of the trunk and taped them at that spot.


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## ShoddyHog (May 17, 2006)

NT91 said:


> Has anyone noticed that on the trunk, on both sides of the license plates
> there are two rasied spots. They look like someone took a small hammer from
> the backside of the trunk and taped them at that spot.


Yep. Same here.


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## The_Goat (Mar 10, 2005)

yes I feel your pain, about 125.00 worth of pain a few weeks ago to get a dent pulled out of my front fender where some fat biatch opened her door into my car. Can't tell it was ever there now though, guy did and amazing job.


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## 6QTS11OZ (Mar 27, 2005)

PHOTOGOAT said:


> Rock Chips = Tailgating.........pass the fools, or back off.
> 
> Rocks don't jump off the ground by themselves.......
> 
> ...


WRONG! Come live in the desert and you'll see why.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

NT91 said:


> Has anyone noticed that on the trunk, on both sides of the license plates
> there are two rasied spots. They look like someone took a small hammer from
> the backside of the trunk and taped them at that spot.


*Are you referring to the 2 raised spots beneath the license plate? If you are, they are supposed to have sponge blocks there to eliminate license plate vibration. Mine were pulled off before I took delivery. I placed some sponge there myself. If they are not the spots you refer to, then I do not have raised spots you state you have. *


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

PHOTOGOAT said:


> Rock Chips = Tailgating.........pass the fools, or back off.
> 
> Rocks don't jump off the ground by themselves.......
> 
> ...


*
I have seen trees, and phone poles, jump out in front of cars. 

Serioulsy though I have seen rocks rolling off of hills onto highways. But they never do it where the signs say they are supposed to.:confused *


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## ShoddyHog (May 17, 2006)

GTO judge said:


> *Are you referring to the 2 raised spots beneath the license plate? If you are, they are supposed to have sponge blocks there to eliminate license plate vibration. Mine were pulled off before I took delivery. I placed some sponge there myself. If they are not the spots you refer to, then I do not have raised spots you state you have. *


No, these raised bumps are to the right and left of the plate...perhaps 2-3" on either side around mid plate. I'll see if maybe I can take a picture this weekend, but it might be hard to photo.

Looks like someone took a ball-peen hammer and hit it from the inside of the trunk.

Gerry


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## NT91 (Aug 30, 2005)

ShoddyHog said:


> No, these raised bumps are to the right and left of the plate...perhaps 2-3" on either side around mid plate. I'll see if maybe I can take a picture this weekend, but it might be hard to photo.
> 
> Looks like someone took a ball-peen hammer and hit it from the inside of the trunk.
> 
> Gerry


Yes exactly. Mine is an 2005.
My came like this new. I did not notice till 3 mo. later.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

*Gerry, I just went out and did a double take.... I have NO signs of what you describe. My plate area on all 4 sides are perfectly flat and smooth. The only raised spots are the ones the sponge is on. *


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## GTOJon (Jan 25, 2005)

I have the outward bumps (I guess you can call them) on both sides of the rear license plate. I saw them yesterday as I was approaching the car several yards from behind. It was night time and the reflection of the street lights made it very obvious.


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## ShoddyHog (May 17, 2006)

GTOJon said:


> I have the outward bumps (I guess you can call them) on both sides of the rear license plate. I saw them yesterday as I was approaching the car several yards from behind. It was night time and the reflection of the street lights made it very obvious.


Many times, I back my Goat up into my (sloped) driveway. When I do that, and walk out from my garage, it is immediatly noticable. I saw that the first day, but for some strange reason every time I turn the key and that LS-2 fires, I forget about it :cheers

Gerry


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## PHOTOGOAT (Feb 17, 2006)

I'm sorry you guys live in the desert, close to rock quarries and on gravel roads......For most folks, away from those areas......rocks chips are mostly the drivers fault.

I just washed mine again today, not a single chip. Just bug guts.....


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