I have a platinum grey Seat Leon FR with a personalised plate, I have noticed that idiots around my area keep on scratching my paintwork while its parked outside my home. It seems I can't keep a nice car where I live, I'm fed up with it now as I have 1 long scratch going along the drivers side through to the rear doors. Now I have some new scratches appear on the C-pillar on the drivers side. These are multiple directional scratches like someone has had a fight against it at some point, they are going down to the filler cap which also has scratches on it. I am fed up of it, snip. I am not getting such a new car next year as I am worried about the idiots scratching anything nice again. I feel like having an old Rover instead as it is a real shame that you can't own anything nice these days.
The scratches are starting to make the car look very unsightly & its going to ruin the re-sale value, it seems that once someone scratches your car, it becomes a target for others then they start adding more & more. I don't have the money to repair these scratches professionally as they cost £200-300 to put right so Ive tried rub-in - rub off scratch removers, they don't work at all. I am thinking about laquering/re-praying the whole C-pillar myself as its got that bad but I'm worried about re-spraying it myself, I am doing it through a mix/match aerosol. I do not want to use sandpaper as its going to worsen it. Does anyone have any experience? any hints ot tips on self-spraying? Like I said I would get it done professionally but its the cost. Please help!
Edited by Pugugly on 21/01/2010 at 11:54
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I've dabbled in DIY painting in my quest to experience more about repairing cars...
Prep is difficult (you will be using sandpaper!) time consuming, and uncomfortable i had cramps all up my arm and a twisted back for a day.
Aerosol painting in a breeze-free, warm, clean garage resulted in ok results from a distance, it genuinely wasn't that bad from a distance. Up close, it just looked like the car had been badly repaired after a terrible accident!
I'd read up on the web (there's *tons* of good step by step walkthroughs) how to do the prep work yourself then have it professionally sprayed in the proper environment. Talk to your body shop but you'll save around 50% on your quote by prepping yourself.
If you don't do a good enough job they'll need to redo the prep and charge you for it.
Or just leave it until you can catch the scroats. B&Q have a CCTV beginner kit for £60 just now.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 21/01/2010 at 12:51
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you say you have a platinum grey car--------
no way will you blend a scratch in in this colour all you will do is accentuate the mark i'm afraid
the only answer is park the car somewhere else or move as if they see youve tried to make it better then they will try to make it worse
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I would live with it until you are actually going to sell. If you get it done now the chances are the scrots will scratch it again.
You may also find that the px/ price is not affected much-many dealers will only offer trade or below whatever the condition and if they do try to sell on their forecourt will use someone like chipsaway to mask the scratches ( a 'blowover' job).
From bitter personal experience these repairs start to show in a few months - but will the dealer care?
The cost to the dealer will be much less than to you, so why do the dealers work for him? Go into the negotiation armed with the knowledge that it will cost the dealer maybe £200 to get the scratches sorted at the most, and accept no more than that off the trade in price an otherwise good condition example should fetch.
Annoying though it is, do not be tempted to spray repair yourself - the result will be noticible and what started out as a straightforward vandal scratch could end up looking to a dealer as something far worse and expensive to put right. And that WILL affect the trade in price!
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We had a brand new Leon FR a few years ago, black, that started to accumulate scratches. We parked it and the other car on the drive a minimum distance away from each other, and told my young son's friends to leave their bikes at the end of the drive when visiting. We wondered whether the postman might be catching the car with his bag.
Now we've got a Y reg Focus, and I sleep a lot easier at night :-)
I sympathise, but seriously, is it worth the worry (and cost)?
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I've just had the corner of my front bumper repainted after a close encounter with the garage wall left a load of scrapes in it.
I used one of the mobile firms and for £95 they've done a superb job - it's impossible to tell where the respray has been done and the paint finish is perfect - not a trace of orange-peel in sight, and all done in a little over an hour.
PS colour was Space Grey.
...and while I think on, I wounder why no manufacturer has gone down the route of painting the car in undercoat then using vinyl wrap over the top. Then, if you get a scratch, all you need to do is pull the sheet off and put another in place.
Edited by Andy P on 21/01/2010 at 12:21
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...or simply use plastic panels that are impregnated throughout with colour so a scratch doesn't show up any base coat because there isn't any.
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Why don't we use plastics?
Structural rigidity requirements of modern monocoque chassis design i guess is the 1st answer.
But why don't we go for proper chassis + frame + plastic pretty parts? Landrover Defender / Mecano kit style.
Maybe the frame approach wouldn't be able to absorb anywhere near the same level of energy as all that metal panelling in a crash? Wonder if that's the show stopper.
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But why don't we go for proper chassis + frame + plastic pretty parts? Landrover Defender / Mecano kit style.
Too expensive to manufacture.
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It would be nice to identify the offenders and make them pay.
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A couple of years ago I had my car kicked by a teenager (girl) who was holding a bottle of peach schnapps, she dented and scratched my pride and joy in full view of a police officer in a Volvo who did nothing about it.
I was so angry, I went and had a word with the Police officer on why he was not going to arrest this young lady (LOL) and because she was part of a crowd of youths (aged 13 and 14 in leafy Surrey) he was on his own and said he it was not safe for him to apprehend the individual but he was observing and filming the youths from the car. I did offer to help as I was not frightened by them but my offer was declined.
Cost me around £500 to rectify and when I traded in the car the salesman didn't even look at the car when it was part exchanged.
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Thanks guys for all your advice I'm trying to get to the bottom of the problem. Maybe the C-pillar damage could be slightly my fault aswell as I am not taking the care when I should when I do the tyre pressures with the long rubber hose or maybe it might be to do with the fact that I was acting like a little child during the big freeze we had, I playing snow ball fights & the gloves may have scratched the C-pillar when I was scraping off the snow to make balls. Oops! that could be my fault!
Then again the scratch along the side & the other scratches on the bodywork are definately not mine. Some little blighter had definately pulled something sharp across the driver side.
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I have a platinum grey Seat Leon FR with a personalised plate ...........
Perhaps the car attracts vandals because the personalised number plate makes the car conspicuous.
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I hate the numberplate, I didn't buy it, it was on the car already when I purchased it. I have had the plate up for sale for 7 months now but I have had no offers for it yet. I keep lowering the price but no one wants it. The procedure for selling a plate takes ages, it goes right into complications on the V11 forms. The whole process takes 18 months apparently
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You don't call your neighbours idiots do you?
Edited by Old Navy on 21/01/2010 at 15:03
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No not my own neibours! My area is good, all private - everyone is like a big family here. Its not a rough council estate. Its just that we have had loads of problems with youths also coming from other areas walking through the neibourhood causing trouble as they pass through. I had my windscreen wipers nicked 3 times off 3 different cars now since the trouble started & I have had 3 of them deliberately scratched, but so has everyone else. Our area is currently a youth dispersal zone during the after school hours. I live in an area which is between 2 main districts exactly 1-mile apart. The youths often use our road as an A-B route between the districts to travel to gang fight locations or teenage drinking get-togethers. They pass by at like 3 in the morning & do the damage while everyones sleeping.
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If that is your idea of a "good" area you need to travel to broaden your mind.
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If that is your idea of a "good" area you need to travel to broaden your mind.
My area is good, during the day-time that is. TBH Navy, I know you are personally annoyed with me for saying something you didn't like in another forum, just chill out. I know I might have said something but there is no need to leave bitter remarks on my topics ok? I wouldn't do it to your topics.
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I loath the attitude of some on here who imply that a car is just a piece of metal and we should not get upset if some yob decides to scratch it or dent it.
Time and time again, some poor guy has come on here to ask advice and the same old posters
come out with the line "lifes too short" , "what do you expect if you have a personal plate" etc etc.
I tell you what, tell me the reg of your car and I will arrange to have it scratched, dented, paint strippered etc and see if you like it.
Turn the other cheek society, I hate it !
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read the posts 3 times now and unless mine eyes do offend me to pluck them out nowhere do i read anywhere what your post refers to mr tee
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I'd love to live near you...I enjoy watching a good fight !
Ted
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