[Miss Mercedes]

*Sigh* I'm getting tired of this. At least twice a year without failure someone finds some way to cause damage to Tucker. If it's not keys, it's paintballs, and if it's not paintballs, it's vomit or eggs.

In 2016, Tucker went the whole year without being touched. I thought maybe, just maybe my car's days of getting vandalized were over. Oh silly me.

From my estimations, someone egged Tucker Friday night. They threw one egg (which made a direct impact onto the tridion cell) and then threw a second egg...which miraculously missed both cars, rolled under Tucke, then exploded open there.

The worst part is that I didn't leave my apartment at all on Saturday, meaning the egg and its shell had a whole day to bake into my paint under the hot sun. Needless to say when I discovered it on Sunday, some of the egg was actually fried into my paint. Getting it off wasn't easy.

At the point of impact there are dozens of pinhole craters that go down to the metal, and many other pinhole craters that don't. Towards the bottom of the door (where the egg pooled up) an entire 5mm chunk of paint came off, thankfully only revealing the white base coat below, not the metal. It's just a mess. Ugh...why couldn't they get the windows or the plastic panels...

At least they spared the 453. Though I'm kinda panicking because what if it happens again????

Alright, so I guess I have to fix this garbage now. I got the car cleaned and assessed the damage. And I guess while I'm fixing this I might as well fix those rock chips on the A-Pillar too. What's the process to fixing this damage? Can I fix it myself?

I have many more photos, though the SCoA upload tool is kinda janky, so these three should suffice.

 

[jzchen]

So sorry to read this stuff is happening! I remember as a real little boy my parents would say the "in thing" was to slash tires.

Depressing!!!!!!!

I guess I've been lucky and moved into a better neighborhood. Now it is robbery that is sometimes something to worry about...

Sigh.....

 

[efacew]

I'm so sad this happened to you & Tucker. While I don't have a answer to your query, just know that somewhere in FL another stands with you & I hope you get it fixed.

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Thanks you two! :x I'm beginning to calm down over it. I have a plan to protect Phil in the meantime. I can't use my parents' rental property for storage of the 453 with them finally beginning to rent it out, so I'm going to have to protect it without it leaving the apartment's parking lot.

As for Tucker, I imagine smart still sells the silver touch-up paint. Guess I'll have to get acquainted with it. Maybe I might wrap the tridion too for a new look to go along with the rally stuff.

 

[10470]

Geeeezz, that's awful. Are you being targeted, or is it a widespread problem in your neighborhood?

Can you find a garage rental nearby? Not sure I'd invest much in repairs if it happens as often as you say.

What a pisser... sad to hear about it.

On another damage note, have you made any progress with your door panel?

Hoping for better news somewhere.

 

[Smart Bob]

Very sorry to hear that this happened to you. Did you file a police report? I would check with your insurance agent & see if you are covered for vandalism on your comprehensive portion of your policy. Hopefully, you will not have to pay a deductible. If this comes under your collision coverage, then you will probably have to cover the deductible.
The damaged areas will probably have to be re-sprayed, & do this correctly would involve taking the vehicle to a body shop. I would look into acquiring a car cover & keeping your cars covered. I would also place a plastic drop cloth over the cover and secure it to the cover with clothes pins or paper clamps. You may also see if the management of your apartment would consider installing security cameras.

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Geeeezz, that's awful. Are you being targeted, or is it a widespread problem in your neighborhood?

Can you find a garage rental nearby? Not sure I'd invest much in repairs if it happens as often as you say.

What a pisser... sad to hear about it.

On another damage note, have you made any progress with your door panel?

Hoping for better news somewhere.

No garages nearby. This would be why I am looking for a good car cover.

I think I was targeted. The 453's been sitting mostly in the same spot for 8 months, with Tucker parked perpendicularly behind him when I come home from work (a setup approved by both local police and management). I'm usually a bit of a celebrity of the complex for the party trick with the cars.

None of the other cars were even touched. Heck, this is actually the first time I've even seen a car vandalized in my complex.

As for the damages I usually get, they're usually at random when they happen. I've been paintballed while visiting a friend in a different state, egged at a drive-in movie theater, and so on. So it doesn't really matter if I do the repair it's likely to happen again, somewhere else. Tucker doesn't even have any pride flags on him either, so it's not like I'm being targeted for that.

This is almost convincing me to fix the trid then wrap it so I don't have to worry about it again. In my experience, the panels take egg SO MUCH BETTER than the trid does. :shrug:

As for my door panel, the GM said he'd give me a call back, that never happened. I've been so wrapped up in drama I've been having with my family that I've not found the time to call him back yet.

Very sorry to hear that this happened to you. Did you file a police report? I would check with your insurance agent & see if you are covered for vandalism on your comprehensive portion of your policy. Hopefully, you will not have to pay a deductible. If this comes under your collision coverage, then you will probably have to cover the deductible.
The damaged areas will probably have to be re-sprayed, & do this correctly would involve taking the vehicle to a body shop. I would look into acquiring a car cover & keeping your cars covered. I would also place a plastic drop cloth over the cover and secure it to the cover with clothes pins or paper clamps. You may also see if the management of your apartment would consider installing security cameras.

Yikes! I'm going to see what I can do first before trying to go through insurance. I'm not covered under vandalism and any time I give them a call they feel like raising my rates. Thankfully most of the damage can be rectified with a good polishing and wax, with the pinholes needing a little more TLC. Thankfully they're so small you can't tell the pinholes are there unless you have your eyeballs an inch away.

The apartment complex has cameras...only in the interior hallways. They also have a lame security guard who if I'm honest, isn't worth the money they pay him. 7 buildings with 1 security guard total. Ha, okay. Management also sucks. These are people who will give you a 5 day notice if you short them so much 40 cents on your rent (I did it before in protest of their inhumane policies). I'm at least going to ask them for a couple hundred or so off next month's rent. Worth a shot, I guess.

 

[Niteshooter]

Man that really sucks, some people are idiots.

I bought one of these covers from eBay. Smart Car ForTwo '98--'13 Outdoor Fitted Car Cover | eBay

It fits the 451 really well and has grommets for adding a locking cable which I suspect you might want since the person who did this might do something else. The seller appears to be sold out though.

Bet it was kids, our next door neighbour got her garage egged the other day. She didn't need that as her husband has been in the hospital since last year with a inoperable tumour. Anyhow back to the cover, I like this particular one as it's not the Kimberly Clark 'paper' ones that stick like glue when wet and frozen and then disintegrate after a couple of years. Oh and I never saw any generic covers that came close to fitting my smart.

Re insurance, my bet is that your rates go up if you submit a claim so anything you gain from getting a repair will be offset by the increase in premiums. Also they might ask for a police report.

We have security cameras on our driveway, not sure if that is even possible in your complex.

 

[ElementalDragon]

I'm surprised you haven't considered buying an outdoor night-vision camera or something at this point, what with all the vandalism issues you've been having. Might not be a bad idea.

 

[efacew]

Man that really sucks, some people are idiots.

I bought one of these covers from eBay. Smart Car ForTwo '98--'13 Outdoor Fitted Car Cover | eBay

It fits the 451 really well and has grommets for adding a locking cable which I suspect you might want since the person who did this might do something else. The seller appears to be sold out though.

Bet it was kids, our next door neighbour got her garage egged the other day. She didn't need that as her husband has been in the hospital since last year with a inoperable tumour. Anyhow back to the cover, I like this particular one as it's not the Kimberly Clark 'paper' ones that stick like glue when wet and frozen and then disintegrate after a couple of years. Oh and I never saw any generic covers that came close to fitting my smart.

Re insurance, my bet is that your rates go up if you submit a claim so anything you gain from getting a repair will be offset by the increase in premiums. Also they might ask for a police report.

We have security cameras on our driveway, not sure if that is even possible in your complex.

I know this pain all too well when I used to be a low drag race style camaro rolling road ripper... Had some neighborhood kids that regularly sabotaged the ride all with eggs (bodily fluids & hate notes included). So that was fun??- police involvement in my case, made no difference? & was prior to the advent of the affordable home surveillance options.
It makes me a sad ? when some make issues for others, rather than having constructive purpose.