I found a new ding on my 300E this morning, Whoever did it must have used a baseball bat! It's getting to the point where I have to set aside money in the budget every month to take care of dings!

My wife's 500SL even has one. You'd thing it would get better respect!

Anybody else dealing with this, or am I too persnickety?

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Got the dings taken out at lunchtime...$65 and it looks perfect.

Now I have to get the SL done, and get the ML REdone...maybe I can get all of them ding-free for about a day or so...before the cycle starts again.

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Yes, use 2 parking spots whenever possible. I ALWAYS do this when I can. I know that people probably think that I'm just some ******* in a Mercedes, but who cares if you lose the risk of getting any dings! I have quite a few little dings.... only 1 is really apparent.. and then there are 7 or 8 really really small ones that can only be seen in certain light. And I noticed 2 dings on my hood the other day!!! My hood WAS FLAWLESS! ARGHH... My car was parked at a friend's house, and he was trying to get his garage door open to put my car in there next to his E430 (and his dad's ML55 and Brabus E320, with 300 HP! very cool guy!), anyway. They had just moved and one of the garage doors wasn't automatic, and my car was parked in front of it. He was tugging on it to open, and the door shot him back and he fell on the hood of my car. ARGH... I can't blame him though, you know? Accidents happen.
But G-benz, i know what you mean... very frustrating. And $65 for a ding is the going rate around here.. and the second ding removed is usually about $40.

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2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Tell you what happened to me last week. Well, you know about my star already, but I have another story to tell about idiot parents.

Last week was the USA cup. It's billed as the world's largest soccer tournament with over 17,000 kids playing. Anyway this guy in a conversion van pulls into the space next to me and immediately the side door pops open. This is one of those vans which has a double door on the side. The kid pushes the door open and it hits my mirror. I roll down the window and sternly tell the kid to be careful. The kid looks at me with bewilderment in his eyes and slinks back in. Obviously Dad wonders what's going on so he walks around and asks me what's up and is there any problem. I told him that his kid opened the door right into my side mirror. He looks at it and says that his kid didn't do any damage anyway. At this point I'm pissed and I told him to watch the kids better and that it could have been my door instead. Check out what he said. He said...

"it's not my problem that ya'll drive such a fancy cars."

I was flabbergasted, dumbfounded, tongue tied all at once. I didn't know what to say so I just drove home. Things people say...

Kuan

In the mind of the "ding-makers"

** Popped open the door ** BOOM... ** Stare at the new ding **....Oops.... I didn't do it...


But seriously, some ppl are just being jerks. I was once told that They put dings on the car purposely because we drive a better car than they do!!???

Andy Kuo

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1992 Mercedes-Benz 400SE
http://members.shaw.ca/AKRY/W140_Side.gif

2002 Acura TL Type S
http://members.shaw.ca/AKRY/type_s_side.gif

I posted a reply to Kuan's post about the father and son in the van... did a moderator remove it? I can't think of why (well a little...) it would be removed? Or maybe the post just didn't go through... Hmmm.

__________________
2006 E350 w/ 155k miles (Daily Driver)

Previous:
1993 300E 3.2L Sedan w/ close to about 300k miles
2003 E500 Brilliant Silver (Had 217k miles when totalled!)
1989 300E with 289,000 miles (had for <1 yr while in HI)
03 CLK 500 cabrio (Mom's)
2006 C230k (Dad's)
1999 S420 (Mom's/Dad's)
2000 C230k Sport sedans
2001 CLK320 Cabrio (Mom's)
1995 C280 My First Mercedes-Benz... (155k miles. EXCEPTIONAL AUTOMOBILE. Was Very hard to let go of!)

Quite often, children swing open the doors, jump out, and go! Young children are not aware of the damage they can cause and are often allowed to recklessly leave the vehicle......However, the best part is when the parent condones the behavior and defends the action!!! Sound familier???

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Dale, R129
W202

A few years back, when I still had my Disco, I was parked at a supermarket parking lot waiting for my wife to come out, when this guy in an old and rusted, falling apart pickup truck parks next to me and his wife opened the door and just swung it wide without regard for any car next to them, it hit the side of my door and didn't ding it but scratched the paint instead. So, I got down and told her what she just did, and the husband, comes around and says, what's my problem and I told him what his wife just did, he said, oh, it's an accident don't worry, you'll have a lot of that later. So, I said, that I need their insurance name so I can have it fixed, they just looked at each other, laughed and went on their way. I was pissed off but since their car is already beat up, couldn't do anymore damage to it. Good thing my wife came and and I just decided to let it go and went home instead. Not worth getting stressed about it.

Learned my lesson taking 2 parking spaces before. You avoid dings but them some people just get pissed and key your car. Better to have those dings than being keyed.

It's gotten to the point where e-mails have circulated from the building manager at work scolding people who take up more than one parking space. What a joke! This parking lot is less full than the lot at the Clippers stadium!

I try to teach my own daughter to be careful, but she put a ding on the ML while opening the door to the 300E. And this was on the same day I had just gotten the previous dings on the ML removed! Her friends do the same thing, so it's a losing battle!

I have surrendered and relegated door dings as a way of life, getting them removed in the same manner as one would perform routine oil changes...

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Hmm David,

I don't think it would be removed. I have reply notification set on and I didn't see your reply come through. At least I don't think I got an email saying you had replied to my thread. Anyway what was so bad in that email that it may have been removed? Do we get a notification if our posts are removed?

Kuan

but, I don't think it's ever appropriate to use two parking stalls. In fact, I don't think it's appropriate how 40-50% of the people park their cars. Yes, there are times that parking lines are tight and it's going to be tricky to park a car, but after living/working directly in a city, I think of parking spots as a finite resource.

People who use two stalls or park at an angle are placed neatly in my narcissist file.

If it is possible to park at a distance from the throng of auto assemblage, I still think it's just common courtesy to park in a single spot between the lines.

I have simply accepted that door dings are a part of auto maintenance.

Found this post by accident, but interesting read!

I once had two dings on my brand new black Chryseler Voyager, you take so much care and effort, and some careless jerks just....ahhh!!! Being a wide car it's difficult in some carparks, although it takes longer, but it definitely pays to look around before settling for the lowest-risk space. (I never had the guts to take two spaces...)

One other thing I couldn't really comprehend:
I once visited a Ferrari showroom (pretending...), and had a good look around. To my amazement, two out of three used 360 Modenas had damages to the door areas, like chipped door edges, or scratches/touchups(non pro work) near door handles. One even had scratches and patched paintwork all the way from roof down. (Asked the rep and he said owner had something fell on the car at home) While these are all small imperfections, they're quite noticeable close up.

Don't know how these people look after there cars, but there's more self inflicted damage in 1 year(or 2) then my cheap Ford in 6 years.

I am with you guys on this. There are people out there that have absolutely not respect for other people's property. There are peopoe out who do not care about their auto and drive junkers and assumed that others are the same.

Thre should be a low that mandates they putter soft rubber bumpers on people's doors, but then the scum buckets who have have no regard people's property are the same who would just violate it.

What can you do? You got to be phlisocial about it. Things go from order to dis-order that is the natural state, entrophy. If things are left along they naturaly goes from new to old, prefection to inprefection. Is is just the natural order of things.



You notice the dings on your car door and the touch up paint on you car. But have you ever notice the little scares on youself.


I notice a few scares on my arm and hands from all the time working on my car.

All you could do is park away from everybody and own an 2nd car for all the questionable places you are going to.

blau

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Silver Honda Accord, 2006
Silver G500, 2003
Silver SLK-320, 2002
Black ML-320, 2000
Bule Porsche 993 Targa , 1997
Silver Merkur XR4Ti, 1987

When someone invents "self-healing" body parts for cars, that may solve this problem. Someone carelessly opens a car door and bing! A big door ding! Every day you can watch the imperfection slowly heal itself until one day you look and it's gone! How cool!

I've got scrapes on my body, but no dings. Whatever touch-up paint my DNA uses on my healed scars, it doesn't match the surrounding skin very well!

bill17: I've noticed that a lot of exotic (and expensive) vehicles get more than their share of flak on the paintwork...my theory is that these cars were formerly owned by celebrities, and are sometimes approached by fans who have no regard for personal property when attempting to get near their idol. It's not limited to cars either. did you ever see the remains of a front yard of a home where a mob of reporters camped out for days!

My 300E was previously owned by a Fort-Worth sheriff. I always wonder if the car ever saw any action...no bullet holes visible on the body, though.

I remember when Michael Jordan was still with the Bulls, on one interview, he complained about having to replace his vanity plates so frequently because fans kept stealing them as collectibles wherever his MB was parked...

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

There is a car like that. It's called a Saturn! Not to be confused with Uranus of course I don't mind when I see a Benz parked in two stalls. Actually I make a lot of jokes and laugh but it really doesn't bother me that ANYONE parks in two stalls. I just go find other parking. In a big city (I live in Minneapolis, a small big city) where parking is at a premium it might be different, but here in the land of Sven and Ole there doesn't seem to be a shortage of parking.

There is something to be said about having something that's yours. Something that you've worked hard for and something which makes you fell proud allover. There was this kid who worked for me and he used to park his $4,000 "brand new" used truck in two stalls. I knew how hard this kid worked and also a little about his personal life. When he bought the truck everyone in the hotel knew it was his. He would walk clear across the parking lot to get to the back door employee entrance. He really loved his truck.

So I totally understand when people park their Kia or Hyundai in two spots. It's their hard earned money so why should I bother unless it really affects me? If they're willing to park on the 5th floor of a multi-story parking garage and walk an extra three minutes then more power to them I say. Me? I need the exercise, but I'm lazy.

kuan