Walking back from the driving range to my car on Sunday, I approached in time to see a large man drag the base of his golf bag across the hood of my 300E! He glanced back and kept walking. I called him over and showed him the 12" gouge in my hood. He agreed to pay and the car is now at the body shop.

I'd thought about parking in the very back of the lot but it wasn't very crowded and I had my 6 year old with me. . .OK, I got lazy and parked near the front of the lot.

What irks me is that he kept on walking after scraping up my hood. If I had not been 30 yards behind him at the time, I am absolutely sure he would not have left a note ( it was clear by his demeanor that he was trying to escape).

Anyway, I'm having it touched up, wet sanded and polished rather than repainting the entire front clip. The car has original paint and fortunately, the scrape didn't dent.

The moral of the story is. . .don't be lazy. It's worth the hassle to walk a few extra yards to protect your baby.

Mike,

Sorry to read of the damage. It is yet another case of indifference coupled with irresponsibility. Happens way too often. At least you caught the culprit and he was willing to pay without a fuss (or so it seems from your notes).

Unless I have no alternative, I always park at the back of the lot, away from everyone and take 2 parking spots. Okay, sometimes I’ll park adjacent to someone else taking 2 spots. It is the 21st century form of car-preservation.

What is ironic (for me anyway) about this, is that when traveling with my SO, there is almost always (as in more than 95% of the time) a front row parking space available, wherever we go. This has been the case for over 10 years. She is extraordinarily lucky that way. Just goes to show that the “obvious” opportunity is not what it may appear to be…..

Regards

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

"Walking back from the driving range to my car on Sunday, I approached in time to see a large man drag the base of his golf bag across the hood of my 300E! He glanced back and kept walking."

Sorry to hear that Mike, just recently I experienced a similiar situation... Hope your car comes out well!

First image that came to my mind was that fat-a**, Hugh Rodham (brother of Hillary Clinton). FOX news always shows that footage of him struggling to walk with his golf bag.

That's why I haven't taken up golf.

Wonder if anyone has scraped Tiger Woods' 500SL yet?

__________________
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

Just picked up the car and the hood looks better than it did before the dumb-a** scratched it! Now I wish I'd have had the entire car done.

I will confidently fax the inivoice and wait by my mailbox for his check.

Best,

I am curious to know more about this technique. I have two small scratches of unknown origin on my hood, (I guess that I did not catch the culprit, cuz they weren't there at last wax job last month) Also today a big Waste Management truck went flying by me to run a yellow light, hit a pothole which dislodged a bunch of dried mud and small stones, which pelted my hood, windshield, etc, causing several new chips. The scratches are less that 2 inches long. Is this a technique I should check out???

Mike - at least he didn't walk away scott free.

__________________
... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

George,

I had some light scratches on the passenger side front door. I purchased some " 3M Machine Glaze" from an auto parts store. I buffed them out by hand and it left a haze -- oops!-- but the scratches were gone. I read the instuctions AFTER applying the product and noticed it should be used only with a buffer, hence the word "machine" (duh!).

Anyhow, I went over the whole car with Meguire's swirl remover, polish and a wax. Now there's no trace of any scratches.

Try the 3M Machine Glaze, but only if your familiar with using the product correctly, or try a reputable detail shop.