[Closed] Kids 'accidently' scratched the length of the car - what to do

Kill them. It's a car, afterall. 😉

whatever you'd have done if you didn't see the kids with twigs
unless they were beating crap out of your car with them in a Basil Fawlty style

Suck it up big boy, it's only a car..........

If it's not too deep, won't it buff out? Or get a quote from a shop, have a word with the parents and see if they want to contribute towards the cost.

I'd have a quiet word with the kids parents but not ask for any renumeration.

Happened to my last car when it was only two weeks old. After crying a little bit, I sucked it up & accepted it was an accident and kids will be kids. I was parking on a public road at the time & you kind of expect that to happen at some point.

Walter, as always has the only viable and proportionate answer

😀

T-cut is the obvious answer.

What flyingmonkeycorps said. It's worth the kids maybe taking a bit of a lesson to be more careful in future from it, and it's worth getting it off your chest, but it's not a massively big deal. They're only kids, it's only a car. If it'd just been resprayed the paint was probably quite soft anyway.

Oh yeah, and what paddy said too.

Did you catch them in the act and draw the kids attention to what they had done? Its easier to talk tothe parents if little jonny a. remembers doing it and b. was caught in the act.

Im sick of worrying about car paint now and lockon grips accidentally swinging and catching on my interior plastic etc- just buy a robust car and be done with it (sadly) 🙁

Get the parent to pay for the cost of repolishing or scratch their car as they did to yours.

🙂

They will just come back and do it again 👿

They probably just don`t like bling motors, happens to Scoobies around here.

Sounds like it would be easily sorted by the suggestions above of a quick tcut/polish. If so then i would let it go. Doesnt sound like the kids meant it and wouldnt achieve anything by getting them into trouble. Also the fact that time has passed makes it even harder to make the parents accept 'little uns' actions.

I got home in a brand new black VW Jetta last year and my son was excited to see it. He rode his bike too close to the parked car and scratched it the entire length. The car had about 10mls on the clock and needed the full side resprayed. Luckily my father-in-law is a bodyshop manager for a maindealer and sorted it for me 🙂

speak to the parents and dont go near it with T-Cut or a buff if its just been resprayed (unless you really know what you are doing) Paint might still be soft (2 pack paint can take months to settle properly) and you could end up making a real mess of it. Go and see the place you got it painted and see what they can do it. A proper polish and buff with the like of 3M should take it out if it aint deep. Run your finger nail over it and see if it catches in the scratch. If it does more than likely a re paint job and chance are teh full side of the car will need to be painted to blend the colour if. If it doesn't catch polish should do the trick.

Is the car a metalic, Pearl or solid colour?

TBH I know people say its only a car but to put right it'll cost you money. After all you couldnt sell it scratched. Speak to the parents. Its not a great situation but its not your problem, its theirs.

I once closed my eyes to see how far I could ride my racer along the road and ran straight over the bonnet of a parked Polo. I was only 10ish but even then I was really worried about his bonnet/damage but the owner seemed more amused than anything and let me go on after asking I was ok. I was really worried that my Mum would go mental!

I know the feeling, had the next door 6 year old boy etch a pretty star into the bonnet of my 911 with a stone a while back, I nearly passed out when I saw his artwork 😯

Ever since I snarl and give the kid [i]the[/i] evils, I think I'm finally starting to get to him now after 15 years of pressure 😆

Clad your car in denim. It looks better a bit distressed so kids with branches will be doing you a favour.

In the last year 4 people have driven along/ into my car, if I got all upset about the dents and scratches I'd not have any time to get on with the things I want to do instead. Although I am waiting for someone to do it properly so's I can get it all repaired in one go.
If its a problem get it done on insurance that's what its for isn't it?

If its a problem get it done on insurance that's what its for isn't it?

Excess?

Go and scratch the kids bikes. Then you'll be even.

Get a repair quote. Have a word with the parents and mention the price. Suggest the kids make it up by cleaning your car (if you want to chance it) or better still your bikes, every week for 6 weeks. 6 weeks is like a life sentence for kids, they'll learn a lesson from lost play time over the summer. They will also see the scratch on your car every time they come round to reinforce it.

Either that or they will put a brick through your windscreen when you grass them up to their parents.

If it was a good respray then the lacquer should be all that's been affected by a run-by tree branching. Rule of thumb so to speak; take your thumb nail over the scratch if it's deep enough that you can feel it catch then a bit of work may be required (wet and dry or indeed a paint) however if it is a very light scratch that your nail can't catch then you should get away with a buff and G3 or Finesse.

Ah, that'll teach me to start typing then go and get some lunch.
What I should have said was: See what Xan posted 😀
Anyhoo, back to lunch 😀

well get it respray and have the parent insurance pay for it simple...

shitting hell. Last time this sort of thing was mentioned I made a lone stand on here suggesting that it's just kids, accidents happen and the parents are under no obligation to pay. For this I got abused and slandered.

This time loads of people are saying that. Either I'm a better influencer than I would have thought possible or everyone was just flowing with the popular trend last time.

Anyway, I'll repeat myself. If it doesn't come out with a bit of T-cut, approach the parents and enter into a discussion about compensation but don't forget that they are not financially responsible for their childrens actions. Actually I'd mention it to the parents no matter what.

Get a repair quote. Have a word with the parents and mention the price. Suggest the kids make it up by cleaning your car (if you want to chance it)

Yes, just ensure they don't drop the sponge on the road then rub it over the car covered in grit ... (seen that but fortunately not my car or kids! 😆 )

[i]dragging branches behind them and one of these branches scratched the length of the car as they ran past. Not a deep scratch but enough to show.[/i]

This thread is useless without knowing what the scratches are like. We get branch scratches on vans all the time. You can get good polishes with very fine rubbing compound in them which will take these out very easily without any paintwork needed. If the vehicle is a metallic it may be that its just marked the lacquer and again just needs a little polish.

If its deeper then you need to decide if its worth the grief to approach the parents. Difficult considering time has passed.

I don't think you can use T-Cut on metallic paint.

Samuri, i dont think anyone had mentioned 'Obligation' till you did though. As you say accidents happen. But to say the parents have no obligation for this type of thing.....well it was discussed previously wasnt it.

Chips away? they might be able to sort it.

We get too attached to items etc but lack of respect...maybe the didn't realise it but unless you were naked I would have caught them up and said something to their parents if they were truly the cause.

Bloody annoying when someone wrecks your pride and joy.

T-Cut for metallic paint is available.

From what I remember of being a 'mischevious kid' any attempt at having it out, either directly or via the parents, would result in a long sustained campaign of retribution, and that was in the days before the option of 'mummy mummy, that funny red faced man with the big axe tried to touch me!!!'

your pride and joy

Is that how some people view cars?

How odd.

Its only a car at the end of the day. Its best to have something that isnt nice and shiney then you wont be gutted when it gets scratched (which is bound to happen)

It seems a bit harsh asking the parents for compensation to fix it if it was an accident. Its not there fault you decided to get an expensive paint job on your vehicle

It's a car, it still goes along the same, that's what a car does.

What's the problem? I just don't get it.

Infact cars/drivers like this are the ones that annoy me the most because they never want to pull into the side to let you past if you meet them on a country lane, for fear of scratching there car.

The opposite of what Hora suggests is always the right thing to do. He's a moral compass of a sort.

Consider it battle scars and wear them with pride, like you would on your bike?...

Why did you have it resprayed a few months ago if its a new car? Surely easier to buy it new in colour of your preference (unless a bargain of course?).

Have a word with parents and see how it goes. If they're arsey and wont admit it was kids show them a few quotes to show them how arsey and tw*tty you can be too if you want to be. If they are full of apologies and offer to pay show some compassion and enjoy your 'lived in' merc. They go for years anyway - there will be plenty more scratches in it in a few years.

Different story if its a Mclaren one!

with david taylforth on country lane drivers, probabbly why most of my cars have been shiny on the drivers side and matt on the passenger side from where I can't/won't stop for fussy drivers in the lanes

I will have a quiet word with the kids I guess and a discreet word with the parents. I won't push for compensation, it is only a car but a shame as Mercedes had just paid for the full respray as a good will gesture after I spotted a slight rust bubble.

Find another rust bubble...

Anyway, you've got a drive you could park it on.

So basically, it's your own fault. In fact, I want compensation from you.

Helps to think about it from the parents perspective

I guess if someone contacted me nice and discreetly about my daughter accidentally scratching a car in the same circumstances, I'd take the stance - "she's a kid, it was an accident, these things happen - sorry. Duly noted your car is scratched, sorry about that, suppose the only way you'll guarantee it not to be scratched is if you leave it somewhere where people, animals etc might not accidentally brush against it". Then I'd close the front door put my wetsuit back on and go back to sacrificing goats to the devil whilst watching highlights from britain's got talent. You'd never convince me I should pay up for a re-spray.

If the complainant were unpleasant or aggressive, philosophically I might think the same facts applied, but the harder they pushed, the more likely I would be to include them and their car in the sacrifice process.

Your approach seems a good one to me....

In a similar vein, I had a kid knock a Froggy 518 over in my shop, I told his mother that Id like to sort something out with her as i now have a new bike with a dented top tube, any advice on what to do, I was thinking of claiming in the small claims court.

if my car was written off by another driver i would expect them (their insurance) to pay.

what some of you are saying is that you wouyld shut up and swallow the cost if you thought they did it accidentely?

did they not just do a runner, Sancho?

"you break it, you pay for it" seems reasonable in a shop...

She wouldnt accept that the kid had even touched the bike, and told me to claim on my insurance, but there were three people in the shop who saw the kid try climb on it while his mum was messing about with a bmx.
so I have her number plate at the moment.

Hmm, sorry to disappoint, Sancho, but I'd say you're on a loser, there. If the kid is under the age of criminal responsibility, then you coon't even do owt about deliberate damage, let alone accidental. Shit happens. Just claim of yer insurance. That's what it's there for.

WCA; where's my compo?

if my car was written off by another driver i would expect them (their insurance) to pay.

what some of you are saying is that you wouyld shut up and swallow the cost if you thought they did it accidentely?

Eh?

Its a completely different set of circumstances.

[i]If the kid is under the age of criminal responsibility[/i]

This is a red herring. A child may be sued or sue in the civil courts, but unless the court orders otherwise they have to be represented by a grown-up.

*hijack*

Sancho - How much for the Froggy 518 with the dented top tube? 😉

Sancho- I think in your case its tricky. It could be seen as a 'display' item? That is meant to be touched and the inherent risks of inviting customers to touch? If you had a sign on saying 'please do not touch'. That would be different.

No legal knowledge here, but in Sancho's case, as a parent I'd think I'd have some responsibility for the actions of my kid in a shop whilst I'm present, so I'd probably be more receptive to the concept of having to shell out. It just seems the right thing to do.

Not sure whether pursuing this through small claims would end up costing you more in time, effort, and stress than claiming it against your insurance though?

I don't think you can use T-Cut on metallic paint.

Given WCA has just got a nice new job, me thinks he should either pay for it or claim on his insurance. It would be worth telling the neighbour what you had to pay to get it fixed, but accidents do happen and children are highly prone to these.

I try and park my car away from where kids play (on my drive). Strangely though, despite a hedge dividing our gardens, my vehicle has been damaged twice by the next door neighbour. Once by the mother opening her 4wd door an denting mine (she and her Chelsea Tractor driving girlfriends use my driveway univited when we go away - women and their appalling spatial awareness eh!! - that ain't sexist, it's a scientifically proven fact!) and the other was the 4 yr old's brake lever scraping the wing. I didn't mention either of these incidents because I didn't see them happen. I'd noticed the damage had appeared despite the car not being used and then I discovered paint from my car at the exact corresponding heights on their car door and the girls bike's brake lever.

The only way to ensure your car is safe is to park it in a locked garage. I appreciate your exasperation WCA.

don't you people insure kids? Is it not mandatory?

T-Cut on metallic paint? You'll get 'Ghosting' so will need to use plenty of wax to get rid of Nadia Popov

[img] [/img]

Rentaghost, I was in the pub with 'Dobbin' last night, actually he said he'd pick some broad beans from his allotment for me.

I once closed my eyes to see how far I could ride my racer along the road

Is this something that everybody does as a kid? Glad to see someone else did this too...

deadlydarcy - Member

I once closed my eyes to see how far I could ride my racer along the road

Is this something that everybody does as a kid? Glad to see someone else did this too...

Don't remember doing that, but I have tested how long I could turn my car lights off for when driving along a dark country road when I was younger. 🙄 😐

juan - Member

well get it respray and have the parent insurance pay for it simple...

FFS, have a bit of perspective. What if the parents deny it? Then, you're looking at a possible lengthy and costly court case, which you might not win. WCA has no 'evidence' that the kids did it, so bugger all to base any claim on. And the probability of hostility from the parents, and possibly others, to follow. Just not worth it. Try seeing this in the 'real world', Juan. It's just a [i]scratch[/i].

samuri - Member

shitting hell.

That is a proper quality exclamation, and one which I use on a regular basis.

FFS, have a bit of perspective. It's his [i]car[/i]! That's what's really important here. Try seeing this in the 'real world', Rudeboy. It's a scratch. On a car. Some people kill for less. 😉

(although, this being a WCA thread there is probably in fact no car, no children, no branch, and therefore no scratch to worry about) 🙂

Rule of thumb, If you can't feel the scratch by dragging a fingernail across it, it will polish out, if you can feel it you will struggle.

don't you people insure kids? Is it not mandatory?

Christ on a bike; what's this genius going to come up with next? Insure a lampshade, in case a visitor is offended by it's style, or something? Insure yer letterbox, in case a postman hurts a finger in it? 🙄

Can't stop; I've got to find out about insurance for my wallpaper...

T-Cut on metallic paint? You'll get 'Ghosting' so will need to use plenty of wax to get rid of Nadia Popov

T-cut'd several metallic cars, never an issue?

I don't get all the people who say "it's only a car" - they must be trolling. I mean, sure it's only a car when in a life/death situation "christ, I dropped 50ft and wrote my car off, but I'm alive - its only a car" - fair enough, but its also a very expensive item that retains value for resale and is something that people like to own and like to keep looking and working well, as part of the appeal to the majority of people is its looks.
We arent monks (i dont think!?), we are allowed to enjoy ownership of possessions and hope to keep them in good condition, and expect a to be able to sell a car on at the end of our ownership of it - why should we just accept that cars get damaged by other people who are careless/thoughtless? Just because it's only visual damage? If you follow some peoples argument on here we'd happily smile and nod at people flinging paint on buildings, graffiti-ing things etc, as it's all only visual - your house still keeps you dry even if the stupid teenager with the spray cans has scrawled their tag over your front door.

I mean really, talk about taking apathy to it's limits.

In this case I'd simply mention it to the parents and consider myself silly for having parked a shiny new respray on a public road when I have drive space. This is one of the reasons I bought a second car, to keep the nice one off the road when parking in my new place that has no off-road parking, the other stays in storage 🙁

Coffee king - you bought a crap car as a decoy, distracting the kids from the proper car? Genius!

Iiiiithankyou 😀

Stupid thing is the decoy car actually cost more than the one it's protecting, fortunately its saving grace is the fact that it does stupidly high mpg which is good when you do 22-25k a year.

Put it to the parents if they pay or at least offer they're decent people, if they don't they're just some more f3cking 21st century parents who won't take responsibility for their spawn.
What goes around............ 😈

I do not have a car, but I would like to hope that if I owned something so enormously expensive I would either not leave it in the road in everyone's way, or have the good grace not to whine like a li'l baby bitch when, after I'd left it in everyone's way all day, it got a bit scuffed. 🙂

Only relevant in a denting cars way, but today I was sitting in my car in Tesco car park eating a bun when an old duffer tried to park in the space next to me. It took him four goes to get in and then he carried on, obviously wanting to go into the opposite space so he didn't have to reverse out (a good idea given his ability at going forwards). When he eventually saw the trolley sat in that space he stopped, clearly wondering what to do. Instead of getting out and moving it he just crept forward until his bumper was touching the trolley, then just pushed it out of the way, sending it careering across the car park. Fortunately, a lady managed to catch it just before it crashed into the side of some poor sod's car. Then he just got out, looked around sheepishly, and wandered off to do his shopping.

BD - in the way? Small roads round your way? Shurrup! 😀

thegreatape - I have nudged a trolley once, sending it careering across the slightly sloping car park too (very foolish move) - I've never run so fast in my life to catch it!

Yes, not a tactic I will be attempting in the future.

if it's a merc, and a fairly new one at that (presuming so because they paid for a respray after the rust bubble) then I am led to believe that their paint contains some ceramics - making it very durable and a 'hard' paint.... something like menzerna 106ff & a cutting pad should buff it out if it isn't too bad.

if you're near sheffield anytime soon, call round and i'll gladly look at it for you! (I don't do this full time, just as a bit of a hobby)

lol at the 'its just a car' and the 'pride and joy' comments above.

from people who elevate bikes to the same level as the OP does for his car.

""but its not your problem, its theirs."" (a Hora quote)

I beg to differ - it isn't their car that's been scratched - if someone came round to tell me that one of my kids had scratched their car that was left on a public road - i'd thank them for telling me and so i could deal with them, but in no way would i give them any cash - part and parcel of owning a car i'm afraid, and if kids are involved and it was nonintentional you'll just have to suck it up - if on the other hand a fat d1ckhead opens their door into your door and dings it in Tesco car park beat them to the ground with a can of soup and remove their kidneys with your car keys and sell it on Ebay to compensate for the damage.

lol at the 'its just a car' and the 'pride and joy' comments above.

from people who elevate bikes to the same level as the OP does for his car.

Exactly. People who says its only a car either dont own the car they drive (company car), never passed a driving test and live with their Mum or can't afford a car that costs thousands. Sorry, its true.

If 'its only a car' people actually spent say 15k on a car with their own money then hands up- you win, I'm wrong.
Its a depreciating item but once a car starts showing scratches...its like a scratch-magnet- everyone assumes you've given up on it and adds liberally more ontop.

Exactly. People who says its only a car either dont own the car they drive (company car), never passed a driving test and live with their Mum or can't afford a car that costs thousands. Sorry, its true.

No it's not

I own a £25k car, passed my test 20 years ago, & haven't lived with my mam for 30 years
I don't consider it an asset & don't give a fig what it's resale value is, I bought it as a tool not some piece of investment jewellery.

come to think of it - I don't know the value of anything I own or care about selling them, I don't think I've ever bought anything for an investment.

I would be a little peed off if my car got scratched but a 10 minute sulk would be about the limit of it.

Ok, but you understand that a £300 car could be someones pride and joy just as a £100,000 race horse could be someones pride and joy?

Its relative.

No sorry - I don't understand anything like that being anyone's pride & joy [bike, car, house etc.]

Now I have 3 kids that definitely are my pride & joy

Its a concept. To a watercolour painting they worked on for a week, a freshly planted garden, an allotment, etc etc. Its all relative. Its understanding that not everyone has the same standards as yourself, that not everyone will live their life they way you live yours. Its understanding this-you cant expect others to live by your standards and to understand theirs no?

I was born into money but then grew up without money so anything I buy is treasured to an extent.