My Mini (which I've had for less than a month) experienced it's first act of vandalism today. As I was walking to my car after work I noticed a dark purple stain running down the driver's side door. As I got closer I noticed another liquid all over the same side of the hood and the wheel arch (looked like a milkshake).

This wasn't an accidental overspray of someone opening a shaken Coke can nearby. Someone purposefully emptied their soda and milkshake on my car. I washed it off as soon as I got home, but the coke left a hot pink stain in its wake.

Cleaner wax and Scratch-X helped only marginally. It's still quite clear in daylight. Has anyone had a similar experience? The paint is a little over two months old, should be cured by now.

 

sorry to hear. might want to head up north and have the octaneguy
take a look.

another reason why i dont drive my MCS to work or anywhere other than
for motoring.

 

Man, THAT would be intolerable to me. What's the point of having a car if you can't drive it?

Sorry it happened to you... I have no idea why some people have to do things like that. Makes you want to believe in karma. And, for what it's worth, if it helps, remember that anyone that would do something like that to a stranger's car is almost certaily a miserable wretch with a dead-end life. That said, they still didn't have to take out their frustration with the wreckage they call a life on YOUR car.

As for the stain, ask around and I bet someone local to you has a Porter Cable and can buff out the stain, but yeah, I'd ask Richard (Octaneguy) about what he thinks about how deep the stain might be first - chances are he's seen that sort of thing before.

 

Thanks very much for the replies. I was quite upset when I got home, but life is too short to dwell on things that are out of one's control. I indulged in a mega guilty pleasure (Spongebob!) and felt a bit better.

I'll consult with the OG. Hopefully it's something I can remedy myself with a little elbow grease....

 

who said I can't drive it? i drive it for pleasure every
weekend. why bother waxing and polishing cars when it's
going to get dirty and vandalized.

Hydro is the answer. .. wait, turned into a commercial
once again...

on a serious note, i would take it up north.

 

YOU did... I drive my car EVERYWHERE, not just to work or to certain "motoring events". Of course, you have multiple cars and that's fine, but not everyone does, and even if I did have a second car, I'm glad that I live in a place where I can drive to work as well as to the mall, to the movies, to stores, to the amusement park or anywhere else I like. And best of all, non-motorists get to see the car and ask me about it (I had like four parking lot attendants clustered around the car at the airport this morning when I got there asking me questions - a great feeling I NEVER got with my Mazda, let me tell you).

I know it could happen to me at any time, but like the OP said - life's too short to worry about crap like that. As much as I love my MINI it's just a car and, by definition, is repairable if some nimrod decides to be a jerk. For me, the pleasure of enjoying my car wherever and whenever I like outweighs the slim chance that something will happen.

 

I think this falls into the category of justifiable homicide, if you can catch the little sh-it!

 

good, looks like you got a plan.

 

That's terrible. Whoever did that to your MINI is the lowest of the low.

Try using 3M Swirl Mark Remover For Dark Cars on the spots... apply it by hand using a pad or similar applicator.

It has extremely fine abrasivity as well as some mineral spirits that gently remove stains.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

-boognish

 

What a jerk! It's a shame that some people have to act like imbeciles. Good luck with your Mini.

 

Thanks, everyone. I just filed a police report as I found out that a coworker's vehicle was vandalised in a similar fashion on the same day. A number of people who have seen the damage feel that the door will need to be repainted. The stain is etched into the clear coat, and the composition of the paint has been altered.

I knew it was only a matter of time before my Mini received a scratch or ding, but didn't figure it on happening within the first 3 weeks of ownership. (And definitely didn't assume it would involve repainting a door!)

C'est la vie.

 

Ohhhh :( That really sucks.

Hope Henry is feeling better soon

 

yah, my brand new (at the time ) 06black legacy that was completely
spotless was keyed only after 3 weeks of ownership too. that was infront of
a Meijer supermarket. told the wife not to go there any more. then my
brand new (at the time) 06 civic was backed into by a UPS truck at work
only about 6weeks of ownership with estimated $980 of damage.

it got dinged up almost every other month. tiz why i dont have
time to be worring about my "cars" that i care about. daily drivers will
get hit. just a matter of time. i dont get attached to them.

 

Man, that sucks. But, my philosophy is that I got the car to drive and have fun. If I didn't drive it anywhere because it might get a bruise, it wouldn't be much fun for me. I get upset when something happens, I get it fixed, I'm happy again. But I am not going to worry about actually using the thing.

 

i bought the car to drive and have fun too. not to get dinged up
and violated over and over. just a different approach. less stressful for
me knowing my car is well kept away from selfish acts while im away.

ive had too many instances like this in the past and knowing my schedule,
i dont have time to be babysitting repairs and such.

 

I have had my MINI for 8 months now, and don't want to jinx myself so I won't actually type it, but you get my point.

In my family, we've actually had the exact opposite experience (save for my mother-in-law, whose tail lights I have to replace every other week because she is CONSTANTLY backing into stuff). My father-in-law has a 68 (I think) Porsche. It sits in the garage and is driven very occassionally. One weekend, they were cleaning out the garage and WHAM, my mother-in-law knocked a can of something off a shelf and onto the hood. $900 paint job to repair it.

My own father had a beautiful red Mercedes convertible when I was a child. He almost never drove it. The one time he did, he was hit by some idiot and totalled the Mercedes.

My brother had an awesome Katana that he only took out on weekends. On one trip, some jacka$$ pulled out in front of him on a city street and totalled the bike.

 

Fortuitous topic.

I just finished installing security cameras in our work parking lot and at home to keep an eye on my Mini, WHEN IT ARRIVES!

I have been the victim of parking lot vandalism. My new Lexus IS250 picked up a couple of large dents, in the parking lot one day,...on the hood and roof. As if someone with a tire iron got pissed off at it. Breaking the glass would have made too much noise.

Now, if it happens, I'll know who did it. They better be in good standing with the sheet metal gods. They will need it.

 

i can almost see skuzzy going out there with a shotgun each time he sees a
bird in his surveillance camera display.

dang it, birds and grass hoppers today!

 

I have a electrically charged (low voltage) wired net over my driveway for the bird problem. Birds seldom land on it for very long.

My driveway is a poop-free zone.

 

Skuzzy has definitely gone over the deep end.

 

Hehe. That is why I giggle a bit at those who *think* they are OCD. You have no idea. And I ain't even over the end yet.

My Wife, bless her heart, keeps me in check. She gets to hear all the ideas first. And when she reaches for the commitment papers, I know I need to back away from that idea.

 

It sounds like Skuzzy mistook the shallow end for the deep end and jumped in head first.

 

And what is your plan for dealing with the huge chunks of frozen **** that occasionally fall from airplanes?

 

Always!

Fortunately, I am not in the flight path of any aircraft, except the Space Shuttle when it re-enters. But it is still too high above my car to be of any concern.

 

akkk, your approach things happen first, then you take care.

my approach things dont happen. im still ahead of you.