So this morning I was loading my new MINI for a trip to the river this weekend. I was actually surprised I got everything to fit in (including me and the dog!). I loaded the dog's crate - large black wire crate, you know the kind - my wakeboard with bindings, my suitcase, pillow and the dog's accessory bag (toys, bowls, water bottle, bedding, towels etc.) The wakeboard was a little long to fit straight in the back with the seats folded down especially with the crate taking up a good 3/4 of the back, so I had to angle it with the front end between the driver's side door and seat (eep!). So I closed the hatchback and then went to get in the car, buckled myself and the dog in and closed the front driver's side door only to hear a "crunch!"

I opened the door, and there on the shiny new checkered doro panel thingy-mah-whatsit is a 3/4 inch scrape like someone took a knife and sliced it! Thanks to my wakeboard fin... Ugh.



Has anyone had a similar experience? I showed my boyfriend and he said he couldn't even see it! But I'll always know it's there.

 

The very first day I owned my car I put what to this day is the only scratch in it. It was the first time my son ever heard me use the F-word. Actually, I think the whole neighborhood heard me.

I was pulling into the garage for the first time and misjudged how close I was to the lawn mower and put a short scratch in the very bottom of the door.

No one knows its there but me ...but I'm the only one that matters.

Dean.

 

Just received three door dings in three weeks!!!! One dent dimple on the quarterpanel and two scrapes on the passenger door Grrrrrr!!!

I hate people that just THROW open their doors without care. An I'm always the dude that parks "Way Out There" so I don't get dinged. It just suxs. Some people just don't get it.

Sorry to hear about your scrape. I'm off to find a polishing cloth.

 

It's great the way the parcel shelf works with the hatch

it sux the moment you discover your first Scratch!

 

Don't worry, there'll be more.

A rock hit my bonnet, (hood), and dented it, as well as scratched paint off. That adds insult to injury!

 

My first scratch isn't a scratch it is a small 'gouge' kind of right below the gas cap. I don't know how, who, or what, . . . but it got beneath the paint and the clear coat. Talked about being royally pissed off.

 

My 4y/o daughter, not minutes after I told her to be careful with her bicycle around the cars, dragged the bike past the new MINi Clubman with her handlebar etching a long scratch into the paint. 3K miles on the car. Oh well, she IS only 4. Last year she got frustrated and tossed a lava rock hard into the wife's new Edge with only 150 miles on it. I also dropped my new 2003 Buell Lightning with about the same mileage and I scratched my new Concours 14 pulling it into the garage at 50 miles or so. The Concours enthusiast website even has a thread dedicated to new Concours owners who drop their bikes over somehow!

The best one though was when my wife got upset with me about something or another and threw the keys down on the dash. They bounced and cracked the windshield from the inside. No one noticed that the crack was from the INSIDE when we replaced it under insurance here in FL that covers all windshields.

I always say the first scratch just gives me the freedom to stop worrying about keeping the darn thing perfect anymore, I actually have learned to look forward to it. Now I can just DRIVE and ENJOY them, easing up on the detailing obsession!

 

Minichaser - I would try to find out how much that trim piece costs. It may be expensive, or maybe not. Another option is to go to a "ding doctor" or similar paintless dent removal / scratch removal shop and show them the scratch. Maybe an expert can make a decent repair for a reasonable price. I'd find out the replacement cost first, and remember, you can a discount from some NAM vendors, including a few MINI dealers. Classic MINI gives a 20% discount, and I've had good service from them, as have others on these forums.

 

MINIchaser - one other suggesdtion - post a question about the scratch in the "Detailing 101" forum. Those people know everything! I thought I kept my car in good shape until I went through those threads one day. A truly humbling experience!

 

The problem is how only we can see it but nobody else can, and then the fact that you'll always know exactly where it is and nobody else would probably find it!

 

Wait until you get your first door ding caused by someone else! That's the worst feeling!

 

time for some touch up paint....

 

my friend tangled out the seatbelt, left it partially hanging, and slammed the door into it. i got a seat belt imprint on the sill of my passenger door now.

 

That is what happened to me. I found it washing my Mini last weekend. 3 "barely visible" [according to my husband] dings next to my headlight.

I'm waiting for my first door ding. The parking lot at work is a nightmare...

 

Strong winds at 4:00 a.m. last week knocked our basketball goal over and, as I discovered a day later, caused it to bounce off our bonnet leaving a very small dent and light scratches. It certainly could have been worse considering that it was a 10 foot tall steel pole with a plexiglass backboard.

Add to that the light road rash I put in one of my wheels, backing out of the driveway no less!

Add a small puncture in the lovely leather of the passenger seat. mysterious origin. I know it wasn't me as I'm always the driver.

And oh yeah, I now have the notorious bent MINI emblem over my horn area on the steering wheel. This one I don't consider my fault. I hope my MINI service advisor sees it that way too.

On the bright side, I no longer worry about being overly obsessive over the pristine condition of our MINI.

 

My OCD hurts just reading this thread...

 

That is the price of living in this Banana Republic

'05 MCS, 3 years old, 41K miles, no dings, dents or scratches And the car gets driven day in and day out in Miami.

 

Backing into a parallel spot, I curbed my rear passenger side rim about 1 and 1/2 inches long. I have NEVER curbed a rim before.

The car had 600 miles on it.

Time for a new set of aftermarkets...

 

Three days after I got my MINI, a dirt clod fell off a dump truck that was passing me on the interstate. It put a nice couple of half-inch scratches through one bonnet stripe. A week later, a stone chipped my windshield. Five days later, I noticed two pin-***** nicks on the bonnet all the way to the primer.

But I do park in the far deserted end of the parking lot----only to find a two-inch long faint scratch on the left rear quarter panel. I think some curious person was leaning over looking in the windows and accidently allowed their belt buckle or something else touch the paint.

Whatchagonnado?

 

You ain't kidding. I've street parkd in NYC with all my past cars and will once again with the Mini. It's hard to sleep some nights.

 

Made it five days... noticed a scratch on the edge of the front tow plate. guess a rock on the highway got it.... really sucx.

Oh well guess there will be more to come... good luck to everyone matching paint.