Where I work doesn't provide lot parking for me, since I am a contractor, and I am forced to do one of two things. 1) Park in a public ramp which costs money that my employer won't reimburse me for or 2) Park on the street, if I can find a spot in the "free" areas.

Well, because I tend to be a cheap b@#%urd, I park on the street. Now, normally this isn't a problem. However, at some point this past week, some j@*#@$$ decided to make contact with my rear bumper. Slight enough that at a distance, you really don't notice it. However when you take a close look at it, it was certainly rubbed into. I noticed it today when I had the MINI up on a lift at a friends house, he wanted to check it out top and bottom.

Here are the pics I took when I got home, let me know if I am over-reacting or if I should be bent about this.

This is a picture of the scrapes on the bumper.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...er/Scrapes.jpg

This is the gap in the wheel arch to lower piece on the driver(left) rear.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...er/GapLeft.jpg

This is the gap on the passenger(right) rear.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...r/GapRight.jpg

I could be over-reacting and just try buffing it out (not likely where it is at) but just want some input here.

Thanks,
Matt

 

Hey I would FREAK!! I always try to park on an end spot but at school it is not always an option and I found a scuffed part on my rear bumper as well! Like someone pulled to far forward and bumped it! I about had a heart attack! I can't stand that! Respect others stuff. It really irritates me. And it also makes me mad when people slam doors! Sorry I went off a little. I'm sorry bud I feel bad! Hope you can fix it up a bit.

 

probably going to need a new trim piece.

least it isnt painted there.

sucks but ive come to the realization that everyone does

 

Some may call it overreacting, but I feel your pain, I cringe every time I leave my car anywhere but my own driveway because I know that there are way too many inconsiderate people out there. If the cosmetic defect of the scrapes and the gap really bother you, I'd look into buying a new rear plastic piece. I can't imagine they're expensive-and installing it yourself.

If it's not that big of a deal to you, I'd see about fitting that gap back into place. If the plastic is scraped as well, you aren't going to be able to simply buff the scrapes out, unless you are able to somehow sand it out and make it even with the rest of the trim. In any event, good luck!

 

At least you didn't come out to this....

 

I_would_have_died.

 

I did! It was a 95yr old man who had just got his Mercedes out of the impound. Acording to his insurance company "he has a lot of claims..."

 

Aye, I am lucky I didn't come out to that. I guess it is such a let down that society has gotten so low that people don't make sure that they do the right thing when things like this happen. If the person that did it, even just left a note with their info, I wouldn't be nearly as upset. I didn't buy a nice car to have some @$$wipe damage it. If it gets messed up, I'll be the one to do it, my way.

 

Wait just a minute! either this is a fairly common problem or I was possibly hit by the same guy, I have the same gap, I just noticed it a few days ago and when I tried to push part of it in it wouldn't go anywhere so I thought it was supposed to be like that? pic below.

 

interesting. I would think it was a common problem if I didn't have some sign of damage on the lower section.
I'm thinking of letting it go for now and putting a JCW aero kit on it. But before I do that, I need to find the winning powerball numbers.

 

Suspension damage?

 

see if you can snap the joints back in....it would suck if it wouldnt.

and for the scrapes, try this "back to black" polish wack, specially made for black plastic panels to bring the black color after being faded from the elements.

but yea man, that kinda sucks, i would get **** too

 

I would get it fixed. The problem is "a little here, a little there" and before you know it, you have an old car that no longer has it's MINI appeal.

 

So true.

Thanks for all the input guys. djDK, I tried snapping it back together, no dice. Something is tweaked, I think I am going to pull the bumper this weekend and take a look at everything.

As for polishes and waxes, I hadn't really thought that direction. Never having a car that I cared about like this one, I didn't think there was anything that could be done about scrapes on textured plastic. It is definetly worth a shot, its gotta be better than replacing stuff lol.

I am actually glad that I am not weird and overreacting . Thanks again everyone.

Matt

 

YEA i use that stuff on brother's bmw *you know those black plastic side moldings*, ill get you the exact brand when i get home today. i think this stuff would atleast reduces the appearance of the scrapes.

 

Thats messed up man sorry. People are just a-holes, I had some lady say to me "bumpers are made for bumping" after hitting my bumper on my old civic and dented the bumper with divits from her plate screws. I shoulda said faces are made for punching and wham!......bit*h.
Then when I got my VW Tiguan before trading it for my MCS some dude parked behind it and dented and scraped up my tailgate with his pushbar. I left a note stating he damaged it and can we work something out with my tel#. He called and denied it and its funny cause I backed up a bit to see i the dents lined up and they did. I tried to be nice. He denied it and hung up on me so a month later I found his truck in the same area and sufice to say he couldnt drive it and a flat spare tire wasnt helping. Sorry again to the op.

 

I worked in downtown Seattle for about a year and a half, and I used to watch people "parallel parking" a few times a week while using the other cars for bump stops. I was shocked how often this rubbing occurred, and the people doing it usually seemed unapologetic like it was the "right" way to park. I paid $250/month out of my own pocket (employer wouldn't reimburse either) to park in a really nice garage where I could always find good "end spots" or get up close to a pillar or something. I had an 06 GTI at the time...

I typically refuse to parallel park any of my vehicles because I don't trust the average person to have any respect.

 

I agree. It is sad, and it seems that most people do not have respect for other's property or they think they are being cute.

I hate it when I park the very furthest I can away from all the other cars, but there is always the clunker like a 1992 Impala that goes out of their way to park right next to me, so I have to climb in through the passenger door to, when there are over 300 other spots to park. What are they thinking??? In a situation like that, they are doing that just to be cute and to irritate. Next time I may just be more cute and shove my lunch hero with oil and vinegar, lettuce, tomato, and mayo under their windshield wiper with a note, or better yet, stick it in their exhaust pipe. Sorry but it just makes me so angry.

 

Even in small town Erie, PA they treat the cars in front and back as antique Park Distance Control. I was actually sitting in my Accord, obviously before I traded it for the MINI, and had some D-Bag bump into my car. Then when he got out, didn't even bother to check for damage. I got out and gave him a piece of my mind. Called him a few choice words too, didn't change anything, but I felt better.

I will figure out what to do this weekend, I'm going to pull the bumper off and make sure there isn't anything broken or bent.

 

Yeah my usual tactic is to find an end spot sort of near "the pack" of other cars, then just get up close to the curb. I try not to park so far away as to draw attention.

 

Thankfully it is all just cosmetic damage. I took a good hard look at things and it looks like all that was "bent" was the plastic in the bumper. It is tweaked a little and won't snap back together properly, but there is no "real" damage. I have been thinking of getting the JCW aero kit, so I'd be replacing the bumper anyway. Just need to save the coin for it lol.

 

Um, Yeah! Had to replace the whole rear suspension on that side and the controll arms on the other side. The only thing reused was the hub and brakes. New rim aswell. All up about $5000.

 

Ouch! I'm glad mine wasn't that bad. It really is upsetting that people have no respect for other peoples stuff. The more I learn about people, the more I love my dog and fellow MINIacs!

 

Just adding to the thread. Another parking situation that pisses me off is when I park far out in the parking lot away from all the cars then when I come out, I see a piece of s*** car parked next to me. I don't understand why they choose to park there when there's parking spots closer or empty spaces away from. I choose to park far so I don't have to be near other cars. Just venting, but I do feel bad for you. When I street park in LA, I always inspect my car before getting in. I think i'm going to start snapping pictures of the plates of the cars that park in front & back of me just in case.

 

I have gone as far as making mental notes, and on some occasions writing down the license plates of D-bag parkers that wind up next to me in either my work lot or school parking lot. What really pisses me off is that I spend thousands of dollars to attend a college where there have been numerous vandalism occurrences in the parking lots, yet they haven't figured to use our "capital improvement fees" to install cameras in the lots.