But didn't think it would go down like this...

Was on my way to meet my wife for lunch. Went to the bank to
get a little money to pay for the lunch. Pulling into the bank parking
lot ahead of me was a black Toyota Highlander. So, I follow this
vehicle into the parking lot.

Now, the ATM machine is on the other side of the bank building from
the entrance, so following the Highlander, I proceed to make my way
around the parking lot to the other side of the building where the ATM
is located. The Highlander reaches the point of the parking lot where
it has to turn left to continue around the bank. But instead of moving
in that direction, the driver stops. So, I stop. Next, I see the dreaded
reverse lights come on from the Highlander.

I toot my horn to let the driver know someone is behind them. They
start backing up. I start blowing my horn furiously, to no avail as
the driver continues backing up. I reach for the gear selector and
check my mirror as I'm putting it into reverse. But that's as far as I
go before I feel the dreaded thump.

Of couse, the first words out of my mouth as I'm sitting there are not
fit to print... something like "Sorry F#^K!@g Dumba$$...", but a lot
more obscene.

So, I get out of the car, as the other driver is also (a woman), and my
first words to her are "Didn't you hear my horn"! "No", she says, "I had my
music up kinda loud". "Well, didn't you look behind you before you decided
to back up"? "I didn't think anyone was behind me" says she.

Can you believe this level of stupidity? 6 years of making sure I don't
park where people can ding up my car. 6 years of driving well behind
other cars to avoid rocks. 6 years of doing everything I can to protect
the body work. All, undone (figuratively) by one stupid driver in a bank
parking lot.

So, I got very lucky. I keep a front end cover on the car when ever I
drive (except in the rain, where I take extra precautions to stay well
back from other cars on the road). In this case, it appears to have
sheltered me from anything more than a scratch at the top of the
bumper just under the centerline of the grill. Of course, I don't know
what might have been busted loose on the inside of the bumper, such
as mounting brackets, etc. So Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to the body shop
I go.

BTW, you can bet that I called the police and got a police report of the
incident. No tickets issued, as this occured on private property.

I guess, what I'm really happy about, the airbags didn't deploy. That
would have made a real mess.

Coyote

 

I feel your pain, we all do. At least it's fixable....sometimes I feel like it's a minefield out there!!

 

Toyota's can cuase enough damage as it is. Without the assistance of the driver.

Stay alert out there Guys an Gals.


roadster with a stick

 

Lucky the throttle didn't stick in reverse , glad your ok ,,,,,,, but that still sucks

 

Parking lots are incredibly dangerous places to be! How often have you seen someone just speeding through one, cutting a 45 degree across the lot?!?

A couple of years back I was driving our (now former) '92 Camaro and pulled into a parking lot to use the ATM in the grocery store. I was checking a voice mail on my cell phone so I sat parked for a couple of minutes, just long enough for this old guy to struggle with parking his Ford Mt Everest (or whatever the hell the biggest SUV Ford made was called - may as well have been Mt Everest as it was indeed that big). Yeah, he's trying to pull into the space directly in front of me, and I'm wondering why on earth someone would buy a vehicle that they can't maneuver or park? Really, what's the point? Well, you guessed it. He hit me. Not hard, just a little tap, and fortunately right against the front license plate. Honestly with this car I wouldn't have cared that much if he actually done a little damage, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, I step out of the car and walk up front to inspect for damage, and notice his bumper is still up against our car, so I stand there staring at the guy. He finally steps out of his Monster Truck and says "What?" I came back with "Nice bumping into you to today" in a highly sarcastic tone. He looks at the two kissing vehicles and responds with "Hey, it's not like I hit it that hard".

Huh...what?????? Seriously??????

So I said "The point is to not hit the other car at all" He just sort of shrugged and walked away.

Had this been the Crossfire I might be in jail right now.

 

I'm glad you're okay and the XF has minimal damage. Now, for your psyche! :-) I'm feeling more and more paranoid these days driving out there in my wife's XF. Heaven forbid the car would get hit while I'm driving it.

 

Ok I go to the gym this morn and usually park close to entrie of building but today I figured I would park far away. So i come out and there is this 09 Lexus park basically on my car. Im like????? You have a nice car ....I have a nice IMO why would you park so close. I looked for door dinges on her side but didnt see any. So whoever mustve gotten out on passenger side or really really skinny.

ps glad you came out ok.

 

Yeah, I do agree. It is a jungle out there with all kinds of dangers.
Especially in this day cell phones and texting. Too many distractions
for good drivers, much less for those who should not even be on the
road.

Thanks for the supporting words, guys. Yeah, it sucked, but could have
been a whole lot worse. I am really surprised that the air bags did not
deploy. It certainly felt like she hit me hard enough, but I guess she
must have had a soft bumper.

You all drive safe now.

Coyote

 

Glad you are alright, and hopefully the internals on the SRT are as well.

Like you said, you have spent years taking care of it to be pristine, and now this. Not nearly as bad of an experience, but just Wednesday here it got warm enough to clean up the car well for the first time in months. So I spent several hours on it and was driving along and a stupid driver in front of me was pissing me off (going 10 under in left lane) so I was 'a little' close on his bumper. I am not sure if he was this big of an ******* and noticed my car was extra clean or it was a coincidence and that is how truly unaware he was, but he sprayed windshield wiper fluid for about 30 seconds, covering my spotless black beauty in a cloud of glass cleaner, entire car was spotted and I was PISSED. I feel your pain, people just do not pay attention.....

 

I've seen people do that trick a few times. They think it is a cute and
certain way to get someone to back off when they think the following
car is too lose. Me, I just usually light up my brake lights. I don't step
down or slow down, just light them up. Most folks usually drop back to
a safe following distance at that point. Other times, I've been known to
start driving like I'm drunk. That usually does the trick as well

Sorry to hear about the spotting. I know I don't like it at all when I've
just washed and waxed the SRT, only to have some dipstick find the
only puddle of water for miles to throw a spray up from. Argggh! But,
what are you gonna do? Can't shoot them, though there are times...

Coyote

 

Man I hope the body shop dont say you need a new bumper.....odds are they will.....ok I will shut up before you hit me.....

 

Dude!!!! I am so sorry to hear that. Good luck with the repairs my friend.

 

You are making a claim on their insurance arnt you???????????? It is their company and no deductable. Woody

Weekend yeah
Weekend yeah
Weekend yeah
Weekend yeah

 

Coyote, I feel your pain. Sometimes I think these cars are nothing more than "moving targets". I'm so paranoid I even worry about door dings when I park next to fellow Crossfire owners, (not that I don't trust them, I just know crazy things can happen, like a gust of wind catching a partially opened door).
What really burns me, are these so called "neutral zones" called "private property", where miraculously somebody can wipe out your car and get off scott free. Even if you have a witness.
I sometimes wonder what would happen if you accidently damage a Police car on private property, are citations still not written?
It also raises the question, when exactly does the SRT6 make the endangered species list?
Glad to hear you only suffered minor damage. Good Luck

 

Really, I'm amazed at how little damage there is. She hit me fairly hard.
But all I got out of it was a scratch about this long...

----------------------------

Right where the bumper starts to curl around coming up to the grill.
About equally spaced across the center line. So, I really don't think I'll
need a new bumper, unless something else was busted loose underneath.
Don't see any evidence of that... but...

Coyote

 

Thanks. Don't think it will take too much to fix. Hope you have
a good weekend...

Coyote

 

You betcha! Only scrathes allowed on my car are those I put there
myself. Anyone has to pay for the privilige. I do have this honest streak,
though. So I'll probably play nice and not have every scratch on the
car charged to her account . There are a couple put on the car by
flying rocks... but not where she put this one.

Coyote