Damned Door Dingers!

[HeliDriver]

Just after my wife pulled into her parking spot at school this morning (she's a teacher), she heard three loud taps on the rear passenger door behind her. Thinking someone was knocking on the car to get her attention, she turned around to look, but there was nobody there.

What she did see, though, was a five-year-old in the adjacent car struggling to get out. It was obvious that the child had pushed hard on his door, slamming it into my wife's door three times.

My wife confronted the child's father, who shrugged and said something to the effect of "Oh well, kids" and "Well, you shouldn't have pulled up next to us when he was about to get out".

Everyone was in a hurry (school was starting), so that was the end of it. The damage isn't huge, but there is a dent in our door and the paint is scratched.

A couple more details: The offending child was a student, and was being dropped off by his dad. They were parked in the staff parking lot, which all parents have been told numerous times is not public parking. My wife also says she was parked properly, and there was plenty of room for the doors on both cars to be opened safely.

So, what to do?

I'm inclined to get an estimate and send the bill to this guy (my wife recognized the child and she can describe the van, so it will be easy to find the parent). Of course, that's a pain in the ass, and may cause some friction for my wife at work. She's pretty pissed, though, mostly at the flippant attitude of the parent, and is ready to pursue this.

Of course, it's also tempting to just slap some touch-up paint on there and forget about it.

What say the CTC crew?

[Turbo Bob]

Nuke him from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

[rrocket]

You either want it fixed or you don't. PERIOD.  Pick one, and choose the route that will allow the end result.  In the end, someone is going to be pissed about the end result.  Do you want it to be your wife, or the jackass father?  IMO it's an easy decision......

[airbalancer]

If you have the time, take it to small claims court

[inco]

I'd be inclined to get a get an estimate or two and then send them home with the child along with a letter to the father asking him what he would like to do and remind him he was parking in an unauthorized area.

Chances are he will do nothing, or maybe he might do the honorable thing.
Either way you tried and that might be enough.

[johngenx]

Parents CONSTANTLY use the staff parking.  They use it to drop their kids off, they use it when they do come to the school for some reason (interviews, etc) and basically ignore the signs completely.  Can you imagine how that jerk-off would react if you went to his work place and bashed his car and took someone's spot?  What an swerver.

We have ample visitor parking, and it's actually CLOSER to the main door than the staff parking, but for some reason, there is a large contingent of parents that just don't seem to get it.

On the evenings of interviews, we take cones from the gym and block the parking lot.  Otherwise, when we return to the school after getting a bite to eat, the staff parking is full.

Oh, and we PAY for that parking, it's not free.

[Winklovic]

Nuke him from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

+1000

I had the same thing happen to me recently.  Unfortunately, whoever did it, left the scene so I had to pay my deductible of $200.  There was $580 worth of damage.

[HeliDriver]

Well, I'm almost ashamed to say that we have decided to let this slide. 

First of all, the dent is not that big and the paint is only scuffed down to the base coat - not to the metal. The Suburban has a plastic protection strip along the side of the door, and that seems to have prevented any serious damage. I'll put some touch-up paint on there and forget about it.

My wife's question to me today was "Do you want me to pursue this because we need to get it fixed and we can't afford it, or do you just want to nail this guy to prove a point?" Well, there's no question it's the latter. 

Given that she's the one who will have to do all the legwork to track this guy down (and possibly ruffle feathers at her workplace), we both decided that it's best (okay, easiest) just to let karma hopefully work its magic on this jackass.

[Careener]

Sorry to hear about the dings. I've gt three on one door thanks to who knows.
The cheapest fix is to call or visit a dent remover. 

[rrocket]

Well, I'm almost ashamed to say that we have decided to let this slide. 

First of all, the dent is not that big and the paint is only scuffed down to the base coat - not to the metal. The Suburban has a plastic protection strip along the side of the door, and that seems to have prevented any serious damage. I'll put some touch-up paint on there and forget about it.

My wife's question to me today was "Do you want me to pursue this because we need to get it fixed and we can't afford it, or do you just want to nail this guy to prove a point?" Well, there's no question it's the latter. 

Given that she's the one who will have to do all the legwork to track this guy down (and possibly ruffle feathers at her workplace), we both decided that it's best (okay, easiest) just to let karma hopefully work its magic on this jackass.

In that case...maybe get the school to print up something to remind parents that the teacher's lot if for TEACHERS ONLY...or something of the sort.  Maybe hand of fines that go to buying more supplies for the school?

[HeliDriver]

Regarding the parking, it's a safety issue also. The school buses drop off and pick up there, and it gets very congested - not the safest parking lot for elementary school students to be wandering around in. (It's actually not a very good situation for anyone, but that's another story.)

The school has actually called in the RCMP to "remind" parents that entering the staff parking lot in the mornings or afternoons when the school buses are there is not safe and not allowed. Notes go out to parents every year about this, but of course, some people are just too important to let silly rules interfere with their busy schedule.