Parking Lot Issues: Need Expert Views

[furious_driver]

This has been bugging me for last 10 days and I thought I can get some 3rd person view for my issue.

My apartment(not big) have total of 10 flats. But the parking only can accommodate 8 cars due to the way they did the pillars in ground floor parking. It looks like this

Pattern:
Wall - |

|---------- Pillar
|Car 1(Swift)
|---- just enough space to open door half way and get down
|Car 2(Xcent)
|---------- Pillar
|----------------|Gate|---------

This patternx4 = 8 vehicles and enough parking for bikes. Now I have been parking my car next to an Swift, which is pretty new to this spot. It looks like a new tenant. All is well until one day, 22-May, Friday. Both my car and Swift parked, rear facing wall.

The girl who drove swift decided she can just take right to reach the gate, and in the process she just did enough damage in my front LHS bumper, which I recently painted due to my last mishap I had a month ago(20-Apr ). After that she realized she can't move further and in order to remove my bumper from her RHS rear door, she needed my vehicle to be moved a little bit back. So she just took the key from my wife, reversed it a little bit so she can move. After this incident, she just said sorry to my wife. When my wife asked what are you going to do about it, she just said "Well, my car too got some scratches. And it is not completely my fault. If your car has been a little inside I would have take the right easily. So just forget about this. I am saying sorry, isn't that enough"!. My wife, as a calm person, just left it at this point.

After I came home, my wife explained this to me. At first I thought it be some small scratch, but the front LHS bumper paint was chipped of for about 12 inches and it looks someone rubbed off the paint intentionally. So I called up my now usual H.A.S.S and got quote for 2.5k max. Now 2.5k is not big money, why would I pay for someone's mistake. And when my wife explained it to me, I was so furious on their careless attitude. What did I do wrong? I parked my car so close to wall, and distance is barely 10 inches. What they did? They reversed it and reduced the distance to 2-3 inches.

So I went to their house and just talked to them in calm manner. They agreed to pay up, but they said, "It will not take 2.5k to fix this small issue. But still, take this money!". I was furious(no pun) once again but decided to be calm. I just said, let me give my car for HASS and you take care of the rest. For which, they agreed.

Now my problem is, from house owner to my wife, everyone looks at me like I am some maniac! Even my house owner went on saying like, why you are bothered to ask them the money. You can pay it yourself or claim from insurance? I just replied him, "When I didn't do any mistake, why should I pay? And why should I claim? Will you be okay if I do some damage to your flat and not pay up, but just say sorry?".He was just silent and left the place.

So, my question is, is it wrong of me, to ask them to pay up for the damage they did to my car? I don't find it reasonable to claim my insurance for just 2.5k, on the other hand, it means I have to bear the amount. I can't look at the damage every time I walk to my car, but they are ok with the damage in their car and they drive it like nothing happened. 2.5k seems so small to people, but they forgot to understand that you did some damage to someone's property and take responsibility for that! And since it is a women who did this, every one tried to defend her and went against me. Did I do some grave mistake? Car is back with me, but still I felt bad because within a year of owning my car, it went to body shop twice for touch up.

No pictures guys. It all happened in a Jiff and in no time, my car is back with me in old shape. Also, I was not in mood to click pics of the damage, as it might remind me of this sour incident!

NOTE : Mods, please move this thread, if this is not the right section for this question!

 

[Niku]

Re: Did I do it right? Need some view/help on this.

@furious driver:
Brother, what you did was NOT wrong and what the Swift owner did was also NOT right.

You should have let go off the money (2.5k) and the talk you had with the Swift owner was enough to show them your disgust and had you refused to take the money, you would have set an example in front of those people as a much mature person. You should have told them "I am not behind the money. I just wanted to make you realise that your attitude was not at all right and you should FEEL sorry at the time you say sorry." and returned. 2.5k was not a huge amount anyway.

Now, I would suggest you to talk to the Swift owner to interchange your parking spots, i.e. you park next to the pillar and she would park next to you, by giving reasons that since your car is longer, it would not be possible to back it up beyond a point at which they can take their Swift out. You can also say that I am not that experienced to park it so close to the wall. This would solve the problem. Maintaining a 6" gap from the wall behind is okay, nothing closer than that.

I appreciate your Wife for handling the situation very well by letting the girl go, instead of getting furious on that matter. And about the car, it is perfectly normal to get scratched or dented. We have insurance to take care of all this. Even theft is covered under insurance, so the scratch is nothing to worry about!

Even I had a ruffle with my neighbour when my car banged against their Dzire while reversing. Their tail light had broken. They were furious and really angry. They created a scene at midnight by heated arguments and when I was allowed to speak, I calmly said just one thing "Aur koi seva paani batao" (Tell me what I can do for you now) and they left, ashamed of the havoc they had created in front of the neighbours.

Regards,
Nikunj

 

[generalmax]

Re: Did I do it right? Need some view/help on this.

@FD your actions presides your state of mind.Furious..Anyway there is no point being unhappy about what had happened.Don't worry,everybody is not thinking about you.Be calm .Its Ok to ask them to pay up for the damage,so that they don't do it again.They also must be more aware on roads.

 

[furious_driver]

Re: Did I do it right? Need some view/help on this.

@furious driver:
Brother, what you did was NOT wrong and what the Swift owner did was also NOT right.

You should have let go off the money (2.5k) and the talk you had with the Swift owner was enough to show them your disgust and had you refused to take the money, you would have set an example in front of those people as a much mature person. You should have told them "I am not behind the money. I just wanted to make you realise that your attitude was not at all right and you should FEEL sorry at the time you say sorry." and returned. 2.5k was not a huge amount anyway.

I never had any plan to take money from them, but a couple things made me go that route.

1. It was just last month 20th I had fixed the very same area! And it costed me good 3.5k and for me, paying again from my pocket for mistake of someone else, was just not felt right!
2. Their attitude! Even after explain politely all they can say was "Even our vehicle got damaged. What can we do for that?". Is that my mistake that they damaged their vehicle?

You were right. But there are times, where we lose our cool and not think from sane mind! Even I felt bad after taking the money, and that is the main reason I started this thread. But on the other hand, somewhere in the back of my mind, it says, no one in our apartment now dare to do such things in future. At least for my vehicle!

Now, I would suggest you to talk to the Swift owner to interchange your parking spots, i.e. you park next to the pillar and she would park next to you, by giving reasons that since your car is longer, it would not be possible to back it up beyond a point at which they can take their Swift out. You can also say that I am not that experienced to park it so close to the wall. This would solve the problem. Maintaining a 6" gap from the wall behind is okay, nothing closer than that.

Well, as you might have guessed, after this incident, they just went to the other parking spot, which is diagonally opposite to my spot! And still they park like that. Now, next to my spot, an i20 of my adjacent neighbor is parked. He is taking his car effortlessly.

I appreciate your Wife for handling the situation very well by letting the girl go, instead of getting furious on that matter. And about the car, it is perfectly normal to get scratched or dented. We have insurance to take care of all this. Even theft is covered under insurance, so the scratch is nothing to worry about!

She is a people's person! She know when to catch one, and where to let go! She insisted me to leave this matter, but after repeated annoyance from the girl, all my moral was thrown out of the door and I stood on my grounds. If they don't have decency to still realize, you better pay up! Again, insurance is something I don't want to handle as of now. It means, my car will end up in garage for atleast 3-4 days, which I hate because it is my only car as of now!

Even I had a ruffle with my neighbour when my car banged against their Dzire while reversing. Their tail light had broken. They were furious and really angry. They created a scene at midnight by heated arguments and when I was allowed to speak, I calmly said just one thing "Aur koi seva paani batao" (Tell me what I can do for you now) and they left, ashamed of the havoc they had created in front of the neighbours.

Regards,
Nikunj

If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same thing. But again, here it was you who cause the damage and you were polite! My wife was calm and polite, and all she get was some stupid replies. You did the right thing, because you took responsibility for the matter. But the girls were adamant and still blame it on me, for parking my car a bit ahead!

@FD your actions presides your state of mind.Furious.

.Anyway there is no point being unhappy about what had happened.Don't worry,everybody is not thinking about you.Be calm .Its Ok to ask them to pay up for the damage,so that they don't do it again.They also must be more aware on roads.

I'm unhappy because even my wife think of me as a douche-bag for doing this! She was really pissed off when I brought the idea of I-give-my-car-to-service-and-you-pay-up! It is not like I am doing robbery to some innocent by-passers in Delhi! And I was disgusted at their replies and still they think it was all my fault!

 

[vijay_968]

Re: Did I do it right? Need some view/help on this.

Well man, you and your wife have handled the entire episode in a very matured way. Now, the lady and her hubby will be bit more cautious to other cars; Kudos. Reaction of the lady and her husband IS natural (defensive). So, brush it off.

As Niku wrote, you can't own a car without scratches / dents. My Verna suffered a micro dent when a biker slipped and fell on the front passenger door. I let him go. Verna got hit by a Taxi recently and got repaired under insurance and 4K from my pocket. Additionally, no NCB for me next time, for no mistake of mine. It happens. Happens to a few if not many. So, brush it off.

 

[furious_driver]

Re: Did I do it right? Need some view/help on this.

Well man, you and your wife have handled the entire episode in a very matured way. Now, the lady and her hubby will be bit more cautious to other cars; Kudos. Reaction of the lady and her husband IS natural (defensive). So, brush it off.

She isn't married. We dealt with the girl and her sister! It was a pain, because whenever something involves a girl, everyone start defending girls! Because of that, they just have the casual attitude and they take other's care as advantage and escape the situation like this!

As Niku wrote, you can't own a car without scratches / dents. My Verna suffered a micro dent when a biker slipped and fell on the front passenger door. I let him go. Verna got hit by a Taxi recently and got repaired under insurance and 4K from my pocket. Additionally, no NCB for me next time, for no mistake of mine. It happens. Happens to a few if not many. So, brush it off.

I have enough scratches in my car. A kid in my village scratched my car in LH side doors which is still there. Usually I don't nitpick for such small issues, but somehow it happened!

As I said earlier, going for insurance for such small things doesn't make sense to me. And seeing those scratches/dents which caused by others will make me cry inside.

It is as if, I did some crime by asking for money and everyone in our apartment talks behind my back. A good one, "Look what <my-wife-name>'s husband did. For some small scratch in his car, he threatened the poor girl and took money!". I was like WTF!!! . And I guessed, they didn't had a chance to look at the dent!

The last few days happening was more spicy than my wife's regular soap/serials!

 

[vijay_968]

@FD:
Unmarried girl ! Now the stupid me fully understand. Yet, it doesn't give people license to support blindly. You can ignore these people. I wonder how these people will react, if someone breaks something they own !

BTW, you mentioned "cry inside". My earlier comment was meant to dissuade such feelings. Keep detached, vis-a-vis these things. If my reply conveyed anything different, I'm sorry.

In fact today morning a friend exclaimed, "Vijay, how did that scratch happen on your bumper?". That's the reason I posted here. "Because it is driven on the road" was my smiling reply. I have come to accept such s____ings life gives me and that's what makes me a wee bit more relaxed. But that's just me.

 

[Rahul401]

You did the right thing. I know scratches and dents are part of a vehicle's life. Had she said politely that the car is damaged a bit and she is even ready to pay for it, then I guess furious driver would have let it go.

The below statement was too bad by the girl:
"I am saying sorry, isn't that enough"!

Its good you taught her a lesson. You need not feel guilty as you handled the situation in the best possible way. You didn't use foul language. Ignore the gossips and you will be happy.

 

[furious_driver]

In fact today morning a friend exclaimed, "Vijay, how did that scratch happen on your bumper?". That's the reason I posted here. "Because it is driven on the road" was my smiling reply. I have come to accept such s____ings life gives me and that's what makes me a wee bit more relaxed. But that's just me.

I can understand if such things happens while I am driving in city traffic and B2B traffic. But the thought of this happened in parking, where one have enough space and time to take out vehicle easily, with some ungodly behavior provoked my anger!

But again, as I said earlier, I am not the one who literally cries for every scratch. What it hurts me more is, people's civic and common sense! Yes. It has been decreased and now it is almost existent. How many people on road, after some small mishap, says sorry? 2/10? The other 8 people, always try to put blame on other people and escape. There are time, when my Alto met with small accident, which might have caused some small paint scrap etc. People get down and give me heart felt sorry. That's when my anger goes out of window, and with just a smile, I will say. "No problem. That's ok. It happens!". But things are not always this sweet! And that is when people started reacting the other way and that is what happened for me too.

I am not too bothered to see scratch made un-intentionally, but if otherwise, I will get mad at them for what they did and how bad they behaved. Hope, I explained myself clearly.

 

[furious_driver]

You did the right thing. I know scratches and dents are part of a vehicle's life. Had she said politely that the car is damaged a bit and she is even ready to pay for it, then I guess furious driver would have let it go.

The below statement was too bad by the girl:
"I am saying sorry, isn't that enough"!

Spot on! Isn't that what we expect? A smile and a responsible sorry! If people go out and lose their basic civic sense, then other party responds in same way! And they forgot to understand this.

Its good you taught her a lesson. You need not feel guilty as you handled the situation in the best possible way. You didn't use foul language. Ignore the gossips and you will be happy.

Gossips was not bad for me, but for my wife. Hope you get my issue now!

I am never bothered by what others say about me, but my wife is the opposite.

 

[Kichu]

Hitting a car which is parked in its parking slot and blaming the other person itself shows the quality of that personality.

Grabbing this Rs.2500/- was extremely wrong if and only if she is a person who is really struggling to meet her day to day expenses.

I hope, now onwards she will be bit more careful while driving through such tight spaces.

The funniest part is "I am saying sorry, isn't that enough"

 

[Niku]

Tell your wife that "Kuch toh log kahenge. Logo ka kaam hai kehna."

Ignore such gossips. Those people would be the first one to run for money incase the same happens with their vehicles. I am not saying that it was your fault. The incident was NOT the girl's fault also. Here, the girl showed her "attitude" and lack of common sense, which was her fault obviously. The girl just sets an example in front of us that "Common Sense is not so Common" .

These accidents happen and we just can't protect our cars everytime. My car has been damaged around 30 times in the 30k kms of ownership. No worries. If it has been damaged, it would be repaired. So, don't get attatched with your car much (I know it is really difficult, being a TAIn myself, but other people just treat cars as cars, it is WE who have the passion).

I agree with you ABSOLUTELY in a statement you made that "It was a pain, because whenever something involves a girl, everyone start defending girls! Because of that, they just have the casual attitude and they take other's care as advantage and escape the situation like this!". I was rear-ended by a lady (on an Activa) at a signal and the poor lady fell down. I came out to help her and started picking up the Activa (which fell on her leg), and a crowd gathered! They all started taking the lady's side. Why? She was a lady. One of the comment was "She is a lady. Can't you be careful?" and I was like what do I had to do with her being a lady? In case someone bangs at me, I cannot do anything. After a lot of haggling with the lady (she was fine and started demanding money for her damage, after seeing the situation in her favour!), had to pay 5k to her and get my bumper replaced for another 5k! In such cases, most of the crowd gives sympathy to ladies (or two wheelers) thinking they are innocent and we car-drivers are the devils. What we can do is to keep our cool and reply politely. One slang word or heated argument and they are ready to pounce upon you.

There is a severe lack of driving sense in our system. Only option is to leave the country and move abroad, where they all respect each other and treat everyone as equal. In India, people don't treat everyone equally, truck-drivers are bad, car-drivers are devils, auto-drivers lesser devils, bike riders are innocent and scooty riders (mostly ladies) are angels. One has to first analyse the situation and confirm who did the fault before taking one's side.

OT: Damn that smiley rule. I needed at least 5 in this post. :P

Regards,
Nikunj

 

[rsrs_in]

In case of accident the normal course if to take insurance and on claim from defaulter. The issue is we lose NCB if we make a claim and premium goes up next time and not many take comprehiesive insurance and restrict to 3rd party

 

[allhyundaicars]

she said "I am saying sorry, isn't that enough" this means that she obviously didn't care about the damage to your car so it's good that u took the money. if she doesn't care then why are you thinking if you did the right thing or not. by taking the money. she wouldn't say such things if she felt sorry.

anyways I too had a similar incident.

I was merging on the main road from a service Lane. obviously I was looking to my right to check for oncoming traffic and a rickshaw came from the left, the wrong side and my car's front hit the rickshaw and because of the impact one of the girls on the rickshaw fell down. I skipped a heart bit and in that second prayed there was no oncoming traffic.

I immediately got out of my car to check. she had some scratches and I asked her if she needs assistance to go to any medical center nearby. she said no. and one guy came and said "it was your fault" I just ignored him and stood there for a minute, said sorry and left.

like niku said it's better to stay polite even if it's not your fault or else public will go mad.

and I believe it's better to stay at the accident place for a minute if no party is hurt. just ask them if they are hurt, try to help them by saying will take you to nearest hospital, if they say no just say take care and leave"

if you stand there looking sad they'll try to extort some money even if you genuinely feel for the person.

 

[furious_driver]

Hitting a car which is parked in its parking slot and blaming the other person itself shows the quality of that personality.

Grabbing this Rs.2500/- was extremely wrong if and only if she is a person who is really struggling to meet her day to day expenses.

I hope, now onwards she will be bit more careful while driving through such tight spaces.

The funniest part is "I am saying sorry, isn't that enough"

Well, she owns a swift! And she is living in a fancy apartment and a going-to-be doctor!! So, no she is not struggling to meet her day to day expenses. Most of all, when we went to talk to her, she didn't even invited us inside her home and all she did was, answering us through window!

Tell your wife that "Kuch toh log kahenge. Logo ka kaam hai kehna."

English please!!!!

These accidents happen and we just can't protect our cars everytime. My car has been damaged around 30 times in the 30k kms of ownership. No worries. If it has been damaged, it would be repaired. So, don't get attatched with your car much (I know it is really difficult, being a TAIn myself, but other people just treat cars as cars, it is WE who have the passion).

For me a Car is a car. I am not attached to it. But since it was pretty new I get upset! Guess you can relate to that!

she said "I am saying sorry, isn't that enough" this means that she obviously didn't care about the damage to your car so it's good that u took the money. if she doesn't care then why are you thinking if you did the right thing or not. by taking the money. she wouldn't say such things if she felt sorry.

anyways I too had a similar incident.
......

It is same all over. If a girl comes at you and slap you, they still blame you for that! Anyways, it is disgusting to see people like that. Taking advantage of the situation and blame the good guy!