Today has been a Bad New Beetle Day

[Beetlebomb]

Scraped the low, low bottom edge of my low, low front fascia of my Turbo S against an unseen (failure to see on my part) parking lot abutment. I H-A-T-E parking lot abutments! They should be done away with as the front ends of cars are getting lower and lower all the time. And, this isn't the only time I've edged up against one. First time in this NB, though. I also hate putting any damage whatsoever on my car, even if it is in a spot that's hard for others to see: I know it's there, and it bugs me....

[dnyed]

I'm sorry to hear that about your gorgeous Turbo S. It happens all the time, to our Turbo S's. My extra careful (ex) hubby even did that to my TS. Just remember, there are worse things in life.

[kellyyysayss]

I park with my rear end sticking out of I have to. It happens to everyone (not me, yet)! My bug's previous owner must have had a hobby of going over those and curbs, because it's:
1. Snapped at the lower passenger's side
2. Pulled and warped the grille near the bumper on the driver's side
3. Snapped the whole unit in half.

Thankfully I'm taking care of the new grille huck731 sent me, and buffing out the fogs tomorrow.

They aren't hard to use filler on if they're scraped. Even the touch up paint looks great if done properly.

[Missladylinda]

Oh no I dont like curbs neither

[emma2049]

Luckily for me, I keep leaving plenty of room at the front because I still can't get over Dolly's super small hood, even after 4 months.Which means I am a CRAP parker. Even in my garage at home, I inch forward ( I like to think it's the 'how much room do I have left' game, which is fun to play) and I never fail to be amazed at how many inches I have when I get out of the car. Having said that, I assume you mean those nasty little fake curb stones in parking lots? Ugh! I have the rear end sticking out, whatever. I figure Dolly certainly isn't taking up as much room as some Chevy pickup monster. Move round me, really.

But don't listen to me..because you can spot my crappy parking from a mile away. Sometimes I come back from shopping and just forehead smack, because my parking is really, really OFF.

Dont'cha just hate that look between you and a pedestrian when you come out of somewhere and you (and them) hear that awful SCRAAAPPPPE? And they do the hunker down with the ouch and then you smile together? It's like a mutual OW!!!

[procupine14]

I really hate parking lots in general but the extra high "dummy" things annoy me a lot. I haven't scraped with my Beetle yet, the previous owner took plenty care to really scrape it up before me.

[SMG]

I've never hit one of those things in my life. Parking spaces are long enough to accommodate full-length sedans so leaving a few feet in front of the car is really easy to do.

Sorry to hear though.

[Beetlebomb]

Originally Posted by SMG

I've never hit one of those things in my life. Parking spaces are long enough to accommodate full-length sedans so leaving a few feet in front of the car is really easy to do.

Sorry to hear though.

Thanks. As I entered the parking space, I did not see the abutment as the space next to it did not (for some reason) have one, so I guess I just wrongly assumed that this one was that way too (much to my ultimate chagrin.)

[SMG]

Oh gross. I agree that the size of those things is dated though. They could be half the height and still do their job safely.

[huck731]

I trashed my grill on one 2 years ago. which is why I had one for kelly. It never made it on my car because a friend hit a deer with my car when I let him borrow it and the body shop replaced it. Although they did not replace the fog lights

[scarabY2k]

Originally Posted by SMG

I've never hit one of those things in my life. Parking spaces are long enough to accommodate full-length sedans so leaving a few feet in front of the car is really easy to do.

Sorry to hear though.

Beat me to it- agreed.

I think it's almost force of habit, that we bring the car all the way forward to the curb thingy. As for me, I made it a habit to be mindful that our cars are small enough to leave a reasonable gap up front, and still have enough space in the rear of the car- even if it seems like we're parking crappy, as emma says

Sorry for your misfortune.

[peanutsmom]

I hear ya! I haven't personally hit one as I leave plenty of room (you can park two of our cars in one parking spot) and I am used to not hitting them as I am used to being a valet driver. I do tend to nuge them with our truck though because she is so long and with her tow hitch sticking out so she needs to be completely in her parking spot but never go that far with a car..

[Beetlebomb]

Many thanks to all who contributed for their comments, sympathy-empathy, advice, etc. I "just might" be starting to get over it..a bit...

[onegin]

Today was an absolutely tragic NB day. As I was walking out to the parking lot from work, I noticed a red pickup parked near my car. The driver was examining the rear bumper of my NB. Turns out she "miscalculated" the distance and completely re-arranged my rear bumper.

This is especially tragic because I just got my NB back from the body shop having the FRONT bumper repainted (dealer missed a stress crack when I bought it) and now I have to go through the whole pain of filing a claim. At this point, I've owned my car for a little over a month but haven't been able to drive it for more than a week straight. And it's awful to think that such a beautiful new car is already messed up.

Hopefully this isn't setting a precedent for bad luck later on!

[scarabY2k]

Originally Posted by onegin

Today was an absolutely tragic NB day. As I was walking out to the parking lot from work, I noticed a red pickup parked near my car. The driver was examining the rear bumper of my NB. Turns out she "miscalculated" the distance and completely re-arranged my rear bumper.

This is especially tragic because I just got my NB back from the body shop having the FRONT bumper repainted (dealer missed a stress crack when I bought it) and now I have to go through the whole pain of filing a claim. At this point, I've owned my car for a little over a month but haven't been able to drive it for more than a week straight. And it's awful to think that such a beautiful new car is already messed up.

Hopefully this isn't setting a precedent for bad luck later on!

Dangit!!!
Sorry to hear about your Bad Beetle Day. If there's any consolation, you did walk out at the right time- to see the driver who did the damage; he could've been one of those hit and run idiots. At least you'll have an insured driver to take care of his mistake.

Hope you'll have your beetle on the road again soon.

[woofster]

I, too, have been involved in a front bumper scrape incident recently as well. I drove headfirst (which I rarely do) into a parking spot and lined myself up more or less with the cars next to the spot; an Acura TL and a Mazda3. Both cars were really, really close to the curb and I just went in an inch too far.

I heard a slight scraping noise and I immediately cringed and said some non-G-rated words. I backed up and, yes, there were some engraved rock scrapings that were clearly visible if you look from ant's eye view. Others will hardly notice it but I know it's there.

[Beetlebomb]

I've got a feeling that if you inspected the lower front end and the "just underneath part" of any number of New Beetles that more than half of them would be scraped or otherwise dinged-up somewhat, they are so low in front. I wouldn't want them to be higher as I love the "low look," but I guess the dings and scrapes is the price one pays for having it....

[Cwgrltinkerbell21]

Im from Tulsa and those damn things are EVERYWHERE!!! I did it once and seriously thought I wrecked it!!! Now, I park like 4 feet away from it! People laugh at me cuz I am like 5 feet from the curb at QuikTrip!!! Sorry bout the bad day man!!

[onegin]

Originally Posted by scarabY2k

Dangit!!!
Sorry to hear about your Bad Beetle Day. If there's any consolation, you did walk out at the right time- to see the driver who did the damage; he could've been one of those hit and run idiots. At least you'll have an insured driver to take care of his mistake.

Hope you'll have your beetle on the road again soon.

Thanks! I am very lucky because the other driver's insurance company is covering everything no questions asked and I will have my beloved Beetle back tomorrow or Wednesday. This is great because I've been missing it so much - I have had to drive a rental Mitsubishi Galant which is just NOT the same.

[Missladylinda]

Well just havin bad luck...Things that have happened to my Boo
Last July i damaged right hand rockers
Last August someone backed in to Boo's Left rear
Last month tried to take off plastic engine cover it broke in like 5 pieces..
Noticed the other night someone tried to pry gas door open looks kinda like a camel now
Yesterday 3rd brake light got blown out cant seem to fix it,so i had to stuff plastic bags in the hole
On a good note Boo is runnin decent with almost 126k on him...