Entire driver's side scratched, all glass chipped
 

I took my folk's car out for a wash since it hadn't been washed for two weeks and it was extremely dirty.

As I got out of my car in the school parking lot, I realized that there were a ton of small scratches on the body of the car on every single body panel on the driver's side. From the hood to the rear fender, there were scratches and really deep scores all over, down to the metal. I then proceeded to check out the plastic bumpers (Honda Element) and headlights to the side mirrors, only to find more very deep scratches and chips.

What really started pissing me off was the fact that every single piece of glass had several chips on it. From the windshield which was replaced barely two months ago for $250, to the rear window. All chipped.

I took it to my school auto shop to get my instructor to take a quick look at it, and he suggested that it was probably parked on the curb where grass was being cut/weeded, as the scratches don't look like they were made when the car was driving. It looked like whatever did this to the car came straight ahead and scratched/chipped the paint/glass.

Is it worth getting an ICBC claim, if it's even possible to do so? It'd involve replacing four pieces of glass, new plastic bumpers, repainting a good portion of the car, and possibly new headlight housings.

Tell the story..pay comp...which is the deductible. They will look at the chips to determine if they were made while the vehicle was in motion at the time of missle impact.

Even glass being cut wouldn't put that much damage, since lawnmowers have stone guards to protect nearby pedestrians.

Sounds to me like the car wash did the damage.

if it was an automatic machine, then i guess the floor hasn't been cleaned or there was a really dirty or muddy car earlier.
the gravel on the floor or small rocks, etc must have been picked up in the wash by the bristles and ended up hitting your car.
just my guess

if you took it through an automatic car wash thats what most likely caused the damage. my buddy took his brand new c300 through one last month and it came out with scratches and swirl marks all over.

Except, I've never taken it through a touchless car wash, neither have my folks :pokerface:

Tough situation, if you go through icbc your probably looking 6-7g's for a claim.

you've got insurance for a reason


you didnt notice the cuts/scratches when you washed the car? did you wash it with a wire brush ;)

How did you wash your car?

If they were chips and not scratches, I would suggest rocks from a gravel driveway or parking lot. Someone may have done a burnout firing gravel in the element's direction..

I guess those are as possibilities, but I wouldn't know since I'm don't drive it often (folks use it).

Seems like along with the paint chips, both driver's side doors are like ding city. Planning on getting all the dings fixed and two doors repainted most likely.

chips happen

I've repaired several claims for damage from weed-whackers and lawn mowers before. Just be honest when you report it to ICBC.

But usually in Vancouver we park with passenger side facing the curb, not the drivers side which would be usually facing the street.

I live in an apartment, and my previous neighbour had a 4 or 5 year old girl who always swung the door of their Maxima open with the most force a 4 or 5 year old girl could use.

:pokerface:

^^If that happened to my car, and I couldn't resolve with the parents privately, I would stick ICBC after that little girl's parents.