Bad Luck

[elias1974]

before i start, i will say i was at fault here..

So as you may know I was at the service center in White Plains to get my rusted rotors taken care of which was done. When I went to the service center to pick up the car, I was told that the car was being brought around from the back. I waited in the front around 5:30pm now, when the technician brought the car around, the window was rolled down, before he got out of the car I said, "just leave it running bevause I wanted the car to warm up while I got my paperwork inside. He took the keys out anyway and gave me the "i'm a dumbass and i just work here look" So i took the keys, opened entered the already opened door, put my right foot on the clutch to start the car. When I turned the key, the car started bucking forward right into the Nissan Altima parked right in front of it.
Now I know I should have not started the car with my right foot and should have checked gears, but it pisses the $hit out of me that people park my car in first gear, I mean I rarely even do it when on a hill (rarely) but we were on level ground, in a parking lot 4 feet behing another parked car. I was so enraged, I went to get the manager and told him exactly what happened, and how I asked teh tech to leave the car on, and he evidently turned it off and put it in gear. The manager yelled back on how its my fault and that I have to check my gears.... even though the manager said it was my fault, he still went inside to get some liquid to try and "help me out" by rubbing the solution on. But my thought was, if you think I am at fault why are you helping me out. Even after he went inside, he was yelling at the tech who left the car in gear. So now the bumber is slightly pushed in and does not align with the hood...

As some of you may remember, this is not the first time that I have gone to improve something for my car and have ended up worse than when I started. When I went to get my tint, the guy putting it on, scraped my hood with something, so I took the shop up on their offer to "take care" of it for me, which resulted in paint bumps and depressions on my hood....

I just cant win... I guess I will try and figure out how to drop the bumper maybe to realign it... any suggestions...

 

[brucelee]

oh man, sorry to hear about your misfortune... i say just b**** at the dealer for not listening to you and manipulating your car, i.e., doing something that you don't do on a regular basis. sure some people do that on a regular basis but given the situation it was not necessary. i dunno....i say just demand they fix it.

 

[drumsbeloud]

sorry to hear that, but it's usually good practice to keep your car in gear when it's parked...especially if you're on a hill. i wouldn't trust the parking brake alone to stop my car. i don't mean to be a dick, it's just a suggestion.

 

[Douggie]

Sorry to hear about your mishap(s). But I guess there's a reason why they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

 

[gman_P5]

Man, forget about it and stop complaining, it looks to me that you are at fault !!!! you should have check the gears (I assume you pressed the clutch to start the car).
Besides that, it is absolutely normal to leave the car "engaged" when stopped.

 

[elias1974]

Man, forget about it and stop complaining, it looks to me that you are at fault !!!! you should have check the gears (I assume you pressed the clutch to start the car).
Besides that, it is absolutely normal to leave the car "engaged" when stopped.

"before i start, i will say i was at fault here..."

ay Gman, did u come that conclusion all by yourself?

ps: its not absolutely normal to leave a car in gear, maybe on a hill. But if thats the case, what the point of having nuetral?

 

[changedman]

i hate that too, people have left my car in first and i ALMOST went thru a closed garage because of it! :mad:

 

[MP3intheSTL]

"before i start, i will say i was at fault here..."

ay Gman, did u come that conclusion all by yourself?

ps: its not absolutely normal to leave a car in gear, maybe on a hill. But if thats the case, what the point of having nuetral?

It's absolutely, absolutely normal to leave a car in gear. Hill or not.
The only time I put the MP3 in nuetral is at a stop light, or when driving in rush hour traffic. Holding the clutch down gets old. Plus you never know when that E-brake wants to quit working.

 

[elias1974]

It's absolutely, absolutely normal to leave a car in gear. Hill or not.
The only time I put the MP3 in nuetral is at a stop light, or when driving in rush hour traffic. Holding the clutch down gets old. Plus you never know when that E-brake wants to quit working.

The only time I put the MP3 in nuetral is at a stop light

clearly stated, the only time YOU do...

 

[MP3intheSTL]

The only time I put the MP3 in nuetral is at a stop light

clearly stated, the only time YOU do...

It works you should try it!

 

[PA_MP3_Man]

I don't normally do this but I'm going to have to chime in on this one.

Own up to your own mistakes and stop trying to make someone else pay for them.

 

[brucelee]

i think it's more important to focus on the fact that elias told the mechanic to leave the car running but he neglected to follow that. unless he honestly didn't hear it..

 

[loccusst]

I agree with brucelee. He should of left the car running. The only error in their part was not listening to you and leaving the car in gear. By doing this the mechanic, or in this case more than likely just a lot boy, assumed that you like having your car in gear when its parked. He probably just forgot . AND NO ITS NOT NORMAL TO LEAVE IT IN GEAR ON A FLAT SURFACE. Thats what the parking brake is for and most people are not used to checking to see if a car is in gear. Read the manual, I'm sure it doesn't say to always leave the car in gear. Also, why should he have checked the gears because he pushed in on the clutch? My wife did this once and only once on my civic. I about went right into the rear of her probe( thank God we don't own that anymore) because she left it in gear. This is not normal for me so I almost wrecked both of our cars. I calmly turned the car off and got out. When she asked where I was going I replied I don't want to yell at you. You see, it wasn't her fault that she left it in gear. Her probe needed the parking brake fixed and thats how she was used to parking her car. It wasn't my fault for not checking the gears because I don't leave it in gear when i park. Niether of us were at fault. I know you are mad and the lot boy probably should have listened to you, but the dealership will not repair it for free. As the dealership probably sees it you guys both share the fault. See if you guys can work out a deal. See if they will give you a discount on the repairs because of what happened. Try being calm at first and then if all else fails then rip them a new one.

 

[alexlitov]

I once had a car parked on a hill roll down while I was sittin in the back seat...no a pleasant feeling when there is a huge wall behind you...

Always leave the car in gear, hill or not.

 

[RAAZ227]

Sorry to hear that. By looking at the pics it is not that bad to re-align. Loosed the Phillips head head screw on the top side of the bumper (under the hood) and pull it out. Hope that works!

 

[elias1974]

i appreciate all teh fedback negative and not, its good to hear what people think about the situation with the given facts...

loccusst: thats a good idea to see if the dealer cares to share in teh responsibility of the damage, I may look into that...

thanks again

will keep you guys posted

 

[charles]

i thought you had to have the clutch in to start the car?

 

[mazdadan]

Yeah I doubt the dealer is going to take responsibility, because parking it in a gear is usually assumed. For a while, I used to only park in gear on a hill, but recently I've been always parking it in a gear. I was at a restaurant and I watched a parked car roll back into a brand new Caddy! Lets just say that wasn't a pretty fight to watch.

 

[bazooka joe]

ya charles, i was wondering the same thing? i have the auto, so it's not a problem for me, but other standards i've owned you couldn't start the car unless the clutch was engaged???

 

[Natey]

That sucks. Maybe you can get the dealer to at least give you a deal on the bodywork. That is, if RAZ227's idea doesn't work. Maybe if you buy the parts, they'll install them for free.(dunno)

Check this out...
One time, not long ago, I dropped my wife's car at the dealer(Marina Motors in Capitola, Ca) for the "summer tune special".

It was preety much the same deal as you, they said wait right here, and we'll pull the car around. After about 10 min., the tech come WALKING around the corner and tells me that "There's been a problem with your Miata". It seems that Schumacher backed my wife's car into a FedEx truck. Why? "The mirrors are too low.". :wtf: THE WHOLE DAMN CAR IS LOW! IT'S A MIATA! Turn your head and LOOK behind you when you back-up.

Anyway, they paid for the bodywork, but I still give that guy stink-eye every time I go in there(not often).

BTW, I voted 4, and if that doesn't work, 3.