[blackwasp]

Most of our cars here are daily drivers and have had their fair share of encounters with other motorists, pedestrians, cricket balls, handcarts etc. With street parking and visits to crowded localities, it's only a matter of time before someone nicks your ride. My question to all of you is how much is too much? Do you ensure that all defects are immediately corrected and aim to keep your ride in top shape or do you tend to let it go? I know what is the general tendency towards beater cars, but what about your main rides?

Here are some of the common issues on a daily driven car:

• Panel gaps - These could be inherent or acquired after a high five with another motorist:


• Paint defects - Repaints are usually not done as per the OEM paint and there have been times when a repainted panel is a stark contrast to the rest of the car:


• Scratches - Be it someone keying your ride, another motorist giving it a peck or as bizarre as a pedestrians' purse leaving its mark on your car, let me tell you, it's only the first time that its very painful. Over time you get used to it:


• Dents - Again, could be due to some falling objects like coconuts (happened to me more than once) or hail or even other cars on the road:


Where do you draw the line in the quest to maintain your ride? I know my answer. As long as the car is mechanically sound I don't usually care about such minor incidences. However, once every 2-3 years, I get these corrected either under the insurance or out of my pocket. If the damage is a little higher, I tend to claim it under insurance. Of course, this means repainting panels (which they never get perfect), but hey, once I'm in the driver's seat, I can't see the outside and I'm happy with the 145 horses at my disposal:

[Torq]

Interesting take.
I bought my first car about two and a half years ago, and while it's not thoroughly pampered according to t-bhp standards, I do love it to the core. Driving it in pune (read as city with heavy two wheeler traffic which can be unruly and undisciplined) makes me have occasional scratches and dings here and there. For first two years I diligently got it repaired almost every three to four months to maintain the stock standards.
However, for past six months now, I have left all the minor dings, dents, scratches the way they are and instead plan to do all the corrections once a year. Nothing more than that!

[parrys]

Panel gaps at the factory level, I might be ok with. Unless it is a defect.

But I need the paint finish to be top notch, no inconsistency when comparing the paint over metal and plastic surfaces. There are many brands who have their new car paint not matching, especially on the rear view mirrors.

Also, cannot make peace with fit & finish issues. Rattles rattle me.

[J4J]

Panel Gaps : I haven't bothered much. However in my current car, I saw a little finger sized gap between the body and the tail lamp in the top corner. It was large enough to get ants/dust inside. I masked it off using a masking tape. Worked well for 4 years. Now need to apply new tape.

Paint Mismatch : No compromise. It is very painful to look at mismatched paints. For this reason, I always give my car to ASC and instruct them that if the match is not perfect, I will not accept the car. Till now I have repainted 3 times, only once I faced the problem of a paint mismatch.

Scratches : Living in a city means lot of scratches. most of my scratches are when my car was stationary in parking(thanks to the birds, other drivers & cats). I generally ignore them as they fade out with time (especially for lighter colors)

Dents: Again driving and parking cars in city means a lot of small dings and dent. Most of my small dents are because of other drivers banging their door on my car while opening. I ignore them. I wait for a larger dent before repairing the whole panel.

[paramesh3210]

Panel gaps don't bother me much. Unless its a serious defect and mechanically something is not working as to how it should.

I have never came across paint mismatch personally but this will be seriously worrying and I will hate to see on my car. I will make sure the dealer fixes it at any cost.

I hate scratches in my car. I always try to fix it if prominent. But that will be only done at an authorized showroom to avoid paint mismatch.

Fortunately, haven't dented any of my cars. I will be heart broken if that happens. Of course I will fix it then and there.

[RedTerrano]

How much do I care?
Only till the first scratch !
Being a born Punekar, residing in Pune, I learnt this wisdom the hard way. For those who might not be aware, Punekars are born scofflaws when it comes to road discipline.

My first car was a Wagon R.
On the third day, a moron on a bicycle nicked it.
I still remember how I cried after reaching home.
(Oh how young and naive I was back then !!)

My second car, the Terrano, survived a week.
I had halted at a traffic signal. A rickshaw stood next to me. The moron passenger decided it was the perfect time to get off, and while doing so, the suitcase he was lugging out left a longish scratch on my door.
This time, on reaching home, I took one look and just shrugged it off.

Wisdom or indifference?
I like to think, its the former.
My wife just says, I have gotten old !!

[SmartCat]

Moderator's Note: Poll added

I stick to authorized service centers, and they usually charge a bomb to fix minor issues like this. So unless there is a cheap/low cost solution, I don't bother fixing scratches and dents.

[Thermodynamics]

Depends how big the damage is. If it is a large dent or a deep scratch that underlying metal is exposed to rust, I would fix it immediately.

If it is a bumper, pin size dents, minor hairline scratches which can be polished, I will wait until the car has accumulated some significant level of scratches and I can fix them all at one go in the next detailing.

[lapis_lazuli]

OK...first to vote for the first option!

I usually take extreme good care of my cars to the extent of being irritable to my family. I cannot withstand ANY rattle, squeak, dent or paint defects. I usually DIY it to an acceptable state or get it fixed. I also drive very sedately, to the point that my BHPian and non BHPIan friends think I am a timid driver. This is to AVOID any sort of brushes on road. Even then, if and when I do get one, I will fix it. I can't stand a dent/gash or whatever it is. The good side: I learnt a bit about repair

Touchwood, my 8 year old oceanic blue (dreaded color to maintain) Punto looks very fresh still. Very tight inside out, and at least 3 BHPians know the amount of effort gone into the car to keep it absolutely rattle free and scratch free.

My Superb is WHITE and not magnetic brown, just so, I can hide the scratches easier than the Oceanic Blue. Anal retentive, actually, but that's just me. The dreaded dash squeak : black foam tape, the rear parcel tray rattle : cotton wad! Ten bucks for a noiseless cabin!

[Rajeevraj]

Assuming that we are referring to minor stuff, voted for the option of fix everything together maybe once a year. Minor scratches and dents don't bother me too much (although I try to take precautions to make sure they don't happen in the first place). And the reason they don't bother me too much is that there are high quality detailers that take care of these things very well. So we know that when we need to fix it, it can be fixed.

Any mechanical issues-Even minor do bother me though.

[Eddy]

Voted for the last option.

They remain invisible to me unless they start interfering with some functionality.

[padmrajravi]

Scratches and dents bother me. But I am not very particular about the quality of finish after fixing. I have kept a bottle of com-paint spray in both my cars. They manage to get scratches fixed to the extent that only people specifically looking for them will find it. My cars are dull colors and it does help.

[gkveda]

In a city like Bangalore, small scratches and dents are inevitable. Even if the car is parked in front of the house, the car gets small dents here and there due to children playing ball on roads

If we start getting crazy on those small things and run to tinkering shop for repair immediately, then car would be running to tinkering shop more than anything else.

Initially I used to get annoyed when something happens to my car. But now, after realizing the reality, I have muted myself for small things although, I frighten children if they play near the car

While on road, the car is bound to be touched by another vehicle once in 2-3 months. Else it is like violating law in Bangalore for 2 wheelers

I have voted last option.

Last but not least, while purchasing a used car say 4 years old, if the car doesn't have small scratches or dents, I will doubt that the car must have met with accident and got repainted fully

[Sheel]

My choice of option is not in poll, so...it bothers me and I get it fixed, but, I am not in dire straits to get it fixed ASAP unless functionality is compromised. I will get it fixed in [probably] 10/15 days, depending on availability of time of the workshop.

[a4anurag]

My car has one very minor dent on the boot lid and on the rear right door wheel arch. Scratches are on the right fender at the ORVM level.

Since these aren't anything major and have got used to seeing them (no choice), have left them as such, but yes, it does bother me.

If repairs are to be done, the whole rear right door + right fender would need minor denting to get them in shape and then painting too. Not worth the time and money it demands.