Multiple scratches on my red XUV700 caused by bad drivers

My car already has 5 long scratches on both sides of the body, 2 deep wounds on the bumper. None of these was when the vehicle was rolling.

BHPian Mudhalaipatti recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

What's with our people

I wanted to brush off certain things as "Driving Hazards", but when it's repetitive, it tends to establish a pattern.

I already knew that our driving standards are pretty low, bordering on suicidal. However, I just accepted it as unintentional. It's just a combination of things that just makes driving a deadly affair - i.e no shoulder space on highways (right and left). Even that minuscule space disappearing on bridges, culverts etc. No lane markings on city roads, generally bad roads etc, all contribute to everyone developing not so good driving habits. Not just two-wheelers, four-wheelers, ten wheelers. All.

I owned an XUV500 and lived in Chennai and drove close to 600 km every week. (No, I didn't drive a Taxi. No, I didn't do a smuggle run) and barring just two instances which left two dents on the car, driving was OKish. In both the dent instances, I was partly at fault. But the car was relatively scratch-free in that 30,000 KM run.

Enter XUV700 and a small city Trichy. My car already has 5 long scratches on both sides of the body, 2 deep wounds on the bumper. None of these was when the vehicle was rolling. Yes, all scratches are either at standstill or parked or waiting at a traffic light.

And this evening cemented my feelings on what I'm going to assume (Wish I'm proved wrong). This evening, I dropped off the ladies at a restaurant for their Ladies night out, parked on a relatively wide road (one of those places in Trichy, where there is car parking, but you'll have to parallel park), went to get takeout. Come back in 10 mins to see a long scratch from back to front. Looking at the uneven scratch, it looks like it was a person scratching the car with a sharp object, while they were walking past the car.

Now, I must admit, I used to drive a little aggressively till a month back when the almighty ordered me to slow down after an incident (more on this later in this post) and I have been driving so sedately that my FE has picked up from 9.2 to 10.6 km/l in the same city driving conditions.

And so I don't think I have antagonised anyone to pick my car and that too on a Sunday evening.

Next instance - A week back, I was dropping off my kids at school and this road again is a decent width road with 2 lanes. The left lane is occupied by two-wheelers and I stick to the right lane. There's a college bus behind me, which is fine. He's not honking or driving aggressively and so between three traffic lights, he follows me for two lights and then between the second and third light, there's a gap in the road divider, where traffic from the opposite side turn. There's a car slowly inching forward to turn, but seeing me, the guy stops the car and so I reduce speed and try to stick to my lane and proceed. I'm busy watching the car in front and didn't realise the bus is overtaking me from the left. Mind you the road becomes a little narrow at this place and in the hurry to overtake me, the bus driver sandwiches me between the bus and the car from the opposite. I had to slam my breaks in order to avoid being bumped into. The fun part is, there's a traffic light just 50 meters ahead and it's a longish signal of 3 mins. My daughter remarked as to why did we come to this place, which is trying to run us over at every turn. I didn't realise that the bus had scratched the bumper until Reached home. I should have picked up the cue when the bus driver peeped out to look at my car.

In the above case as well, I was driving sedately, stuck to my lane, but still somehow pissed off a bus driver. When he peeped out, I thought he was trying to get a look at the car from the front.

And then the next instance. I'm driving on a highway, which nowadays resembles an inner-city lane. Anyway, there are these barricades put up to reduce the traffic speed as there's a crossing. I have to take a left exit and I'm on the right lane initially. Sensing that the right lane is stuck, the left lane is partially open, I switch lanes to the left and slowly inch forward to a stop, as by the time I make this lane change, a few vehicles that are going straight have blocked my left exit. There's hardly a two-wheeler space between me and the car in front and there's a barricade on the left. I can see that an Alto is coming in fast, almost going off-road. But there was no space to move to the left or to the front and I thought, better sense would prevail and for a fraction of a second, it did. The guy slowed down and is to my left, also at standstill. Mind you all vehicles are now at standstill and out of the blue, this Alto guy decides he can squeeze in and barges in from the left, between me, the barricade and the car in front. There's this nasty scratch on the left bumper and I'm furious. It's pure rage. But then the almighty asks me to let it go, as rage is only going to consume me and my peace. What was unsettling was the look on this elderly driver, driving the Alto.

And now another instance, I know, I know - It's getting boring. This time, this is one of the widest roads in Trichy and has ample parking for cars and I park the car to get a coffee. An Innova comes in and tries to squeeze between the XUV and another car parked next. It's a tight fit. I can't get in if it's parked too close. The driver says It's just a few seconds as he has to get something in the stationary shop. I have a piping hot coffee to cool and so I let it roll. Try to sip my coffee standing out. As promised, the Innova driver comes out, gets in and starts to take out the car. Since there's no space for me on the driver side, I'm sipping my coffee, standing on the passenger side. The Innova gets out and I finish my coffee and come to the driver side, there's this huge line of scratch from the Innova OVRM scratching my car. I couldn't pick up the scratching sound, in the din of the traffic. But then again, what could I have done, after the damage is done.

Mine is probably the second XUV700 in this small town/City and definitely the only red. It does turn a lot of heads, especially at night with the awesome headlamps. And so I'm conscious of the attention this car gets and eventually the attention that my driving gets in this small place and I'm extra cautious these days, after the Alto swipe.

In all these instances, the drivers or walkers in one case, knew fully well what they were doing. It was not unintentional. There was no sense of remorse from any of the drivers. At least a sorry could have changed my impression.Almost all big vehicles in my town have a political flag and are chauffeured. And most importantly they are the rashest in driving. But a common man, fearing repercussions is usually silent to the treatment meted out to him on the roads. and even if he wants to scratch a vehicle, it's always parked in a safe area with the driver around.

I don't know if the red XUV700 gives out this arrogant, yet vulnerable vibe (or my driving), which demands such treatment or is it some kind of pent-up feeling. I haven't felt this in Chennai earlier. Don't know how it is now though. But this place is proving to be a burial ground for the XUV700.

Is it that our people have become some kind of maniac? With so much traffic, the rash driving from anyone doesn't gain them more than 60 seconds. Why this rush then? Why deliberately swipe a brand new car?

Now I'm seriously thinking of selling off this car and getting a smaller car for my commute. I can't bear to see these acts of vandalism on this beautiful piece of art anymore !!!!

Here's what BHPian comfortablynumb had to say on the matter:

Sorry to read about these episodes. This behaviour is definitely not specific to Trichy, as you will see if you go through some of the posts on the vandalism thread. It's just a sad reflection of the times we live in. Don't have much more to say except that I hope writing a long post about it has a cathartic effect and make you feel better soon. Take care.

Here's what BHPian abirnale had to say on the matter:

So sad to read about your ordeal. But don’t worry - that's the battle-scars our cars are going to carry anyway. My XUV5OO, in 2015 when it was new, had similar issues. I went on to use it for 150K plus km and still going strong! Always remember - the exteriors are for everyone to drool but interiors are all yours. Get into the driver's seat, drive for a nice 500 km+ and you will forget all the woes. It's almost meditation-like!

Owner’s pride, neighbours envy!

Here's what BHPian gururajrv had to say on the matter:

Sir, I can relate to you on getting bumped on the traffic signal at least. My car was scratch-free for 5 years straight but just last Monday when I was waiting at the signal, a bolero pickup brushed against my left panel making a hole and deep scratches which infuriated me. But what good will it make to me when the damage is done as the driver who was driving was chit-chatting with his fellow helper in the jeep instead of looking at what’s ahead of him. He was laughing throughout my conversation with him and I realized an individual who doesn’t respect the vehicle he’s driving or riding, won’t care a damn about other vehicles on road. That is the mentality our fellow citizens have on the road.

Considering your car having owned a celebrity status, you can expect all cheap acts to bother it until the time the sight of 7OO’s increases gradually and people accept the fact it’s another car on road. There are sick minds not only in your city but they exist everywhere please don’t break your peace of mind over it. Get a PPF done to avoid minor dings and dangs after you get the existing scratches buffed! That’s the best you can do at the moment. Maybe avoid taking this lovely looking bright red beauty out if you’re going to park it for a while. Take a beater car while this beauty remains a highway mile muncher or running small errands around in your presence.

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