I was reading dlr's post and began thinking about what I do to avoid dings in my cars. There's the obvious like parking as far away as possible from other cars.

I was sitting at the office yesterday, and a suv parked right next to me...there was PLENTY of other parking spaces...decided to go out and move it to a safer spot. http://m3forum.com/ubb/smile.gif

I think the most extreme lengths I've gone to is if Im out on the weekend and deciding where to eat, part of the deciding factor is how packed the parking lot is...or if they only have valet parking ( I avoid valet like the plague...my vette was never the same after valeting it for a week at a hotel in Miami).

Would be interested in hearing what other people do to avoid dings. http://m3forum.com/ubb/smile.gif

Hi Frank,

As stated originally, I have not had a ding in the 22 cars I have owned. This was a rare case as the car had the ding when I went to pick it up from the dealer who I asked not to do anything with the car after it came off the truck. I never allow the dealers to wax the car or take off any cosmolene, as they always swirl the paint. However this time they took the liberty of washing it, and it looks like the hose or something must have hit the flare. This is also a good lesson on how to avoid dings. Tell the dealer when the car arrives, do not touch it. Just put it aside until I arrive to pick it up.

To avoid day to day dings, I never park near other cars. I will find the last end spot I can and park it there. If I must valet, and I do live in Miami, I pay the valet $20.00 to park it myself up front. I also do not allow them to keep the keys. For all those who think that parking at the end is just a longer walk, and takes more time, just watch all the other cars trying to find a spot close to the entrance, and you will see that you have already parked and are entering your destination while they are still driving frantically to find that closer spot.

Well these are my words of wisdom.

A final note; my ding has been removed and I am now a happy camper. However, my question today is would anyone else have walked away from purchasing a tough to obtain M3 because it had a quarter size ding in it?

Just a question. Is the cosmolene easy to remove? Do you just peal it off and clean up any left over adhesive?

Thanks!!

Reason is because here in the states, people dont give a sh*it and thay will just give u a quick wash and its not their car so thay dont care if thay scratch it.
Dealership wont be touching my car to clean it i can tell ya that much.
Sure some dealerships are awesome im sure but I still dont trust em with this nice and expensive of a car.

My parents own an Audi A8. Thay picked it up from the bmw/audi garage here. I'v seen how thay wash it...just dont do a good job...a real quickie.
Also iv seen how thay wash the cars by the masses in the parking lot. Dang thats even worse.

Its interested to read that you guys in the US do not like the dealers cleaning the cars and removing the delivery coatings.. why is this? You would think that a BMW dealer would be best suited to look after and clear the car.

My dealer makes a superb job of cleaning the car and the wheels, and whenever it comes back from a service the car looks brand new again..

Have a 1989 Porsche 928GT and am considering a new M3. My 928 has zero door dings. I will not valet and all detailing is done by me by hand. Not my everyday driver and I am selective about where I will leave the car. Too many idiots out there who despise you and your cars. Many have no idea how hard you worked to afford such a car and are jealous.

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After 50 yrs of driving and at least 40 new cars mostly exotics I am not quite as crazy about dings as I was.If/when they occur I just accept the situation-accumulate a few and off to my body guy.What a great feeling when it comes back pristine!
If one doesn't accumulate stone chips,then it is being bought as a museum piece.These cars are meant to be driven and will therefore get abraded.Life too short and complicated to get thrown by things easily corrected. End of lecture!

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