Getting your car keyed is not fun. Whether it’s in the parking lot at a shopping mall, or even parked in your driveway, seemingly none of our vehicles are safe. There is always the looming possibility of an angry passerby who decides to take their emotions out on your paint job. I know it’s happened to me, and it may have happened to you.
Prevention Options
There are some pretty good home security products out there on the market to help you ward off potential problem causers. With Bluetooth and wireless technology, finding a multi-camera system with expansive storage space for backing up and archiving historical footage is very easy these days. But whether or not you catch the culprit in the act, you’re going to need to fix your scratch damage. You can record whatever, and whoever is around your vehicle and have something to refer to in the event of damage to your car. It’s not always possible to catch the person in the act, though.
Repair Cost
When you go to take your car in for repairs the final bill you are looking at is going to vary depending on the extent of the damage. If the vandal wasn’t all that aggressive or forceful with the object they used to damage your vehicle, you may be in luck. A scratch that only damages clearcoat is far less expensive to fix than one that penetrates through to the paint. This difference could vary the price to fix 3x or so, give or take. Even worse is when the scratch goes clear down to the primer, or exposes the bare metal down below. If you can see white primer layer, or you can see the silver bare plastic or metal of the body part, you could be looking at an even heftier repair bill.
Insurance Coverage
Vandalism is a very common type of insurance fraud, and so insurance companies might require some type of documentation and proof if you decide to submit a claim. A very helpful step would be to file a police report if you are going to be going the route of an insurance claim, to show that you are serious about the crime having been committed.
At the end of the day it’s best to have an estimate, and perhaps several estimates, to ensure you’re getting the best deal for work on your scratch damage. It’s particularly important for you to have your local autobody shop look at it if the damage is deep, or there are multiple damage area.
