Getting a scratch or dent is something that happens to all car owners at one point in their lifetime. Scratches are caused by many different things, but they always take away from the beauty of your vehicle, which can be frustrating if you’re trying prevent costly paint repairs! Here’s the 7 common causes of scratches and what you can do to prevent them.
Drivers
Drivers are a very common cause of scratches. Whether it’s a scratch or dent, you never know what might happen on the road. Drivers who open their doors into cars can scratch the paint without even realizing it.
Landscaping
Landscaping can scratch your car too, especially if you have pine needles or branches that scratch along the paint finish when the wind blows them across your vehicle. Parking too close to landscaping features like rock beds can also be a source of scratches.
Shopping Carts
Shopping carts are another common cause of scratches. The metal bars, small wheels, and large handles at the end of shopping carts hit against cars all day long in parking lots all over the world. Even if it’s just a scratch without much damage done to your car, it is still frustrating to see it on there! Park a good distance away from cart bays and avoid parking near carts left between vehicles.
Automatic Car Washes
While automatic car washes are useful in the winter when you need to get rid of snow, they’re also a common cause of scratches. You can scratch your car easily when you drive into automatic car washes. They may scratch your vehicle with their bottom edges or even with the brushes themselves.
Parking Meters
Parking meters are another common cause of scratches. Whether it’s a scratch or indentation, hitting your door on parking meters can scratch cars in lots and parking garages. Use backup sensors and cameras when parallel parking at meters to avoid hitting the meter or getting too close to it. Also be sure to avoid getting too close to the other cars to prevent scratches on your vehicle when leaving parking spots at meters.
Malicious Behavior
If someone intentionally scratches your car out of anger or revenge, it counts as malicious behavior. It happens all too often to car owners everywhere. While this is something that isn’t easy to prevent, it might be covered by insurance depending on the severity of the scratch.
Parking
Last but not least, parking can scratch your car as well! Other vehicles can scratch yours when pulling in or out of parking spots near your car. You could also leave scratches on another vehicle when you pull in or out too. Being aware of your surroundings and other vehicles can prevent scratches from being made on other cars or parts of your own car.
When a scratch or dent happens, you can trust the mobile repair experts with Colors on Parade of Saraota to remedy the damage quickly. Our technicians will make it look like the scratches on your vehicle never happened.