I wish they had more respect for cars

mick.fr

I can't stop being very surprised even after all those years spent in Ireland to notice that the majority of Irish people have absolutely no respect for others cars and even their own.

No respect for theirs is fair enough, I don't care, but when it comes to my car I am more than concerned.

A few examples:

- Was in Tesco, left the shop and returned to my car.
On my way back, I saw the guy parked next to me with full of stuffs from the shop.
So he put all his stuff on the top of my car, then opens his car and begins to bring everything from my car's roof to his car.
I could not believe it. I aked him why in the hell he did something like that? He replied to me that in Ireland people are helping each other. I could not believe what he jsut said as an excuse to put his shiit on my car.

- Most of the Irish cars are always so dirty, inside like outside. Cans, food from a couple of weeks, lies down the seats, front or back.
Body very dirty, not been washed for a couple of weeks (Or older...).
Irish roads, even around the city center are very dirty fair enough, but still guys a good wash will not kill your cars' paint :-)

I wash my car body between 2-4 times a month.

- My day to day car has now a lot of scatches from the sides (doors) while it had almost nothing when I bought it last september.
People opens their door like crazy and bang my doors in parkings.
The protections on my doors are heavily damaged now.

When I go to a public parking, I try to parc far from the others, sometimes like 10 free spots from the others. I am not even close to the entrance of the shop's door.
Guess where the next guy is going to park? just next to MY car, with 9 free spots in between me and all the others.

I am so pissed guys, come on make some effort. It is not diffiult to show up a little bit of respect.

I know every Irish drivers are not like this, some would be more like me :-) but the majority is to be blamed.

TheBigLebowski

It's all them bleedin foreigners.

mick.fr

TheBigLebowski wrote: »

It's all them bleedin foreigners.

No I think this is a real Irish issue/way of thinking.
I am sure many Irish will agree with me on this one.

biko

Get a banger. You don't have to worry/wash then.

TestTransmission

What car do u drive?

mick.fr

jackncoke wrote: »

What car do u drive?

This is not the issue, noticed this with other drivers as well, I got x2 BMW 3 series, happend to both.

Dades

Try keeping your car clean on a road where every house has a skip outside. :mad:

I also avoid parking beside certain types of car - kidwagons or any POS.

mick.fr

Dades wrote: »

Try keeping your car clean on a road where every house has a skip outside. :mad:

I also avoid parking beside certain types of car - kidwagons or any POS.

Yeah sure when you live in some areas not really easy. But still city center is full of dirty cars.
I too stay away from kidwagons and other SUV etc.
I actually usually try to park next to other bimmers or merc, hoping the guy will respect my car as he respects his.
Sometime I have no choice though..

alias no.9

mick.fr wrote: »

- Was in Tesco, left the shop and returned to my car.
On my way back, I saw the guy parked next to me with full of stuffs from the shop.
So he put all his stuff on the top of my car, then opens his car and begins to bring everything from my car's roof to his car.
I could not believe it. I aked him why in the hell he did something like that? He replied to me that in Ireland people are helping each other. I could not believe what he jsut said as an excuse to put his shiit on my car.

In that situation, I'd have either hit the panic button for my alarm and scare the bejebus out of him or if I was feeling brave, gone over and thrown the whole lot on the ground.

mick.fr wrote:

- Most of the Irish cars are always so dirty, inside like outside. Cans, food from a couple of weeks, lies down the seats, front or back.
Body very dirty, not been washed for a couple of weeks (Or older...).
Irish roads, even around the city center are very dirty fair enough, but still guys a good wash will not kill your cars' paint :-)

I wash my car body between 2-4 times a month.

It can be very difficult to keep a car clean in Ireland, particularly in winter. As far as the inside goes, I'd much rather people had cars full of rubbish than they threw the rubbish out the window.

mick.fr wrote:

- My day to day car has now a lot of scatches from the sides (doors) while it had almost nothing when I bought it last september.
People opens their door like crazy and bang my doors in parkings.
The protections on my doors are heavily damaged now.

I prefer to park on the side of the street rather than in car parks where possible. I always give out to people who bang their doors into other cars, even if I'm a passenger in their car.

mick.fr wrote:

When I go to a public parking, I try to parc far from the others, sometimes like 10 free spots from the others. I am not even close to the entrance of the shop's door.
Guess where the next guy is going to park? just next to MY car, with 9 free spots in between me and all the others.

Some people simply can't use white lines as their guide when parking and need to park right beside another car, using that as their guide. Sheer incompetance.

mick.fr wrote:

I am so pissed guys, come on make some effort. It is not diffiult to show up a little bit of respect.

I know every Irish drivers are not like this, some would be more like me :-) but the majority is to be blamed.

I hear you

lightening

Depends I guess, I have no kids, my dogs go in my wifes car, I don't work seven days a week, I don't work from my car. I don't live where there is lots of building work going on. I find it easy to keep the car clean.

Other people have kids, dogs, they work and eat in the car, they live where there is building sites etc...

Max_Damage

mick.fr wrote: »

- Most of the Irish cars are always so dirty, inside like outside. Cans, food from a couple of weeks, lies down the seats, front or back.
Body very dirty, not been washed for a couple of weeks (Or older...).
Irish roads, even around the city center are very dirty fair enough, but still guys a good wash will not kill your cars' paint :-)

As I used to be a valeter, I have to very much agree with this. Some of the pig sty's I used to have to clean were disgusting, and to think people spend a good deal of there lives in their cars. I can't imagine what their house's are like.

HJL

mick.fr wrote: »

- Was in Tesco, left the shop and returned to my car.
On my way back, I saw the guy parked next to me with full of stuffs from the shop.
So he put all his stuff on the top of my car, then opens his car and begins to bring everything from my car's roof to his car.

You should have quickly got into your car an drove off with his shopping on your roof, drive those Tesco Extra Value 12c noodles all the way to the boarder.

Captain Slow IRL

Try working on a car and finding out the owner has wiped the contents of his (or her, they do it too!) nose all over the seat. I've had the misfortune of discovering such treasure troves on (too) many occasions!

It does seem to be something the Irish are guilty of (dirty cars, not snotty seats) - the english do take care of their cars better, but they can be more animal friendly and allow them into the car - phew!! Had to clean cat hairs out of a car I had bought before, took 3 or 4 attempts and was still finding them.

Max_Damage

If only the Irish could take the Japanese way of threating cars.

E92

As befits a country where everyone buys cars with small engines, often specially imported for us and no equipment as standard, is it really surprising that so few people bother to look after their cars?

In the UK, cars often come with much bigger engines and much higher equipment levels, plus they are a lot more into their cars than we are, all we're bothered by is how new is the car rather than is it any good.

mick.fr

E92 wrote: »

As befits a country where everyone buys cars with small engines, often specially imported for us and no equipment as standard, is it really surprising that so few people bother to look after their cars?

In the UK, cars often come with much bigger engines and much higher equipment levels, plus they are a lot more into their cars than we are, all we're bothered by is how new is the car rather than is it any good.

I do not think the engine size and car's specs would be the cause of mistreating your car in Ireland.
Irish people do struggle like most of the people to pay their car insurance/loan.
And as we know an Irish car is a lot more expensive than a UK car with less specs.

I was in London 2 weeks ago, I was amazed by the number of black cars (Well I especially seen lots of new mercs, 7 series bimmers so they were probably owned by wealthy individuals) and those cars even at night were shiny.
They were all beautiful but by the valet job, not only because they were high end cars.
I was just amazed cause we see more and more high end cars here, but most of the time, dirty and not very well looked after.

That said of course I know there are a lot of road work here, around Dublin.
Very easy to get your car dirty around the M50, City West, etc..

vibe666

Max_Damage wrote: »

If only the Irish could take the Japanese way of threating cars.

indeed. i have a 12 year old jap import pajero and it's like new inside (aside from some slightly dated gadgets )

confuzed

my car is dirty because i use every inch of it and i never wash it cos washing removes the original wax coatings by company.:D
I drive a banger, people call it hyundai accent

Guy:Incognito

Is it not the French that touch park with the bumpers?

mick.fr

Stekelly wrote: »

Is it not the French that touch park with the bumpers?

hum what do you mean?

Lobster

What really annoy's me is people sitting or leaning against my car, especially with jeans which can often have metal buttons. It doesn't even seem to bother people if the panel pushes in under their weight.

jayj224

Park beside cars that match your colour at least if some careless person dints and drives away its easier to get dealt with. There is just alot of people who are wreckless with cars ie the dirt but I could guarantee they are the ones with bald tires and unserviced cars.

Is there a market for mobile valeting if this is our approach just woundering?

astraboy

Compared to other countries generally the Irish do not look after their cars too well. I do think younger people more into their cars take great care of their cars, but normal joe soap washes his car once a year and never waxes it. I don't get it, people have to spend so much more then people in the UK to get a car here, yet they don't even wash it and could'nt care less about looking after it until it packs up! No wonder toyota corollas are so popular here!

I lived in the US for a while and those people take care of there vehicles! Even a workmans pickup is washed and cleaned every week or two as its portrays an image of the business. Normal cars are always spic and span, they take pride in keeping their cars well. Personally, I wash my car every week or two when I get the chance, I give it a quick wax as well if I have time. I would spend a whole day cleaning my car if I have the chance. I always park away from other cars in a supermarket too, people are way too selfish when they open their doors!:mad:

Rowley Birkin QC

jayj224 wrote: »

Is there a market for mobile valeting if this is our approach just woundering?

Foreman at work used have his RR valeted by a mobile valet guy who came out about once a month on site with a fully equipped VW Transporter, made a serious job of it.

5 minutes tearing around on the bypass site had it back to normal though. I think Range Rovers look very odd when they are polished up anyway.

Seperate

I did a touch up last week on a passenger side door on a green CL500. There were a series of scrapes down the door and on to the back. Exactly the same length / paint transfer / shape etc all the way down the car. Some punter obviously had a space in work, and the same guy parking beside him kept hitting his car!

I pulled into a carpark this evening, nipping into superquinn to get something for dinner. Car park was empty...75+ free spaces. I parked a good bit away, on purpose. Car on its own. There was at least 25 spaces nearer the door. When i came out, there was a car parked litteraly 6inches from my driver door. What is the story with that? Like they had numerous other spaces, including some much nearer the store, but parked right on top of my car!

mick.fr

Seperate wrote: »

There was at least 25 spaces nearer the door. When i came out, there was a car parked litteraly 6inches from my driver door. What is the story with that? Like they had numerous other spaces, including some much nearer the store, but parked right on top of my car!

Yeah strange thing happening to me as well. I don't get it.
By the way can I get a free paint correction lol?

Seperate

mick.fr wrote: »

Yeah strange thing happening to me as well. I don't get it.
By the way can I get a free paint correction lol?

Sounds like you need it alright

I think next time i see a RHD 3 series sedan, i'm going to play the game 'how close can i get?'

mick.fr

Seperate wrote: »

Sounds like you need it alright

I think next time i see a RHD 3 series sedan, i'm going to play the game 'how close can i get?'

Well I can pay you a visit if you want, I need to buy some stuffs from you anyway, where are you exactly, I don't see where you are in Baldonell?

Oh mine if a LHD btw :-)

It BeeMee

Maybe those people are using the same logic: if I park beside a "good" car, he won't bang his door against mine...

I found the first marks on my car the other day : scratches on the bonnet, up near the windscreen on the passenger side - deep enough to see the white under the blue paint.
I reckon someone put their handbag or something on it getting their keys out.....:mad:

colly10

mick.fr wrote: »

- Was in Tesco, left the shop and returned to my car.
On my way back, I saw the guy parked next to me with full of stuffs from the shop.
So he put all his stuff on the top of my car, then opens his car and begins to bring everything from my car's roof to his car.
I could not believe it. I aked him why in the hell he did something like that? He replied to me that in Ireland people are helping each other. I could not believe what he jsut said as an excuse to put his shiit on my car.

It actually really annoys me to hear that someone would do that and his explanation seems very patronising. I'm surprised ye didn't loose the rag

mick.fr

colly10 wrote: »

It actually really annoys me to hear that someone would do that and his explanation seems very patronising. I'm surprised ye didn't loose the rag

I actually insulted him after that but he did not care...
Next time this thing happends I will throw his stuff away and drive off as suggested by somebody.

Seperate

I'd seriously have a go. Sounds like you put alot of time effort into keeping you car as good as you can, so for some eejit to come along and do that is wrong. Some people just dont think of cars as a big deal though. A friend of mine scratches his wheels, adds new scrapes to his car on a daily basis and thinks nothing of it. I stopped fixing them along time ago.

We're in Unit F2 Mick, in the business park.

colm_mcm

Do what other BMW drivers do to alleviate that problem, park at an angle.

mick.fr

colm_mcm wrote: »

Do what other BMW drivers do to alleviate that problem, park at an angle.

I actually do it sometimes lol, I park in the middle of 2 spots...
But I try to avoid this kind of things, just sometimes..

Senna

A story that made me smile;

my boss had just bought a new 07 Range Rover, it was siting outside work while the boss was standing on one side of the RR, chatting to a customer, just as a local woman pulled into a free space on the other side of the RR. As they were getting out, her kid (about 12yr) opens the car door by using his two feet and kicking the door open.
Of course it bangs off the bosses RR enough for him to hear. The mother gets out looks at the dent for a few seconds, locks up her car and proceeds to walk off. The boss shouts at her and she claims she didn't realise the son had done it (lieing b****).
She got a nice bill for a new door €1200 alone (i think) plus spraying and fitting.:D

moose112

couple of weeks ago a woman reversing out "her much needed" X5 in a car park pulled the back quarter panel off my car. could see it happen on cctv later but couldnt make out the reg of the jeep.
I still remember her face:mad: some day i will find her:D

Cant stand cars taking up two spaces please dont do it have a habit of blocking ye guys in:D and always ends in a row but well worth it:D

pow wow

It's nothing unique to Ireland, the most disgustingly dirty cars I've been in were all when I lived in America where people very much 'live' in their cars. You could probably eat for a week on what you'd find in there, and wear different clothes every day.

My car is always filthy outside because I live near the countryside, I washed it on Wednesday then yesterday I took a 20 min run to the supermarket, got stuck behind some kind of slurry lorry that was dropping $hit (literally!) all over the road behind it, including my car. On the basis that I'll be venturing outside over the weekend I see no point in washing it today, it'll be filthy again tomorrow.

I think it's more to do with the type of car (i.e. whether it's a high end one or a banger). Can't say I've seen too many top range cars covered in $hit and looking like a family of oompah loompahs lives in the back.

A lot of your posts are about how aghast you are at how Irish people behave in relation to xyz, can't you just accept the cultural differences and move on? There are idiots everywhere, Ireland and France included.

Balfa

alias no.9 wrote: »

In that situation, I'd have either hit the panic button for my alarm and scare the bejebus out of him or if I was feeling brave, gone over and thrown the whole lot on the ground.

No, just stealthily get into your car then drive off with his stuff

jayj224

mick.fr wrote: »

I actually do it sometimes lol, I park in the middle of 2 spots...

I tried that with a car i bought it was a year old black absolutely perfect had it about 4 days and thought dont want it to get scratched just yet so in the car park parked miles away in the middle of 2 spots hundreds of spots nearer the entrance came out to find a car squezed into 1 of the spots i had part taken in an empty car park:mad:

G Luxel

I think the reason that there is a lot of damage done is down to carelessness by people and there is a lot of lazy people about who just couldnt care less, whether it is dirty streets or roads near building sites, having to pull in on a narrow road to let someone pass, too lazy to see if they are driving out of a space without hitting the bumpercorner in front, or even the design of the carpark space in which someone parks a Hummer in a space the size of a smart car and bang, your car door is scratched as you cant get in or out
.....:)

pburns

i must be living on a different planet because my car spends it's life in various forms of carpark and I have had no major problems (touch wood).

Yes, the Irish are probably a bit more relaxed about a weekly washing ritual but TBH I think that's a good thing. Washing, waxing, polishing and parking miles away from others in car parks - it's all a bit anal folks...:o

Kiya

well im sick to death of parking my car & coming back to find some git has damaged it.

i saved like mad while driving a banger for3years & bought my new passat last year. had it a month & parked it in a public car park. came back 20 mins max & there was my car with the drivers door & rear door completely buckled & the paint scraped off.
id parked well away from everyone else & some moron still managed to kill my car. cost over 6k to replace both doors.

then last week, parked in town along the quays.
was there about an hour. there was an suv in front & he was parked in the last spot, so all he had to do was drive straight ahead, you know?

what did the moron do? only feckn reversed into my car!! buckled the plate obviously with his crow bar & ive had to get the front bumper & grill replaced. of course no cctv.

im telling u, the next time i park anywhere will be under a camera :mad:

i dont care if someones irish or if theyre foreign, people dont care. ive hopped out of my car & screamed at people for slamming their doors onto mine.
im so careful getting out of my car, never ever ever have i scratched someones door. how have people managed to kill mine at least a million times?? ok, bit of an exag, more like a hundred scratches & door dents.

Never park next to cars with a babyseat as i have a sister with a kid & i know she needs a hell of a lot of space to put her kid in the seat.

but honestly imo the worst offenders are the nonnational women with kids.
u see them & park as far away as possible. im a girl & they give drivers like me a bad name. its not too difficult to hoover your car once a week? rant over.

oh hang on, theres the neighbours kid playing football against the car...
!
if you hear of sumone arrested for childmurder in d15... it wasnt me!!!

han68

Tip for people parking their cars on empty car parks and finding their car locked in by another car when coming back:

Spend 2 euro on 2 trolley's and leave the trolley's on the parking spaces on either side of your car. If there are enough other spaces people cannot be bothered to move the trolley's. Sometimes you have to beat them with their own game

Anan1

pburns wrote: »

i must be living on a different planet because my car spends it's life in various forms of carpark and I have had no major problems (touch wood).

Yes, the Irish are probably a bit more relaxed about a weekly washing ritual but TBH I think that's a good thing. Washing, waxing, polishing and parking miles away from others in car parks - it's all a bit anal folks...:o

At last, a voice of sense!:)

Rowley Birkin QC

han68 wrote: »

Tip for people parking their cars on empty car parks and finding their car locked in by another car when coming back:

Spend 2 euro on 2 trolley's and leave the trolley's on the parking spaces on either side of your car. If there are enough other spaces people cannot be bothered to move the trolley's. Sometimes you have to beat them with their own game

Do you actually do this?? :eek:

eringobragh

han68 wrote: »

Tip for people parking their cars on empty car parks and finding their car locked in by another car when coming back:

Spend 2 euro on 2 trolley's and leave the trolley's on the parking spaces on either side of your car. If there are enough other spaces people cannot be bothered to move the trolley's. Sometimes you have to beat them with their own game

lol and some kid will come along and be 2euro richer. If you want to do that trick on thje cheap, get a bag of those fake euros (plastic kids one's) they'll work. Seems like an awful lot of effort.

Seperate

han68 wrote: »

Tip for people parking their cars on empty car parks and finding their car locked in by another car when coming back:

Spend 2 euro on 2 trolley's and leave the trolley's on the parking spaces on either side of your car. If there are enough other spaces people cannot be bothered to move the trolley's. Sometimes you have to beat them with their own game

A gust a wind comes along...and pow...back to the bodyshop