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General They really are all out to get you...

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General They really are all out to get you...

I suspect this is because of the attitude some people take towards their cars and to other road drivers. I think the first load of 500 drivers were very elitist for some reason and looked down their noses at other drivers.
 
In Greece the main form of vandalism in cars is when someone parking next to you scratches your car as many dont know how to park and they try fitting in spaces they cant fit! I have a few small battle scars on my bumpers as a result and i dont think there are any cars in Greece without scratches!

Its a bit like Rome and Top Gear covered that one saying how all the cars there are scratched!
 
ahmett said:
In Greece the main form of vandalism in cars is when someone parking next to you scratches your car as many dont know how to park and they try fitting in spaces they cant fit! I have a few small battle scars on my bumpers as a result and i dont think there are any cars in Greece without scratches!

Its a bit like Rome and Top Gear covered that one saying how all the cars there are scratched!
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The worst place I know for this is Gibraltar. Every time I visit, LadyKitching & I play a game of trying to find an undented car before we get where we're going.

I'll swear the dealers there put a couple in during the PDI to get you started.

Cheap fuel, though.
 
jrkitching said:
The worst place I know for this is Gibraltar. Every time I visit, LadyKitching & I play a game of trying to find an undented car before we get where we're going.

I'll swear the dealers there put a couple in during the PDI to get you started.

Cheap fuel, though.
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Yeah funny thing is you fix the dent but then it happens again so you give up after a while! I have 3 small scrapes on my bumper that are hardly visible and since it wont corrode (bumper is plastic) i decided not to do anything about it. Besides i am not sure chipsaway can fix a bumper? I have 2 tiny dents on the passenger side near the door i guess it happened when careless passengers hit the metal side road bars that they put here to deter kerb parking (they are lethal!) but barely anything so i wont do anything about that either. Been to chipsaway twice so far for dents that were pretty big and would possibly corrode in the future!
 
jrkitching said:
The worst place I know for this is Gibraltar. Every time I visit, LadyKitching & I play a game of trying to find an undented car before we get where we're going.

I'll swear the dealers there put a couple in during the PDI to get you started.

Cheap fuel, though.
Click to expand...

It's interesting you should mention Gibraltar as a 'hot spot'. Having visited there a total of 35 times since 1984, I can honestly say, that vehicle related vandalism is a huge huge no no there. The Royal Gibraltar Police take an extremely dim view of it as do the residents, but seeing as the streets are narrow and awkward to drive through at the best of times, I hazard a guess that the vast majority of damage is 'car on car' related and the occasional bumps into more static objects otherwise known as buildings.

I have to say though, I'm glad I don't live in Italy. Whilst last visiting Naples in April of 2010, just about every car I saw had been dinted or smashed. I certainly wouldn't bother taking my own car there on holiday.
 
frupi said:
It's interesting you should mention Gibraltar as a 'hot spot'. Having visited there a total of 35 times since 1984, I can honestly say, that vehicle related vandalism is a huge huge no no there. The Royal Gibraltar Police take an extremely dim view of it as do the residents, but seeing as the streets are narrow and awkward to drive through at the best of times, I hazard a guess that the vast majority of damage is 'car on car' related and the occasional bumps into more static objects otherwise known as buildings.
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Absolutely agree, I should perhaps have clarified my post & said it's a hot spot for dents & scratches, not vandalism. Given that almost nobody there has the luxury of a garage & many have to rely on parking in the extremely narrow streets, I guess it's inevitable. And then there's these guys to watch out for:
 

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jrkitching said:
Absolutely agree, I should perhaps have clarified my post & said it's a hot spot for dents & scratches, not vandalism. That is, if you disregard the damage caused by these vandals:
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Haha! That's made me chuckle that has!

When I took the Wife to the top of the rock, yes, we walked up (too tight to pay for the cable car), when we got to the one of the view points, one of those lovely apes jumped on the Wife and darted across her shoulders. I couldn't stop laughing, but that was slightly more friendly than what I got back in the eighties. I was actually punched in the face by one and it hurt!

You're right though, the little blighters do sometimes play havoc with your wipers, mirrors, aerial, hub caps, in fact anything they think they can pull off the car, they will! I'm just glad they don't get the opportunity to maraude down Main Street. Imagine the chaos!
 
frupi said:
... yes, we walked up (too tight to pay for the cable car),
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Ha! We scrambled up the path at the back of the Union Jack steps (too tight to pay the 50p entrance fee they charge you if you walk up the road) :).

The apes are getting bolder & have started coming down to the end of main street to raid the litter bins. Gives a whole new meaning to letting the monkeys work on your car.

Saw at least one locally-registered 500C there last November (complete with bumper scuffs).
 
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jrkitching said:
Ha! We scrambled up the path at the back of the Union Jack steps (too tight to pay the 50p entrance fee they charge you if you walk up the road) :).

The apes are getting bolder & have started coming down to the end of main street to raid the litter bins.
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It must be quite funny watching that sitting with a pint outside the Angry Friar!

I was only looking again the other day to jack up another weekend there. Need to take in a Thursday night though as that is 'Gib's nite out'.

Perhaps me and the missus should drive down in the 500 and see if we can collect some 'souvenirs'!! :p
 
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Funny how the Beetle and the Mini are also on the list! They're very similar cars, I guess people just don't like anything that could be considered as a 'fashionable' car much for the same reason they don't like status symbol cars; jealousy.

That and they know they can get away with it as the police won't do ****. :rolleyes:
 
frupi said:
It must be quite funny watching that sitting with a pint outside the Angry Friar!

I was only looking again the other day to jack up another weekend there. Need to take in a Thursday night though as that is 'Gib's nite out'.
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Next time you go, give this place a try:

http://www.gibraltararms.com/

it's better than it looks from the outside.

frupi said:
Perhaps me and the missus should drive down in the 500 and see if we can collect some 'souvenirs'!! :p
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I've heard Glyn Hopkins are looking for more workshop staff....

Now back on topic (sort of) ... ... if I'm parking anywhere I'm concerned about, I take my BNW ecoPanda :). A totally anonymous car.
 
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frupi said:
.....

I have to say though, I'm glad I don't live in Italy. Whilst last visiting Naples in April of 2010, just about every car I saw had been dinted or smashed. I certainly wouldn't bother taking my own car there on holiday.
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Like all generalisations, this statement is totally wrong.

Seriously, we've been going to Italy for decades - admittedly the centre not the south - for decades and have lived part of the year there since 1988 - and have had zero problems. My wife's 15-month old Panda recently received a couple of minor dings on the drivers door, which can only have happened when she was parked in a Devon hospital car park as part of her voluntary drivers effort.
 
In some respects it's not a huge surprise to hear that the 500 is the most likely car to be vandalised.

Possible reasons IMO (in no particular order):

- larger than average proportion of 500's spending their time in urban areas where you are more likely to have your car vandalised than out in the sticks.

- thousands of customisation options makes the 500 stand out more from most cars, making it more of a target for vandals.

- mentality of your average vandal - let's be honest, if you're the kind of person who likes to damage people's cars, the 500 probably seems like quite an attractive one to trash.
 
Super Uwe said:
- mentality of your average vandal - let's be honest, if you're the kind of person who likes to damage people's cars, the 500 probably seems like quite an attractive one to trash.
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Watching a program last night called 'Lawless Ireland'. Some of mindless thugs are smart enough. They know that there's no alarm fitted on the 500. On some 'Fiat' cars if your alarm has been triggered the 'dash' informs you that there was a 'break in attempt' - so you know not to park their again. Although it's not of much benefit if it's outside your own house.:bang:

babbo_umbro said:
Like all generalisations, this statement is totally wrong.
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It's a little ironic to see Naples getting a mention since that's more or less where the New Panda is being made. Spend a couple of days in Rome about 2 years back and most of the cars were dented. A google search pulled up a gagsy load of 'hits' with Naples & Rome getting the lion's share of sorry looking cars that they don't bother getting repaired. If I had the privilige to live somewhere in Europe for the winter months Italy might come top of the list. It's a pity that a litre of petrol is €1.80. After seeing the clip below I've revised my view of the striking truck-drivers.
 
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