Someone once referred to people who parallel park by feel as “braille parkers.”
Anyone who parks in a parking garage or on the street knows all too well the risks involved. Dents, dings and scratches usually end up all over your vehicle, especially on the bumpers. In fact, the most common complaint in parking was damage to the front and rear bumpers.
It’s amazing how many people out there feel it’s OK to “love tap” your bumper while parallel parking. In surveys conducted by the experts at superbumper.com, over 30% of the people feel bumping into the other vehicles around them is an acceptable way to “parallel park” their vehicle.
The national average to fix one scratch in your plastic bumper will cost you $450 and, if it needs to be replaced, over $900. Also, bumpers with backup alarms will cost you twice that much and a backup alarm or camera won’t protect you from these types of accidents.
The majority of people fear that their vehicle will be damaged after parking and more than 79% of people claim to have had their bumpers damaged in a parking garage at least once.
Statistically, the majority of all bumper scratches occur during parking maneuvers. In most instances, the damage occurs when the vehicle is unsupervised or through the negligence of “the other guy”.
Most people today have at least a $500 deductible insurance policy so if you want to fix your bumper scratches you’ve lost your deductible. If you decide not to fix them then you’ve lost out of some of your resale value. Here’s why:
Three major factors determine the price and value of a vehicle:
1. Model year,
2. Mileage and
3. Condition.
If the vehicle’s bodywork is in good condition and the interior is well-kept, chances are that the vehicle has been well maintained. If the bodywork has dings and dents and paint chips, it shows an uncaring owner who probably neglected the vehicle.
You can’t afford to let these people wreck your vehicle and steal your $500 deductible with their lousy parallel parking techniques.
If you have a receiver hitch on your pickup truck or SUV there are products that will slide into your receiver hitch and actually absorb the crash energy from these lousy-stinking parallel parkers. Take a look around and if they’re less than the price of your deductible they’re probably worth taking a look at.
Jeff is CEO of Mohr Mfg is an expert in rear end collisions. His company makes portable, energy absorbing, spare safety bumpers or “hitch steps” that install in seconds and protect your vehicle from rear-end collision damage, reduce whiplash injuries, shield your gas tank from under-ride and eliminate parking lot and parallel parking dents and dings. For additional information: http://www.superbumper.com