I always knew that my camera and rear sensor would not protect me from damaging the upper rear corners when the relatively short wheel base and extended body allowed the rear corner to swing out in a turn, and it finaly happened.
I was parallel parked on a busy street with manicured matching palm trees and fancy shops. While parking I got out and looked several times because of the close proximity of the stout branches and trunk.
Cleared it with ease.
I inspected the situation again before pulling out. Looked easy enough.
A car in front and another behind, plenty of clearance to pull foreword and out with just one maneuver.
Heard the most gruesome sound as I slowly pulled away, sounded to me like I had just torn off the entire rear.
The upper right corner clipped the tree, buckling three panels!
One spot initially looked to me like a through and through cut but it was not.
The only way to repair without replacing three panels involved filler work too. I lived with the crinkles for a month but hated it, and realized it interfered with my desired clean new stealthy look.
When a vehicle is your home as well as transportation a multi day project puts a crimp in your life, but I bit the bullet and dropped it off at a large Ford dealer's independent huge body shop.
Took four nights at a beachfront hotel with a sympathy rate (I just told them the truth, helps that the owner who developed the place in '78 is on the premises daily, he even bought me a beer during Happy Hour!)
Anyways I received my first social security check last week, it covered the repair and the room.... but not the meals.
Looks brand new again now, they even cleaned all the brake dust off the wheels and washed it.
I was parallel parked on a busy street with manicured matching palm trees and fancy shops. While parking I got out and looked several times because of the close proximity of the stout branches and trunk.
Cleared it with ease.
I inspected the situation again before pulling out. Looked easy enough.
A car in front and another behind, plenty of clearance to pull foreword and out with just one maneuver.
Heard the most gruesome sound as I slowly pulled away, sounded to me like I had just torn off the entire rear.
The upper right corner clipped the tree, buckling three panels!
One spot initially looked to me like a through and through cut but it was not.
The only way to repair without replacing three panels involved filler work too. I lived with the crinkles for a month but hated it, and realized it interfered with my desired clean new stealthy look.
When a vehicle is your home as well as transportation a multi day project puts a crimp in your life, but I bit the bullet and dropped it off at a large Ford dealer's independent huge body shop.
Took four nights at a beachfront hotel with a sympathy rate (I just told them the truth, helps that the owner who developed the place in '78 is on the premises daily, he even bought me a beer during Happy Hour!)
Anyways I received my first social security check last week, it covered the repair and the room.... but not the meals.
Looks brand new again now, they even cleaned all the brake dust off the wheels and washed it.