Who want to play 'guess how this damage occurred'?

[Jondot]

Kay, so. I borrowed a car from my usual car club, and I've just been emailed that picture along with the tag 'please explain?', because apparently I was the last one to have the car. Essentially they're under the impression that I've caused the damage... which I haven't. Hey, at least I own up to it when I break their cars...

I've told them as much as I could, which is essentially that I checked the car over before I borrowed it (they're parked on the street and you access with a keycard, so I'm obliged to check for damage before driving it off) but as it was dark, with the car parked on a busy road and wedged between 2 other cars I can't be entirely sure whether I'd have spotted it or not.

I'd like to point out that this has no legal value, I'm just interested to see if anyone else shares my particular suspicion of how it occurred. As far as I'm concerned if they want to bill me they're well within their rights, since I'm not 100% secure in my mind of whether it was there before I took it or not and I'm not going to lie to them. Or indeed whether or not it was there when I returned it. All I really know is that I haven't personally reversed into anything. Which is worth nothing.

So, this is where you come in:

How d'you reckon it was damaged?


Further information of help:

• It's a Ford Fiesta 5dr Zetec just like this one, but in the blue you see above
• I left it parked in front of one of these, but silver, the owner of which I will likely never find as I have other mental details saved other than 'a silver mk2/facelift Punto'.
• I parked the car at 9:55PM on Thursday the 13th (ooh err), and that photo of the damage has an EXIF date stamp of 3:48PM the following day
• The car was parked here. On Streetview imagine the Punto is an Astra TwinTop and the C3 in front of it is the damaged Fiesta.
• Whoever reported the damage did so before starting the car, so unless they hopped in and let go of the handbrake for some unknown reason it wasn't them.
• It could have happened before I picked it up and I simply neglected to spot it.
• It wasn't me, promise. But I did take it food shopping, so someone could have reversed/driven into it while I was busy comparing offers on Andrex. It was a pretty empty car park, mind - think 8PM on a thursday kinda empty. I am however relatively certain it didn't exist when I was loading up the boot.

So, any thoughts?

 

[daan]

Bigger boys did it and ran away.

 

[Famine]

E-mail them back and tell them you find their insinuation that any damage involving a rear impact must have happened during your stewardship to be homophobic.


Be worth a laugh if nothing else.

 

[Jondot]

Bigger boys did it and ran away.

That's what I told them

E-mail them back and tell them you find their insinuation that any damage involving a rear impact must have happened during your stewardship to be homophobic.


Be worth a laugh if nothing else.

AHAHA, oh it's so on.

 

[Duke]

Looks to me like somebody backed it into a curb while parallel parking on a one-way street. I'll take at face value your assertion that it wasn't you. If not, it was likely not noticed before your took the car out.

 

[Jondot]

Looks to me like somebody backed it into a curb while parallel parking on a one-way street. I'll take at face value your assertion that it wasn't you. If not, it was likely not noticed before your took the car out.

Interesting suggestion, it looked to me a lot like the car had been reversed into something solid on that corner. It wouldn't necessarily have had to be damage on a one-way street for that to have occurred, of course, but it certainly couldn't have hit the curb next to that parking space. A high curb would certainly fit in with the lack of apparent paint transfer (though there does appear to be a scratch of some sort below it)

And yeah, wasn't me. I think. It got parked in an empty supermarket car park nowhere near any trolleys, then in a bay just like this one outside my house, and finally back at this one again.




Anyway, just got an email saying that since I was a lovely person and didn't fib, shout, telephone Stonewall etc, they're not going any further with it. And then apologised for wasting my time, bless. Might start taking timestamped pictures before and after I take out a car next time as some vague form of defence. So problem solved. If not mystery.

 

[Duke]

It wouldn't necessarily have had to be damage on a one-way street for that to have occurred, of course, but it certainly couldn't have hit the curb next to that parking space. A high curb would certainly fit in with the lack of apparent paint transfer (though there does appear to be a scratch of some sort below it).

I was assuming 1-way street because it appears to be on the starboard side of the car, and the only way I could envision a RHD car getting parked with the driver's side against the curb was on a 1-way. Glad to hear that it won't cost you anything. 👍