Advice sought - storing car in someone else's garage

I'm sure there's a lawyer on the list somewhere. Failing that, my humble personal opinion is that this kind of injury to your car would come under homeowners insurance rather than automotive. You'll just have to find out who owns the house and look into it. If there is NO insurance involved, might be hard to get a lawyer as uninsured individuals might not have any money and the take of the lawyer is usually about 40% so they don't get much interested unless they can get their hooks into an insurance company pocket.

That said, I'm unsure about car covers and would be interested in the opinion of experienced others. My next door neighbor has two classic 70's Mustangs and both reside outside with covers all year. they seem to look good in the Spring and run well.

 

I feel your pain.

Is the ding fixable with paintless dent removal? If so, just find the best 'guy' in your area and try to forget it ever happened.

Personally, I wouldn't leave a car outside with a cover on it. I did that once for a month and the car was *filthy* when I returned. Granted, the car was in a dirt lot - the combination of wind and rain meant dirt got trapped under the cover.

Better option: cruise Craigslist for a storage spot. One that only you have access to.

 

Contact the owner and try to work out an arrangement, then go to a Lock-It-Up or equivalent and rent a garage there. Nobody will touch it, only you (and the lot of course) have access, there's security, etc.

 

A car cover won't protect against hail, if that happens where you are.

 

Pics?

 

Sitting outside with a car cover can become a great home for some creatures such as rats. I wouldn't recommend that.

 

That's a nasty one. A good PDR guy can get it fixed, but you will still have that nasty paint chip. It looks like a 335i - what kind of BMW is it?
Silver is the worst color to match properly.
That sucks...

 

With it being on the edge like that, I don't think a PDR guy can fix the dent. Either way, it will need to be painted.

 

Call your insurance co, let them handle it.

Should be a no-fault, so your rates won't rise. Maybe fall under comprehensive.

Did you have a written lease with your garage landlord? Even if you did, I suspect the damage would be on you not on them, but our insurance guys here can tell you better.

What would I do? Get a good, really good, outside cover for whichever car you like the least and leave it in the driveway.

D

 

Are you friggin kidding me? Thats not a door ding. Your car was hit with something.

 

Agreed. And, no paintless dent guy can fix that - the paint has been compromised. Almost looks like a BB or pellet gun hit....

 

I cannot comment on the legalities but outside of insurance or someone owning up to the damage there really is little you can practically do in this instance. The cost of repair is in no way in proportion with any kind of legal claim.

What I can give better insight on is the nature of the repair itself. If you want it perfect it will be expensive and invasive. The dent can almost certainly be removed perfectly by a paintless dent guy but the chip will of course remain. To get that gone the area will need to be sanded, filled, prepped and repair colour blown into the area. The ENTIRE rear quarter will need to be clear coated to the nearest break line. Being a coupe this is a LOT of clear. That said the job can be done perfect but it won't be cheap. If insurance is picking up the tab then the cost is not your problem.

As much as it would hurt me too I would probably have the dent removed, the chip touched up by brush as best as possible and get on with my life. Yes it is unfair, and yes you are getting shafted but maybe some fights and anger are not worth having. Totally up to you and trust me when I say that I feel your pain.

 

You mention that this is the only reasonable place you've found. By that, do you mean "reasonably safe", "reasonably located", or "reasonably priced"?

If you want to keep the space, and it's truly the only space you can afford/can get to quickly/etc. etc. (whatever metric matters that makes the space suitable), I'd suggest that you try to propose a more amicable solution where you can deduct a portion of the cost to repair from your future rent. It would be hard to imagine that the lessor would want to continue to lease a space to you if you were to file a claim against them, unless they are true gluttons for punishment. Especially if you couldn't reasonably prove that the ding occurred while the car was stationary in the garage.

 

That's unfortunate. I would echo a question about your lease. Read that and assess if you have a claim against the property owner. Also, when I run out of space I store in a warehouse. I care enough about my cars that I maintain total control over where they're located and who has access to them.
Sorry to be flippant if that's how it came across.


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You stored this in your friends garage? Now you plan to sue your friend?

I would chalk this up as lesson learned and move on...

Unless you can prove your friend did it, and that they were in fact responsible to guard your car, you won't win.

Much like parking your car on the street, stuff happens.

 

I love how so many people's very first response is to seek "legal recourse". How about being a grown man and go speak to the folks who live in the house?

 

It's too late for this incident, but the next time you store a car, see if you can set up a remote camera for it.

Nest makes a single smart camera that saves 30 days worth of video & sound using cloud storage on a fairly-inexpensive subscription plan.
All it needs is access to a 110 volt wall plug and a wifi connection.
It will notify you on your smart phone whenever it detects noise or movement near your car.
The Nest camera costs $179.99 at Best Buy.
More info here: https://nest.com/camera/meet-nest-cam/?alt=1

Also, if you are anywhere near Owings Mills, MD, there is a great car storage facility called Collectors Car Corral.
Not sure what their pricing is for single car storage.
Collector's Car Corral | Luxury & Classic Car Storage Facility | Collectors Car Corral
(Note: I have no affiliation to it, but I have visited that storage facility in the past).

Sorry your car got damaged. Sucks.

And, I agree with the other comments, it doesn't look like a door ding, but rather some sort of heavy sharp object falling into the side of the car, or a small projectile hitting the car on a downward angle.
.

 

The only other idea is to continue storing your car in that garage but put it in a Car Bubble.

Here is an example of one called the Car Capsule:

Cost is about $380 and it will need a power outlet for the air pump to occasionally run to keep the bubble inflated over time.

https://www.carid.com/car-capsule/indoor-bubble-car-cover-192-l-x-78-w-x-68-h-mpn-cc16f.html?view=443128&gclid=CPfSoIi2mNMCFRtWDQod3dgDWg

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