My Car was Keyed

[Echo M3]

Living in a city filled with degenerates, low-lives, and malignant personalities, I am not surprised that this finally happened to me. I got to my car after a 16-hour shift, and noticed some deep scratches through the paint, into the metal, on the driver's side, rear passenger door. On the passenger's side, I discovered a faint (clear coat?) scratch from the front bumper to the rear tailight, including ON the tail-light.

Now, given that I am usually semi-comatose by the end of a work shift (yes, I worked this weekend, too), I can't be certain that these scratches happened today. However, they likely happened within the past 2-3 days. I'm usually pretty observant of damage to my vehicle.

I'm just curious what avenues some of you have pursued in the past. I could speak to both garage managers where I park, but at least one (and potentially both) do not have garage cameras. Will insurance even cover something like this, or am I better off paying out of pocket for the repairs? Will this necessitate a complete respray of both sides?

I realize that pictures are lacking - please forgive me, as I did not have the wherewithal or reserve cognitive capacity to actually take photos. I will post them tomorrow. Now excuse me while I go punch a door and then pass out.

[///Madhatter]

If you have comprehensive coverage, which covers vandalism, it will cover your car being keyed, but you'll have to file a police report first.

Sorry to hear about your baby..

[tibra1]

Sad to say but this is why I rarely leave my car publicly parked..some asshat is bound to mess with it.

Where did it happen?

[mPlasticDesign]

Seems like it's more personal than random to me. Of course, the occupy crowd has been known to damage nice cars, business store fronts, while leaving average commuter cars alone. Sorry to hear about your car...

[PortoM3]

Sorry bro. this is not right. Just one time, I wish I will read on this forum that someone caught a person in the act of keying a car and did some street justice on them. I hope you both come out okay, bro.

[Krozi]

I hate people.

[Gilou]

Sorry to hear that... The same thing happened to me a few months ago so I really know how aggravating this is..

In my case the car was keyed from the rear right panel through the door, to the front fender and they finished with a long nice scratch across the hood

The scratches were deep and definitely went past the clear coat. Repairs were about 2.5k to have everything repainted at a reputable shop.
I called my insurance (Geico) and after a few questions they said this would fall under my comprehensive coverage and that there would be no consequences against my premium

So I ended up spending $500 for my deductible and drove a rental for a week while it was done.

Based on my experience, do not bother and call your insurance right away. Unless your deductible is some crazy figure, you will not have it fixed for cheaper..

Good luck!

[BMW Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Krozi

I hate people.

Me too. Except for hot girls, hot girls are okay.

OP, sorry to see this but like somebody mentioned up there ^ if you have comprehensive coverage (which I'm sure you do) then just file a police report and let the insurance know. Your premium won't go up and you'll just have to pay the comp deductible which is generally a lot lower than the collision deductible. It's not the end of the world!

[Mike van D]

Sorry to hear. Agree with the others, usually a comp claim will be the least expensive route to go.

[ksflatlander]

Why? Why do people have to do stuff like this? I worry for my kids as it just seems like society is degenerating at an ever increasingly alarming rate.

OP - sorry to hear about your ride.

[ilidon]

Originally Posted by ///Madhatter

If you have comprehensive coverage, which covers vandalism, it will cover your car being keyed, but you'll have to file a police report first.

Sorry to hear about your baby..

+1. No increase in insurance premium and you don't need a police report for this. The best thing for this though is to have the entire car resprayed so the paint would match on all panels.

[nbennettksu]

Originally Posted by ilidon

+1. No increase in insurance premium and you don't need a police report for this. The best thing for this though is to have the entire car resprayed so the paint would match on all panels.

Will insurance pay to have the whole vehicle painted, if only half of the car is keyed?

[Templar]

Originally Posted by PortoM3

Sorry bro. this is not right. Just one time, I wish I will read on this forum that someone caught a person in the act of keying a car and did some street justice on them. I hope you both come out okay, bro.

Me too...

Sorry to hear OP.

[ilidon]

I had it done with mine as both rear panels were keyed- approximately around 6 inches each while the rest of the car had imperfections like rock chips on the hood, front bumper, rear bumper and side rocker panels. Joe (MAC) worked it out with the insurance company and had the whole car repainted and even changed my front undercarriage cover with it.The only downsides are, you have to pay your deductible and the repair would leave a report in your carfax afterwards.

[1sikbmr]

Originally Posted by Krozi

I hate people.

Agreed

[mshab356]

Ive Had my car keyed (light clear coat damage only, luckily), gum stuck on it, and even had a mango Chobani yogurt poured down the whole driver side door and door handle before. So I understand that degenerates full of hatred and jealousy can really be a PITA

Good luck whatever you do!

[sin911]

I'm sorry to hear that. I hate bastards who vandalize cars!

[luis_m3]

We have no friends, remember?

[info@trinityautosport]

sorry to hear about that. hope the repairs go smoothly.

[///M3AN]

Originally Posted by Mr.Metak2you

Seems like it's more personal than random to me. Of course, the occupy crowd has been known to damage nice cars, business store fronts, while leaving average commuter cars alone. Sorry to hear about your car...

I doubt that, easy for an "asshat" to be so jealous of a car that he will never own that he feels he has to key it.

[WarrantyTracker]

You were vandalized inside a parking garage? That rots. But I hope you enjoy the new paint!

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

hate when that happens ... ours was (our 535is) some years ago, if I ever catch someone in the act don't know what I would do to him ... guess drag him by the ear to the police ...