<p>“Someone else’s bad action does not justify your bad reaction. If he truly felt there wasn’t enough room to open his door, he shouldn’t have open it.”</p>
<p>Is there no such thing as partial fault? I (the OP) don’t feel like I am blameless. Certainly I could have waited, or opened the door more carefully (assuming that my door did dent the other car–I can’t say for sure whether it did or didn’t). BUT, in my opinion at least, if there was damage, the driver of the other car was not blameless either. She parked her car too close to mine. What if both cars fail to stop at a four-way stop and collide in the middle?</p>
<p>“Someone else’s bad action does not justify your bad reaction. If he truly felt there wasn’t enough room to open his door, he shouldn’t have open it.”</p>
<p>All of your anecdotes are fine. But where is the blame if someone suddenly cuts in front of you and slams on the brakes?</p>
<p>“Is there no such thing as partial fault? I (the OP) don’t feel like I am blameless. Certainly I could have waited, or opened the door more carefully. BUT, in my opinion at least, the driver of the other car was not blameless either. She parked her car too close to mine. What if both cars fail to stop at a four-way stop and collide in the middle?”</p>
<p>Perhaps you should gather more facts about the incident at this time. Check your door edge for the paint color of the other car. And ask to see the vehicle where the damage is claimed. Also check to see if there are additional door dings on the vehicle.</p>
<p>Ive had others park * extremely* close to me.
I always park within the lines, even if I have to get in or out of another door.
When I had the minivan with the sliding door, that made it a bit easier- but so many big SUVs can make it difficult cause they don’t seem to be able to stay within the lines under the best conditions.</p>
<p>But I am very conscious of any dings on my doors as well, so I won’t open them if there isn’t room, but get in another way.</p>
<p>Generally if you hit someone who pulls in front of you, you are following too close or speeding or both.
I did hit someone once in front of me, however I was not found at fault ( and the driver agreed) because in stop and go traffic, someone pulled in front of them & they jammed on their brakes.
Other times however- such as when a sports car was pulled so close I couldn’t see them in my blindspot, I was found at fault when I backed up to get a parking space.</p>
<p>Trim usually prevents minor door dings- I agree with checking the ding for rust/etc, to make sure it matches up with your door.</p>
<p>I guess my perspective is from the person, living in an urban area, who constantly finds themself blocked in by discourteous drivers…my pet peeve. My tactic is to crawl over from the passenger side, no easy task in a Sequoia. But I’ve actually been blocked from both sides and had to crawl in through the gate. I certainly do not to wait around for the driver to come back. (As if…my time is valuable too.) </p>
<p>Frankly, I have so sympathy for the other driver. None. I admit it.</p>
<p>"Perhaps you should gather more facts about the incident at this time. "</p>
<p>Yes, very true. I was surprised by the call this morning saying she was taking the car for an estimate. I didn’t check for any damage last night because, as I said, I didn’t think I hit the door hard enough to cause damage. There is no paint from her car that I can see on my car door. I’ve been waiting for her to call back and when she does I will tell her that I would like to see the car.</p>
<p>I have no sympathy for the other driver either. But to protect myself, I would have crawled through the passenger side. </p>
<p>I park in NYC all the time. A few times I was boxed in from front and back. Now, through rocking back and forth, if I were to hit either one of those cars, whose fault would it be? I could have left myself enough room when I originally parked, but later other cars could have parked too close to me.</p>
<p>When it comes to damages on this, I don’t think any ‘partial fault’ will apply. The other vehicle was just sitting there static. You’re the one who moved part of your car into it. I agree that it wasn’t swift that the other driver parked so close and anyone who does this will eventually end up with damage but it’s still your fault if you hit the door. </p>
<p>Just make certain you inspect the damage and don’t just take their word for it so you can minimize what you have to pay for. Do it as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Oldfort:
That’s a sad story. I’m wondering how the lawsuit turned out. It seems unfounded to me unless the driver the vehicle was loaned to was obviously impaired somehow (drunk, underage, no drivers license, etc.).</p>
Even if they do, many lots have the spots so narrow in an attempt to create more spaces that two large SUVs or sometimes even two full size coupes can’t possibly open the door the whole way without hitting the adjacent car. Also, the doors on 2 door vehicles open wider than the doors on 4 door vehicles so even if the car is smaller, sometimes the door actually can open as wide or wider than a larger 4 door vehicle. </p>
<p>I’m a ‘car guy’ and capable of walking so I go way out of my way to park in the boonies away from any other vehicles. At that, I can usually park and be in the store before some others cruise to find the ‘closest parking space’ and get to the store. I’m amazed at some of the tight parking spots in which some people are willing to park their car.</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad - When I first heard about it, I thought there was no way it could stick. It dragged on for 2 years and finally went to trial. My friend’s lawyer actually advised him to move his asset because they were uncertain of the outcome. My friend was found not guilty. His brother was sober and of sound mind. </p>
<p>I am a car woman, I try to park my car next to a more expensive car than mine. I stopped parking in NYC parking garage because the chance of them damaging my car is greater than parking it on the street.</p>
<p>When you inspect the damage to the other car, make sure the dent is at the height at which your door (look at the shape of your door’s open edge) would have contacted her car when you opened it. I once had someone in a parking lot accuse me of having dinged her door. It was physically impossible for my door to have caused the damage – my door would have touched her car at a different spot.</p>
<p>I’ve climbed in the passenger side of the car in order to avoid denting a car door. I do think it’s your fault and you should pay, but I’d get a second opinion if the quote seems too high.</p>
<p>On this door thing, it is really hard to say what is right if the damage was not examined at the time of the incident. A touch is not a bang, and a bang could cause a dent, but a touch ordinarily wouldn’t. Look it over and see if it seems likely that your car caused the damage, and then see what the estimate is, and see if it is reasonable.</p>
<p>A few years ago I damaged a car in my office parking lot, and I called the police and ran it through my insurance. It was a bumper. My insurance noted a $900 charge. Then a couple of years ago (after the other incident) someone did similar damage to my car at my daughter’s school. Hit and run, and a very obvious large bumper dent. No note… It cost me $450 at a local body shop, which does very good work.</p>
<p>She’ll get a higher estimate if she goes to the shop without insurance. A lady backed into my car (totally her fault) but wanted to pay me cash, so I took my car in and got one estimate. Her husband started giving me grief so I called my agent, took the car into the exact same shop and got an estimate assuming my insurance would pay, and the estimate was one half of the original estimate.</p>
<p>So - call your agent, don’t mess with the other party on your own. Let them hassle it out.</p>
<p>Some kid threw a water bottle and hit and dented my D’s car in the school parking lot. Hard feelings but no claim filed. Sigh. That’s why we got a “beater”.</p>
<p>I work for an insurance agent…If the OP were to turn the claim into his insurance company, they would include payment to the other party for a rental vehicle while the car is in the shop for the repairs. If the OP plans to pay for the damage out of pocket, be prepared for her to ask you to pay for rental fees, also.</p>
<p>Sorry, but it’s not the same at all. A more close analogy would be you hitting a car that is illegally parked. It’s still your fault. You opened the door, after obviously realizing that the car was parked too close to yours. If you were that concerned about it being so close, you should have waited for the owner to come out after the game and move their car first. If you did indeed cause damage to her car, you are responsible for paying for the repairs. I would recommend that you contact your insurer and allow them to handle it.</p>
<p>I think you are at fault. It’s an accident of course, but it was due to you not being careful enough. Even in regular parking lots, most cars are close enough to one another that if we weren’t careful, we could easilly hit the car next to us. A car that is closer just requires more attention and care on our part. If it’s too close, you’d not have been able to open the door at all to get in.</p>