Ok, being lowered on S-Techs means any and all curbs are weapons of mass destruction . Anyway, picked up my car after my 10K service and... well, I don't care if it's a good idea or not, I do not nor plan to ever park my car and then leave the car in gear... so every time I pick it up from someplace I forget that THEY do and I stall the car (I'll remember one day... maybe... probably not). Anyway, long story short, car jumped and curbed the passengers side of the lip pretty bad. No damage to the structural integrity of the lip just some might deep gashes...

So I just wanted to know what would be the best thing to do? I can get pics if you guys need 'em... but, should I get the lip fixed or just buy a primered one and get it painted?

 

hard to say w/o pics

 

yeah it is really hard to say without some pictures, but, you would probably have to bondo(not saying necessarily use bondo, use the best alternative filler, dont know much about them so someone else can do some input on this) But alot of sanding and filling, sanding and filling, sanding and filling, just to make sure it looks right, and then you will have to get it repainted, which would be damn expensive also, but urs a FM right, I heard that paint is realy hard to match yourself and have it come out right, so a body shop might be the best way to go if you pockets are deep, you really can do all the prep work yourself and then have them paint if you want.

Im glad i saw this thread, because i am thinking about going with S techs, but i think u just pointed me towards the h techs...

 

I ____ing HATE when people leave the car in 1st. ____ like that always happens to me when I get my oil changed, get something worked on, etc...I always forget to look because it's not natural to look at which gear I'm in before starting, it's normally always in neutral with the e-brake up.

 

before I start my car I ALWAYS remove it from gear and put it in neutral, thats just me.

 

i was gonna say bondo too...

 

No, but see, I never leave it in gear and I don't get it serviced that often so I forget that they do leave it in gear... like I said, I'll remember now

 

me too, but thats the way my parents taught me. My pops told me to always leave it in gear when your parked on a hill just in case the e brake fails or something like that. He told me that it wouldnt even start unless it was in neutral which was obviously a lil fib to get me from starting it while in gear, But i ALWAYS put it in neutral right before i start it, always have always will!

 

sorry for the double post, but it depends on how much work you want to put into it. With enough time and effort, you could fix it yourself and then have it painted, OR, you could bite the bullet and buy a whole new primered fascia! Which lip kit do you have anyways?

 

well, leaving it in gear, engaging the handbrake, then coming off the footbrake and then the clutch is actually the proper way to park.

Don't blame the service guys for parking your car correctly! IMO it's a given that the first thing you do when you get in a car is to make sure its in neutral. That's one of the master rules of driving manual.

I mean, you wouldn't swing your door wide open, hitting the car next to you, then say "OMGZ they are so ____ for parking next to me!!11." No, its your responsibility. This is no different.

I usually almost always park in gear, but I select a gear opposite where I don't want to go.

Example: parked reverse in against a wall. Select 1st
parked nose in. select reverse.

That way, if I lose my mind and suffer a bought of being an idiot, at least I'll jump away from hitting another car/wall/etc.

About the lip kit... sorry to hear man, we all make mistakes. But yea, unless you like doing a lot of work maybe a new one might be in order?

 

hmm i have never heard of anyone leaving it in reverse! what if you popped the clutch when you were in reverse and nailed someone?!!? damn I would feel so dumb if i did that

 

Wasn't blaming them at all. I just don't put it in gear when I park so I'm just not used to it when it is.

 

thats no fun... i guess just pay more attention.. i usually keep mine in gear cause sometimes ill forget to pull the parking brake... stuff happens!

 

Funny thing. When I drove my dad's car I never checked the gear( even though my parents told me to do so) before starting the car and i had it jerk a few times. But once I got my own car I always make sure it's in neutral before letting down the clutch. Funny how you pay more attention when it's your own thing.

 

I always leave mine in 2 when I park for two reasons (please correct me if they don't make sense):

- Less risk of the car jumping forward (or backward) since the engine would simply not turn because it's too hard to start rolling in 2 from a dead stop with the clutch fully engaged
- Less risk of the car rolling away since the engine is harder to be turned by gravity rolling when in 2, as opposed to 1 or R.

And of course, ALWAYS engage the emergency brake when parking, even when on a level surface. When I was 16, I had a driving instructor who yelled at me for engaging the E brake when I parked on a level surface; he basically said "Don't engage the parking brake unless I tell you to do so!" Wrong. Don't count on the transmission to hold the car steady when parked, even with an auto.

 

I always pull the brake up... which is why I haven't been parking it in gear.

I'll get some pics tomorrow... Don't know what I'm gonna do yet.

 

lol yea. Trust me, I know I probably come off as an **** sometimes, but I really do say what I say for the benefit of everyone so they don't have my experiences. I used to have times where I would get lazy, and not take it out of gear before I started.

After an incident in a parking lot where I came within an inch of nailing the parked car in front of me, things really changed.

Yea... that's why I suggest select a gear OPPOSITE to what you *don't* want to hit. That way, hopefully if you do lose your mind, you'll just jump into open space. Hopefully.

Indeed. You had a poor driving instructor indeed, the handbrake is designed to hold the car still while parking. Our society of automatics has trained people poorly... not sure if you've ever seen what the parking mechanism is in an automatic transmission, but if you did, you'd be glad you do what you do.

It's basically this small metal pin that's responsible for keeping your $20k piece of machinery from rolling away. This is what millions of Americans trust to support their multi ton vehicles everyday.

You're right about your logic, although it'd still jump forward on 2nd. It's possible to launch in 2nd, albeit with a bit more clutch slip (basically, 2nd still has some harsh pull). What I'd recommend is using reverse instead (when you don't want to jump forward).

And actually, 5th WILL stop the car (I've tested all the gears on a gentle incline ). Not sure if you've tried it before, but basically any gear will stop the car from rolling. However, 1st, 2nd, and R are the highest ratioed and thus the strongest at stopping the car from rolling (very hard for the wheels to turn the engine). So you have nothing to fear if you leave it in those gears, which are you already doing

Of course, I've never understood manual owners who think leaving it in gear and not using the handbrake is fine... but don't come running to me when it somehow gets knocked out of gear and rolls into the street or your boss' car.


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Regardless, just FORCE yourself to put it into neutral EVERYTIME before cranking. You might want to get lazy, and just leave it in gear since "I'm just going in that direction anyway," but you need to get into the habit. Any other way is just poor practice.


In summary:

Handbrake = to support weight of vehicle

leaving it in gear/in Park (in an auto) = a BACKUP for if the handbrake fails!

NEVER the other way around!