Is it irrational to be obsessive over scratches and dents on your car?
 

I'm having issues trying to get over scratches/dents on my car that I daily drive and still has relatively low miles (around 5k~). Every day I can't stop thinking about the scratch and obsess over these small things.

Do you think it's irrational to expect that a car can remain perfect? Is there anyone on this forum that have been able to keep their car perfectly pristine and remain this way since day 1?

i take really good care of my car and i'm OCD. i ended up scraping the bottom of the lip once and was pissed. but oh well.

it's not good for your health to care so much over such small things. People don't have clean drinking water in some places. I bet if you were in their position you wish you would have a car with scratches to worry about.

So, yes it sucks, but don't worry about it.

I think it's irrational, I have pretty bad OCD so dings, dents and scratches are annoying to see...especially when you first notice it (thats the worst).

But over time I begin to gradually care less & less. Just noticed another door ding today lol... still debating if I want to get it fixed or not.

The reality of the matter is people suck and over time you'll get scratches and dings from the environment and other people, its a daily.

I used to be like you. While it is nice to wish for your brand new car to remain perfect forever, at the end of the day it is a car that is constantly exposed to the elements. I find solace in the idea that at any moment when money allows and if it really bugs me, I can submit my car for paint correction and have everything shined up to better-than-new.

It is a car. And while a beautiful paint job makes these cars look that much better, drive the piss out of it and don't worry about small imperfections that will happen over time.

How many people who call themselves OCD or claim they have it have a clinical diagnosis?

No, it's not irrational to want your possessions to be in good condition.

Personally my car is to be used and out in the elements, it will never be perfect, I'd like it to look good sure, but it will always be at risk of door dings or bird shit or a falling branch. Someday, like above, when funds allow I'll do my best to clean it up, find a good PDR guy and make it look minty fresh.

But even then, the bigger priority will be shredding tires and putting a smile on my face, sculptures are easier to protect and use less gas for scratching that OCD itch.

0.01%

It's a travesty that a disease has become so misunderstood.

Im. Atelophobia and OCD. I called to my local bodyshop to get a quote for a complete vinyl wrap. If scratch or something , it can be replaced that part in specific

Is it irrational? Probably not, if you care about it you care.

Is it a losing battle? Absolutely. Even you shrink wrap your car and park it in a climate controlled environment, it will eventually have some cosmetic issues just from aging.

i can guarantee that i have/had it.

some examples:

- i would use to collect tv guides and pile them up. once in awhile i would have to flip to a certain page, read a description, close the tv guide, put it back on top, sit back, and repeat that process 5 times.

- i would have to turn taps off and have the handle face a certain direction. if i screwed up, i'd have to leave the tap and redo it again 5 times or until it feels right.

- doing assignments or tests, if i write something and it doesn't feel right, i'd have to erase it and write it again 5 times.

- i fear contamination and germs. too many examples to list here.

everything in my life seemed to be run by numbers and i was seriously going crazy cause it was controlling me. eventually i just had to control it myself. i still have a bit of it but it's not as bad as it was 15 years ago.

Keeping paint perfect is too much work (for me) but I think it's completely appropriate to take steps to address dents and door dings. I kept my last two cars free of door dings through lots of careful parking and some luck. It's worth a few bucks at resale time.

I am not OCD but have some issues when it comes to dings on my car. Thankfully I have none currently but I am always checking. Whenever I get into the car I check the doors for dings. I park in a parking garage for work and my last car had dings all over the doors. People just dont give a shet. I am friends with security in the parking garage and always park in a space that is recorded by a camera so if someone hits my car I am able to view the video and get a license plate number if needed. Someone actually hit my wife's car while trying to park a few years back and just drove off. She was parked in a space where we weren't able to read the license plate of the car that hit her. We learned our lesson after that.

I can guarantee my cat less header gave my car 100hp and ft-lbs over stock because I can feel it.

I used to worry but then I read about how good "patina" looks on older cars.