f#@$ed up yesterday
 

So I had my 30k mileage service done at the shop yesterday. I was in my car ready to leave and forgot to get a key fob cover for my girlfriend. I went back inside the dealership to get it. I came back out and the service dealer informed me that as they were admiring my car, it rolled back and slammed into his truck. Apparently i forgot to put it in gear and engage the parking brake. I was so devastated. Luckily it wasn't worse. It didn't do any damage to his truck and if his truck wasn't there, my car would have rolled into the creek. FML.

Any advice on cheap fixes? Service manager advised me to wait until after winter and hope that some rear ends me. LOL.

Sucks. Look at the bright side i guess, could have been in a ditch. Also, it was nice that he didn't say anything about his truck.

.......really who forgets to set the parking brake.....

Believe it or not I bet that costs you ~$400 to fix professionally. You're better off taking this 1 on the chin until someone potentially rear ends you on their fault down the road. It really isn't that bad

So they watched your car roll into the truck?
When I got rear ended the bumper cover + painting and installation cost around $750.

+1:thumbsup:

Don't judge. If I'm brutally honest I've probably done it 15-20 times in my life. I've gotten into the habit of giving a little push with my foot when I first step out to double-check. It has come in handy. Never an actual mishap.

OP, it happens more often than you think. You'll learn to keep it in mind and get into a routine.

But still, that should be the first thing you do when you park. Also who doesn't double check their shit when they get out of the car? If you ask me OP deserved to get the hit and got stupidly lucky that there was a truck there instead of going in the creek.

I always do put the parking brake on when I park. Problem was, the service staff didn't when they were finished with my car. I believe that they only had the car in gear. I was in a hurry and didn't bother to check that it was on and stupidly didn't put my car in gear after I turned it off. I never left the sport where it was after I turned it on. I'm not blaming anyone but myself.

I'm gonna get on my soap box for a minute. To criticize someone for doing something you "should" do all the time is ignorant. As an example, I am a firearms instructor and often see or hear about other instructors or even experienced shooters making serious firearms mistakes on a regular basis. Until it happens to you, you can't really comprehend how someone can be so "stupid".

^^^. Cuz we are all human.... After all. (Humming Daft Punk now)

Sorry for your loss @Cooperdh!

I never make mistakes until I make one.

do you double check the safety or clear chamber before holstering? Same thing with parking brakes. I may be an armature shooter and this is only my 2nd car with a manual but I have never forgotten to put the parking brakes on. I guess some of us just pay attention more regardless of the situation.

Wow I'm impressed that you have NEVER forgotten to do anything in your life. You must be a very successful. I pride myself in being very careful and pay attention to detail. That is why I was so surprised that this happened to me.

and humble too

I can explain to the mentally challenged of you that think it it possible to "never" make a mistake.
As humans learn "habits" they turn into muscle memory and your body begins to do them automatically when it gets the "prompt".

Putting the car in gear and engaging the parking brake is muscle memory for me and I do it every time I get out of the car UNLESS my body does not recieve the correct prompt.

Routine: Back into driveway, stop, engage parking brake, shut off engine, verify in gear, release the clutch, get out.
That all occurs automatically with muscle memory UNLESS something happens to distract you like:

Back into driveway, phone rings, answer, phone, shut off engine - (switch to handset because handsfree just shut off), verify in gear, release clutch, get out.

See what happened there? Muscle memory routine was interrupted.

How do you think those people leave their children sleeping in the back seat when they go into work?
How many times have you ever gotten ready for work and stopped before going out the door and thought - "wait did I brush my teeth?" because your body performed the teeth-brushing routine while you were half aslepp and you dont remember doing it.

For all of you that SAY you have never forgotten to set the parking break - Yeah Right!
You just didnt notice when you got back in the car, since your car wasnt in the ditch.

I say toss some touch up paint on it so it doesn't chip and flake, then stick a car club sticker over it. Problem solved.

This is why you train your muscle memory correctly. Pull parking break, open door. If you're trained for this it's impossible to get out of the car without your parking break on. You may try to pull it while it's already engaged if you get interrupted but that's a lot better than the alternative. Some of us have truly never forgot to engage theirs.

@Akari couldn't have put it any better.

He was in a rush thinking about something else. Sh#t happens. He knows his mistake. No need to be a d! Ck to him

This just means that you have not been doing it long enough.
Some people think that I have attention defecit disorder.
They just dont understand that ....... HEY! LOOK! A chicken!

are you seriously piling condescension on top of that sanctimonious bullshit?

Unless you guys are walking around with a pocket checklist strapped to your thigh, sftu because that's the only way to mitigate human error.

Without jumping into the argument, I'm with those that said either touch it up, or wait till someone rear ends you. It's not that bad, and if anything it serves as a reminder to set the brake. People are human. Muscle memory or not, everyone makes mistakes. I'd just be happy it didn't end up any worse. Given time this will just be a funny story to tell your friends.

Sorry to see this man. I'm glad its not worse. At least those taillights are still in good shape! :thumbsup:

Band aid sticker!!

Yeah i was really worried about that. They still look nice as hell. Thanks again for selling them to me. I will take my lumps and fix it sometime in the near future.

Totally. I like the racing sticker idea. Btw, you must be the one I see driving down the hill all the time on stark. I live near there.

I do live off of 257th and stark!