Goddamn parking block...well even the parking block so much, but the rusty ass piece of re-bar sticking out of the top.

Pulled into a parking spot today at work in an attempt to be courteous and safe I pull in as far as possible when I hear the front of my car go over the parking block. As I had done in the past in similar situations I backed away very slowly...but this time things didn't go as planned.

I heard a loud pop and my imagination did the rest. I got out of the car and my worst fears came to life. The passenger side of my bumper was pulled free from the mounting points. So I spent the next 20 to 30 mins trying to put it back together. Luckly for me the paint did not crack, but it did wrinkle ever so slightly...hardly noticeable but still a piss off.

The real bummer is now my bumper seems to fit back on kind funny. The gap between the headlamp / corner is much smaller now...and is not perfectly even along its length. It's much closer to the headlamp on the side that was affected than the other side.

Does anyone know if there are adjustments for the position of the bumper...I know the BMW cars have a bunch of adjustability in the bumper mounts so that you can get them aligned perfectly?

Lastly what the hell do we need parking blocks for anyhow? Is it an evil ploy to destroy low or lowered vehicles...to eat up parking space forcing the ass of your car to stick out into the middle of the lot causing some hillbilly to run out of room to back up causing him to deflower your car with his trailer hitch??? What is it for...someone please tell me, I hope it's not so you don't hit the curb... cause it's almost as high as the damn curb. Lastly why does the re-bar have to stick up an inch out of these things...how hard is it to make them flush or dare I suggest slightly recessed. All I know is a certain parking block is going to get the Gallegher (SledgeHammer) treatment tomorrow.

Thanks for giving me a forum to vent.

Regards,

James R.

99 1.8TMS (Neuspeed K04, K&N Filter, Remus Exhaust, Neuspeed Sport Springs, Neuspeed Front Anti Sway, Bilstein Sport Shocks, Brembo Rotors, Mintex Red Box, Ronal R28's 17", Euro Corners, Clear Sides, Full Tint...and some other stuff I probably forgot)

last night i took my girlfriend out to dinner for her birthday.. everything was going great.. beautiful night, romantic dinner, great food, etc.. she's a doctor and she left her pager inside my car. me, the gentleman that i am, i volunteered to go retrieve it. the first thing i noticed was that my car was parked backwards along with a string of other cars.. the next thing i noticed was that my car was lifted in the rear! i went around and sure enough, there it was.. the goddamn parking block! my exhaust was ruined!! i yelled for the parking attendants to come over and they were like, "what?? nothings wrong..." i grabbed my keys and pulled my car off the block.. i looked under the car and saw that my poor stainless steel exhaust was torn.. the welding on the bottom half of the exhaust was cracked.. and the thin sheet of stainless steel was bent exposing the resonator packing. thats not the only thing though.. my exhaust is about 2" too far in! im guessing that the schmuck bent my exhaust as well..
i called for the manager and he said that it was probably a pre-existing condition and that i had no way to prove otherwise.. i was livid! i was going to kill this parking attendant and this fluffy manager! anyways, the restaurant is not responsible for damages... as the sign says on the wall that doesnt face you as you hand your car over to these people..
i went back in, told my girlfriend everything and she promptly called for the owner..
to make a long story short, we didnt pay for dinner, and the owner will be paying for damages.
her persuation skills are much better than mine i now see..

=)

put a big V-notch in the lower valance panel, new one only cost $72, which surprised me, figured that darn black plastic thing would be much more. I also popped the bumper off on both sides, there were clips behind it, and it just snapped back into place. Now the car looks like new, I had dug up the panel a few times, takes a while to learn just how low the front of that car is. I think I needed to start with a crummy one, and saved the nice one for after I learned. As to why the re-bar sticks up I think people bang into the blocks, and it works the re-bar back up.

i wish Apex'i would make a DTM or straight dual tip exhaust.. then i would feel so self conscious next to hondas with the same exhaust as me ;P

actually, they have a dual N1 muffler (2 of the mufflers that i have side by side) but its way too huge.. i know they used to make a regular dual outlet muffler.. but theyre hard to get, and discontinued =(

anyone know where i can get a SS DTM Universal exhaust for a good price? one catch tho.. the inlet cant be less than 2.5" (i need to be able to slip a 3" pipe over it..

-b