It looks like someone gouged the paint off of it! It doesn't look like someone parked to close and opened their door on it. Nor does it look like a shopping cart. Some days I hate people, and this would put me over the edge. I noticed scratches on the hood of my vehicle on the driver side last week, almost like someone sat on it and did circles. I'm guessing the kids who walk by playing ball, but we'll never know. I want to get my vehicle painted, but what's the use?

Perhaps a dog jumping up on the door repeatedly and scratching the paint with his nails. ( the marks appear more or less vertical ).

Years ago my car slid in the snow and bumped the rear of a parked car. I left a note with name and phone number in case of damage I couldn't see. Owner of the parked car got in touch to thank me (no damage). Why can't human beings act decent these days if they accidentally cause damage? What has happened to us? Could cause one to lose faith.

How annoying! It looks like it might have been by someone using something sharp, like their keys to make those deep scratches/gouges. Sorry that happened to you and with such a new car too.

It doesn't look like an accident at all.

Years ago when I was young and strong and sometimes not wise I would comment about people who circled store parking lots to wait for a parking space right up near the door. Today, older and wiser, I realize that people may have physical issues, but also they do not want to park in the boonies where it is easier for morons to damage cars for fun and/or profit.

It’s really anyone’s guess, I’m just sorry it happened. The bumper of my new car was hit in a parking lot and had to be fixed as well. Instead of a note to let me know the who dun it like a decent person should/would do, I got an 800.00 bill for replacement charges. It sucks.

ETA: It just dawned on me that it could have been someone trying to break in to it, in which case you may have lost the whole car.

Perhaps someone was leaning on your car with something sharp in their back pocket ...and moved around a little?

I'll dissent - I think it looks like a shopping cart abraded the area.

Shopping cart is probably right. I have gotten my share of damage from them. Now I park next to the Cart Corral. I figure if someone has walked that far with their cart they are going to put it inside the frame and not let it hit cars. So far so good. My car is 5 months old without a scratch.

It was keyed - malicious, intentional damage.

It looks like my car. Yes it is definitely a shopping cart. My DH saw it happen.

How does a shopping cart make vertical scratches? ? Or, as in this case, gouges?

Rusty

It doesn't look like damage from a shopping cart to my eyes. At least no damage I've seen from a shopping cart looks anything like the damage shown above.

Definitely looks like it was keyed. That happened to a new car of mine, too.

Don't know, but I"m sorry it happened to your new car.

I have seen a few cars that were keyed and the vandals dragged the keys down the length of the car so as to damage every panel.

I looked up pictures of shopping cart damage- and no- I didn't see anything like that. My thinking was with all those marks- the way they are spaced, looked like a shopping cart could have been the culprit.

But I have never seen such deep key marks either ...

I am sorry for this unpleasantness, JeCrigler.

I can't tell how big the scratches are. Do you have any rings that stick out? I could see that happening if you were standing near your door and juggling groceries and leaned against the car?

Some shopping carts have those squares at the end that stuck out, but I don't know if they would be sharp enough to do that.

That's horrible! I think I would have had a heart attack if that happened to my cars! I can't see how anything other than someone intentionally doing that could have caused it. Could something in your garage have fallen onto it, something sharp metal? Had it been in a mechanic's shop recently? I could see something happening in a shop maybe? You say you park in the handicapped parking, maybe someone with a wheelchair holder/rack on the back of their car could have ran into your car?

Or maybe someone with a wheelchair or walker ran into it? With or without noticing?

I feel for you JeCrigler. Looks like something deliberate to me. I was standing in front of my car, talking to my brother in his driveway last week. I happened to look down at the hood of my car, the sun was just right to show a small but definite dent about 10 inches above the joint where it abuts with the nose of the car. My brother looked and saw another dent, lateral to the one I noticed, by about 10 to 12 inches. I had had my oil changed the previous week and my brother thinks that the dents were caused by the mechanic pressing down hard with the heels of his hands to close the hood. The location of the dents, and the timing, seem to rule out anything but that. The car is a few months over 4 yrs old but has fewer that 20,000 miles. I'm trying to keep in it good condition. I'm not a happy camper.

That's not keyed.

My guess is shopping cart or wheelchair. I had a collision with a shopping cart in a parking lot once. It was rolling, and I couldn't see it in my peripheral vision in time to avoid it. It made contact with my car just below the mirror on the passenger side. Did an amazing amount of damage, considering I (and the cart) couldn't have been going much faster than 5 mph. I was disgusted. What is my car made of? Aluminum foil?

I am in a wheelchair and there is nothing on it that could make those marks. The armrests are the only things sticking out and they are padded. If they did leave a mark it would be horizontal, not vertical, and not that repeatedly.

I showed it to my husband an his first reaction was to think a dog jumped on the car and was scratching it up. Still, the fact that the paint is totally scratched down to the primer makes me think something metal was used.

On second look, it really doesn't look like it was keyed. I have similar scratches on my bumper where I backed into the neighbors car, parked across the street from the end of my driveway. It does kind of look like a grocery cart rolled across the parking lot and into the side of your car. Sorry this happened.

If not a shopping cart, maybe one of the electric carts that people ride on? If you were in a handicapped spot, it would make sense for one of those to be near your vehicle.

I agree with chloecat that it could be made by one of those electric carts with the attached basket. Or a dog.

If one is going to key a car, isn't the proper technique horizontal rather than vertical?

Out of curiosity, does your grocery store have security cameras?

I'm longing for the day when there will be no true "keys" for cars, then no "keying". I'm pretty sure that's what happened to you. To make a gouge that deep in multiple places, takes effort, not accident.

I thought about a brush guard on the front of a truck, then I saw this picture. Yikes! (But if the damage is on the SIDE of your car, it’s hard to see how a truck could have been up against it.)

Wow! That spikey brush guard may not legal in several states. Its not pedestrian friendly.

That is intentional keying whether done with a key or maybe a screwdriver or pocket knife. Nothing could bump into it or run into it taking the paint down that way without leaving additional damage in the way of dents or scrapes. Those aren't chips, they are gouges done by someone's hand.

About your door damage:

A few possibilities come to mind.

1. somone's checking for unlocked cars and has tools in his hand or wears large bracelets and chains on his wrist. He tries your door handle and maybe pokes a jimmy in the key hole.

2. Its about the right height for a truck door. A careless driver opens his door against yours and proceeds to get in his vehicle. His weight compresses his suspension causing his door to go up and down against your car. There is play in the park feature in that a vehicle can be moved back and forth about 1.5 inches when in park. It is possible to make another mark and inch or so away from the first one. However, door dings are sometimes accompanied with a small dent.

3. Someone rubs against your car when mounting his tall vehicle and he's wearing jeans with rivets at the corners of the seams.

Did your pillow post just disappear?

I don't know how many times i have to say this: THAT IS NOT KEYED.

The door was hit by an object (putting all my money on a motorized ride-on cart) at one level, and then when the object's load (the person) was removed, the cart "rose" from its compressed position and the part that was against your car gouged through the paint for the duration of the cart's "travel" in height. Look at the wires on the front of this basket...

When a person keys a car, they simply walk along it with the key slightly obscured in their hand, so they won't attract attention. They're not going to stand there and RANDOMLY scratch through the paint.

And also: just because keys will be thing of the past doesn't mean people won't still carry sharp objects (pocketknives, paper clips) and use them to willfully cause damage to a vehicle.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I think installchloecat is right. You would have to put a lot of effort into making those deep marks with that close spacing by hand. That would be a very steady hand. The only reason I am chiming again is that I find it being an accident a much nice thought than being vandalism anyway.

I don't know how many times i have to say this: THAT IS NOT KEYED.

You have good points but others have different opinions. And some of them have good points as well. Shouldn't we all be able to say what we think?

I showed the photo to my husband who used to teach auto body to insurance adjusters. First thing out of his mouth was that was a deliberate act by someone. He said if he was the one assessing this damage his report would state vandalism.

Bummer, Mamapinky :-(

I am truly amazed at the tenacity of vandals these days!

Absolutly could be caused from that rideing cart I can see how that would do it.

Rita hubs wasn't thinking of these ride on carts. They wernt in the stores at least I don't think so when he taught.

Its just a shame this stuff happens. If it was made by that cart or some other accident that person should have sat and waited and talked to to cars owner. Ya I know many people would not do that.

From looking at the damage, it looks like it could have been a runaway cart with some sharp objects sticking out of it that slammed right into your car maybe from wind? I have seen it happen at Home Depot And Walmart too. Doesn't look keyed to me.

It spells out "Rosebud".

From the look of the direction of "frayed" paint, it's deliberate. Why? It's not all going in the same direction. Take for instance the larger one, in the middle bottom. It's hanging paint is going to the right. As though being pushed along the side of the car. But if you look at the one on the right, the upside down L on it's very top, the paint is going up. How can an object be going up and right at the same time? It's vandalism.

Rob maybe not one object but several objects certainly could I think. It will be interesting to see what the repair people have to say.

I am so sorry, that is horrible especially a NEW CAR! I think it was a shopping cart or one of those riding carts. They are so hard to steer and maneuver for the old folds. You don't have any enemy's do you?

I'm more inclined to think animal. It's very consistent with claws. Claws won't make the same depression and they're spaced quite evenly.

Second possibility is someone wearing a toolbelt, a big purse or something could have fallen against it too. Or done it intentionally I suppose.

Third is vandalism but I don't know when I've seen someone "key" a car vertically so many times. And eliminating keys doesn't stop "keying". There's still knives, bottle openers, purses.

Don't see how a door ding could make marks like that. And a cart would be possible if it's loaded and coming down a hill or rammed intentionally, however a cripple cart would have to be rammed into it full bore to make marks like that. Every one I've used would back away before it'd make marks like that.

Moot point since you'll never know unless someone admits, witnessed it or you get a video of it from security cameras.