5 Ways Cars Get Scratched (And How I Fix Each One)
After enough years doing this, the same five scratches turn up again and again. None of them are your fault, really — that's just life in a car park. Here are the ones I see most across Melbourne's north, why they happen, and how I sort each one.
1. The shopping trolley
This is the number one, no contest. A trolley gets loose in a windy car park — Craigieburn Central on a gusty day is a classic — and rolls into the side of your car. You can usually pick trolley damage a mile off:
- A cluster of light scratches along the doors at trolley-corner height
- Sometimes a small dent with the paint scuffed around it
- Marks right about where the door handles sit
- Parallel lines where it's dragged along
How I fix it: If it's only in the clear coat, I cut and buff it out — no paint, 30 to 45 minutes, gone. If it's into the colour, I sand it back, match and lay paint, then blend. If there's a dent under it as well, I knock the dent out and repaint that section — most trolley dents have broken paint, so they're a paint job, not a paintless one.
Avoiding it: Park away from the trolley bays and the busy rows, and grab an end spot when you can.
2. The car park door-and-scrape
Tight bays, someone swinging their door into yours, or a clumsy reverse out of the next spot. These land on doors and bumpers and range from a light scuff to a proper gouge.
How I fix it: Depends how deep. A scuff buffs out. Through the colour and it's a sand, paint and blend. I did a white Toyota Corolla in an Epping car park that had been door-dinged — scuff and a small crease — colour-matched and blended so you'd never know which door it was.
Avoiding it: Park nose-in where you can and leave space on both sides if the car park's empty enough to choose.
3. The key line
The deliberate one, and the one that stings. A key dragged down a panel goes deep — through the clear, the colour, often to bare metal.
How I fix it: No shortcuts on these. Sand it back, prime any bare metal so it doesn't rust, colour-match, paint, clear and polish. A single panel's about two hours. (I've written a full guide on what to do the moment you find your car keyed if that's why you're here.)
Avoiding it: Well-lit, busy parking and a parking-mode dashcam are your best bets.
4. The hedge or fence brush
Tight driveways, overgrown hedges, a narrow gateway — you brush down the side and pick up a run of fine scratches. Common on the school run and in the older streets around Broadmeadows and Glenroy.
How I fix it: These are usually shallow and live in the clear coat, so a cut and polish lifts them straight out. If a branch has dug in deeper, that bit gets a spot repair.
Avoiding it: Trim the hedge back and fold the mirrors in tight driveways.
5. Stone chips on the freeway
Anyone doing the Hume regularly knows these. A truck flicks up a stone and you cop a chip on the bonnet or front bumper. Small, but they expose bare metal and that's where rust starts.
How I fix it: A single tiny chip is honestly a touch-up job to seal it. A peppered bonnet — lots of chips together — is better off prepped and resprayed as a section so it comes up clean and even rather than spotty.
Avoiding it: Hang back from trucks on the freeway. A clear paint-protection film on the bonnet helps if you do a lot of highway k's.
The thing they all have in common
Once paint's broken and metal's showing, it'll start rusting — faster through a wet Melbourne winter. A scratch that's a $200 fix today can turn into a rust-and-respray job if it sits for months. Get it sealed up while it's small.
Got one of these on your car?
I repair all five at your home or work across Craigieburn, Epping, Broadmeadows, Greenvale and Melbourne's north. Send me a photo or call 0493 932 068 and I'll tell you exactly what it needs and what it'll cost.
