Car Has Concrete Splattered over from a Nearby Construction Site

morpheous on 04/11/2019 - 15:01

My car was parked in the street just before the construction site of a school. Just one and a half car space ahead is the construction site's main entry door for trucks.

I checked my car on the weekend (Sunday) and it had multiple drops or splatter of concrete in the front. It seems pretty hard to remove and i don't want to scratch the paint, so I haven't done anything myself yet.

I did go and meet the construction site manager who took picture of my car and noted my car details, my name and phone number. I have been told to wait for them to get back to me on this and they did accept their mistake on this as well. They told me there was an incident at the construction site and didn't go much into details about it. While i thought it must have been the work of a concrete truck reversing and then stopping just before my car, therein splattering it with concrete.

As time passes my worry is that the concrete will toughen further and would lead to more trouble getting it off.

Just wanted to know if someone has been through something similar and is there anything else i should do?

Automotive

Comments

    • morpheous on 04/11/2019 - 15:32

      I read about that as well. I am waiting for the construction guys to get back to me as they might pay for a full professional cleaning service.

      Fingers crossed.

  • GG57 on 04/11/2019 - 15:07

    I don't think it will get any worse than it already is.

    • morpheous on 04/11/2019 - 15:33

      haha well if the clear coat came off with the concrete it will. Dont want to mess the car up myself, so waiting for them to do reply as to what they will do.

      • [Deactivated] on 07/11/2019 - 12:39
        -2

        Concrete is extremely alkaline, if you've left it this long it's almost certainly eaten away the paint or topcoat underneath and will require respray.

        • Euphemistic on 08/11/2019 - 07:48

          Concrete is alkaline, but it is a long way from being extremely alkaline. You can get it on your skin without too much damage, just wash it off soon and all is good. Car paint is pretty robust, concrete is unlikely to etch through the clear coat and the top coat. Probably won’t do much damage at all. The worst you could do is try to rub it off and scratc the surrounding areas wit the sand in it. It will probably leave some sort of mark that will polish out

          • [Deactivated] on 08/11/2019 - 11:04

            @Euphemistic: Concrete is about as corrosive as batshit, which absolutely does damage to paint in a single day.

            • Euphemistic on 08/11/2019 - 12:59

              @[Deactivated]: I’ll be interested to see what the actual damage is if the OP does actually post pics. No speculation then.

  • Bid Sniper on 04/11/2019 - 15:21
    +5

    Ring your insurance, your car was damaged

      • Archi on 04/11/2019 - 15:35
        +2

        seems like morpheous has taken the red pill and no longer in the matrix.

      • zonra on 04/11/2019 - 15:35

        Are you saying you're driving completely uninsured?

        • kahn on 04/11/2019 - 15:38
          +6

          The OP has balls of concrete to match his car.

          • bloom on 04/11/2019 - 15:45

            @kahn: Taking concrete pills every time he cruises down the road!

        • morpheous on 04/11/2019 - 17:07
          -1

          Thats illegal, car had third party insurance on it!

          • whooah1979 on 04/11/2019 - 19:25
            +2

            @morpheous: It is not unlawful in NSW to drive without third-party property insurance.

            • SBOB on 04/11/2019 - 22:32
              +3

              @whooah1979:

              It is not unlawful in NSW to drive without third-party property insurance.

              damn wish it was though

          • brendanm on 04/11/2019 - 20:21
            +1

            @morpheous: You do know that compulsory third party doesn't cover damage to other vehicles, right?

            • morpheous on 05/11/2019 - 00:30

              @brendanm: How does a parked car, damage other vehicles?

              • brendanm on 05/11/2019 - 07:45
                +1

                @morpheous: It was parked at the time, but you have said you don't drive it much, therefore you do actually drive it, not just park it.

      • tsunamisurfer on 04/11/2019 - 16:33

        ..Because the only risk to the car is only when it is driven.

        Unreal some people.

        • morpheous on 04/11/2019 - 17:06
          +1

          Don't understand the the hate on this as the car isnt being used at all.

          I don't believe i have to answer this but as a student you have to work out financially what is required and what is not - to stay afloat.

          So yeah, Morpheous took the Red pill.

          • Stewardo on 04/11/2019 - 20:31
            +2

            @morpheous: Because if you have no money or third party property insurance and your involved in an accident, you could be liable for tens/hundreds of thousands of dollars damage.

      • Bluberry on 04/11/2019 - 20:38
        -1

        Op, you should get that concrete truck to dump some concrete down your throat.

        Omg- how do people drive around with no insurance?

        • morpheous on 05/11/2019 - 00:27
          +1

          I HAVE THIRD PARTY INSURANCE! Read the whole thread.
          OMG - Why are people ignorant?

          • Bluberry on 05/11/2019 - 02:03
            +1

            @morpheous: You said you have no insurance in the post above (which is crazy).

            Sorry we are not mind readers. We go by what you post.

            It's still crazy to drive with just CTP as it does not cover you for events like this. Good luck getting the construction company to pay up.

          • whooah1979 on 05/11/2019 - 05:20
            +2

            @morpheous:

            Unfortunately, car's insurance ran out 2 months back.
            I HAVE THIRD PARTY INSURANCE!

            Which one is correct?

          • kerfuffle on 05/11/2019 - 07:39
            +1

            @morpheous: CTP aka green slip isn't the third party insurance you're thinking of. That only covers people who are injured.

            What we're worried about is that you don't appear to have any third party property insurance at the bare minimum …

          • brendanm on 05/11/2019 - 07:46
            +3

            @morpheous: You are the ignorant one, not understanding the difference between CTP, and actual third party insurance.

            • brad1-8tsi on 06/11/2019 - 10:11
              +2

              @brendanm: It's at this point I no longer care about the concrete on the OPs car that could probably be washed off with water and suds. How good can the paint be if it isn't worth insuring.

  • sempro on 04/11/2019 - 16:19

    get insurance…. /thread

    • morpheous on 04/11/2019 - 17:09

      Will do that!

  • oscargamer on 04/11/2019 - 19:16
    +1

    If they admit liability, which it sounds like they have, DO NOTHING without getting their approval.

    • morpheous on 04/11/2019 - 19:52

      Thats the game plan for now. Just worried whether removing the concrete as day pass by, would be more difficult.

      • oscargamer on 04/11/2019 - 19:55
        +3

        That's their problem. If you try anything other that a hose, they'll say you denied them the opportunity to fix it their way.

      • John Kimble on 04/11/2019 - 22:35

        Who cares, that's for them to worry about. They will likely claim on their insurance if it is too exy.

      • Ugly on 05/11/2019 - 08:32
        +2

        Go and get a quote from somewhere that you would be happy to have your car repaired, then send a copy of the quote to the construction company.
        The construction guys are busy - dealing with you is, unfortunately for you, going to be low priority compared to the construction project.
        Anything you can do to make it simpler for them is going to speed up the process.

        • morpheous on 05/11/2019 - 10:49

          Will try and do that! I am guessing a professional car cleaning service would be able to do something about it? I have also left a note for the other car which also had similar concrete splatter over it.

    • mrmachine on 05/11/2019 - 07:09

      Don't do nothing, call your insurance company and give them the full details of the other party. Whatever the other party days or does your insurance company will need to know asap so you can begin repairs on your schedule and they can chase for the money.

  • theguru1 on 05/11/2019 - 07:27

    I had a similar experience in that a nearby factory to where I parked did spray painting outside their factory which blew onto my car and others in the car-park 2 doors up. I rang my insurer but as there wasn't another vehicle involved they basically didn't want to know. I could claim on my insurance but I would have to pay the excess.

  • Euphemistic on 05/11/2019 - 07:37

    Have you tried hosing it off with fairly high pressure and direct targeting?

    • morpheous on 05/11/2019 - 10:47

      I didnt do anything so far as i wanted to wait for their response.

      • Euphemistic on 05/11/2019 - 11:10

        Quite often concrete splashes will ‘erode’ away with water pressure. Give it a try in one spot first. If it works, it will not harm your paint and potentially prevent further paint damage from the concrete staying there for longer. If it comes off, hit the rest. If it doesn’t come off (I’d be surprised) you’ve lost nothing and get back in touch with he contractor to get it sorted.

        If it leaves a mark, get the contractor to detail the vehicle for you. If it doesn’t leave a mark you’ve lost nothing and the car is back to normal.

        • SlavOz on 07/11/2019 - 21:34

          This. I'm pretty sure it will come off very easily with a strong pressure washer from close distance. Follow up with a pre-wash detergent spray that's sit on for a few minutes to break down any dirt, then rinse again.

  • tabitha731 on 05/11/2019 - 07:44

    If u interfere with the damage, ur insurance may be negated or worse still the construction company's insurance will say u tampered with the damage and mafe it, worse.. So that negates their responsibility. Leave it alone. No more damage can be done to it than it already has.

    • morpheous on 05/11/2019 - 10:50

      Thats what i am thinking. I did leave a note for another car that i found around mine, with similar concrete splatter over it.

  • try2bhelpful on 05/11/2019 - 08:09

    Give them a couple of days then ask them for an ETA on when they are going to book your car in to be cleaned to remove the spatter. They are, probably, hoping you will just go away and deal with it yourself. Builders can be a PITA. We have some guys up from us who, regularly, hose out their equipment in the street and the sediment washes back into our storm pipe outlet.

    • morpheous on 05/11/2019 - 10:51

      I was hoping of contacting them Tomorrow, give them one day to respond themselves.

      • try2bhelpful on 05/11/2019 - 10:59

        Just do it matter of a factly, like you need the answer to work around your busy lifestyle. :)

        • morpheous on 05/11/2019 - 11:19

          Got It. Thanks.

          • try2bhelpful on 07/11/2019 - 12:44

            @morpheous: How did you get on?

            • morpheous on 07/11/2019 - 20:19

              @try2bhelpful: Will update the post. But i have been told by the site manager that the company responsible for this, will get it cleaned up by claiming their insurance.

              Only worry is that i would have to hand in my car, so will try and work it out with those guys, as to what they are doing.

  • gbarlett on 05/11/2019 - 08:13

    Wet concrete is very alkaline and will most likely leave permanent marks on the painted surface if left to dry.

    • Euphemistic on 05/11/2019 - 08:39

      It’ll be dry by now!

  • OzHunterNSW on 05/11/2019 - 09:30

    I hope you have taken photos, and the name of this guy.

    I would report the incident to the Police Web Portal, or your local police. You need to create a paper trail.

    I would also contact your insurer for advice. This will also go on record.

    Do not trust anyone.

    My guess is that the pain is damaged by the acids in the cement.

    You are looking at a few thousand to rectify and this is where the culprit will start to play games.

    Report to police, and insurer.

    • Euphemistic on 05/11/2019 - 10:21
      1. No insurer.
      2. Concrete is alkaline, not acidic.
      3. It might just wash off and polish out. Not ‘a few thousand’ to do that. Might be a few hundred for a paint touch up if the paint/panel is suitable. We do t know how much there is.

      Need to keep in touch with the contractor. As said above it won’t be a priority for them and will soon get ‘forgotten’ if you don’t follow up. Definitely keep a paper trail of some sort. Email is a good communication technique.

    • morpheous on 05/11/2019 - 10:55

      Would police even consider something so trivial? I haven't filed an incident report before. I have the name and number of the construction site manager, who i spoke with.

      I have stayed in touch over phone, as i dont have their email ids.

      • Meerkatsrok on 05/11/2019 - 12:00
        +1

        Would police even consider something so trivial?

        No they wouldn't. It's a civil matter.

  • Peck on 05/11/2019 - 14:21

    On a related issue, my car was splattered by a concrete mix truck driving along the highway. Ever since then I go out of my way to avoid them. Everyone else has to cover their load and so the same rule should apply to concrete mix trucks.

    • morpheous on 05/11/2019 - 16:37

      I parked away from the construction, just for that reason. It wasnt far enough i guess.

  • Snake 4 on 08/11/2019 - 14:26

    Police wouldn't care but Workcover certainly would investigate.

    • Euphemistic on 08/11/2019 - 15:03

      Not if no one was injured. Perhaps as a near miss, but more likely the EPA would want to investigate the spill.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join