It sure does. If I didn't have an almost brand new car too, I would have
REALLY been upset. Things like this are the exact reason that I don't even
drive my new car that much at all. I keep it garaged a lot and just get it
out on nice weather days and drive it hard for a couple of hours and then
put it right back in the garage. The only place that it won't be subject to
get door dings, grocery cart scratches, etc. People say, "Well, you can't
get your money's worth if you don't use that new car as a daily driver." To
some degree, that is true. But if you do use them as a daily driver, you'd
better be ready to accept the dramatically increased probability of dings,
dents, scratches and maybe even more extensive damage. And if you ever
decide to sell the car, regardless of what category it falls into, you'll
get penalized for high mileage when it comes to the resale value. The only
way to keep a really nice car looking nearly immaculate for a prolonged
period of time is to have one or more beaters to drive the *majority* of the
time. Again, many folks will say that you've just thrown your money away by
not driving your nice ride very often. However, I tend to disagree if you
plan on keeping the nice car for the LONG haul. I'm talking 10-15 years
minimum. My 1990 Nissan 300ZX remained nearly immaculate for almost a decade
until I actually did start driving it almost every single day. Then the next
thing I knew it was starting to go downhill pretty quickly from a cosmetic
standpoint. Which was to be expected. Oh well, you can't keep them looking
brand new forever...  :-)

S.T.