Damaged the car, feeling dreadful

[bakewellbride]

I was driving my child to toddler group and took a wrong turning. It was a nightmare trying to turn around and I very stupidly bashed the car into a post and broke the brake light. There is also damage to the bumper.

I'm a total mess and have cried so many times. Waiting to hear back from the garage to find out how much it will be.

I just feel terrible and so embarrassed and stupid. To make matters worse I'm new to driving (passed 8 years ago but had driving anxiety so never drove much) and this has shattered my confidence.

It's fine, you'll just be more aware in the future. Everybody has prangs, feels bad for a bit and then forgets about them and gets on with their life.

Shop around. That sounds a lot.

I think most people have done it at some point. I managed to run out brand new lease car down the side of a pebble dashed bollard, and the only way to get out was to run it back the other way, scratched the paint down to the metal.

Also reversed another car into a bollard in a car park and smashed the light as I was convinced the reverse sensors were lying to me! That went down well with the husband.

I have a reversing camera now but still don't trust it

Thanks everyone. Sometimes I wonder if I'm cut out for driving at all. I absolutely hated driving for 8 years and was crippled with anxiety. Then I decided to do something about it and made myself drive everywhere until confident. I made such great progress and was doing so well but now this. I feel like such a failure. Why can some people just do it and some people are like me? It's so upsetting, I feel like giving up but then I've let my children down.

Most of us have dented or scuffed our cars so don't worry. What car is it and how old? £1k sounds very expensive.

Please don't worry OP, we have all been there! Please get back behind the wheel - you can do this and you can prove to your kids that you can do hard things and overcome problems - great life lesson for them too! Xxx

Dont beat yourself up!

I had a £2k bump a few weeks after I started driving.

It's normal.

That's why new drivers pay so much insurance!

Everyone has a bump at some point.

Do some extra lessons to boost your confidence esp 3 point turns.

Lessons aren't just to pass your test!

Kindly, you’re making a massive deal about something which really isn’t a big deal at all and happens to people allllll the time! I’m a confident driver, and drive tractors and heavy machinery every day with no worries, but I still managed to (somehow!) reverse my new (to me) Audi into a digger bucket the day after I bought it. Similar damage by the sounds of it, cracked bumper etc. Very embarrassing, particularly as my husband and two of our workmen plus a customer were all stood watching 😂

We've all been there. I reversed my car into someone else's car, shortly after starting my first job and caused a lot of damage to theirs, but hardly any to mine.

I managed to drive into my wall pulling into my driveway last week. The same driveway that I've been parking on outside my house for the last 20 years, I just misjudged it this time. It's a pain in the arse, but it happens OP.

Nothing to give up over, this is totally normal! You've worked hard on your anxiety so try to brush this up, I promise it's honestly no big deal.

(I did have a big cry once when I revered a week old brand new car into a bollard in a car park. I see others in this thread have done the same! Since then in the last 10 years I've had various 'dings' and it's annoying but I laugh it off now)

OP don't give up! Unless you live somewhere with amazing public transport links (I don't), then driving will give you and your DC so much freedom.

I know this post is very old and hopefully all is now sorted and forgotten by now but I was so pleased to find it as I can completely relate and I wondered how you are getting on?

I also passed my test around 8 years ago and never drove because it made me incredibly anxious. I now have a 2 year old so have started driving recently as a) I need to drop him to nursery and b) I want to be able to take him to fun places and not be limited by what is in walking distance!

This evening I crunched my rear door on a pillar in a car park - there were metal pipes around the bottom of the pillar which were difficult to see and I made the damage even worse after the initial bump as I started to panic. It is horribly dented and scratched. I know it is only a car and it can be fixed but I feel incredibly stupid and keep thinking how if only I hadn’t stopped at the supermarket this could have been avoided (unhelpful thought process I know but I only went to get porridge!).

My driving anxiety has never really gone away - sometimes I’ll have an easy smooth drive and feel good about it, other times I’ll get paranoid over the most ridiculous things (eg imagining I hit things when I definitely didn’t).

How is your driving going @bakewellbride ?

Unless you really need to I wouldnt bother getting things fixed, the light you might need to but I wouldnt bother with a bumper

In most other european cities, what Im always struck by is the amount of fairly modern newish (not old bangers) cars that have scrapes and prangs, dents and bangs.

Mine has a continental style dent in the back, reversed into a lampost in bright sunlight a few months after I got it. Havent given it a second thought. Had a massive migraine, had the aircon on extra loud, didnt hear the rear sensors beeping and could barely see due to migraine and bright sunlight. It happens.

Oh, didnt see this is an old thread, Never mind.