Larrye

Participated in a local charity car show this past wekend with my black '85, small show with only about 30 cars, but some real nice restored '60's, 70's and 80's machines. Nearly every "spectator" was respectful and careful, however the children from one family were running wild.

How have you all dealt with the unruly kids that are not being supervised by parents, jumping up on cars to get a look, etc? Became a real issue, and topic of discussion Saturday, as the 4 kids from this family did some paint damage to two cars parked near mine.

The owner of one of the damaged cars lifted the kid up to see inside, the kid ended up kicking the door with his shoes and gouging the paint.

Suggestions?

dukeallen

Don't go to shows. Or don't worry about something you can't prevent.

92ragtop

Just have a dentist stand near your car. The kids won't go anywhere near it.

89 Vett

Yeah, unfortunately you're at the mercy of the crowd. You can intercede when you see a problem brewing, but often there's simply nothing that can be done.

That said, the worst damage I've received was in the parking lot of a bar. At least I got a PostIt that read "Sorry".

Snakecharmer383

While I agree with you can't stop or prevent something from happening I always stay around the car or have someone I know stay close. I have attended a lot of shows, so says my wife lol and I've never had a major problem. I've already yelled at a couple kids running, etc. Never had a problem with the parents after yelling either.

Cliff Harris

My advice is to keep your car locked up in the garage with a car cover on it. Don't EVER drive it because you'll get rock chips and other horrible things, like bird droppings. Rain might fall on it and driving on wet streets will cause the undercarriage to get dirty. If you want to take it anywhere use an enclosed trailer.

That said, I drive my 27 year old Corvette every day. I refer to it as "my poor old car". It's got lots of wounds acquired over the years, and no matter how careful you are "stuff happens". It actually looks pretty good for its age and has the original paint and interior. Today I had to take it to the tire store to get a tire fixed and the sales guy pointed out the scratches over the driver's door handle. They just sort of appeared one day and I have no idea how they got there. I assume I did it with the keys while opening the door (I have keyless entry, so I don't have to deal with putting the key in the lock).

WICKEDFRC

As an owner, I highly doubt I would touch or lift up anyone elses kid just to see inside my car. Simply open the door if you must, or have the parents do the lifting with a polite, "Please be careful" or something similiar while keeping an eye on things.

bizaro

It's how dreams begin.......





Be an azz and all they will ever remember is the douchebag that yelled at them for leaning on "their precious object". It's just a car. My car dream started exactly like this. A teacher at school had a 62 and I remember staring over the door looking at all the gadgets and imaging what it would be like behind the wheel. I also remember thinking how could anyone be inside working with a car like this parked outside. That day could have changed my life had he come out and bitched because I was there dreaming.

motor city dave

Go to a bike show and watch them run up and touch the shiny exhaust pipes just after someone shuts their bike down.

WW7

You guys are missing the point here. We shouldn't have to stop going to shows because parents can't control their kids.... First off, you don't yell at the kids , you yell at the parents that aren't controlling their kits...I have no problem saying "Could you please keep your child off my car" to a parent standing there while the kids run around without any supervision.. Most react instantly telling the child "Don't touch the car" but if they want to get nasty with me, I have no problem handling the parents either...WW

tbirdsps

I had this happen once. I figured sticky fingers and a little snot won't hurt. I opened the door and let each one sit in it behind the wheel. Big smiles and future Corvette owners were created.

My 90 is in fantastic shape. The kids loved it.

ejscarfo

I've done a number of shows and I attend a Saturday night cruise-in almost every weekend, buit I've only run across this problem a few times. Usually the kid that's "wild" is my 9 year old as he gets so excited to see his favorite types of cars. He loves hot rods, especially T-buckets and Duece Coupes. As excited and rowdy as he can get, I've instilled the Fear of Dad into him and when he's at the shows, he knows not to touch or get too close. If he wants to see something specific about the car he's looking at, he seeks out the owner to ask. When he gets out of hand, he gets "spoken to." But most importantly, he's never left unsupervised, either my wife or myself is with him at all times when we're at shows. More importantly, we engage him in conversation about what he's looking at and answer any questions he has.

I think too many parents are afraid to discipline their children in public or too selfish to care. I'm not advocating anything physical, but pulling your kid aside and speaking to him in a normal tone about what's right and wrong and expected of him or her should be on the agenda. Being a car guy myself, the last thing I want to have happen is have my child damage someone's car.

Generally those unruly kids are seeking attention. When I encounter families with kids like that, I stand close to my car and usually try to engage the kids in conversation. Once someone talks to them, they almost always calm down and seem interested. I had one family a few weeks ago with 3 young children. It was a mother and grandmother. I could tell she was overwhelmed so I offered each child to take a turn in the driver's seat in my C4 so their mom could snap a picture. Once I opened the door, each kid had a smile like it was Christmas morning and the mother was so thankful for my offer.

You're going to run into this problem sooner or later and how you handle it is your own choice. I chose to engage and it works for me.

j3studio

It's all about the viewpoint ...

... we believe you have to get them hooked while young.

89dd

If paint didn't scratch,or chrome didn't rust and pit, or seats tear. We wouldn't have a hobby.
After having my car repainted last year a box fell off the shelf in my garage onto one of my headlight doors and left nice deep scratch.
S**t happens and it dosen't pay to get upset over it

jimmymack

Well said
I have 9 grandkids that love nothing more than to sit in pop-Pop's "race car" and make engine sounds. I try to treat children at car shows the same way...the parents love taking pictures and the kids have smiles a mile wide. I had one family come up at a show and told me that their son had the picture of him sitting in my car from the year before blown up and hanging on his bedroom wall.
They touch it a bit, leave fingerprints, that's what detail spray is for.

scotth48

I agree. For some kids and adults, it may be the only time they get to see special cars like this. I let kids and adults sit behind the wheel. Those smiles on kids of all ages are Priceless! I feel God has Blessed me to have something like this, that I should use it for His Honor and Glory and not mine. My license plate say's it all about my '93 Ruby, PROV811 for Proverbs 8:11 "For wisdom is better than Rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not compared to it". So no matter how much or little something is worth it is not! If one is so concerned, perhaps leave it at home!

Larrye

Everyone, thanks for the feedback. Myself, I don't get to awfully excited about it, I drive my '85 nearly every day in the summer months here (she turned over 150,000 miles on the way home today!) and stuff is gonna happen, I can fix it. I actually got a laugh Saturday when a little girl said out loud that my car looked like the BatmobileNot the Batmobile I remember!

Some of the discussion last Saturday between car owners regarding kids and car shows was fairly brutal, wanted to get everyones opinion if possible. WW7, in my opinion you hit it, perhaps a respectful comment to the parents are in order.

I do get concerned a bit about the future of the car hobby, will the next generation carry on with the same level of interest as our (my) generation? I make a point to take my grandsons rides when they visit, even the 18 month old (just up and down the drive, though). I think the 18 month old is already hooked. He has his own red Powerwheels Camaro.

kimmer

Bfh! :d

H P Bushrod

Some idiot backed into and sideswiped the right front of my '93 and got part of the clamshell. It happened in the hotel parking lot while I was at one of the CF cruise-ins. Didn't let it ruin my fun and after I got it home and buffed it a little, It's barely noticeable.

yaknow

I don't worry so much about kids or stupid parents, it's the morons that have to bring their dog to a car show with metal collars and leashes. Our club bans all dogs except trained/certified companion dogs