South Africa’s most common (and ridiculous) car battle scars

Updated July 11, 2025, 5:43 a.m. | By East Coast Breakfast

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) drivers spills the tea on the most ridiculous, hilarious, and downright embarrassing ways they’ve dented their cars.

Let’s be honest — if you drive in South Africa, chances are your car has a scratch, dent, or a story to tell.

Some of us have kissed the pavement while trying to parallel park.

Others have watched helplessly as a rogue trolley aimed straight for our fender.

Sometimes… It’s just nature being spicy (we’re looking at you, hailstorms).

In case you missed it, we had a whole debate on Thursday.

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However, before we share some of the wildest and funniest car mishaps from KZN, let’s take a look at the usual suspects behind those minor (and sometimes major) dents and scratches we’ve all experienced.

The usual suspects

Minor collisions with objects (and Earth)

We all think we’re driving pros… until we clip a wall, pole, or misjudge our garage space. Then there’s that sinking feeling you get when you hear scrrrrkkk - pure heartbreak.

Hailstorms

You’ll never know true fear until you hear “thok thok thok” on your roof and realise you left your car outside during a hailstorm. Even the smallest ones can leave your car looking like a golf ball hit it. A very expensive golf ball.

Door dings

Then there’s the lawless land of parking lots! You carefully park your baby, lock up, and head inside. Next thing, someone flings their door open like your car is made of Vibranium. Ding!

Parallel parking

Some streets just weren’t built for cars. Either that or maybe you weren’t built for parallel parking. Regardless of who the real problem is, those rim scratches tell a story.

Bumper-to-Bumper traffic

Low-speed traffic collisions are practically a South African rite of passage. One moment you’re creeping forward in traffic, the next moment you’ve kissed the back of a taxi. Oops!

Rogue shopping trolleys

Apparently, walking your trolley to the bay is too much effort for some people. So now your car gets to play bumper cars with a runaway trolley.

Loose debris

On SA roads, flying stones, bricks, and mysterious chunks of metal are part of the daily commute. Windscreen chip? R1000. That little ping sound? Priceless trauma.

And then… the wild stories of KZN

We asked our listeners to share the weirdest, silliest, or most ridiculous ways they’ve damaged their cars; and boy, did they deliver.

Listen to the weird car fails they sent us

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So, whether it’s a trolley, a hailstone, or a “broer, I didn’t see it” moment, car scratches and dents are part of the South African driving experience.

The best you can do is laugh about it… then get a quote from your local panel beater.

If it’s a write off or something bigger; well…shame. Get a loan or a new car.