Hmm, that looks like a nasty scrape that will cost a thousand pounds or more to fix. How did it happen?
Beats me...
Yesterday, when I went to Colchester to get my passport photos taken, I parked in the usual car park. Afterwards, I went off to the university to pick up some project proposals I have to read. When I got back to the car at the university, I spotted the scrape. It could have happened at the university or in Colchester, but I don't know which. In the Colchester car park, the car next to me on that side when I parked was replaced by another car when I left (which I know because it was a big 4x4 when I parked but it wasn't when I left) so it seems likely that someone tried to get into the gap after the 4x4 left and then gave up after hitting my vehicle. At the university, I was parked next to a yellow car the whole time but with quite a gap between us; it's possible that someone on a small cart pulling a trailer or something reckoned they could get through the space and misjudged it, but they'd have had to have been going at some speed.
It's also possible that I did it myself. I do remember hitting a kerb when I was making a tight turn leaving the Colchester car park; surely I would have noticed if I'd also hit the wall to such an extent that I knocked the door handle off, though?
Whatever, I went to see a bodyshop near the university that I've used before (MPS Refinishers), who do excellent work at a reasonable price. They told me it would cost a thousand quid to fix and recommended that I call my insurance provider. The insurance provider then took an hour to get my details (twice — not their fault, just a consequence of having to go through the AA first) before saying that they'd pay if I accepted liability (which I did — there's no chance of finding out who did it) and got the door fixed by one of their preferred repair companies. The repair company they use in Colchester is two units on the industrial estate away from MPS Refinishers.
Sigh. Who needs a no-claims bonus anyway?