Soldato
If your car is dirty it’s likely to leave scratches still.
The constant fear of the door basher
- Thread starter lordrobs
- Start date
Associate
Yep, I do. Even in the family wagon - I worry less about that one but it’s still my car and I want to keep it in good condition as I look after the things I own. My old Type R doesn’t see public car parks unless there’s no other option - door ding free at nearly 18 and I’d like to keep her that way!
It's funny how things work out.
No dings at all with my current MX5. Fine with the old Volvo and also the E46 that we owned.
THEN you come to our E91. I most certainly try to parking with space around me, but no, just not good enough. It looks like an action man took a sledgehammer (for him) to the car. I've never owned a car that's picked up so many small dents and hits.
I've just decided that it's an additional form of camo.
No dings at all with my current MX5. Fine with the old Volvo and also the E46 that we owned.
THEN you come to our E91. I most certainly try to parking with space around me, but no, just not good enough. It looks like an action man took a sledgehammer (for him) to the car. I've never owned a car that's picked up so many small dents and hits.
I've just decided that it's an additional form of camo.
I would have let his tyres down at the very least
Soldato
No matter where I park, I always come back to find some damn SUV glued to my door 
Soldato
I do all I can to avoid parking near people I found the best thing to do is find a space that's difficult to park in
I know your pain OP. I get anxious anytime I need to park in a public car park. I'll always head right to back and try and find an end space somewhere, much to the annoyance of my girlfriend.
And it's not just when I'm already out in the car - if I know we are going somewhere where I will need to park, I conduct a full risk-assessment before even leaving the house. We had plans to go to dinner with someone once, at a pub I hadn't visited before, and I surreptitiously checked the satellite pictures of the car park while waiting for the girlfriend to finish getting ready, to scope out the likelihood of finding a good space.
Imagine the embarrassment of having to quickly minimise a browser window to avoid being caught.
"Are you...are you looking at a street view of the car park?"
"Errrr...no, I was watching....pornography".
I need help
And it's not just when I'm already out in the car - if I know we are going somewhere where I will need to park, I conduct a full risk-assessment before even leaving the house. We had plans to go to dinner with someone once, at a pub I hadn't visited before, and I surreptitiously checked the satellite pictures of the car park while waiting for the girlfriend to finish getting ready, to scope out the likelihood of finding a good space.
Imagine the embarrassment of having to quickly minimise a browser window to avoid being caught.
"Are you...are you looking at a street view of the car park?"
"Errrr...no, I was watching....pornography".
I need help
Associate
- Joined
- 8 Nov 2006
- Posts
- 1,385
So what we need is a sort of pool noodle with magnets inside that we can stick to both sides of our cars when we leave it!
I still cannot work out why people are pulled into parking next to (and very close) to other cars when there are [many] empty other spaces closer to the shop entrance 
I regularly wait in my car whilst my partner shops and it happens nearly every time: I'm parked far away from the entrance, there are loads of other clear and closer spaces free, yet someone will park right next to me, then have to struggle to get out because 1)They are too close and 2) I'm in the car watching them open their door.
Why, why, WHY !?!?!?!?
Just yesterday an old guy in a Honda CRV parked next me, clipping my wing mirror with his when 50%+ of the car park was empty.
I regularly wait in my car whilst my partner shops and it happens nearly every time: I'm parked far away from the entrance, there are loads of other clear and closer spaces free, yet someone will park right next to me, then have to struggle to get out because 1)They are too close and 2) I'm in the car watching them open their door.
Why, why, WHY !?!?!?!?
Just yesterday an old guy in a Honda CRV parked next me, clipping my wing mirror with his when 50%+ of the car park was empty.
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Soldato
I still cannot work out why people are pulled into parking next to (and very close) to other cars when there are [many] empty other spaces closer to the shop entrance
I regularly wait in my car whilst my partner shops and it happens nearly every time: I'm parked far away from the entrance, there are loads of other clear and closer spaces free, yet someone will park right next to me, then have to struggle to get out because 1)They are too close and 2) I'm in the car watching them open their door.
Why, why, WHY !?!?!?!?
Just yesterday an old guy in a Honda CRV parked next me, clipping my wing mirror with his when 50%+ of the car park was empty.
I have a feeling that people struggle parking between the lines and use other cars as guides
As mentioned already, you just can’t win. I posted pics in another thread the other day but I parked in a nice single space at Havant train station, right at the back and away from anything else. There are 3 or 4 other spaces fairly nearby which are the only reason anyone would ever have any need to even go near my car... yet I still ended up with a large scuff on the front bumper. Luckily no dents or cracks but still a fair scrape.
My car is in for a recall at the moment so I’m currently driving a loaner car around and have been for a week so far. It’s even worse picking a spot to park in when I’m driving a car that’s not mine.
My car is in for a recall at the moment so I’m currently driving a loaner car around and have been for a week so far. It’s even worse picking a spot to park in when I’m driving a car that’s not mine.
Soldato
Asda in Gloucester recently revamped their car park and had a good idea. They've effectively reduced the width of the marked bay, but put a chevron strip between every space, effectively helping people leave a 'reasonable' gap between them and the neighbouring car for door opening. From my casual observation of the state of parking before/after it seems to work as intended. The marked area is definitely smaller than previous, so I don't think the overall space per car has reduced, just marked in a way it highlights if you aren't in the middle of the space.
Man of Honour
There should be a rate parking website like there is rate driver just to shame these people who park next to you when the rest of the carpark is entirely empty!
It's absolute silly games. The car that parks next to you doesn't even leave a respectful gap either so you end up eyeballing the entire side for dings.
Just why?
It's absolute silly games. The car that parks next to you doesn't even leave a respectful gap either so you end up eyeballing the entire side for dings.
Just why?
Man of Honour
Only reason I agreed to have another baby with the other half was so I can continue to use the parent/child spaces*. Car parking is a nightmare round here, a combination of spaces being very narrow and people just being inconsiderate means I will park as far away as possible to limit the chance of some idiot dinging my car, as mentioned, it rarely works though.
* Not srs....................semi srs......................100% srs
* Not srs....................semi srs......................100% srs
Caporegime
Just use rate driver for parking incidents too.
Man of Honour
I'd rather not. The website members are turbo-racists going by the majority of comments people leave!
I miss having an older car that's already scratched and has a few parking dings. If I saw a new ding from the car next to me (I always checked to see if their door would open into that dent), I would often swing my door open as hard as possible a few times into their door. Also if they parked over the line into my bay.
Extremely satisfying but probably not cool. **** 'em though. They can suck their new dent. Dicks.
Extremely satisfying but probably not cool. **** 'em though. They can suck their new dent. Dicks.
Commissario
Where do you all live to get your cars dented and scratched like this? I drive into a car park, find a space and reverse into it. I don’t park away from other people on purpose and I don’t look for big empty areas. I just find a space and use it.
I’ve never had a dink, scratch or dent in a car park, ever and I’ve been doing just this for *guess* thirty five years. I don’t generally drive small cars either.
I’ve never had a dink, scratch or dent in a car park, ever and I’ve been doing just this for *guess* thirty five years. I don’t generally drive small cars either.
Perhaps you've just never noticed? Sometimes you can't notice little dents, dings and scratches unless the light catches them in a certain way, or when you wash the car by hand.
Perhaps because we're all car enthusiasts in this sub-section, we notice them immediately?