Parking issues

flibbage0

flibbage0

flibbage0

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Reading Howard's thread on his Mondeo: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18621035&page=11

Has got me interested in possibly buying a similar type of car at some point next year.

I've been driving a knackered and unrefined fiesta and in anything other than city driving it's a real nuisance, tyre noise, poor insulation, not enough power etc

The only problem is where to park such a "big" car, I live in an area where parking is an issue, I would have to park 10-15 minute walk away or even in a car park overnight if I bought a car of such size.

Is that worth putting up with?

I've looked at Focus and Golf and Astra at the £6k mark and they just seem overpriced and not as refined as their saloon counterparts, sometimes I just think of sticking to my faecalbox until I can move somewhere :(
 
How good are you at parking? Are these spaces you're currently parking in only a tiny bit larger than your car, or do you have decent amount of room either side?

3-4 nights per week I park in a city with the tightest parking I've ever seen and I always manage fine because I've done it enough times that I can get my car into really tight spaces.

I often see people in smaller cars trying and failing to get into a space, then when I have a go at it I end up being able to do it despite having a much bigger car. Sure, it takes a bit of going back and forwards lock to lock, but seems like a small price to pay to be driving a much nicer car.

See below for what's possible with a bit of commitment (and front+rear parking sensors) :p

IMG_4352.jpg


IMG_4689.jpg
 
Not so much I can't park, there physically isn't space. Every other stretch of road is double yellowed on at least one side. Lots of rental houses around so multiple cars for one household

edit: Also good parking mate
 
I feel ill just looking at that geekman :). You are relying on the cars either side not scraping your car to death as they leave though.
 
maybe its the angle but that top one looks ridiculous geekman :eek:

fairplay if you can do that without french style parking. i'm not sure i'd be happy if you did that next to mine though :p
 
You can do it without touching any cars provided you're very careful, just takes a bit of patience. It helps that my car has a long bonnet and a very flat front so you can judge exactly where is it.

I do occasionally find scratches on my bumpers after people have touched them getting out, and whilst that is annoying, I'd much rather drive around in a Jag with slightly scratched bumpers than a mint condition city car. Not suggesting the OP goes to quite the extremes that I do, but it may be worth having a look at the spaces he normally parks in to find out just how much room there is.
 
I was gonna butt in and say front and rear parking sensore soon make you realise a big car is smaller than you think, but geekman has already outclassed anything i'd have to say.

Why not look at the middle ground? Something like an a3 or a 1 series that offers a bit more than your "knackered old fiesta" without so much of a size compromise.

Thing is, and i didnt realise this myself until i got rid of the skoda but sometimes a cheap old runabout that you can hop in and blast away without getting paranoid about stone chips or people scraping past it in car parks does have its merits.
 
adolf hamster said:
I was gonna butt in and say front and rear parking sensore soon make you realise a big car is smaller than you think, but geekman has already outclassed anything i'd have to say.

Why not look at the middle ground? Something like an a3 or a 1 series that offers a bit more than your "knackered old fiesta" without so much of a size compromise.

Thing is, and i didnt realise this myself until i got rid of the skoda but sometimes a cheap old runabout that you can hop in and blast away without getting paranoid about stone chips or people scraping past it in car parks does have its merits.
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I agree that it is nice knowing you don't have to worry, my car already has dents and scrapes from before so never had to worry. However I'm growing up and the whole small hatchback/city car which you have to rev the nuts out of it/driven spritely is not required.

After a long day of standing up at work all day just want something to cruise. I was looking at Jaguar XJ's and did think of geekman's one :o

As for BMW 1 series (mid 2000's), I've been in one- wasn't impressed by the interior or boot/legroom. Fiesta is amazingly practical for such a small car in comparison.
 
flibbage0 said:
I agree that it is nice knowing you don't have to worry, my car already has dents and scrapes from before so never had to worry. However I'm growing up and the whole small hatchback/city car which you have to rev the nuts out of it/driven spritely is not required.

After a long day of standing up at work all day just want something to cruise. I was looking at Jaguar XJ's and did think of geekman's one :o

As for BMW 1 series (mid 2000's), I've been in one- wasn't impressed by the interior or boot/legroom. Fiesta is amazingly practical for such a small car in comparison.
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yeah, the 1 series does fall down against its competition, rwd does not a large boot make, but remember It's the car you need as much as the car you want and you need to be sure you know what's important to you and stick to your guns.

guess its up to you, I was in a similar situation, we have a driveway but the angle and gateway is so awkward I was genuinely under the impression I couldn't get a saloon in there.

wasn't until I convinced a mate of mine who had a 159 at the time to have a crack and he managed it that I started even considering saloons.
 
Geekmans parking may be impressive and all but there's no way you'll catch me parking like that. Not because I can't get in the small spaces but because I don't trust other people not to leave some serious dings or scratches when they try to get out. I purposefully park slightly further away from work than I need to so I can park on a nice wide road and always try and pick a spot where people can only park on one side of me to half the chances of getting hit :p
 
I'd be annoyed if I came back and found someone parked like that next to my car to be honest.

There's nothing worse than having to gradually manoeuvre your way out of a space in an MX5 where you can't see anything because you're so low and someone has parked so close.
 
If I lived in France I'd only settle for something with steel bull bars lol

Have you seen some people trying to park? It's bad enough in this country in big supermarket car parks!
 
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When I lived in Lyon, all the cars attempting to park took the word bumper literally. They clearly had no time for sensors over there :p
 
neoboy said:
When I lived in Lyon, all the cars attempting to park took the word bumper literally. They clearly had no time for sensors over there :p
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French are known for it. My wife is half French and told me a while back that the French literally don't care and just view it as 'bumpers are for bumping.' Lol
 
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