Show Us Your Motors!

[Clarkey]

I totally get it, I try to keep my Nissan nice but it's quite a bit of effort, you end up distraught about something as minor as a stone chip, and it holds me back from driving it how I would really like.
The Lexus was pretty liberating in just driving it and not giving two craps about the bodywork, great passing a line of people scared to overtake a gritter and passing it without a care in the world.
The 328 was great after I accidently mullered the mint bodywork, didn't care after that and drifting it was a lot more fun without the fear of getting too close to the wall/other cars.

 

[geekman]

I've never really got this - even from my very first £1200 car I've always wanted to keep them nice and I've always been in a position where I'd have been annoyed if they got damaged and yet it causes no real issues. A bit of care when parking and thats all you need. I certainly wouldn't enjoy a car I 'dont care about', what do you guys do with your cars that this is even a consideration!?

I think it depends on the condition of the car when you get it. When I got my Volvo 850 or MR2, they were both in decent mechanical condition but pretty poor cosmetically. If they'd have been mint, I'd have cared for them despite their low value, but as they weren't I didn't see the point in trying.

It is rather fun parking in incredibly tight spots without worrying about people hitting it, overtaking gritters when everyone else is hanging back, pretending to be colin mcrae down gravel roads, or on one occasion moving a fallen tree with the bumper.

 

[Maccapacca]

I get it, I've given up, it's a tool for business and family, keeping it tip top is quite stressful, I've done all that and cried about the supermarket dent and scratched alloy. I park on construction sites and have kids that look like there's a pair of drunk chimps in the car when I'm in the petrol station. Mechanically it's solid, that I can take care of.

 

[peterattheboro]

I totally get it, I try to keep my Nissan nice but it's quite a bit of effort, you end up distraught about something as minor as a stone chip, and it holds me back from driving it how I would really like.
The Lexus was pretty liberating in just driving it and not giving two craps about the bodywork, great passing a line of people scared to overtake a gritter and passing it without a care in the world.
The 328 was great after I accidently mullered the mint bodywork, didn't care after that and drifting it was a lot more fun without the fear of getting too close to the wall/other cars.

This.

I love my Civic and its mechanically sound. Still puts a smile on my face when I boot it. But the body work is shot especially the front bumper. Will cost the value of the car to put the paint and wheels back to mint condition

 

[Akagi]

I must admit that one of the only reasons why I'm wary about getting a new car is because of how much more I'd care about keeping it in tip top condition...

 

[Stormster]

It most certainly is pretty stressful. After having my respray done I would definitely not get myself into such a situation again. Lesson learnt, don't buy in the rain, don't rush a purchase and don't take a supposed genuine sellers word for gospel.

Now I need to try and keep it immaculate. Gonna be difficult parking on the road in a council estate

 

[Relentless81]

Exactly what Clarkey, Conscript and peterattheboro said, after years of stressing over where to park, worrying about it once its parked, wanting to keep on top of every little mark inside and out it really is refreshing to keep a car mechanically sound but not have to worry about its exterior condition.

I intended to sell mine at the end of month due to it needing money spending on it and wanting something newer but I think I'm just going to keep it for a bit longer until a better excuse to upgrade comes along

 

[rossk26]

A bit of care when parking and thats all you need.

You can be as careful as you want, still doesn't stop the idiot from disregarding all other open spaces in the whole car park and parking 2 inches from your car.

I was actually sat in my car once and some stupid woman opened her car door onto mine, I stared at her and she just laughed. Good job there was no damage.

 

[[TW]Fox]

But the reality is that its fairly rare damage will occur otherwise everyone's car would be trashed. Over the space of 8 years I could count the parking damage on the 530i on one hand and although I would consider whereabouts I would park in a car park it wasn't something that I spent more than a few seconds thinking about.

Seems like a lot of people here just want the ability to bounce off curbs and be the ones who squeeze into unsuitable spaces without caring

 

[Akagi]

Seems like a lot of people here just want the ability to bounce off curbs and be the ones who squeeze into unsuitable spaces without caring

Thats not the case for me at least, I hit a bad pothole the other day and actually pulled over to check if everything was alright, and I never deliberately put myself in a situation where the car could suffer superficial damage.

However in my car, if I brush the curb with the alloy slightly when I park, I just think "Oh crap." whereas if I did it in an immaculate and meticulously cared for car, I would have a panic attack. Or if I scrape a thick hedge with the side of my car on a narrow country lane, I just think "oh, I touched the hedge." In the mint car I'd have to pull over and examine the paintwork, then polish it as soon as I got home.

 

[rossk26]

But the reality is that its fairly rare damage will occur otherwise everyone's car would be trashed. Over the space of 8 years I could count the parking damage on the 530i on one hand and although I would consider whereabouts I would park in a car park it wasn't something that I spent more than a few seconds thinking about.

Seems like a lot of people here just want the ability to bounce off curbs and be the ones who squeeze into unsuitable spaces without caring

I find the parent and child spaces are brilliant

 

[Howard]

But the reality is that its fairly rare damage will occur otherwise everyone's car would be trashed.

Have you seen the state of most cars on the road? It's rare to see a car owned by someone who thinks of it as "just a car" that doesn't have random visible damage. The general public just don't give a stuff and although in supermarkets etc I'll always go right to the back, in many cases when you're trying to park, e.g. in small car parks and/or with stupidly narrow spaces, you can't avoid having to park next to someone who most likely will donk their door against yours when getting in

 

[mrk]

If I can't find a spot that is acceptable then I will simply go to another supermarket. A bit extreme? sure. But it has gotten me through 5 years in the previous car so I don't plan on shifting that NDB (No Ding Bonus) just yet

Either that or make the most of it and go after midnight when 99% of the carpark is empty. Can enjoy a drive then too

 

[RoboCod]

I find the parent and child spaces are brilliant

I noticed, in my local Sainsbury, a sign that said you could be fined for parking in a child space. I guess they can enforce whatever rule they wish on their own land, but exactly how they would enforce it I don't know?

If I drove a nicer car I'd use them though.

 

[Dav4]

It seems like the more u try to find a few nice empty spaces it always attracts idiots to park next to u
I returned to my car the other day to find a fiat 500 had just turned into a space and left it at an angle were it was inches from my bumper due to the Rear not being straight which then resulted in me squeezing out of the space. My ST220 did not have a mark on it but now has a nice big ding and scratch thanks to someone.
One of my previous cars actually got scraped all the way down the side from passenger door to the back bumper from someone trying to get out of a massive space next to me.
Most drivers "mainly women" ability and control of a car is shocking! U wonder how they pass there test.
I can see other guys points about having a car your not bothered about. Even though I try to keep my car as nice as possible the fact it's been dinged and scratched though annoying it's only worth 3k so I'm not going to lose any sleep. But if I had s newish or new car I would go mental at someone damaging it.

 

[slick rick]

I noticed on my car the day after it had been in a car park that the strip at the bottom of the front bumper that indicates if you are going to scrape the bumper was mangled on the passenger side and the gap between bumper and wing had opened up. On closer inspection I saw a round indentation with cracks ands scuffs and general deformation in the lower bumper that I can only assume was from a tow bar due to the location and shape of the damage, it had also cracked up the passenger side arch liner pretty badly.

Didn't bother repairing it as I just thought what is the point as another **** will only end up damaging it again so the damage remains and frankly the car isn't worth the cost to fix it.

 

[Conscript]

But the reality is that its fairly rare damage will occur otherwise everyone's car would be trashed. Over the space of 8 years I could count the parking damage on the 530i on one hand and although I would consider whereabouts I would park in a car park it wasn't something that I spent more than a few seconds thinking about.

Saying it's rare is hardly much comfort. Once it's happened, it's happened, that's the worry, and why some of us worry about it.

Weight it up by saying "well I've only only received x amount of damage in 8 years" is an entirely rational way of dealing with it...but no one ever claimed these worries as rational

 

[Maccapacca]

Big difference living in the sticks on your mum and dads private drive, parking in a private car park at work driving at 50 to work on empty roads.

Try parking on the street, parking at a train station car park, driving either at a million miles an hour or in traffic at a crawl with cyclists leaning on your car and having to park in a tiny car park at work or on a back street.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

I work with mostly women - the parking in the car park is absolutely shocking sometimes. It really boggles the mind how people can just leave their cars, not caring about anyone else needing to park or get by.

 

[ScoobyDoo69]

All of the above +1.

I used to (and still intend to when I get another) leave the Subaru at home and take the "banger" to work. I would have a melt down if the Subaru picked up as much damage as my recently purchased 407.

I've had it for...what? Less than 2 months? And in the various work car parks I visit, it has picked up about 5 new door dents (if not more) and minor marking to the front bumper.

If I could guarantee that I could park my car in acceptable places where I work then I'd be happy to spend a lot lot more on a daily.