Is your paranoia ruining your enjoyment of your car?

[Conscript]

Feel your pain, op. Every mundane trip in the car is preceded by a risk assessment. Always try and park at the back of the car park, and if I have to park in a less than ideal spot, I'll be worrying about it until I return. I found a door ding while washing it a couple of months ago and that put me in a foul mood for days.

Luckily we have an old Xtrail work horse for most mundane trips, and that I don't really care about cosmetically. I'd leave it parked upside down with the doors wide open and not worry about it. Quite liberating in a way.

[viper blue]

If your wallet allows...
I keep my toy out of harms reach and a 200000 miler shed for shopping car parks. Works well.

[Zed 44]

Frustratingly I've been forced to take the shed up to Scotland via. an overnight in Penrith due to the lack of in some cases or the non-existence of reasonably priced hotels with secure parking.

[crazy about cars]

I also have all the usual paranoia mentioned above and a strange one too, I was paranoid that my choice of car will hinder career progression. Due to this I've sold probably 2 of the best cars I'll ever own; R35 Black Edition GTR and E92 Comp Pack M3

[confused_buyer]

If it makes anyone feel any better, at some point in the next 10 years for the majority of cases someone will take the pride and joy and not just ding it in the car park but stick a bloody great clew into it, smashing the roof and windows to bits and then unceromniously cart it across a messy yerd and dump it into a crusher where it will be reduced into a square and then turned into something else - possibly a tin can in Tesco's.

Getting your property damaged is, of course, annoying but inevtiable if you use it and however annoying it may be you have to remember where it will end up in the end.......they are cars, not people.

[PowerslideSWE]

To some extent it does. My old e38 750 is Very thirsty, and trips around town is going to be expensive, and quite frankly a little pointless aswell, so the Volvo does those journeys. And the longer ones that you want to do in the '50 is going to be very comfy but again very expensive, so those are few and far between aswell.

Parking the car is another headache, I often park at the very end of a car park, I have usable legs, so I can walk for a minute to get to where it is I'm going, and for most of the times the car is by it self at the end of the parkinglot when I get back, but every now and then there is a Volvo belonging to a family of five parked up close, which usually have me doing a search for new dings and scrapes. Literally the first time after purchase when I parked the car anywhere byt the garage it had a 10 inch scrape ending with a ding on the rear quarter. How it got there is anyones guess since there was no car there and of course no note saying sorry for bumping your car, here's my number...

And old cars, especially cars that were expensive to run when new are not going to get cheaper to run at age 20 so the added worry of something possibly not worth repairing failing is ever present. And on the last run before winter hibernation I got greeted to a "motornotprogramm" message of the dash...which promptly made me get another e38 750 as a parts car...

Love it tho, and come hell of high water I will not sell.

[vrsmxtb]

I'm not overly precious, but I will always park strategically whenever possible, wide bays, end bays, quiet end of the car park etc. In a weird display of odd karma, it's almost like the more you care, the more chances of something happening are!

[Spooge]

My paranoia resulted in me kerbing one of my wheels while parking in an awkward spot in an awkward way to be as far away as possible from the person beside me.

God dammit. My anger completely ruined the go-karting I was going to. Anyone have experience repairing "Diamond cut" alloys? Audi recommended me prestige wheels in Manchester.

Edited by Spooge on Saturday 14th February 13:08

[Speed addicted]

I've always been careful where I park, even in a £1500 MGF. It annoys the hell out of me when clueless aresholes hit the car.

I got a Citroen Berlingo snotter to run alongside my current X6 because it's really nice to have something you really don't have to worry about. New dents just mingle with the old ones, only insane people would want to steal it and vandals feel sorry for you.

It's also great for hauling stuff to the skip and throwing filthy mountain bikes into.

It's not paranoia when they're really out to get you.

[RGambo]

No, to be honest I don't worry about my car. I bought it to enjoy it, which I do, but it's only a bloody car! It can be fixed, or replaced. Either way what's the purpose in worrying? It will not change what is going to happen.
A lorry drove into my last car, I was more pissed off at the aggravation it caused to get it fixed than the damage done.

[Evanivitch]

This is the feeling most Alfa Romeo owners have, especially when you start hearing those bushings squeak...

[RobinBanks]

No, why would I?

The other day I found a large scuff and a note from whoever accidentally did it on the windscreen with contact details. I doubt I will bother to sort it out.

[MethylatedSpirit]

Little car park bumps are part of life. Find a decent bodyshop and it shouldn't be too expensive to rectify.

Damage by a Swedish coach in my works car park.


Edit:

Then someone keyed my Clio, down the entire side. £350 later:

Edited by MethylatedSpirit on Saturday 14th February 13:36

[Max5476]

When I was a student I was paranoid my SV650 was going to drop a valve and leave my with a large unaffordable bill, to the extent I did not use it very often. Once I had a better paid job it stopped worrying me though

[PowerslideSWE]

MethylatedSpirit said:

Little car park bumps are part of life. Find a decent bodyshop and it shouldn't be too expensive to rectify.

Damage by a Swedish coach in my works car park.


Edit:

Then someone keyed my Clio, down the entire side. £350 later:




And having the Clio keyed didn't bother you? £350 of my own money to rectify some assholes idiocy would have me blow a gasket. Infact I have, had my Alfa keyed on both sides, got it painted on one side only to have the other side keyed 2 days later, the wing mirror kicked off from my Laguna etc. Made me get a private garage at some expense.

Edited by MethylatedSpirit on Saturday 14th February 13:36

[bigfatnick]

I dare not park my monaro at work, seeing as I am an away all week lorry driver, and i don't trust it to be left in a farm yard all week.

It makes a lot of noise, the other day I came out of a junction with gusto (out in the sticks, away from anything - or so I thought), didn't breech the speed limit. But a v8 with a shiny exhaust appears to attract attention. Some bloke Who I think has something to do with horsey types filmed me (To the point of standing well in the road) as I drove past him at 50mph on a nsl country lane. - it's the only silver monaro for miles not looking forwards to him putting it on the village daily mail readers/dog st moaners/blame everything on "boy racers" Facebook page.

Have to park it at the far end of any car park I go in.

Scared of putting miles on it.

Can't get it serviced locally.



So yeah, Op's original point - I miss driving £1000 slightly more discreet cars - even if it was an m3 etc, just something a little less rare, I wouldn't be so bothered.

[zoom star]

I always, always park as far away from the shop, cinema, etc so that all the lazy sods park up the front out of the way.
And yet, when I get home from work,walking to the far end of the car park,in a bay of 20 empty spaces,parked right next to my car will be another car.

[Centurion07]

RGambo said:

No, to be honest I don't worry about my car. I bought it to enjoy it, which I do, but it's only a bloody car! It can be fixed, or replaced. Either way what's the purpose in worrying? It will not change what is going to happen.
A lorry drove into my last car, [bI was more pissed off at the aggravation it caused to get it fixed than the damage done[/b].

Isn't that the whole point? Of course pretty much ANY amount of damage can be fixed, it's the time/hassle/aggravation in having to do it because of someone else's incompetence that's the issue.

At a slight tangent, it's also the reason why those ads on tv annoy the crap out of me. I think they were for an insurance co. or ambulance-chasing solicitors or something, and they tried to point out people's reactions to getting bumped as pedestrians vs drivers. Of course I'm going to be more pissed off if someone drives into the side of my car rather than just bumps into me as a pedestrian; another pedestrian bumping into me isn't going to cost me time, money and hassle to put me back in the position I was before you walked into me, whereas bumping into my car with your car is!!

[DJFish]

Yep, one of the reasons I sold my Porsche.

[Tickle]

Fully agree with th OP and for the same reasons is why I now have two cars. One for weekly commute, shops etc and one for pleasure..... that doesn't go near towns, busy roads or supermarkets!