parking phobia
Author
Discussion

Big hub

Original Poster:

65 posts

99 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
quotequote all
now and again when i can afford the petrol, i take the VXR8 for a run, if have to use a car park i will find a area with no parked cars so the old girl doesn't get scratched, but you can bet your sweet life when i get back there will be a car parked each side as if to just piss me off, any body else have the same problem.

Big hub

Original Poster:

65 posts

99 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
quotequote all
now and again when i can afford the petrol, i take the VXR8 for a run, if have to use a car park i will find a area with no parked cars so the old girl doesn't get scratched, but you can bet your sweet life when i get back there will be a car parked each side as if to just piss me off, any body else have the same problem.

Wacky Racer

41,363 posts

277 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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Once parked in a deserted 200 space car park in the far right hand corner, when I came back there was a car next to me.

Either safety in numbers, or taking the piss.

paradigital

1,107 posts

182 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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You’ll find that a lot of people suck so much at parking that they need the visual reference that another parked car gives. People also tend to park near nicer cars as then they themselves are less likely to get their car damaged.

I also tend to park away from the entrance and on my own, but 9 times out of 10 I’ll come back out to find someone has badly parked next to me.

MikeM6

6,064 posts

132 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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I find that most don't park far from the doors of a shop. Most people are too lazy to walk, so I take advantage and park opposite. Rarely have many parking near me.

cayman-black

13,268 posts

246 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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Yes, its a really piss-off.

Glenn63

3,951 posts

114 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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I was the same with my last two cars, always worried wherever I left it. This one I decided to try and not fret and within 2 months a van at work put a lovely dent in the drivers door which reinforced my fk it attitude to the exterior. I track it also so will pick up some stone chips etc at some point. Mechanically it’s maintained perfectly though.
Unfortunately it’s the world we live in where others don’t give a st about others stuff, even less so if it’s better than theirs.

swisstoni

24,081 posts

309 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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Shortly the Op will be advised to just get over it and not give a st about their car because that poster doesn’t and it’s fine! hehe


LunarOne

7,331 posts

167 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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I bought a 1990s car with rubbing strips along the doors and big chrome bumpers so I didn't have to worry. Anyone who comes into contact with that will probably come off worse. But then I realised what a nice car it is and so now I keep that safe and drive a more modern shed when I know I'll have to park in the company of morons other people.

Tall_Blk

377 posts

221 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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[quote=paradigital]You’ll find that a lot of people suck so much at parking that they need the visual reference that another parked car gives. People also tend to park near nicer cars as then they themselves are less likely to get their car damaged.

Sometimes it’s good to park next to a like minded driver especially in empty car parks where you are increasing your chances of having your car scratched if you park where there are no other cars. I also look into the car to see if there are any visual evidence of children toys, child seat etc.

I hate empty car parks as the risk of getting scratched or pranged is so high I get paranoid.

Grumps.

20,094 posts

66 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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No

Gordon Hill

2,412 posts

45 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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swisstoni said:
Shortly the Op will be advised to just get over it and not give a st about their car because that poster doesn’t and it’s fine! hehe
That's the correct attitude to have if you run a shed as a daily because it's carefree, no sh!ts given motoring. However if said car is precious to you or valuable then I wouldn't be taking it anywhere near the places mentioned unless I had no choice with the size of supermarket bays and the numpties who try to abandon their cars in them.

Pica-Pica

16,648 posts

114 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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The only ding my 335d had was when I parked at the far end of a car park, specifically to avoid car park dings. I learnt my lesson. (I scraped the blue paint off with my nail - the very small ding still remains).
Now, when I park next to a car, I park so that any car door that is opened will contact my unfolded mirrors first. The F30/31 has a strong leading edge to the mirror mount.

Edited by Pica-Pica on Sunday 23 April 13:16

Hoofy

80,102 posts

312 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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paradigital said:
You’ll find that a lot of people suck so much at parking that they need the visual reference that another parked car gives.
Making it even more worrying for the OPer!

Canon_Fodder

1,775 posts

93 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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my local sainsburys as a space that's a) on the end of a row, b) is right in the far corner of the car park and c) has a lighting pole at the rear corner of the space which itself has a circular protective steel ring around it.

Pretty much a bomb proof defensive space. I can only really be assaulted from behind and that hasn't happened so far in 25 years.

I've never seen another car parked there

Calinours

1,422 posts

80 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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Car park dents, once a real bang from a kid flinging open a rear door while I was actually sitting in mine is just a fact of life, I’d guess I have picked up something on average maybe every couple of years in my 35 years of driving.

Like the OP, it used to stress me out a lot when I was in a nice car I’d scraped for, especially when it was my only car or daily, and I had to use it to visit shops and supermarkets.

Parking far from the entrance usually works, not so much if a car park is well used and there’s a few owners with similar ideas to look after their cars and thus all are more spread out. I’ve seen some park across 2 spaces to protect their car, particularly the big wide luxo-SUV stuff, I’d avoid that as it can invite the wrong sort of attention from certain types of individual. There’s some good advice in the posts above about looking for evidence of kids, as stressed mums with kids are the worst offenders, and ensuring doors hit mirrors first etc etc. Car parks with curved bay ends are good as they have more space, though these will be the first snapped up by like minded folks smile

In the end, I keep £500 in a mental or real ‘pot’ for a dent repair for when it inevitably happens, and just accept it as one of the many costs of running something nice. A realistic approach to what you have to spend I have found to be much healthier - keep worry and stress in their respective boxes, don’t allow that stuff to affect the pleasure of ownership and driving of your pride and joy.

Edited by Calinours on Sunday 23 April 13:33

Gigamoons

18,084 posts

230 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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Not the answer for all.. but it’s the reason I keep a shed on the fleet.

The utter irony is that others clearly don’t like the look of parking near it, so I inevitably return to find it with nothing parked nearby hehe

CalisenQX

218 posts

103 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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My wife ‘used’ to park next to a car even if the car park was virtually empty, to ensure she was lining up straight, but after me giving her some verbal abuse on each and every occasion for about 5 years she now understands how annoying it would be for the owner of said car, especially if it’s a rare/sporty car to come out and find a stty little clio parked 6 inches away from their drivers door in an empty car park.

Thankfully I’ve managed to stop this habit but I did seriously
Consider divorce on the ground of her being a complete moron. Does also help now she has a nice ‘sporty’ car and appreciates looking after it.

Monkeylegend

29,391 posts

261 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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Parking like that marks you out as a bit of a snowflake so people will park next to you on purpose to annoy.

Human nature smile


N111BJG

1,262 posts

93 months

Sunday 23rd April 2023
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On Wednesday afternoon I collected a new Macan, on the way home my wife & I stopped for a pub meal. Owing to the time of day the pub was nearly empty. It's a biggish place in the country so has a sizeable car park

Sure enough when we came out there were cars right beside us that made getting in & out tricky, even though there were loads of other spaces where there was masses of space so doors could be opened wide.

My wife declared there were absolute twots, amongst many other observations on their intelligence.