Ever spent the night in your car?

[LotusOmega375D]

Last time for me was exactly 20 years ago. My brother and I drove to Aschaffenburg in central Germany to visit the now defunct Rosso Bianco collection of historic sports cars. However we couldn't find an available hotel room anywhere, so just got bladdered and slept in my trusty old BMW 2002 in the railway station car-park. It was freezing and the car had a thick layer of condensed beer on the inside of the windows by the time we woke up to see bemused commuters peering in at us the next morning. Never again!

[HustleRussell]

Motor sport on a budget. If I can't find somewhere for about £25/night, I'll sleep in my car. I'll be doing it this weekend; Thurs, Fri and Sat night!
Car is a BMW E34 touring, so with the rear seats folded down I have a 6'x4' flat, dry and warmish place to sleep.
I'm single.

[steviegunn]

Went to the Braemar Gathering many years ago, got there, parked in a field, went to the pub, came out drunk and it lashing it down, putting up the tent didn't appeal, slept in the car, Chevettes are surprisingly comfortable as the front seats went pretty flat.

[Changedmyname]

I've slept in my car/vans many a time of course ,working away from home,but never in the winter.
I wouldn't do it now at my age.

[VidalBaboon]

Yes. It was st.

[Raize]

Did you know you can get arrested for sleeping in your car while drunk?

[Petrolhead_Rich]

Me and four friends (yes, five in total) spent the night in a Rover 214 a few years ago after driving to the seaside at 2am (don't ask why, and yes, the driver was sober and legal to drive)

The condensation on the windows in the morning was horrendous!!

[TheTurbonator]

Had to do it once in 2007 or was it 2008? It was when we had all that rain and the whole of the UK literally flooded. I was trying to get to Cardiff from Leeds after setting off around mid-afternoon. It got to the point at about 3am, where I just couldn't get any further and get past a certain river which had burst its banks. Every road and even tiny little country lanes in the direction of Cardiff were all closed and flooded. I had no choice but to sleep in the car for a couple of hours and then attempt to drive back home in all the chaos. Think I got back to Leeds around 9am the following morning.

A few weeks back I turned up to work a few hours early by mistake, so I slept in the car then too. Thought I started at 5am when it was actually 8am. There was no point driving back home, so I just crawled into the boot and got a few hours more sleep.

[Jimmy No Hands]

Went to a concert in Cardiff with a mate. Had no hotel booked because we were young and didn't plan things properly. Spend the night in a 1998 Ford Fiesta which was cramped, and very cold.

[v8will]

Yes, went camping with friends a few years back and one of their tents was quite frankly st. I donated mine and slept in the Volvo 850 estate I had at the time. It actually snowed that night but I was very cosy.

[Ozzie Osmond]

....this is surely the whole purpose of "flat floor" estate cars and MPVs.

[HustleRussell]

Raize said:

Did you know you can get arrested for sleeping in your car while drunk?

Not strictly true. You can be arrested for being drunk and in charge of a vehicle, but if your away from the road and you don't have the key on you and your not sleeping in the driver's seat, you're unlikely to have a problem.

[fatboy69]

More than once. First couple of days after my now ex wife threw me out of the house.... Self inflicted that one as she cancelled the credit card so I couldn't check into a hotel!

Also slept in the car a couple of times due to being unfit to drive although that was many many years ago when plod took the view that it was ok to do that.

Don't condone drink driving, never have, & wouldn't sleep it off in the car now as, quite rightly, plod would take a dim view of it.

Many times at numerous race events up & down the country, most recently last year at the Goodwood FOS where I obtained a ticket for the Saturday whilst I was at Goodwood on the Friday. Bloody uncomfortable sleeping on the front seat of a 3 series BMW.

Worst thing was needing a piss at 3am in the morning, opening the door & finding that I couldn't get out as I had forgotten that I had parked the car with the drivers door against the hedge meaning that I was on the wrong side of the car to get out!

Managed to get out just in time thankfully although it was a close call!

[williredale]

Spent the night in the passenger seat of a first generation Ford Ka. I was stfaced though...

[driverrob]

About 40 years ago, on my first visit to Santa Pod. Three of us spent the night in my MkIV Zodiac. Marginally better than the second visit when we slept in a tent, in October.

[sanf]

Watching the RAC 1994-1999 - slept in a mixture of vans, Seat Toledo, Vauxhall Astra & Vauxhall vectra. Even as recently as 2008 I slept in my trusty 407.

Woodpecker stages 95 - slept 3 of us in a Nissan Micra
Humberside stages 2004 - Vauxhall Vectra

House party in Croydon 96, had 3 of us sleeping in my Saxo
Another house party near Gatwick 97, 4 of us in a Fiat Punto GT turbo - including a 6ft 2in 18 stone mate, on the steering wheel side.

All great fun...

[Ozzie Osmond]

HustleRussell said:

if your away from the road and you don't have the key on you and your not sleeping in the driver's seat, you're unlikely to have a problem.

True. But why on earth would you be sleeping in the car if you haven't got the key??

[NightRunner]

Remote sthole bus depo carpark in deepest darkest Ukraine, in winter, in the snow.

5mins before we parked up we drove past a sign warning of wolves and bears...

[TheForceV4]

Yes a few years back in the depths of winter. Thought it would be a cakewalk.... I was very wrong! I froze my nuts off!!!

[Mastodon2]

Spent most of a night in my car before, not trying to sleep but that's probably for the best. Most cars are st for sleeping in overnight, but I've clocked up plenty of hours in mine sleeping on lunch breaks.