Where wont you park?

Rowley Birkin QC

Not talking about rough neighbourhoods or anything like that, more along the lines of what kind of car wont you park beside at Tesco etc.?

Personally I wont park beside Micras,Corsas, any kind of MPV or Fiestas. I have seen fag munching mommas getting in or out of theses things and swinging doors fully open and denting/scratching the car beside too many times for comfort. Not once did any of them wait for owner to return.

I only drive a lowly vectra but nearly 10 years on its mercifully dent and scratch free and I would prefer to keep it this way. Im quite happy to park beside boy racer type motors due to the obsessive care taken by these lads when getting in or out.

Any views?

jhegarty

Anything that looks like it carries kids..... I also take a quick snap of the mobile of any car I have to park next to, but don't like the look of...

Gerry

I usually try to park beside something that looks reasonably expensive. Its really annoying, my car has picked up lots of little dings in the past few months, looks like someone had a go at the quarter panel with a shopping trolley.

Stephen

I try to avoid MPV's and 4x4s. This is most easily done by parking in the part of the car park furthest from the entrance

BnA

Lifes too short to be so paranoid

kikel

Don't care. If their is a space an i can fit into it. i'll take it. excluding disabled of course

BrianD3

bigkev49 wrote:

fag munching mommas

LMAO. You forgot to mention that they're usually overweight, wearing tracksuits and in summertime can be seen slobbering an ice cream cone all over themselves while driving

johnnyrotten

BnA wrote:

Lifes too short to be so paranoid

Yep

MarkR

Suvs, minivans, anything with "Moms Taxi" written on it. You know the sort. I will usually park on an edge if possible, and keep well over on the open side to give maximum clearance. I've also taken photos of cars that might bump me too!

maidhc

I park in the city every day, so here goes:

I parallel park where possible: less of a chance of getting dings or being swiped into by a parking car. The chance of getting the corners of the bumpers scuffed increases, but this is a cheaper problem to fix.

On narrowish one way street: less cars, no squeezing past.

I don't pay much attention what I park near. The cars generally have moved anyway by the time I get back.

At the end of the day though you just have to accept you will come back some day with you car damaged. All you can do is reduce the statistical probability.

Gregor Samsa

jhegarty wrote:

I also take a quick snap of the mobile of any car I have to park next to, but don't like the look of...

I thought about doing this once, but in reality I don't think it would do much good.

Just because you have a photo of a car that was parked beside you when you left your car, doesn't mean it was the only one that was in that spot while you were away.

Biro

maidhc wrote:

I don't pay much attention what I park near. The cars generally have moved anyway by the time I get back.

But thats the point... they're gone when you come back, so therefore they have already opened their door into the side of your car.
In general, I avoid the Tesco car park in Sligo. Everyone I know, including myself, have had their car damaged there.

event

jhegarty wrote:

Anything that looks like it carries kids..... I also take a quick snap of the mobile of any car I have to park next to, but don't like the look of...

why do you do that?

Pherekydes

Biro wrote:

But thats the point... they're gone when you come back, so therefore they have already opened their door into the side of your car.

Not necessarily. That was his point. It could have been the other car wot dented your pride and joy.

I park my yolk anywhere, but I'm obsessive about my kids being careful getting in and out.

junkyard

I'd never take any of my good stuff to a shopping centre, your only asking for trouble. I usually take a van or some banger of a sales car tbh.:)

BrianD3

I will avoid any area of the car park where the cars already there are parked crooked or not between the lines. Because when the parking system gets disrupted like this some spaces are going to abnormally narrow. The result of these narrow spaces is that drivers will hit your car as they maneouvre in and out, slam their doors into yours, knock your mirrors with their fat arses, scrape along your paint with zips and buckles etc.

Another one to avoid is - never park side on to cars which will be reversing out of spaces. This can occur when there is a mix of perpendicular and parallel parking spaces in a car park. There might be perpendicular on one side of a narrow roadway and parallel along the other side. If you park in one of the parellel spaces ther is a big risk that somone will reverse out and straight into your doors which obviously have no bumper to protect them from expensive damage.

Best and simplest advice is probably to park in a quiet area far away from the shop. Lazy, sloppy drivers will never even think of parking there but careful drivers will have the same idea as you!

rebel.ranter

If I have to park in a shopping car park or multi storey I always try to bring something other than my own cars (work car instead).
But if I do I always park as far away from the shopiing centre door. Lazy people tend to be the ones that go frte tight spaces near the door & are also the ones who don't give a toss about anything. Also the mums like to reduce the hassle with the kids by parking near. While I pity them with all they have to go through kerting them in ad out I just stay away.
On a multi storey I park at the very top, they are normally empty up there.

I stay away from cars parking nose out when the car park or space is clearly set up for nose in parking. If they are moron enough to park that way they are moron enough to ding your car. I also stay away from any un-minded, dirty looking cars, again these are owned by lazy people.
As a previous poster says you can only reduce the chances of damageyou can't eliminate the possibility. However it only takes a minute extra to prevent damage to your car, something that is worth tousands.

Our man in Havana

I always park in a space that I can drive out of.

overdriver

Town. I never park in town, unless I'm in the van. The Herald just seems to be a magnet for all manner of people - kids, skangers, aul fellas...I left the missus in it one day and came back to find an aul lad circling it on his shop-mobility thing, giving her the thumbs-up whenever he caught her eye.

At B&Q I park as far away from the doors as I can, because some gob****e is always trying to get long pieces of wood into a short car or something.

ballooba

rebel.ranter wrote:

I stay away from cars parking nose out when the car park or space is clearly set up for nose in parking. If they are moron enough to park that way they are moron enough to ding your car.

That makes no sense.

I always reverse into spots.
1) It's easier to park straight between the lines by watching said lines in mirrors.
2) It's safer reversing into spot when parking than reversing out into traffic when leaving.

I'd never drive front ways into a spot (Parallel or Fishbone) unless I had to.

G Luxel

Some people are too lazy to park their car properly between the white lines.
The car or whatever type of vehicle it is, is just abandoned while the driver runs into the shop etc. However I dont think that parking beside an expensive car or a boy racers car means ur going to stay ding free while inside in a shopping centre. These cars have plastic doorguards so no matter what they hit, your car will still end up with a dent or scratch. Their doors will still be nice and shiny.

BrianD3

ballooba wrote:

That makes no sense.

I always reverse into spots.
1) It's easier to park straight between the lines by watching said lines in mirrors.
2) It's safer reversing into spot when parking than reversing out into traffic when leaving.

I'd never drive front ways into a spot (Parallel or Fishbone) unless I had to.

If the car park is set up with a one way system and fishbone parking then it is easier to drive in and reverse out. That's how it's designed. People who reverse into spots in these situations have usually driven the wrong way around the one way system.

BrianD3

One that I haven't seen mentioned - if you have to park on the street overnight stay well away from pubs and niteclubs. Because at closing time a big crowd of drunk fools will spill out and you can guarantee that some will lean against, sit on or rub off your car with buckles and zips etc.

Gregor Samsa

Last night in Dunnes, a man a few spots down from me had reversed his car neatly into a fishbone space, cars both sides of him. I saw him when he was coming out with his full trolley. He parked the trolley in front of his car, and proceded to carry his shopping bags along the side of his car to the boot, carefully protecting his own doors, while bashing the bags off the neighbouring car. Had he driven in, he would have spared that car some un-necessary scrapes and dings.

Futureman

BnA wrote:

Lifes too short to be so paranoid

Life's too short to be regularly dropping your car into a panel beaters. A few common-sense precautions now, causes less hassle later.

Green_Martian

I have to agree with most ppl i wont park near any Mam's Taxi cars or SUV's........i always try and make sure there is enough space for the person to open the door enough to get in so hopefully they wont hit mine. I also push my wing mirrors in just in case some little sh*t hits while walking by

rebel.ranter

ballooba wrote:

That makes no sense.

I always reverse into spots.
1) It's easier to park straight between the lines by watching said lines in mirrors.
2) It's safer reversing into spot when parking than reversing out into traffic when leaving.

I'd never drive front ways into a spot (Parallel or Fishbone) unless I had to.

What I am talking about is the fishbone ssituation e.g. South Mall in Cork. It is clearly designed to drive straight into the space. Parking the other way around is so difficult & is not conducive to driving straight out. That's the kind of parking I avoid. Hard to explain but you'd understand me if you saw it.
In Australia you actually get a parking ticket for parking with the nose facing the wrong way. e.g. if you park on left side of Nourth-South street with nose pointing South.

RobAMerc

I resently went to look at a car which had 0 dents on it for its age.
I asked the vendor how he kept it so dent free.

"Easy mate, I park accross two spaces in the car park that keeps them away."

bennyc

I drive a nice used s60 you will always find it in the barron areas of the car park try and never park between cars that have dings and dangs on them.
but unless its raining or something I am going to the "far away spots"

Rowley Birkin QC

Another thing i do at my apartment space is park at the end of the row as close to the kerb as possible, this effectively halves the risk of dings and dents.
Living in student accomodation in marino so the place is full of battered corsas and micras driven predominantly by L plate female students,nightmare!!

maidhc

RobAMerc wrote:

"Easy mate, I park accross two spaces in the car park that keeps them away."

Umm. That will work until someone in a seicento sees they can sqeeeze in. Or until someone kicks in a panel in frustration!

As for reversing into a space on the south mall... I have never seen it done and I walk down it every day.

Padraig Mor

Usually park out in the quiet areas myself. Even beside the 'dent protection' thing, I reckon it's quicker to shoot straight into a spot and walk 1 - 2 mins to the door than drive around for 10 min looking for a 'convenient' spot.

Leon11

it does actually make sense, take liffey valley car park, one way system and all the spaces are angled to make it easier to park into and reverse out of when your going down an aisle, u always see some eejit going through to the other side thinking they're smart! then they realise when they're boxed in it's a pain to get the car going back down the one way system!

Rabies

pfft, doesn't matter. Where ever the car fits, it gets parked.
Haven't drven my own car in a few months. Had a new rental Lancer before christmas, treated it the same. Parked on the beach, mountain roads, back packer hostels, outside pubs. Where ever.

ballooba

Just to clarify, when you say fishbone, do you mean (A):

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Or (B):

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I wouldn't reverse into B.

Saruman

I always try and park far away. Usually at an end spot where there is a little more space. Car parking spaces are too narrow. They should all be as wide as dissabled spots.

Our man in Havana

ballooba wrote:

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I see idiots reversing into those everyday.