Hate car parks

stormchaser · May 6, 2018

Parked in a car park I always use and I come back to this.

No note left or anything. Very angry about this but I guess these days it’s to be expected. But luckily today I managed to buff out all of it and there is no trace of anything (luckily).

Sorry for the trivial thread. Beware where you all park.

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thar · May 6, 2018

I hate car parks too. I call myself an unsociable parker, by that I mean I park miles away from anyone and prefer to walk rather than park next to someone. I know that's not always possible, but this is what happens when you're forced to.

Glad you managed to remove the scuff, this time.

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Stompe · May 6, 2018

Makes my blood boil, its nigh on impossible these days to look after your paint work, i keep well away especially if i see kids in a car, some peeps are so lazy they get in the tightest of spaces, so as not to walk, i will concede spaces are not big enough for todays cars, especially Suvs.

stormchaser · May 6, 2018

Agree. It’s unbelievable really I park a long way from everyone yet it still happens. At least the paintwork is tough on the bumper I guess as it didn’t break the laquer.

It’s true spaces are so small and tight these days for modern cars.

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May 6, 2018

Time for someone to introduce larger spaces even if you have to pay or pay a bit extra to use it. I would.

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mr2lad · May 6, 2018

I also park as far away as possible or park next to another nice looking motor, more likely they will be as passionate with their car as i am with mine and be careful opening doors and driving out

i do carry a blue badge but will only use it when i have the entitled holder in car with me... failing that I’ll send the mrs with her car to do any shopping i need lol

i will not and i do not condone the double parking in spaces as more than likely to get a upset person to damage the car for poor inconsiderate parking

Spacewagon52 · May 6, 2018

If you ran an old Jeep Cherokee that was lifted with steel bumpers you would not get a scratch!

Don't ask me why?

stormchaser · May 6, 2018

Haha very true. Makes me feel like getting something like that for this purpose.

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200h · May 7, 2018

the same happened to me but this happened in my works carpark

where you'd expect your car to be safe.

a contractor came in the works carpark and opened the the

big steel gate into the side of my car, i'd had my car less than 2 weeks

so i was really peed off luckily the only damage was to the protection

film on the rear door so this has now been replaced but still cost me £26

for the film for something that wasn't my fault.

the question is why would anyone intentionally open the gate into your car.

Hadrian · May 7, 2018

Last year we came back to our Civic in the car park at Duxford to find the passenger side door and front wing damaged.

It cost me £300 to get repaired. Like many of you here I always try to avoid car parks, but sometimes there isn't an alternative.

A few years ago I parked early morning in a car park in Bury St Edmunds. The car park was virtually empty, but I parked in a spot

which doesn't get used much. I came back an hour later to find someone had parked their BMW as close as they could to my car,

even though the car park wasn't even a quarter full. It must be the pack instinct ? Our local Sainsburys resurfaced their car park

a couple of years ago, and made the spaces wider. I can't see this happening in a pay and display car park.

sorcerer · May 7, 2018

3 hours ago, 200h said:

the question is why would anyone intentionally open the gate into your car.

Maybe they thought that if some idiot parked in an area that was within the arc of the gate opening, maybe they deserved to get their car pranged? Not that I would, just playing Devil's Advocate and unfortunately acknowledging that some numpties do actually think like that these days.

Bob99 · May 7, 2018

I was sat in my car waiting for my wife in a small local village car park when an suv came to park in the space next to me. My wife was just about to move between the two cars to get in when he rolled forward and hit my car. I got out pretty angry as he could have hit my wife, but he didn't even know what he'd done. Couldn't see any damage although it was raining but I took his name, address and reg number probably in a fit of pique as once at home it would probably be hard to prove he did it.

200h · May 7, 2018

i am actually parked in a marked out parking bay so i am parked in the correct place

i finish work at 15.45 so i need to be on the end for me to leave without having

to ask others to move their cars every day as they finish at 17.00 so would be a pain.

i now padlock the gate in the closed position and only 8 others have the key

so it will stay shut.

Wass · May 9, 2018

Park parks are a trial. As others recommend, perk away from others, park away from child seats, park away from cuddly toys, park away from 4x4s. I found that parking in an empty space attracts others to park in the same area. rather like people shooting pidgeons post decoys. Child seat drivers aren't bad drivers but they are more likely to be distracted. Many ( but not all) 4x4 drivers like oversize cars because they feel more safe however don't have any idea as to where their strong box ends and someone elses car begins. Good 4x4 drivers are easily spotted by a lot of mud splash whilst there being no evidence of dents, clean 4x4s are potentially more dangerous. Clean 4x4 with child seats and cuddly toys are a real worry.

Dash cams with flashing LEDs are a very good idea. With a bit of luck, nit wit car scratcher will see the light flashing and know to take more care since there is a slight risk of the being held to account. Car scratchers are essentially cowards or self righteous. A car scratcher is rarely to blame. It is normally the fault of the person whose car was scratched.

As somebody already pointed out, driving a beaten up rust bucket will almost guarantee that the car will leave the car park as unmolested as it arrived at the car park.

There are chances for the tactical parker. One chance is to actually to join the throng of the cuddly toys and child seats by parking in a familly spot. I see this a lot. All you need is to fit a child seat. It isn't necessary to have a child actually with you. For all i know, the child seat may have been sourced for a few quid at the local car boot sale. I see people pulling a similar trick with disabled stickers too. Young couple with a manual gearboxed, spotless and new looking Mazda MX5 and a disability booklet which may have belonged to one of their parents or maybe grand parents for whom they were doing a spot of shopping. Going shopping in a lorry/commercial vehicle, 3 tonnes or greater also seems to be a good option. Sadly, the landrover defender has come to the end of its production cycle since these were truly the greatest shopping vehicle of all time. I suspect that the defender replacement will be a lot more cutesy and fragile belonging more in the realms of the high street than the ploughed field or woodland.

First_Lexus · May 9, 2018

On 07/05/2018 at 7:19 AM, Hadrian said:

Last year we came back to our Civic in the car park at Duxford to find the passenger side door and front wing damaged.

It cost me £300 to get repaired. Like many of you here I always try to avoid car parks, but sometimes there isn't an alternative.

A few years ago I parked early morning in a car park in Bury St Edmunds. The car park was virtually empty, but I parked in a spot

which doesn't get used much. I came back an hour later to find someone had parked their BMW as close as they could to my car,

even though the car park wasn't even a quarter full. It must be the pack instinct ? Our local Sainsburys resurfaced their car park

a couple of years ago, and made the spaces wider. I can't see this happening in a pay and display car park.

My local Sainsbury also has extra wide spaces, with a double line between each space. It works well, plenty of space to open doors without issue. Even so, I still park away from the crowds...although oddly yesterday I had the same as you. I was parked well out of the way and a BMW parked in the space next to me even though there were 50 or so others to choose from!

My conclusion is that BMW drivers are morons.

Spacewagon52 · May 9, 2018

1 minute ago, First_Lexus said:

My conclusion is that BMW drivers are morons.

I might be being very judgemental here but nice people seem to change when they get inside a BMW.

It is rumoured, but not proven, that BMW place a special type of "Nerve Gas" (Called Sodeverybodyelseontheroad) in the air con pollen filters. Audi have now cottoned on to this and their drivers are also being affected. You should only trust BMW drivers if they are wearing a gas mask!

Stompe · May 9, 2018

Can anyone tell me when BMW will fit indicators to their vehicles?

Hadrian · May 9, 2018

A little thread drift if I may, but what type of car is most likely to "tail Gate" you ?

Anything made by Landrover

Any BMW

Almost any 4x4

At night, any small hatchback driven by baseball cap wearing youngster.

............................

First_Lexus · May 9, 2018

1 hour ago, Hadrian said:

A little thread drift if I may, but what type of car is most likely to "tail Gate" you ?

Anything made by Landrover

Any BMW

Almost any 4x4

At night, any small hatchback driven by baseball cap wearing youngster.

............................

I think it was Jasper Carrott who used to say that the fastest vehicle on any motorway was a white AstraMax Diesel van, driven by an apprentice plumber listening to Radio 1...if there was a Ferrari F40 in the outside lane, the AstraMax van would be tailgating it, flashing the headlights to make it pull over

Eastwood1994 · May 24, 2018

Couldn't agree with the title more... I too hate car parks.

I'll avoid them at any and all costs these days, even if it means I have to walk 5 or 10 minutes to somewhere which would've taken 10 seconds had I parked in the car park.

At the end of the day I'd rather have the little extra walk and the peace of mind knowing that I won't be coming back to a damaged car, wherever I am.

Parked my car in my local ASDA car park on a Tuesday a few years back. 8am. EMPTY. Come back to the worst scratch I've ever seen on the driver side door. Honestly looked worse than Leonardo Di Caprio after his bear fight in the Revenant. What's more is that absolutely no details were left but also... the car park was still virtually empty.

Honestly don't get some people's thinking, parking right next to me in an almost empty car park.

Starting to think it could've been a BMW driver...

Hoping car tech will evolve to the point that the car produces an invisible force field when locked.

Chris Skelton · May 24, 2018

On 5/6/2018 at 8:44 PM, Spacewagon52 said:

If you ran an old Jeep Cherokee that was lifted with steel bumpers you would not get a scratch!

Don't ask me why?

Would have to pretty old one.....my USA version (1990) had them, but the UK ones are 'plastic' bumpers.

(Unless you mean those 'bull-bars'?!!)

My old Citroen Traction had sprung steel bumpers that-as the name implies, -were flexible and bounced cars off!

I've parked in the middle of a field before ('miles' from other cars ) and STILL came back to find a cluster of cars next to me!

Luckily, our Micra is so dented and scrathed (previous 90 yr old owner!) that we don't worry-thus NEVER get hit, of course!

In my perfect XM last year-and same El Grand van, BOTH were like magnets to close parkers!