acura_ak

wow, good for you guys that haven't had a door ding yet on your car. i also have this sickness an normally park way out away from everyone.....definitely good exercise. just yesterday, i made the mistake of parking in a close spot than usual and ended up with a stupid ding on my door. it's small but i like my car perfect and this ding just bugs me. i did check to make sure i parked a good distance from the cars beside me........but the car to the right of me left and another stupid SUV parked beside me fairly close. right then, i kinda knew they most likely they left a ding; and surely they did. i now promise myself to park as far as possible regardless.

TSXinTN

I absolutely do this with any car I drive. My TSX is 3.5 years old and I will continue doing this until I sell it. Now that I feel better about my O/C behavior, does anyone else take your wallet out of your back pocket to "take it easy" on the seat???

DLTSX6MT

You're not alone, bro!

TSXHunter05

yup still do it two year later. I have one small ding on my passagner side door. but I go from garage at home to garage at work. but I still park in two spots at work totally away from any other cars. When I go out in public places usually still park out and away from everyone just take up one spot though.

justinangil

parallel Parking in NYC FTL.

LuvMyTSX

I find that hilarious, too. Happens constantly at my club.

Daffunda

I don't know what kind of "paint sealant" you're talking about, but those so called "paint sealants" are nothing but a waste of money. I just use P21S wax, and it works well, at least better than some crazy ass price that the dealer charges. But that's how dealers make money, by selling you pointless crap, so I guess they gotta make money somehow...

WhiteDragon07

iTrader: (1)

Ironic, isn't it? I just hope those people spend longer in the gym to make up for sitting on their ass waiting for a closer spot

I park far, next to curbs or end spaces (preferably next to curbs to protect against any morons cutting across the parking lot wildly). Snow piles at the end of parking lots are useful now because they often create one very wide space, as long as it's not snowing (don't want my PWP to blend in with the snow bank!). I also look for expensive cars (parked beside a nice Ferrari at the back of a busy parking garage the other day) and I get mad when minivans park next to me (GO PARK SOMEWHERE ELSE!!). Sometimes I'm nice and I drop my passengers off at the door first.

I freaked out a couple of weeks ago when I got out to my car and found the car next to me (dark red buick if I recall correctly) was ALL KEYED, all along the side. I quickly checked to make sure the driver (who has obviously SERIOUSLY p*ssed off someone in the past) hadn't hit my door or scraped but my baby was OK.

Oh, and I avoid busy places - it's not for the crowds (though those irritate me too), it's for the bad drivers that abound in those places.

BackToStock

Whenever I go to the Mall, i usually park in the last parking all the way at the end. Reasoning behind this is, still far from the majority of the cars which are at the front of the lot.

the only way i would park at the front/middle is: If its a windy day and I dont want my hair to get messed up.

Ruserious

iTrader: (2)

yes i do

tsxgoogs

No

manda

End spaces and spaces next to curbs or other structures FTW. People at work drive like retards and can't park for crap. I have my favorite few spots at work...usually end spots or spaces where I have a concrete column or a wall next to me. My friends, family, and coworkers are used to me doing this.

When parallel parking, I try to take an end spot if I have a choice.

I have a few favorite side spaces at my company gym and my 24 Hr. Fitness faaaaaar away from the entrance. The only time I would try to park closer to the door would be for personal safety if I happened to be working out late at night.

enzojr

Great thread...makes me feel less OC-ish! My friends all make fun of me but no one can really argue against the exercising point.

It's snowing like heck in Toronto and the big snow piles in the parking lots are perfect. I can take up 1.5 spaces knowing that no one would have parked with two of their wheels on the snowpile anyway. However, some guy in a beige Camry DID do that and made me worry about a ding. Worse yet, I was checking my door for dings when he returned to his car...kinda embarrassing.

TSX420J

I still do..

skylander

Since I got my 08 TSX, I am more selective on parking space too. I will park far away unless the space is passed by expectation (i.e. enough width of space, the type of car next to it, no shopping cart in front of the space, and etc). I won't park next to old cars or cars with very wide front door. Moreover, big SUV should be avoided if possible. So far, I still have no ding.

But the stupid thing is: I got a scratch on the lower front bummer while parking at once. Thanks for the curb!

Markks2000

My 06 MR is ding free so far. I have 3 great parking places at work where nobody can get near me (if I get there early enough to grab one of those sites). My wife had surgery resently and was in the hospital 4 days. Ever parked a hospital parking lot? The place was packed. But I ordered a set of door ding guards from Autoanything before she went in and used those while I was parked there. They look funky, but work great!

peter_bigblock

Absolutely, 3.5 years on my 2004 and I still seek out the far-away spots, or the next-to-the-curb spots. I'm constantly calculating the optimum spot taking in the circumstances in any given parking lot. It used to drive my wife nuts but now it's a game we play to see who can find the lowest-risk spot. She's really good. It always amazes me how people will sit, blinker blinking, and wait for what seems like five minute for a car to pull out of a close spot when there are open spots maybe 100 yards away. Jeez, are people really that lazy/stupid? I'm not talking about someone on crutches or in the middle of the winter in Winnipeg, I'm talking about under normal circumstances...

syee99

I don't really care anymore. Most people are very considerate and won't bang into you. I only have one door ding on my car from parking at a mall - I think mostly it's kids opening doors and not watching the other car when they're opening. It put a fairly small dent in the door and took off all the paint pretty much to the metal. Can't really avoid it...I just make sure both sides have enough space for entry and that's all I can really do. Door dings are just a fact of life...like death and taxes.

PWAiN

Usually when I park at the supermarket, mall or any other heavily crowded parking lots I take everything into consideration. Not only the distance of where I park or who I park next to but carts as well. I'm sure I'm not the only one who hasn't returned their shopping basket to store at least once. Now that I own a nice car I appreciate the small things. Usually when I go to the supermarket it's at night when it's the most busy. People don't have the patience to walk all the way to the store so they leave their carts every where. It just so happens the parking lot isn't completely level so those carts have a habit of rolling off on their own, eventually slamming into someones car. So yeah, I not only park far but I park where there aren't any of those annoying shopping baskets.

davidspalding

Indeed, not only at a distance, but UPHILL from rogue carts. Most places here have cart barns, and I do return mine. Just a sailor thing, I guess.

alexkerr

wow.. haha thats so funny that i always thought i was one of the very rare people to actually take the time to park in the middle of no where to avoid .. i would almost find it offensive when other people would park next to me when i make the effort to park way out and there other spaces left.. yeah way worth it tho.. 1 1/2 years not 1 ding.. only problem is other people think your a weirdo driving around a lot numerous amount of times to find a suitable spot.. but ehh..

EuRTSX

I used to, but people still kept hitting my car. So I just don't care anymore

GTSX-05

iTrader: (1)

My 05' is ding and dent free (god I hope i didint just jinx it). It has become second nature to me, I wouldint even dare parking in the front of say a mall or grocery store for obvious reasons. My MDX however has been unlucky it has been keyed, with two maybe three very obvious dings, and has been backed into!.

All and all I think everyone should "Practice Safe Parking".

TOUCHOFDETAIL

LOL, same here. had the car over a year now, i still park far n away and avoid using the tsx to the grocery store. thank you.

kaliraver69

Its been 3 years since I've bought my car and I still park my car a mile away It has payed off since till this day I have zero door dings

hunterk1

I have started parking far out again, after what happened over Xmas...

My dad bought an '07 TL in May. In late October, a guy ran a stoplight at 30mph and totally destroyed it, airbags deployed & everything... he couldn't get diminished value for it, but let it be totaled anyway, and lost $17k all because of some asshole's idiocy. In November, he bought an '08 TL... we went shopping in it on Dec 23rd (the car still has < 1k miles), parked it at the side of the lot, went into a store for 10 minutes, came back out and some moron had managed to push a cart into it anyway. My dad was incensed... his second TL in a year, and it's already dented... I swear, what the hell is wrong with people?

kysit

I still do the same. But got 1 ding right behind the front left fencer 1 month back....
Has anyone try paintless ding repair?

davidspalding

I parked at BJ's (warehouse store) last night (yep, parked out of the way in a side lot), and walking in saw a Volvo parked at the side sidewalk (where many carts are stashed) with a shopping cart literally merged with the left front light assembly. Just like that. I thought ... "who the **** does that and then walks away?" Maybe the wind did it....

This morning I spied a lateral gouge on the lower front of my hood, and my heart stopped. Turned out to be some kind of residue which wiped off with my thumb. Whew, am I paranoid enough? I think I need my first ding so I can get over it already.

alfabit1

You guys have nothing on me,

I STILL take the time to park my 94 prelude far away from other cars. I'm not as anal as I once was, but I still do it. People think I'm nuts. I too get angry when I find others have parked near me when I pick out that spot that is nowhere near anybody. I can't imagine how I'll be when my wife gets her TSX in the next few months :-)
And rogue carts are absolutely infuriating.

LuvMyTSX

Occasionally when I have to drive my mom's old car somewhere, I still park it in the middle of nowhere. It's a '98 Chrysler Cirrus with 125k miles on it, dings & scratches galore b/c she doesn't have my same car OCD (neither does my dad).

dwest1023

I don't think any of you are as anal as I am about my car. Not only do I park at and end spot, but If I am at a mall I look for a closed drive through bank and part there. No one can park near me then. If I have to park in a spot I use these. I keep them in my trunk at all times. If you have to park at a mall, stay away from the food court entrance and the movie side.


http://www.doordefender.com/howtoo.html


and I use this for parallel parking


http://www.eurobumperguard.com/bumpe...protector.html

LuvMyTSX

^^ I should get those for my sister, who lives in DC. Her car is beat to shit.

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

heres a picture of my car at college



I always park there closest to the curb so im given atleast 3 feet away from the nearest car....

You know what pisses me off when idiots still manage to park really close to me...