mattlana

Since, IMHO, about 99.99% of us are rather anal when it comes to our TL's, I was wondering where do YOU park? Let's say you go to the mall, do you actually park close to the mall or way out on the outskirts of the parking lot and then take a shuttle bus or taxi back? Are you as paranoid as I am when it comes to getting that first ding in the door?

What about parking at work? Or at the bus station or train parking lot? My son said to me to invest in those crowd control ribbons, like they have to keep you in line at the airports and amusement parks. If I recall correctly, Honda had a commercial like that!

I am just trying to add some levity here so don't be upset with this post.

USCGMoose

I always try to park next to an island or median so I only have to worry about one side getting whacked. Never park next to a minivan... even with the sliding doors, the kids that pour out of those things can't help but lean on, kick, or otherwise scratch your TL.

VTEC=happiness

I'm right there with the above response...I am big on parking next to handicapped spaces, the ends of the isles, up against the open walkways, etc. Anyplace that I can move the car further away from the next closest space and avoid having another car on at leat one side makes me happy. No matter how good the space I have found is, when I come out and see a Suburban or Excursion parken next to my car, my heart skips a beat and I perform a full inspection of the door panels.

In the end, however, the dings will come and I'll get over it.

fuque

Some parking rules to live by if you value your car:

Always park as far away from the store entrance as possible. Most people are lazy ****s and don't want to walk, so they will circle like sharks to get a close parking space (and thus won't be parking next to you). Make sure, however, that you park in a high visibility, high traffic traffic area, such as adjacent to the parking lot entrance. Parking in the South 40 just makes it easier for thieves and vandals, which can be a lot worse than a door ding.

Always park in an end spot, preferably on the right end. Parking on the end of the row limits your exposure by 50%, since only one side of your car is within range of another car's door. Parking on the right end means the only car within striking distance is on your left, with only his passenger side doors able to hit your car. Since most cars on the road have only a single occupant (i.e. the driver), chances are good that nobody will be using the door on that side, reducing your risk still further.

If possible, park next to a vehicle with junk piled up on the passenger's side seat; this virtually guarantees that nobody will be entering the car on the side next to you.

Never park next to a minivan or an SUV. Soccermom Utility Vehicles carry little kids, and little kids carelessly open doors smack into the side of the car next to them.

By following these rules, all of my vehicles have remained door-ding free since 1991.

michael3314

I park as far away from anything as possible. The very last space in the lot. I don't mind the walk knowing my TL is relatively safe. You would think this works but I have come back to my car and found another parked right next to me. If its a "clean" car I know its parked there because he/she doesn't want dings either, but if its an older car, look out. Have had two dings from the "older" cars. Seems like some people just hate for others to have something nice. Oh well, all you can do is try.

Rocketsfan

I've stopped going to malls and I do my shopping at 24 hour Walmarts around 3am.

Does that answer your question?

NBP04TL4ME

I agree with everything else posted and one other thing. Never ever park next to a coupe (2 dr car). The coupes tend to have longer (further reaching) and heavier doors and are more likely to hit you.

fuque

It is most definitely a numbers game, but anything you can reasonably do to reduce your risk is worthwhile. And a little exercise never hurt anybody.

danno

Anybody who parks next to me and dents my door,if i can suspect its them, WILL get a bigger DENT on there door!!

JohnDoe2

What I find scary it the lack of any protection on the side of the car (no chrome strip, or plastic molding).

My biggest concern is I'll ding it myself in my own garage with my second car!

marquis

That's what the body side moldings are for....

Modeler

Moldings don't do s**t to protect from dings! They are WAY lower than the typical points of impact on the TL are.

NBP04TL4ME

I had a boss that owned a black 5-series BMW. He went to grab a sandwich one day at D'Angelos and came out to find a brand new ding in the driver's door. He went back into the store and asked who owned the car parked beside him because it was involved in an accident. Long story short they exchanged insurance info and it supposedly cost $700 to get repaired. This may be a better way to get back at folks as opposed to denting their door. They may not care about their car, but most folks care about their wallet or purse.

mattlana

This is undoubtedly the best solution other than bringing an armed guard!

danno

If you can find the culprit!!

stymiedny

Just happened to me last night. Went to the movies and parked like a mile away end spot but there was room for another car to park (even though it wasnt a spot so I strattled the line to make sure no one would park there. Wouldnt you know when I came out a little sh%$ hyundai managed to park in that spot and i dont know how he got out of his car. I didnt notice any marks but its one of those things that you try to be careful and it still doesnt matter

NBP04TL4ME

True!! Very true.

erikmoeser

I do all that stuff. And then a rake fell off the wall in my garage and made a pretty nice ding on my S2000. Lesson learned? Don't park in your garage!

:-)

gordon_gekko

I'm not quite as bad as some, but I try and park in the middle of the row where it's not so packed, and I'll park beside a nice car if I can. On days like today though, where the temp only reached -20f:wow: , you don't want to be trudging all the way across a big parking lot.

nickpoore

A few years ago I was parked at a gas station - you know, in the actual parking bays, not at the pump...
I was there rescuing my girlfriend as her car had broken down (blown main engine gasket on a very old Honda...)

Anyway, we're sitting in the car waiting for AAA when a POS car comes and parks next to us. Both doors open and WHACK! their passneger opens her door directly onto my drivers door.

I was pissed, but not about to start anything silly. I got out and made a comment about being more careful, and inspected my car fo the dent/scratch/chip. I didn't find one (well, until the next day anyway..)

But the thing that really pissed me off is that the girl told my girlfriend that she should dump me as I would never love her as anything more than a posession. WTF!

Bottom line is that common curtesy just seems to be about the rarest kind nowadays.

nfnsquared

it only takes 30 seconds to walk 100 feet. I don't mind the extra minute or 2, plus a little walking is not going to hurt my middle age spread!

rets

If I have to park in somewhere of not-very-safe neighborhoods, I'll not park too far away although it's spacious... as picky as I'm, I'll either look for any possible alternative or leave.


Also, there was a interesting thread talking about the same thing a month ago. You guys may like to take a look...

What happen to society?by nxtr