I saw a cartoon once. Probably still have it someplace. Anyway this guy has parked his brand new, very special car (like the Lexus IS) way out in left field, miles from the store and all by itself. He comes back out to find it completely surrounded by shopping carts. The caption, if I remember correctly says "Wherever you park, THEY will come". So true. I go out to dinner with the new car and don't have a good time cuz I'm sitting there wondering if it is OK. Not a good way to live. But hey, the car is doggone special!

 

i hate those ******* that give doordings like its nothing, if i see a fool do that id open a can of whoop *** "chuck lidell" style

 

my brother's RSX got keyed the very first day he drove it. it'll happen, i swear.

 

I had to attend a family friend's funeral and I decided to park in a pretty big space next to a handicapped stall (BIG MISTAKE!) I hugged the curb on my passenger side and had at least 4 feet of door space on my side. This car rolls up and this old lady in the rear passenger side of their car swings the door wide open and whacked my mirror! I saw it happen as I was walking away from my car. I ran back and told the younger lady who was coming out of the front passenger side how come she didn't get out and help her mother out...all she could say was "Oh sorry"! I have this paint knick and so, I just park far away from handicapped stalls and make sure I hug an end parking stall even if I have to walk far!

 

one way i'd like to see it is: if you spend 300 dollars on an ipod and try to meticulously keep it from getting scratched, and then spend 30000 dollars on a car, you'd expect the meticulousness of keeping your car from getting scratched should go up by a good 100x.

 

haha exactly..come on people, you spent $35-47000 on your car. should at least be mindful of where you park it...luckily for me I live in LA where 40% of the cars I see on the road are more expensive than mine. but because Im in LA im more worried about getting into an accident with a moron, much less a moron denting my door in a parking garage.

if only we were all german and lived in germany, where everyone is a qualified super parking expert

 

I think you've got a skewed idea of what parking is like in Europe

 

I got lucky the other day, the huge spring that holds my garage door up , snapped
and somehow it didnt hit the car,, "whew"

 

I think the problem in both cases comes back to the manufacturer.

I don't see any conceivable reason why Apple needs to use that shiny chromed surface on the iPod that gets damaged if you even look at it funny. No reason they couldn't select a material that is both sylish and durable.

Same thing with cars. When I first started driving, bumpers had to survive a 5 mph hit without sustaining damage. Now they've been reduced to a fragile painted shell that can't sustain even the lightest tap without cosmetic damage. For a while, GM was using a steel space frame with dent resistant plastic body panels on the Saturn and a few other cars, but that technology hasn't really caught on. It might take some research and refinement, but I see no reason why the automakers couldn't improve that technology to provide car bodies that are rust proof and dent resistant, quieter, and do better in accidents than our current unibody sheet metal designs.

 

I too am the same way - I park far away and walk. The wife gets really pissed if I worry about it the whole time it's parked so I say to her "well I can park close with cars on either side of me and worry the whole time we're out or I can park far away and not worry". If it's not far away it's for sure an end spot.

And of course if it's a cold day or raining I always offer to drop the wife off at the door before I go and park. She never takes me up on it though.... she'd much rather ***** about having to walk so far....

 

Ditto, I'd rather get their insurance info and get my car fixed on their buck.... than abuse a car who's owner doesn't care to be begin with.

 

if you guys are going worried everywhere you go, mine as well dont drive at all............ ***** happens!!!!!!!!!

 

Time to install a safety wire on those springs. Let alone the car getting damaged, those things can kill someone.

 

I once saw an episode of Judge Judy where a guy was suing a woman because her young son dinged his car with the door when he was getting out. When Judge Judy asked the woman why she felt she didn't have to pay for the damage, the woman said, "Because these things just happen." Judge Judy replied, then you can "just pay for the damage" and awarded the man the money.

I can completely understand why people worry and try to take steps to protect their car. It was a big chunk of change you put down for your vehicle, and if you plan on selling it some people will refuse to buy a car with a ton of little scratches all over it.

A guy at work got the side of his Nissan banged by what looked like a truck door (judging by the height). The dent was 6 inches long! Since he had only owned the car for less then six months he wanted to get it fixed and got an estimate from a body shop. $800.00! So yea, I can understand why people are cautious about getting their cars scratched and try to take steps to prevent it.

 

I'm just gonna park in apartment's garage, next time I go to the store!