I've had my MCSc for about a month now, and have observed something odd about parking in parking lots. I get to work fairly early and always grab a spot at the end of the row. This allows me to park on the very outside of the spot, leaving lots of room for the person who parks in the next spot in. It never fails that whomever parks in that next spot, parks right on the line next to my car, thereby taking away any extra space I gained by parking on the outside edge. Heck, I went out for lunch today and did the same and someone parked over the line into my spot.

It is like everyone thinks that since it is such a small car, it doesn't need much room. Get away! I have no dings yet, and I am doing my best to avoid them.

This only seems to happen when I am in my Mini (never in my Element for example). Has anyone else noticed this or has driving with the top down for a month straight fried my brain?

 

I think you're on to something.

I parked outside of a pizza hut a few weeks ago, 2 empty spots near the end, so I parked in the end spot, tires on the furthest line...

While sitting inside eating pizza, a car pulls up with a mom and daughter... and she parks the opposite direction with the daughter's side of the car facing my Mini, of course.... I stand up quickly and eye the situation like a hawk.. thankfully the little girl didn't swing her door open into my car...

Then, a few minutes later, exactly the same scenario, another mom and daughter, and with all the other empty spots around she decides to park on the end of the row where there isn't even a spot, AND she parks with the daughter's side of the car facing mine... no door ding again, whew...

Seems like where ever I park someone has to park next to me way too close
, or with their 6-12 year old kid getting out on the side by my car...

If I can I park at the end of a row of spaces, and I angle the front of my car away from the rest of the row to try and keep people from parking so close...

 

I think people think it will be easier to get in and out of their cars, and the space, by parking next to our smaller cars. What they don't seem to notice is, that while our cars are short, they are also WIDE.

 

It never fails to happen. I get freaked out all the time.

One time there was this really bad rainstorm, so I had to park in the front on the resturant (I never ever ever park in the front of any store...always in the boondocks of the parkinglot). Then pulls up a beater 80s blazer, both doors shoot open (they open almost to 90*) next to my mini and the family runs out, I had nearly jumped out of my seat. After I ate my food I checked out my car in the pouring rain and didn't see anything.

I'm never parking near civilization, ever again.

Don't get me started on parking at my job. Everyday is a gamble there.

 

People just suck at parking. Like, seriously. Especially people driving larger vehicles--they have very little awareness of how much space their vehicles occupy, let alone the skills necessary to properly steer.

(This broad generalization brought to you by the letter P.)

 

Yeah, well I park at the Metro lot. A place frequented by people who are barely awake, none too happy and pissed off at anyone with a better car than them. Morevover, they know when they decide to fling their door open, you are sitting on a train underground, miles away. Whatcha gonna do??

 

The MINI is a moron magnet.
If you drive to the farthest reaches of hell, and every space next the the doors of where-ever-dom are empty, the MINI will draw the boat cars of decades past right into your MINIs danger zone.
It never fails.
You will see people that rarely venture from their homes, people who have never traversed an entire parking lot in their lives, and people with absolutely no regard for anyone elses property, draw to your car like flies on.....need I say more????
I am still waiting for someone to come up with some sort of force field for cars. I would pay anything for one. It would be so worth it-it would be like having a gaint bug zapper...only way, way better.

 

I don't think some people even look at the white lines. They see the gap between cars, and aim for the center of it. The spacially challenged.

 

Just before I traded in my GTO, I was parked at the post office, filling out an envelope. I too, had parked in an end spot, up against the line on my side, and leaving more than ample room for the next adjacent spot. Sure enough, some old lady pulls in, and opens her door directly into my car!!! I yelled out "Hey!!!", and she responded with, "Oh, did I do that?"... I got out to survey the damage (none apparent, not even a scuff, thankfully), and told her to be more careful when opening her doors in parking lots in the future. It still amazes me how self-absorbed people are to be that inconsiderate of others...

 

Back when I had my Accord (V6 Coupe, nice car), I was parked at a mall once. Came out to find someone had parked so close to my driver's door that I physically could not walk between the cars. 3" or so. I waited for the other driver to return, so I could hear some lady tell me "stuff happens" and "you could have gone in through the passenger side". (Which crossed my mind, but this was a car with buckets and a console and I am a fairly big dude.)

People are so wrapped up in their little worlds. It is rather staggering at times.

 

Yah...I know what you mean.
I have a temporary handicap sign and parked in a handicap spot last week and some moron in a Nissan Altima double parked in an angle and blocked my car in so made it extremely difficult to get out. I left a carefully worded angry note on their windshield.

 

Like the infamous Mickey Mouse giving the finger of friendliness card?

The parking lot at the college I attend is in rows. Each row is one way, and offers parking spaces on each side for diagonal parking. The spots on the ends are slightly larger, and if I can get one, and park the car all the way up to the curb, there is no way for me to get a ding, as the car in the next spots doors would open totally behind my car.
So I get to school super early, and grab one of those end spots, hug the curb on the drivers side, and front, and feel pretty safe as there is a huge stupid zone around my car right??? Wrong. New guy with his nasty little POS pulls into the parking lot the wrong way, despite all the do not enter signs, and does the crappiest quicky back up job-straddling his spot and the stupid zone behind my car. The only thing he had going for him is that he had no passengers (nobody would probably ride with him anyway) to fling their door into my car. People really make me wonder sometimes. The drop out rate for new freshmen is really high. I can see why now, if this is how they drive.

 

It would have been so tempting to leave a note on her car, saying "Stuff Happens," and four flat tires!

 

I'm ashamed to admit that at work almost every morning, I park in a dirt parking lot behind the building... :( The paved lot fills up before 645am, and the front lot... well, if you aren't there at 645 you have to park in Russia and walk four blocks to work... I don't like to get up that early

 

"They" just added a 450 spot parking lot on our corporate campus. Only about 35 cars park out there right now (it was built for expansion and growth). Everyone else crams their cars door-to-door next to each other in the lots closer to the buildings. Not me...nosiree...I have MY spot out in the new lot...the furthest parking space away. LilTiger sits all by her lonesome all day long - and I walk the 1/4 mile to my building. I do it happily...knowing she'll be in the same shape when I'm re-united with her, as when I left her.

 

One might consider removing the other cars' rear view mirror in order to maneuver yourself between the cars.

I once had a stack of nice little notes in my car to leave for "snugglers." It featured a picture of Mickey Mouse shooting the appropriate finger and said something to the effect "Thanks for parking so close. Next time leave a freakin' can opener so I can get in my car. A-holes like you should take the bus." I used them so much that I ran out and forgot to save one to copy.

 

Happens Every Time !!!

 

Is that legal??

 

Back in 1984 I had my brand new Volvo 244 GL parked on a slight hill at Price Club in San Diego. As we where loading up our car a woman pulled her Mercedes in next to us, went around to the rear passenger door and started getting her brats unbuckled and out of their car seats. She couldn't open her door fully because she'd parked on the line and since we were on a hill her rear door wouldn't stay partially open, so she kept hitting it with her butt and smacking the side of my new car. I asked her to stop smacking my car after the second or third time and was ignored. At that point my wife, normally the sweetest and most patient of women (very helpful traits considering who she's married to) went around to that side of the car and stood between her door and our car and positively reamed that woman. The only time in the 35+ years I've known her that I've seen her get that PO'd at anyone other than me. If the Mercedes driver had done anything other than apologize, and go around to the other side of her car to get her kids out, I’m sure I’d have had to stop Deb from popping the woman. Clueless, thoughtless, inconsiderate, self absorbed morons seem to be everywhere.

 

About as legal as kicking in the door panel and than pulling out a Sharpie marker and leaving a note on the dent that reads, "STUFF HAPPENS, as you said". Some folks are just so deserving. No I haven't done this, yet.

 

+1 Some folks do deserve this treatment... Legal or otherwise!

OH YEAH! LMAO!

 

People are not used to others parking at an edge of a line. When they pull into to space next to you they are not focused on the line they are just pulling into the center of the spot that is available. I know, lack of attention on their part but that is the way it is. By parking way over to one side you just make the spot bigger.
Your idea to park at the end of a lot and to the edge is a good one. Try this if you're not already doing it. Most people pull into a spot nose first. Pick the end spot so the person parking next to you is more likely to have the drivers door open towards the third space in the line.
John

 

The coffee shop I frequent you see some of the worse paralell parking jobs. People park 3 feet away from the curb, not paying attention to the lines that define spots, and pulling up to the bumper of another car so the other person can not get out. One day while teaching my daughter to drive I spent a while showing and telling her how not to park in a somewhat loud voice, not so much for my daughter but for the car's owner who pretended to be else where.

 

I totally agree with everyone here stating that only mini owners know how to park.

 

Nope, that's why it's only tempting.