I have a solution!!!

Buy a handful of those noodle things the kids use at pools and the beach. They have a hole running through the middle of them. String some together just enough to almost engulf your Mini. Have a loop at each end. Finish it off by wrapping it around your car and using a bungy cord to tie it all together. Place a towel between the cord and car to prevent scratches of course. Oh, and the pool noodles come in two sizes. I think the X-large would work really well.

You'll know me when I come to a Mini event near you with this intact for demo purposes.

It sure would get a bunch of laughs from fellow Mini owners while all parked together and I pull up with this and start wrapping my car.

With our luck, kids would swarm from all over to start flinging themselves against it for fun!---or they would start banging it with thier noodle(which apparently is mandatory when two noodles get together!

Bubble wrap the MINI?

Or perhaps the offending vehicle? "Sorry to inconvenience you, but I didn't want to ding your car since you parked so damned close to me!" Ensure you circle the vehicle at least 3 times over the door frame and handle.

I like this one.

I park as far as I can from the door of whole foods, i find a space next to a wall & lean my mini right up to it. When i come out of the store.... i think that prius likes my mini.



No damage, but still, people suck @ parking.

That's how I park too drewster. My MINI likes walls, curbs, planters, trees... you get the idea.

PS. I didn't know the Prius was a compact.

Those are called bumpers... you know the things you hang over your gunwale so your boat doesn't bump against the dock or the boat next door.

Perhaps we need some specially designed MINI ones.

Your idea sounds really familiar... Did you happen to get it from the Ding Protector commercial?

I hate when people "park by feel". I always try to park next to a curb so that I only have to worry about one idiot hitting my car. I always pull close to the curb to leave a lot of room for the car next to me. People will CROSS the line to park right next to me. When that happens I use this sticker:


You can buy these stickers here
On their website you can upload pictures from the offending autos with the sticker on them. There are some amusing ones.
The stickers are low tack so they wont **** people off too much. I have used them of several occasions....

I have always parked all of my cars next to a curb or end spot, or in one those really cool spots where only 1 car will fit, with pillars on each side of the space (got lots of those kinds of spots where I currently work), so far I have been lucky with no dents on my BMW (2.5 years) or my Mini (5 months).

My first ding on my 4 year old RAV4 was caused by my dumb niece, we went to Disneyland and I parked next to my sisters car so I wouldn't get dinged (she knows I'm a **** about that), She tells my niece to be careful when she gets out of the car, but does she listen? NO, she's so excited about Disneyland that she flings the door open and leaves a big ding on my car, it ruined my whole day...I wanted to strangle her!!! I told her when she gets her new car, I'm going to put a ding in it to show her what it feels like. Well, she got a new VW and I couldn't do it even if I wanted to, but one of her drunk friends got out and flung the door into a one of the gas station poles and put a really big ding it in, she was sooo mad at him. She told me that now she knows what it feels like, she is alot more careful these days.

this may be stupid, but i told my friend how i hate when people park next to me... and what does she do?? she parks right next to me every time she comes over. i'm sorry, but i don't think she is an exception haha. i live in a complex that doesn't have very many people... i always park at least 1 spot away from someone else... and then there are spots to the other side of me... what do people do? they park right in between me and the other car and right next to me on the other side! i'm like gahhhh can i be more obvious?!! but i don't want to be too rude or i might get a ding on purpose.

The only kinda car I feel comfy cozying up to. They looked so peaceful together.

This might be a bit OCD but I always park between the ridges of the upper parking deck so that if it should collapse
then maybe they'll find my MINI intact between those concrete ridges that can be seen above your MINI in the picture.

I try to park at the abandoned end of the lot and get a little walking in. Even when I drive a skoshabong (or a jalopy, hehe) I try to park nicely. It's not just SUV drivers who park like slobs, people just tend to be lazy and inconsiderate these days. I'm not driving the Mini into NYC until he gets some battle scars, because the way people park, even in residential areas, I've had to play bumper cars to get out.
I need to buy a beater just to drive into the city.

To the poster that said they park way out and take 2 spaces, you are asking for someone to do something to your car. That is the one way to park that I know irks just about every other driver in the world. I know when I see it I think, what an ahole, you think you are so special you have to take 2 spaces. Just about everyone I know feels the same way. yes park out of the way but do not take 2 spaces. Some lots you will get towed for doing that.

On a slightly different note, I always back into parking spots ("combat parking.") But i edge up to the FRONT of the parking spot (so my car's schnoz is in line with the tips of the lines, and of course everybody always asks me why, since I have half a car space behind me! Well, I've seen some pretty stupid people out there who just SWING their vehicles into parking spots without care...I don't want my car hit by somebody thinking it's empty.

I learned my lesson about bad parking. I am normally a real stickler about where I park the MINI. I live in a condo complex and when I had a roommate she got the garage spot and I had to park out with all the "regular" folks.

I hated hated HATED parking out there because there are these kids that play BASEBALL in the parking lot. I'm not talking like a wiffle ball either... it may not be a baseball exactly but it's definitely not a wiffle ball! I think someone eventually reported them because I haven't seen them do it in awhile. And I have stood and watched as this owner with an english bulldog has walked by an Escalade and the stupid dog has peed all over the wheel! It was even more shocking because I was staring at her gawking and all she did was say "good morning."!

So anyway, I got the garage spot now that I'm by myself, and my MINi is thanking me. But I must admit that I have had a parking "mishap" myself. My fiancee and I were on a road trip and we were starving so we decided to pull off and stop at a liquor store to get some snacks. The entryway to the lot in front of the store was like so narrow and there was a HUMMER coming out at the same time I was pulling in. I had enough space to turn and almost make a half circle to park in the spot to the very right on the entrway while turning in.
There was no room to back up or adjust, because the HUMMER was waiting for traffic to pass before exiting. So yes, I did park a little over the line but i figured hey, we're just going to run in and run out. But in the meantime another car (an SUV) was trying to pull into the spot next to me...I started to open my door to get out before I noticed she was trying to pull in, but then I closed it when I noticed to allow them to fully pull into the spot. The SUV didn't move, it just stayed where it was halfway in and halfway out of the parking spot. Mind you, there was no traffic in the parking lot and there were at least 7 or 8 other empty spots! So I figured she was letting me jump out...so I did and we ran into the store.

When we came out she was just leaving with another guy (who was in the store at the same time as us) he got in their SUV and WITH THE WINDOWS ROLLED UP she peels out of the space barely missing my car and she starts screaming and flipping me the bird all the way until I can't even see her car anymore. Uhh....yeah....I was just thankful that she didn't hit or key my car. But needless to say I will NEVER park over the lines again, no matter how quick my errand is supposed to be.

Just say no.

Another reason to NOT park under trees is in the autumn they drop fruit/nuts. We have hickory trees that drop large round ***** that are hard as rocks. They'll crack a sunroof if they fall the right way.

LOL! It was just a matter of time before someone made that joke.

Yep, you called it. OCD!