I was at my vet and had given him a pharmacy number to phone in a prescription for syringes for my diabetic cat.......after parking my car in his lot. I came out and after starting my engine, realized I had given the wrong phone number. When I came out again my Mini was gone!!!! I looked around wildly and there it was.......all the way across the street. When I went inside the second time I had left the handbrake off.......the car had rolled backwards across the lot, down the exit ramp and was stopped by the rear of another car parked vertically across the street, damaging my right rear fender and parking light.

The following morning I was watering in the garden and suddenly noticed that
the plastic molding over the right front wheel was gone and the body was pushed in a bit. I think this was probably from someone who side-swiped me in another parking lot later in the day. Needless to say, I immediately went back into a state of shock unable to comprehend even more damage to my car which had been accident free for two years.

I'm feeling much better now, but I have developed a fear of parking lots.......I guess I'll get over it in time.

 

ouch man, gotta do an "all-systems check" during launch and shutdown

 

Too bad about your MINI.
If you are used to driving a second car that has an automatic transmission it is easy to put it in "park" and that keeps it from rolling away. "Neutral" on a stick isn't "Park." If you have the old auto habits conditioned, it requires more awareness of the pre-flight and post-flight checks. Those habits are hard to overcome.
Fortunately, it's fixable and nobody was hurt.

My son, in a VW bug, did the same thing, just 4 hours after passing his driving test for his license at age 16. It was his first time out in the car alone. The bug was impaled on a pickup trailer hitch across the parking lot. Not a pretty sight.

I got the call. "Dad.............? "
There was that sound in his voice. You know the one.

I don't like to get those.

Jim

 

My last car was hit in parking lots 3 times! Once in my own office lot... and it wasn't a public lot... a small lot only for employees. Only once out of three was the person nice enough to stop... and she was only 16 years old. Did $1000 in damage.

I park my MINI out in the wilderness area of parking lots all the time and at work she gets the end spot, as close to the wall on the right as I can get her.

 

So sad, Herby! Better days!

Godspeed.

 

Aw, geez, Herby! What a sad day, but how lucky that the boo-boos didn't hurt YOU physically. I know, though, that the psychic pain is still there.

I am very careful to park in end-spots or in the very widest spots I can find near the nicest cars possible. They don't want to ding their cars, either. After the first couple of dings, it becomes a bit easier to take...but not much easier!

And, hi Jenn B! Welcome to NAM! PM me if you have any questions about anything here on the site! Cheers!


Clo/Wanda

 

How nice!

HI!

 

10 months and not a ding or chip! I have been paranoid from the very beginning! I tell everyone who rides with me to get ready for a hike. I park the farthest out and like Clo in an end spot so close to the curb it's crazy. I inspect the car before I leave and if anyone is next to me when I get back, I'll know it was them that dinged the car.

One day was bad though, I got flustered at the bank and noticed I'd left the car out of gear as I started to exit the car. It was on a slight hill and began to roll; I hit the brake!, unforutnately it was the clutch and my mind was so confused! It was awful because the space had one of those big cement light pole things right at the front of the car. I must have missed it by a 16th of an inch. Whew! Now I always set the brake.

 

mine was lightly damaged (rear corner) in my underground parking structure at home (I live in a 900 unit high-rise condo). Of course, I am ALL the way at the end of the structure about as far away as you could be... but still someone found time to side swipe it. Oh well...

At least the damage is not TOO bad on your car... right?

 

I hate to say it but it seems like the other people in the parking lot should be afraid of YOU! You are very lucky you did not kill someone or cause a really serious accident. Sorry - no sympathy here. If my daughter had run into your driverless car as it crossed the street and been injured, I'd be out for blood. Sounds like the second damage was God getting even. I'm glad your car was "stopped by the rear" of some stranger's car. Put yourself in his shoes.

 

So far so good for me on the post-parking procedures but I am totally neurotic about parking....a fact for which I make no apologies and show no remorse. Why?......one door ding (now repaired) simply sent me over the top.

I have found an excellent section of my daily parking lot in which to lodge my MINI. Its at a curved section of the lot where the stripes had to be painted in a more or less pie-shaped fashion. Once you're in, the cars beside mine would have to actually remove their doors and physically beat my MINI in order to impart a door ding. The spot is so good that I share this section with an S2000 and a PT Cruiser...both friends and lovers of their respective vehicals. (...with no comment from me...especially on the PT Cruiser.)

Another plus. Here in Texas we have so many @*&$# SUVs that they're actually painting the parking lot stripes farther apart. Sweet!!!!

So sorry your MINI got hurt...but no, you don't have to get over it..............(imho).

 

Herby-sounds like one of those bad day dreams you have while at work.

I too use side brake and gear to park my MT cars...regardless of incline.

 

I didn't mention that at the time of the first incident I felt very fortunate that no one else was was injured......that possibility scared the stuffing out of me. Although it was an unusual situation, I feel lucky to have been reminded in a reasonably harmless way that in addition to all the fun the Mini has to offer...... safety must come first.

As for the second incident.......I can now be counted as one of those who will be more discerning about where and next to whom I park when it comes to
public lots.

 

Herby47'
Sorry to hear about misfortune. Hope you get your MINI repaired soon.
Your story reminded me of an accident a friend had years back. She parked her (two week old) car and ran into a building to drop some things off. She forgot to put the brake on, when she came out her car was gone. It had rolled down a hill into the street where it was totaled by the first car that came along. The rest of the story - lady that hit her car was O.K., jumped out of her car and ran up to see if the driver of the car she hit was alright. She didn't expect what she saw... No Driver? The woman about freaked and it was a while before anyone got her to calm down. Seems she was a very religious woman, thought the Rapture had happened and she was still here. True story.
Charles

 

I am neurotic too. I always put the hand brake on & put it in reverse. I get lots of exercise from parking in the toolies. I find the nicest looking Jag to park next to I check out both sides before I leave especially if someone has parked close to me. And yes, Louie did get dinged once by a nun. I came out of the dentist office & found the car next to me had put multiple scratches in his door. I was a wild woman. I ran into all the offices looking for the culprit No Luck. Finally I wrote a nasty note & left it on the windshield. About 2 hours later, I receive a call from a really, really old sounding woman who proceeds to tell me she did it & hoped I wouldn't notice. Then she tells me she's a nun

Lois

 

Oh yeah, Lois! I remember the infamous nun story! Who'd a thunk it? Just goes to show that all sorts of people take leave of their senses at times! Good on you for being a "wild woman" and running around to all the nearby offices to locate the culprit. I'd give that nun a big hug if I ever met her! Imagine her guilt! Tee hee!

Clo/Wanda

 

I have forgotten to set the e-brake once, in my own garage! Lucky there is no incline and it didn't roll into my house or garage door!

 

Neurotic? I have owned classic Minis since about '84 or '85 and they were allways uncomfortable to drive and unreliable. Although I loved the style, I constantly dreamed about the day that a new Mini would be available in the US. Then I sat in one of the prototype MINIs in 1996, daydreamed of them until they came out in 2002, and saved for two years until I was in a position to buy one recently. I LOVE MY S! I love it so much that my girlfriend won't ride in it with me. I constantly tell her to watch where she puts her feet, don't scratch my leather with her purse, don't wear jewelry or a watch around my paintjob, don't wear Levis (the rivets scratch the paint and leather seats), don't touch the windows, and DON'T EAT IN MY CAR! But parking is the worst thing. I allways park on an end space regardless of how long it takes to find one. People often think that I work in the lot. If there are traffic cones around for any reason, I will borrow them to block off the space next to me to make it look official. I will collect every shopping cart in the immidiate parking lot so that they don't roll into my MINI. If necessary, I will park a mile away from the store if the parking lot is too crowded. I won't park at Home Depot or Costco under any circumstances - the parking lot is too dangerous for my baby. I have a reserved parking spot at the office, which is a very wide end unit.

 

I'd be so relieved if I were in your shoes right now. Could've been tragic. Thank Above. Motor on:smile:

 

Rick-Anderson, I feel your pain!

I was driving through McDonalds for a bunch of co-workers the second week I owned my car. They handed me an orange drink with the lid not properly attached and it came off before I could take hold. Needless to say it poured all down the side of my door and open window. I am going into the dealer to have my door repaired now some 10 months later because the window won't roll down. Arghhhh!

No drive thrus for me!!

 

Sorry, taking multiple parking spaces in just plain rude and uncalled for!

 

Guilt? If she felt so guilty, why'd she try to get away with it and hope the owner wouldn't notice the scratches? How very christian of her!

I'd sooner give her a boot in the butt than a hug...


Edit to add: hopefully she won't make a habit of it! Oh, sometimes I slay myself...

 

I'll have to agree with you on that one. Damaging someone's car and leaving is very, very mean. We all work hard and love what we own. The two times that happened to me it felt like I had been punched in the stomach.. I did nothing wrong and ended up with tons of repair bills.

 

I used to park here:



Until I found a golf ball near my MINI!! Then I started parking on the level below in one of the pie shaped corner spots.. Within a few weeks I notice that a Volvo S60 R, BMW Sport Wagon, and WRX STi are always trying to steal my spot!! I have to get in early just to get my spot... The STi is my coworker and I think he just parks there sometimes to see if it annoys me...

 

I started parking my 1 month old MCS 05 in the corner spots - that aren't really spots - in my parking garage at work. No one can ding me there. One day I went to the ladies room immediately upon entering the building and when I came out I heard a lady complaining to the security guard, saying.... 'I know they are little, but I don't think they are THAT little.' and the old geezer behind the desk says - 'oh, don't worry about it, serves them right for parking there.' I went out at lunch to check it out and she had parked 3 feet back from the normal stopping place in her stall and thought the rear end of her Tauraus (ugh) was going to impede my progress. heh heh - I oozed out just fine and made a point to park NEXT to her in an open spot when I returned. Wanted her to know they are that little. Anyway - why would anyone care??? No one that is not little can park there. Now the p/u truck that parked on the OTHER side of me, has taken to moving over about 1/3 off his line into the corner open space so I can't get in and out easily. What a jerk.