I LOVE finding people parked like that when I'm driving my Jeep. I pull up with my passenger side as close as I can get to their drivers door so they can't open it.

If they want to force open the door into my Jeep, that's fine. It has 1/4" thick 2"x4" steel rockrails that are about mid-door height to a standard car. All they'll do is damage their door - the Jeep rock rails are already beaten up.

I stayed in a store once and watched a guy (Honda driver in this case) go nuts because I was parked so close - he couldn't get in. He stood there and cussed and fumed for about 10 minutes while I . I never touched his car so there was no damage from my parking job - I was just making a point.

Finally he opened the passenger door, climbed across the center console and took off. I then walked out, climbed into my Jeep and drove away.

Yep. I can be an a$$ sometimes.

In the MINI, I tend to park at the far end of the lot in a corner space if possible. So far it's been just over 1 year and no door dings yet (touch wood.)

 

double parking...very bad idea.

 

I can't stand two spot takers.

And although i agree to be a curb hugger, that's also asking for people to park in your space. People never check around their vehicle to see how far in another spot they are. Nobody cares anymore, until it happens to them.

I'm one of those peeheads that watches you put a cart where it doesn't belong, and just as you take your hands off the cart, i yank it and put it where it belongs... making sure i give you a snarl and glazed eye stare as i put it in the cart bin two spaces away. I dont know if they learn any better, but i'd hate to see someone innocent get hit by a cart and not know how or why it happened. I'm sure no one else would be so kind to grab it if they saw it running for my car, though. Americans.

I also can't stand when people put their noses in the spot in front of them, leaving less room for the person on the other side. When i had my thunderbird, i parked in my space completely even. Even if it took 4 tries. I didn't know my demensions very well, so it usually took a while to get it lined up But i had a Taurus park with their nose in my space, HIT my front end, and left it PARKED that way!!! So when i came to my car and saw it, i backed my car to look at the damage. NONE to mine since i had a thick black rubber piece on my front end, but it dented their front end a bit. I didn't write down the plates or anything, but if they complained... it was all their fault

 

Apparently, a few fellow MINI owners may be the prime candidates for my first keying. As I said, I don't take two spaces anywhere in a crowded lot. As for parking far out, everytime I do it I almost always find another car right next to me and the rest of the area empty.

The park job in question was for photograph purposes. I in fact did not park in the lot because no spaces were safe. I parked across the street about a half mile down in a safe spot.

I also find it amusing that you are calling me rude with such polite language.

Mike

 

My car was born on 10/03. I have ONE DING, from my dealership visit

I used to find a buick parked beside me all the time at work, so now i park on the corner, a 350z beside me, and then a new civic body guards us. In public, i pick corner spots and get dangerously close to the curbs... but have never rashed up my rims

You don't have to be a ***** to avoid ******.

 

Not that it will surprise anyone, but I never valet park! Barbarians!

Mike

 

Now, Mike....I totally agree with you on the no valet rule! EEEEK!

I also want to add that I see you are also in SoCal. I'm surprised you have never been keyed with your parking "strategy." You've been very lucky!

I gave my Wanda a horrible ding when she was less than 3 weeks old: stopped for gas in Laramie, Wyoming (on the first cross-country roadtrip) and opened my driver's door right into a low-lying piece of metal......OUCH that was painful!

Best wishes for maintaining a pristine, dentless MINI! :smile:


Clover

 

I HATE it when people do that...


especially when there is a car worth 3X the price of the one parked in both spots parked normally right beside it. it just makes it look THAT much more rediculous.

Doing that is the peak of "I am more important then everyone" thinking.

 

Living in Orange County, the land of very expensive cars, I also see very expensive cars parked in a normal spot - and they generally have horrendous door dings.

I don't get this expensive vs. less expensive thing - the price of your car does not entitle you to care more or less about it. I'm actually shocked that MINI owners are taking this line. I'm also quite surprised at those who support keying and vandalism or hope I get my "just desserts". How I would like to ever catch someone vandalizing my car!

Are any of you seriously advocating vandalism for someone who double parks? Get help!

As I keep saying, I don't double park anywhere where it would "set off" reasonable people. If someone gets aggro at seeing my MINI double parked at the end of an empty parking lot - maybe they have a few anger management issues.

I don't think I'm any more important than anyone, I just take care not to get door dings, like the vast majority of MINI single-spot-only parkers here.

Mike

 

I hate door dings too but I just do my best to park safely. Seeing that picture had me reaching for MY keys

 

It's funny to see how truely **** compulsive you are - and SO defensive on a thread you started! lol


Truth hurts...most people agree parking like that makes you a (fill in the blank)!

 

Zen, I don't really care if I see someone parked like that. Personally, I don't do it. I do look for a "safe zone" even if it's a hike. My girl has grown to accept it,(even in the rain). She would rather get soaked than to have to deal with me if I came out to a damaged MINI. If I have a curb on one side, I put the MINI real close to it, plus it's funny to see how much room is left around the car in a parking spot.

 

Looks like you got a close spot.....maybe parking in the back would have been a better option...

 

Never 2 spots, but always end spots no matter how far away they are. If you are really far away you can park wherever as most people are too lazy to walk any distance.
In your case park it as close to that curb on the right. :-)
H

 

I have never double parked and I have yet to get a door ding. Nor do I park far way. I am smart about parking though. If the space is crowded (the cars are both parked too close) or if there is a crappy car or two-door car (unless it is really nice), i don't park there. FYI two door cars always have much longer doors than 4 door ones. I find that people respect the MINI and are carefully not to bump it.

 

It's my prediction that kaelaria will get a few door dings as a result of this thread no matter how considerately he parks.

 

Even if you park in the back of the lot, why would you have to take up 2 spots? If you are in the back, then that means that there is less of a chance of someone parking next to you anyway, so just park normally. Parking in the middle of 2 spots just invites someone like CoryB to park right up against you. At the mall once I saw a guy that had parked in 2 spots and 2 BIG pickups parked really close on either side of him and there was no way he could get in his car. While I wouldn't have done it, it was funny

The shopping cart thing drives me nuts too. Why is it so difficult for people to walk 10 more steps to the cart corral? I'm fat and I do it.

Oh, and the ONLY door "ding" that I've ever had on any car was from a loose piece of construction equipment swinging into the side of the truck I had in college and I just park in normal spots

 

I always park in a section of the lot that is curved somewhat. When they painted the lines for the parking spaces, the outer measurements of each slot remained the same, so in this section there are parking spaces that fan out as you enter the parking space....almost in a key-stone fashion. With the MINI being so short, I can pull in there and door dings are virtually impossible...all in one space, too. Doesn't hurt that I now know everybody else that parks there.

There is grocery store I frequent solely because it's parking spots are painted much wider than normal....but I still go for the end spot.

I have been known to (actually I'm admitting this for the first time here:smile show up 30 minutes early for a lunch get-together to seek out, identify, and stalk MINI-worthy parking spots. Sometimes I have to wait a while for the people in a spot I want to finish their lunch and leave.

In addition to door dings, I also have a summer-time aversion to tree sap, sprinkler systems, and those stupid weed-wacker guys who spray weed shrapnel all over my nice clean car!!!

 

No way, cause I always bring an enclosed trailer with barbed wire around it to park in, and APMs at the per., along with a force field to ward off carts or stray animals! And if I can't do that, I'll park in the next city and take the bus, or just leave it parked in my underground bunker and rent a car for the trip! Wouldn't want to get a (Gface Voice) D-O-O-R D-I-N-G!

LOL

 

Here's my $0.02 on this. I think that people who deliberately take up more than one parking space are incredibly selfish and rude.

HOWEVER, the severity of their infraction is relative to two factors:

1) The distance of the spaces used from the venue being visited
2) The relative congestion (space usage %) of the parking lot

If you park that way on the far side of a parking lot that isn't crowded, then hey, more power to you... of course in that case there often wouldn't be a NEED to park that way, because not many people are going to park on the far side to begin with.

However, if you park that way up close to the venue, or you park that way when the lot is crowded (hey, don't like it? Park even FURTHER away, across the street, or whatever), then you deserve to get keyed, or even just plain towed.

I for one will never key another person's car... but I WILL call the towing company if I see that greedy and selfish crap happening when spaces are at a premium.

Do what I and many others do - look for the spaces on the ends of the rows, so you can park it right next to the curb or right on the line. Also, pay attention to the spaces and try to park in a space that only has passenger doors facing you, instead of drivers doors. Less chance the passenger door will need to be opened.

Door dings suck, but they are usually easy to remove these days with things like "Dent Wizard". Paint scratches from being keyed are another matter. It's possible to minimize the door ding risk without being a complete A-hole, you just have to be smart about it.

It's situations like this though that makes me want to own a towing company!

 

I too am very paranoid about parking my Mini in a lot for fear of door dings but so far after 35 months of ownership I don't have a single ding. I just try to park as far away from everyone as possible, although this is not always possible I have noticed one thing. The Mini is a very small car not just in length but in width and the likelihood of a door ding is actually greatly reduced because of how narrow the car is. Taking up to spots is just asking for trouble

Now that I have written that I am sure I will get a ding next time I park the car in a lot

 

As much as I love Minis, you're tempting me to key one

Better ideas:
1-find a spot next to handicap and park close to that line.
2-park around the sides of building where no one goes.
3-park far, far away angle slightly into a corner while still in one spot.

Good luck...

 

So it is NOTok for someone to break the rules (vandalism) but it is ok for you?

And yes I do advocate vandalism to such cars. It gets the point across quickly. Either that or have the property owners have you towed.

 

Is it just me or does this look like a a spot far out of the way?

Little background:
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Quote:

[font=Arial]Moonstone Landing, a family owned and operated 29 unit boutique property, is located on Moonstone Beach in the resort village of Cambria. Our beachfront property is just minutes away from Hearst Castle and the southern entrance to Big Sur. Moonstone Landing provides peaceful and romantic accommodations for our guests and has earned the coveted "3 Diamond" rating from AAA. In addition, Moonstone Landing has been honored with "The Most Scenic View Around" from Arrington Bed and Breakfast Journal as well as voted one of the Top 15 B&B Country Inns in Arrington's 2003 Book of Lists.[/font]

Face it your being rude. And there is no excuse.

Paul[/font]

 

Back when I had my old P.O.S. dodge truck I used to park in the half spot next to people who parked like that. Leave 'em about 2 inches on the driver's side. As for my MINI I've only had one minor door ding, at a MINI ralley and by another MINI OWNER.