I've been thinking alot lately about the science of parking in a parking lot, and thus avoiding dents, dings, and other unsightly damage.

I try to park in an inside corner, thus removing two sides from the potential damage equation. I stay as far away as possible from those trolly corrals, try not to park next to suvs/trucks (bigger doors, less conscious owners).

Does anyone else think about these things?
Anyone care to share their approach?
I think this could get funny, as it shows the obsessive side of car owners.

thanks

 

Always park in a corner, and as far away as you can.

That's what I do....and people make fun of me...but I yet to have a ding.

-Cody

 

when in doubt, park outside the parking lot.

 

Unless I am driving a rental...I do not park next to anyone. If I have to walk a little further then so be it and if the lady friend does not care for it then she gets dropped off at the door of the establishment. Soccer moms driving huge SUVs is bad stuff!

 

I tend to park with one side either at the end of the row, or with a spacer/blocker section. (What ever you call that strange concrete divider that has a bush in it. )

I also try to park very far away. Walking is good for you. But what I never understand is WHY the big SUVs still find a way to park next to me.

 

When parking in a parking lot with "shopping trolleys" (sounds funny to me),
I always park at the highest elevation in the parking lot (away from all
other cars of course).

Also, why would parking next to a trolley corral be bad? Usually there
aren't any stray trolleys around those spots because they are in the
corral, it's the spots that are too far for people to bother where strays are
left at the will of gravity to roll into your car.

 

I avoid parking next to coupes with long doors like Camaro/Firebird, T-Bird/Couger, Monte Carlo, Supra, etc. The doors on those cars weights about a ton each and even if the owner is careful, all it takes is a stiff breeze to ruin your day.

 

I've paid very close attention every time I've parked in my 35 years of driving. My father was even more obsessed -- refused to go to certain restaurants if they didn't have a decent lot; never allowed a valet to park his cars. I park as far away as possible, and always an end spot. If there's an insanely remote corner of the lot where nobody parks, that's where you'll find me. Guidellines: Best to have the adjacent spot to your left -- might not be passengers in any cars that park next to you. Never park downhill next to another car -- when your neighbor opens a door they might not be able to stop it from swinging into yours. Windy day? Watch for shopping carts that could be blown into your car. If you must park between cars, try to park next to vehicles that look well-cared for, and, as thebill noted, avoid cars with large doors, which includes two-door cars, not just SUVs.

 

Because I've seen people walk halfway to the corral and then try to "get lucky" by shoving the cart for the last 50 feet to see if they can make it into the corral. If the shopping cart has a bad "alignment" (and many do) then there's no telling where that cart will end up!

 

at the supermarket, don't park on the adjacent side of where the
shopping carts are returned. ive seen too many times where the shopping
cart rolls back and just smack someone's rear bumper.

it's best to park in the same row as the shopping carts.

i fix my own dings though, so not too big of a deal for me.

 

Am I the only one to take up 4 parking spaces at the far end of the lot at Walmart?

Minivans are good to park next to because the back doors don't swing out.

 

I park in the following places:

1-immediate spot next to handicapped parking that has wheel chair access and bias to that side...handicapped spots are wider and the odds of an actual handicap driver pulling is slim and their vehicles tends to be vans or four doors...plus you have the striped wheel chair clearance to act as a buffer...

2-cart corral farther away from the entrance...usually no carts as there are no one parking that far...I pull up with the passenger side close enough to the rails that no one can walk in between...

3-side of the building where employees tend to park...cars don't move much as the owners are working so slim chance of incidents...

You owe me $10 for the advice...

 

I park far enough away from other cars where there's a low chance of someone parking next to me, but close enough to not draw attention to the car itself.

I've noticed however, whenever I go somewhere that has a high parking turnaround (grocery store, Home Depot, etc.), a huge SUV will always park right next to me, even if my car is out in the tundra of the parking lot. I think this is because people use other cars as a frame of reference for fitting into their spot correctly. A car all by itself would make it super easy to park, because you have 1 thing to base your reference on, and you don't have to worry about crashing into other cars. Would this be a valid assumption?

 

Hrmmm, well if I saw your car I would be MORE attracted too it.

-Cody

 

I think they're just trying to irritate you

 

I try to park next to 2 nice cars... that would hopefully have the same carefullness with their car doors as I have with mine...

 

If I can parallel park on the street in an end space before or after a driveway or interesection, rather than in a parking lot, I will do so since only the nose or butt of the MINI are potentially exposed, and only to bad parallel parkers. If there are spaces in the parking lot, the bad parallel parker is more likely to use the parking lot than try to parallel park near me.

 

All good stuff! Obviously a good man, your Father. Your car, your money, your call on where to park it. Fortunately, most folks are not concerned with where to park other than getting the spot closest to the door they're heading for. Leaves the good pickings for those of us who want the really primo spots way out there. It's great being special . . . !

 

Just don't take up more then one parking space, otherwise that's an invitation for someone to "key" your paint.

 

I just posted something similar on c3 regarding the science of parking according to me:

I work in a huge business park in santa monica and I have to carefully stake out my parking space also. This is a little off-topic, but let me share with you guys my parking strategy at my workplace. I narrowed it down to basically 4 types of "parking spaces" at my work.

1) There are a few areas closest to the entrance of the building where all the people who wants quick access to the building parks. The parking spaces there are tight and obviously being close to the entrance to the building, this area is considered "high traffic". I stay away from these areas.

2) There is a few sections that are shaded by the trees in the parking lot. I do admit it is nice there but at the same time, you'll be gambling with the amount of bird poop + tree sap that will land on your car by the end of the day. A big NO-NO for me here

3) I found a section that is further away from our building and without any shades. This is the area where most people who take care of their cars park. There are usually a couple of Porsches, Evos, and even a Ferrari there. The cars here are usually free of sap and heavy dust. This is where I park my car everyday. In addition, everyone here know the unwritten rule of parking their cars with the driver side closer to the left parking line.

4) Finally, the remaining spaces are any of those not listed above. These are usually the leftover spots and any random space, usually reserved for visitors.

P.S.: The above only applies for my workplace. If we're going out to a restaurant, I usually find out if it has a valet. If it does, we'll take my old jeep instead. I hate the thoughts of having the valets getting their hands on our MINI. As for grocery shopping, home depot, especially Costco. Those places are "off-limits" to the MINI.

 

Agreed. Taking up more than one space is just bad form.

 

I also wouldn't park next to a handicap space. Chances are that your Mini would get dinged when they have to take a wheelchair out of the back seat (seen it happen). Most handicap spaces I see aren't any wider than normal.

 

Merfies Law...park next to a nice car and you will come out to find a POS in it's place

 

Interesting topic here, and quite smart! But I'm afraid to say that you're really not "that" safe when you park. Aside from all the little dings I've gotten in the past years, there was also a major accident that involved my PARKED MINI a couple of months back, and the most frightening thing is, it was a parking garage, where you know people have NO reason for speeding... Anyways, full story:

Click here.

The pics are down, but they have been added back into my gallery.

Check 'em out...

Take care for now, guys.
Leo.

 

Why park? You're in a mini - just drive on in the front doors!