I bet if you parked on the roof someone would have park next to your nice clean ride. That happens to me all the time and I normally park as far from the store as possible.

 

Well, at least it wasn't some POS like an old rusting Cavalier! Actually, if I cannot avoid parking my car next to a curb or a pole/post, I try to park next to a very clean nice car...that owner is less likely to give you a door ding than the owner of a rusted old Cavalier!

 

I think you're onto something, RiceBoy. I am assuming (hoping?) that the Infiniti owner saw my car and thought, "I can park next to this guy, he's got respect for his car so he will have respect for mine too." That's probably what the guy on the *other* side of me thought as well -- but at least he was nice enough to leave a space between us.

The owner of that old rusty Cavalier you talk about might just be trying to bust 'em on ya -- but whenever someone parks next to me after I've clearly attempted to stay away from the crowd, I always do a quick inspection.

The other day I was standing in line at the post office and watching out the window as some guy with a SUV parked fairly close to a car. When he got out he opened his door slowly, almost carefully, but he still let it come in contact with the other car. It amazes me that people can be so thoughtless, but to look at most of the cars on the road today, with dings galore, I guess that's the norm.

I myself have two (count 'em) very slight dings on the driver's-side door my RSX, a car that I've owned for just over a year. This after trying to always park away from the maddening crowd, etc. Who knows what I'd have if I had parked like everyone else -- like next to that guy with the SUV at the post office.

 

From what I can see, your RSX and the Infiniti are probably the two nicest cars in the lot.

For me, I've been lucky...just over 2.5 years with my EL and not a single door ding (knock on wood)! But then I do practice what I preach...park really close to a curb or pole, so the other side of your car will be as far away as possible from the next car, or park next to really nice, clean, well-kept, and expensive cars.

 

OH MAN I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS IT MAKES ME SOOOOOO MAD!!!!!!

ILL PARK 5,000,000,000 FT away from where im going and walk a year to get to the place saying oh no one will park next to me and than i come out and theres 2 cars surrounding mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR lol sorry just makes me soo mad. Than I have to inspect it for like 25 minutes. My mom always tells me if I cant stop being so over protected and obsessed with my car than she is going to take it away lol. Oh well its just the way I am I love cars.

 

Uh...yeah, that sounds a bit too overprotective. :sqnteek:

I hope you're exaggerating about the 25 minute inspection thing...otherwise, you might give yourself a coronary everytime you take your eyes off of your car. Parking next to and between cars is an unavoidable fact of life.

 

or park next to really nice, clean, well-kept, and expensive cars.

:nono: Doesn't always hold true my friend. You'd be surprised how many S-class Benz's, Cadillac's, and Lexus's are owned and driven by grandma and grandpa types. They will tear your door up! Even the middle aged drivers of these cars are often careless, because to them, it is just a car. Granted it does beat parking next to a beater.

I always try to avoid parking next to anybody. I've found the safest bets are to park next to nice cars that are obviously owned by a younger person....such as us. Tell tale signs the car is driven by a young person - tint, rims, stickers, body kits. Most of us young folks with nice cars tend to baby them very much.

 

:nono: Doesn't always hold true my friend. You'd be surprised how many S-class Benz's, Cadillac's, and Lexus's are owned and driven by grandma and grandpa types. They will tear your door up! Even the middle aged drivers of these cars are often careless, because to them, it is just a car. Granted it does beat parking next to a beater.

You make a very good point. My own dad is a case in point! He drives a Mercedes and derives the status from the mere fact that it is a Mercedes.

As for the parking thing, I have thought about this a bit since my original post. I have come to think that it works this way: there is a "regulation" distance between spaces in any given parking lot -- that is, the spacing between each slot that the painted stripes allow as the distance between cars for the lot. As they come into the lot, many drivers register what this regulation distance is and almost without thinking, they try to observe it when parking.

For example, just today I went to Barnes and Noble. I found a spot on the end so I had curb to my left and in front of me. To the right of my car was another (empty) space, then seven or eight more empty spaces. I parked so that I hugged the lefthand curb as closely as possibly without scraping my rims.

I returned to my car a half-hour later. Just as with my Target adventure above, despite all those empty spaces closer to the front door of the store, right next to my RSX was another car. It was a Saab, not in the best shape, and the driver had parked so that the distance between his car and mine was the same as that between the normally parked cars.

Not only that, he had parked crooked. He had apparently been in a hurry. This of course led to a close inspection of the door on that side....

I always try to avoid parking next to anybody. I've found the safest bets are to park next to nice cars that are obviously owned by a younger person....such as us. Tell tale signs the car is driven by a young person - tint, rims, stickers, body kits. Most of us young folks with nice cars tend to baby them very much.

Well, I'm middle aged myself, with no body kit, tint, stickers, or fancy rims, but hopefully if you saw my car someplace you'd know I care about it nonetheless. Best not to jump to any rash conclusions! (The only thing stopping me from getting a sweet set of rims is our nasty New England winter.)

Anyway, here is my baby, fresh after a fourth coat of Zaino. One disadvantage of metallic finish Acuras like mine is that you can't get the same kind of shocking "wet look" as you do with the glossy paints. Still, I shouldn't complain. The finish is soft as a baby's bottom! (Notice how I am hugging that space to the right there -- that's a handicapped spot that nobody ever uses.)

 

lets see, first old people will drive around for hours waiting on a close to the front door place to park. they also are likely to have a handicap parking decal so they get up front that way as well. there not walking any extra distance for any reason.

as the the other thing. theres a commercial about being in the far out area only to be parked next to by a POS car.

 

Interestingly, I've noticed drivers who go to the trouble of avoiding the likelihood of door dings to their cars find themselves in the same vicinity and show respect to the other fellow's ride. Usu they're the cars of the nice kind. Don't mean to be snob, but it's when you find some POS car going in the same area with a driver who doesn't give a sh*t about the next car gets to be quite annoying.

 

Nice doesn't necessarily have to mean expensive. It can be a fairly common car, but if you see it's clean, has a nice shine to it, and doesn't have rust or any body damage, then you know the driver most likely takes good care of it and would probably be more considerate with opening their doors.

 

Nice doesn't necessarily have to mean expensive. It can be a fairly common car, but if you see it's clean, has a nice shine to it, and doesn't have rust or any body damage, then you know the driver most likely takes good care of it and would probably be more considerate with opening their doors.

Good point.

To expand on my earlier statement regarding parking next to luxo rides not always being safe, I always think back at the time I saw a black Mercedes S-class going across the parking with a friggin christmas tree tied to the top of it. No blanket or anything underneath it. That grandpa driving the thing could have cared less. OUCH!

If only I had that car from birth, I could have cared for it better.