Two things are happening there - Either the other driver needs your car to align theirs for parking (bad) or they are like me and seek out other nice cars to park next to because you can be sure at least one side of yours won't get damaged (good).

The worst experience when parking is after you have carefully reversed into a space with plenty of space all around and then at the very last moment you spot the child seat in the rear window.

It sends shivers down my spine. I had to re-park four times at a recent meeting because each time I pulled in I spotted a child seat. I ended up parking on the grass at the end of a row just to avoid it.

It's even worse in my XJL because the length means it pokes out about a meter more than most other cars (in the UK anyway, the US tends to have bigger cars than we do, and our parking spaces are quite a bit smaller than yours). I have to check the angles of exit for the surrounding cars to make sure they won't turn across the XJ.

Next Halloween just go down to your nearest supermarket and stand near to the closest parking rows watching the other drivers. It will be a truly terrifying experience! Be extra fearful of the ones that park nose-in because they often do not look when reversing out.

 

Not surprised that most are horrified by my Valet Friendly approach to parking. Leaving it in the front mitigates most of the valet risk. Also, for the record, when valet parking is not available I have had several issues parking the car both considerately and far from everyone else in the lot. Everything from door dings, to ice cream on the windshield, to gum on the door handles, to some complete jerk using a screw driver to destroy my door panel. That last one happened at my office building where I had a reserved space. While I don't know what valets "could" have done to my cars, I do know what happened when self parking.

 

Many of my car guy friends worked as valets in high school. The utterly insane things they did scared me off valets for years. Yet, I've never had a bad experience with valet parking.

 

What were you driving (or doing) that might offend people so badly?

 

I used valet for the first time and they parked it at the front. No scratches. Only thing i told him was to be careful if scraping because its a low car.

I tipped the guy on the way out and told him to just give me my keys i can take it from here.

 

interesting collection of stories and experiences..so i never use valet for the jag and i definitely won't now..now if there's really no right answer to parking at the mall, and groceries are definitely out and parking at work is not a good idea..the burning question i have is:
where do i drive it to???! lol...other than the random aimless drives, which get old after the first few weeks of ownership.
would appreciate some insight into your jag-driving habits: how often do you take it out? where do you drive it to?

 

For 8 months out of year: everyday and everywhere. It really is a primary vehicle weather permitting. I know everyone feels different about it but I don't treat it as anything extraordinarily special. It's an amazing car but it's also meant to be enjoyed. It's mass produced so it's not like it's irreplaceable right now. I'm obviously more cautious with it than the winter grocery getter but outside of that it's still just a car.

 

I've discovered that there is no safe place, so I also just park mine like it's my jeep. I tried parking away from people, but would find other cars consistently gravitate around the car. Empty parking area, Jag with 5 cars around it. Wth? Probably my imagination but it sure seems like a car magnet.

A local here has a Gallardo he parks on the third base line of the local LL park. I figured if he could chill, I could too. But, he probably has more money than me. Lol...

 

I hear you. I drive fast, but very considerate of those around me. Never use the horn or cut people off. Always allow them to merge. I've concluded that there are people that resent others with nice stuff. I've always driven cool cars that I've worked hard to attain. No trust fund for me....not that I would refuse it if offered.

I intend to drive the F Type every day since I only put 6-7m miles a year on a car. Only time I would leave it at home would be weather related.

 

wow - 6 - 7 miles a year ........... I do that in 10 minutes LOL

 

I've seen keying on BMWs, Acuras and Porsches, but never on a Jag. Has anyone on the forum had their F-Type keyed?

 

This b.stard keys an Aston.
Good reason to have a Dashcam. The git was spared jail because he had bred...ie had a child.

 

I've had my XJR keyed along both kerb-side doors, and my X-Type was covered with silly string once which caused dull patches in the clear coat. Nothing in recent years though, and nothing on my F-Type. Even over here where Jaguars are a bit more commonplace than in the US most people admire them and will stop and chat rather than be resentful as they often are towards the nicer BMWs, etc. It varies a lot based on where you live though - as with anywhere there are some places where I would not drive let alone park.

 

hmm. anyone in the Tampa, FL area? im
new to the area so still trying to get a sense of whether people here are fancy car-friendly/resentful.

 

The problem seems to be a bit more prevalent in the UK than here in the U.S. (where they'd rather just shoot you than key the car. makes a bolder statement).

 

Back in the 90's had every panel keyed on a 1987 XJ12 VDP parked for an evening in a public lot with an attendant. Attendant went off-duty at midnight...returned to car shortly after midnight to that heartbreak.

 

I've always had the same sort of parking anxiety. What stores I shop at has a lot to do with the design of their parking lot. Parking way out isn't always the answer. If the lot is sloped away from the store, that's the direction the loose baskets are going to roll. I'm like that guy on the Volkswagen commercial, body slamming the basket rather than let it roll into his car. At the grocery store, I will try to park right next to the cart corral on the uphill side. I figure the closer to the cart corral, the more likely the lazy asses will put their cart away, plus at least one side is protected.

I also had an incident at a car club event once, meeting up for a drive in the Texas Hill Country with a bunch of fellow Toyota Supra owners. The wind was gusting 30mph and the guy next to me let go of his door as he got out, the wind caught it and took a chunk of paint out of both our cars. Since then, I am also conscious of the wind speed and direction and park so the gusts won't catch the door of any car that might park next to me.

Another thing that bugs me is the automatic sprinkler systems. To avoid a door ding at least on one side, I will sometimes park next to the little island at the end of the row. Then when I come back out, the sprinklers have run and congealed all the dust into little spots. May not be damage, but still costs me an extra car wash.

I like trees as much as anyone, but the damned environmentalists now are making developers plant trees in those little islands at the ends of the row. We're required to have 40% tree canopy coverage (at full growth) of any new parking lots (as if it makes up any for the loss of the Brazilian rain forest). Trees and cars just don't mix with all the sap, leaves, debris, insects, birds and falling branches. Some people think they are doing themselves a favor parking in the shade, but they're doing more harm than good. As a hobbiest restoring vintage cars, the corrosion from parking under trees comes in second only to the damage from using salt on the roads in winter. I won't park under a tree, but I still regularly clean a whole bunch of biological debris out of the cowl vent area on my cars.

Even my beater pickup I try to take care of. Yeah, they're just cars, but sometimes paint is not so easy to repair, particularly if you've chosen some of the more exotic colors. Back in the 80s I had my metallic blue Mercury Capri RS and got a quarter-sized door ding from an El Dorado. I took it in for repair and they tried, and tried and tried to blend in the paint. I don't remember how many attempts but they had the car for three weeks and I finally just settled on that was as good as they were going to get it. Most people would never notice, but for the next eight years I would always instantly spot the area that was repaired. Then in the 90s, my red Toyota Supra had a fender replaced and looked perfect at first, but differential fading made it noticeable after a few years.

On my classic cars, my insurance specifically forbids leaving them parked unattended in a public parking lot because of the prevalence of such damage. Insurance costs would just about keep me out of the hobby otherwise and I understand. I hope to keep my current cars up so that they will be classics for someone someday. I'm interested in any strategies for preventing parking lot damage.

 

This.

Obviously, parking some distance from the nearest entrance helps, but I can remember returning to my car to find it pushed half way out of the bay - even though it was in Park, and had the parking brake on. Fortunately, that was a rental.

Oddly, last time I went to Le Mans, the local HyperMarche had parking bays wide enough to allow the door to be fully opened without going near the Parent and Child section. The car next to mine presented a low risk though - being a Blower Bently...

I run a tatty 330 coupe as a shopping car. It removes the angst, as in addition to a big boot I really don't mind if it gets another dent.

 

Portland is bad. Lots of angry SJWs and hipsters, quasi enviromentalists galore.

My friend has a late 90s Caddy. A $5k car on a good day, but it gets kicked and loogied on when parked downtown. At least 20% of the time - talking around core downtown/old town area.

So yes - an F-type would be messed with - definitely. He was parked by Powell books the other day and had a trifecta - loogie, dirt clod and someone tried to pry off his mirror.

Something along the lines of a Huracan would be simply impossible to park anywhere without a huge assumption of risk. A car like that is for parking in your garage and no where else (if PDX).

 

horrifying. but not surprised..i was in WA for a year and for the most part, people there just don't have the appreciation for cars like ftypes and beyond. most you can drive there 'safely' is a M series bmw.
glad i moved out of that part of the country.