I am one of the most **** persons when it comes to parking this car anywhere. For instance, I tried two parking stalls yesterday at lunch before settling on a final one, but moved both times because the car(s) next to me were too close, the doors could reach me, so the third one was a charm, no where even near another car.

At work, I park in the corner of the parking lot, where no other vehicle can fit next to me. Its ok, its a small office. But, I am about 10' away from the dumpster enclosure. Today, I think the trash guys opened the fence some unneeded urgency...and this is the result.



I am pee-od beyond words. My boss is offering to cover it under his company insurance. The paint I can remove, it didn't chip my silver...but as you can see...there is a crease. I have a magic dent puller, and will take it by him tomorrow, after I buff off this blue paint (well, after my boss sees it and takes pitty on me)

So, please be careful out there my jaguar friends. Danger lurks in every parking lot.

 

I am one of the most **** people I know when it comes to parking any of the cars I have owned (much to my wife's chagrin). I will avoid parking lots and parking structures in most instances and opt for street parking. When I have to park in a lot I always try to find spaces away from anyone, or end spaces, or large spaces, etc. This has worked pretty well since in the 9 years I owned my BMW I maybe received one or two dings and the same for the Corvette I had for 14 years. The one ding/chip I received with the Corvette was the single time I slipped up. We were in a hurry to make a movie at the local mall and I parked away from other cars but, unfortunately not in an end space. When we returned there was some a**hole large pickup right next to the passenger side and, of course, a chip in the paint from his door.

Doug

 

Arrgghhhh....that does my head in I wanna go looking for these guys if that even nearly happens to me
I'm with you guys and do all you do and more when parking to avoid this, my wife of course thinks its hilarious / weird but no real dings / dents to date. Some people just don't care and park too close etc etc and then open their door as wide as they can until it hits sumthin with not a care in the world - cos they drive a 10 year old banger and couldn't care less!!!
Nice one of your boss to cover this though Matt - no doubt it'll be sorted ASAP

 

I see your woes and you're right too .I also behave like yours when it comes to parking the car .Sometimes I fold my mirrors in to help other driver( next to I park ) extend space to his/ her car . We are very thoughtful but it is too sad others are not
If I can't find a good place for me in the supermarket parking lot I go to the street and parallel park my ride ,this is how picky I am lol

 

Or, how about when you park, way way out, in a spot with no other cars around,only to return to find another car,the only car, parked inches away!

 

Owch, but it sounds like you have a decent boss.

Is now the time to profit and have the side strips removed?

If you were thinking about it.

 

Hey Matt,
Damn, that sucks! You make every effort to pamper your car, and some mindless a$$hole damages it without a second thought! Unfortunately, as hard as we try, (and obviously we all do), these mishaps STILL happen, and they are horrifying! It just makes my blood boil...............
Brian

 

That happened to me with my Jag at the grocery store about a month after I bought it. I parked waaaayyyyyy out in the parking lot with about 15 empty spaces between me and the next car. When I came out someone in a POS 1980's Honda had parked right next to me, so close my wife couldn't even open her door. I had to pull out of the spot for her to get in the car. They had obviously done it intentionally. Fortunately they didn't ding the car. I just don't understand the mentality of some people. Jealousy, I guess.

 

I receive a lot of grief from my golf league members for parking in the back corners of the parking lots, but it's worth the extra walk. I had one small door mark that a dent mender was able to remove. I am especially careful when attending a family or friends event. Door dings from people you will see again are tough to deal with.

 

Thanks for the support guys. Wish me luck today that the passenger door can be saved. It was by far, the only spotless, most pristine panel on the car (before this)

And that door strip, it took most of the brunt of the hit, as it has a gouge and alot of blue paint. The force was so great, however, that it continued thru to the sheet metal above it.

 

When I was learning to drive 20 or so years ago, my dad had me learn on a 30 year old (at the time) Buick Skylark. It was a pretty straight car with a killer engine, but lacked certain amenties, like air conditioning, shiny paint (my brother had done the bodywork on it and mixed the paint incorrectly!) and my dad had taken off the cool spinner hubcaps and replaced them with 70's Chevy hubcaps...he was afraid of the spinners getting stolen and didn't mind the really dorky look of the newer hubcaps! Anyway...long story short...I used to find the "super nice car" out in the parking lot, and park as close as I could to them on my driver's side, and then climb out the passenger side door! I didn't injure their cars at all, but I'm sure I did give more than a few people a heart attack when they saw it. Why did I do it? Dunno...probably couldn't have even told you at the time! I wasn't jealous of their cars, but it probably stemmed from my frustration of living my entire growing up years (to that point) with a dad that parked his cars so far out in the parking lot to "avoid door dings". It frustrated me to no end as a kid (little legs can only go through so many empty parking spots!)

I can feel H20boy's pain though...I had owned my S-Type for about a month when some a-hole rammed a shopping cart with their car into my driver's side door. MAJOR crease...why? Why would someone do that to ANY car??? I was peeved beyond belief. The poor car had the crease all the way until it was totaled in a flood later that year...

::moment of silence::

Dave

 

Sorry to hear about your car Matt, hope than can remove the ding. When I worked for the old International Harvester Co. we had a hugh parking lot enough to hold 3000 to 4000 employees cars. Driving my Corvette one day, which I rarely did, and parking out in the west forty against the fence. Some ***hole parked inches on the drivers side with his beater. It just so happened one of my fellow co-workers had his tow truck at work that day. He towed it to the back side of the parking lot. I think we taught him a lesson, hopefully.
Doug
2001 XKR Silverstone

 

Is it over, because if not, Doug sure is in trouble.

I'll update after I get the panel evaluated. Paint DID come off, but the dent is pretty bad.

 

I feel for you...

My car door was completely toast when somebody backed into it with a trailed hitch in a lot. Yes pee-ohed is the least of it. Then getting the body work done, twice, by uninsured-motorist protection which refused to get new door. That was probably the worst part, knowing the car eventually may need a new door.

Sorry, but I've had numerous dings and dents made on that car. It's a magnet for them.

 

Just imagine what that dent would have looked like if the side strip had been removed. Mine are staying right where they are!!

 

I sure hope it's over, this was back in the early eighties, that parking lot is now pushing up weeds. But thanks for the concern.
Doug
2001 XKR Silverstone

 

What did I do on Monday? Ah yes!

I went the grocery store in the Camaro and being just as **** as you guys, I parked in the second set of slots, with no other car within 6 spots and no cart corral nearby. SCORE! I'm in maybe 10 minutes getting some milk and I come out to find a minivan snuggled up so close to my driver's door, I have to turn sideways to slip in.

I promptly flung my door open spat on the windshield, slid into the car and drove off. Not a mark on my car but I'd hate to walk out of the store and see that kind of ding in my door.

Quite often when I'm with my friends we have bets to see whether a car has parked beside me or not or if anyone leaves carts close by. Almost always someone parks beside and surprisingly, quite often before I even get out of the car. I'm waiting for the day someone takes exception to my profanity laced tongue lashings and takes it upon themselves to...

 

My next 'experiment' at the grocery store, pick my space out in the middle, pull in close to a nearby parking space, take a shopping cart from that 'corral' (or where someone left it 30 feet away, or tilted atop a median <- that bugs me), then place it in the parking stall closest to me, place a small wheel chock under it (maybe a small piece of wood), and go in. With the laziness of most shoppers today, nobody will EVER take the extra time to get out, remove the cart, then pull into that very space. They won't even touch the darn thing if the parked on the other side of it. I should be safe unless the employees come out to collect the stray carts.

 

You're braver than I am. I always clear the Shopping Carts from the general area that I park in, as sometimes their use resembles a scene out of that movie "Road Warrior"! I'll be interested in hearing how it goes though.
Good luck!
Brian

 

Of course, you could always carry two orange cones (the smaller ones) in the trunk and put one in the parking slots on each side of the car.
And in dreamworld: I've always wished I could somehow rig up the battery to the metal of the car and and cause an electrical jolt to anyone who touched it or even got too close.....