Tips for using car parks

['MC' MarkC]

Tips for using car parks

1. If in a car park which is rarely full, park in a distant corner that is little used. You may have to walk a bit further, but you'll be safe in the knowledge that some careless/thoughtless/selfish arrogant TW*T isn't going to ding your door.

2. Do not worry about the car being stolen from aforementioned place because it's away from the public. If they're going to steal your car from the car park, they'll do it regardless of where it's parked.

3. If you have to park where it's busy, look for a corner/end space. Ensure you park either tight up to the kerb/bush/white line furthest from the neighbouring space to give the next car lots of room to open their door(s).

4. If no end spaces are available, look out for an enthusiasts' car. Nice, older classics are always going to have careful owners too. And this is one time you might be glad to see the 1.2 Corsa with the bodykit/ lowered/ 17"alloys etc, if the owner is happy to spend money on it, he sure as hell isn't going to wack your door with his. Park next to these, and at least you'll have some protection (at least until they move anyway).

5. Don't bother looking for supermarket cameras as they're often not working or of too poor quality to identify a perpetrator. If some moron has dinged/scratched your door, the shop is unlikely to be particularly helpful as they're usually too busy, and your car is, of course, there at your own risk. Although they should be forthcoming in case of theft of/from the car, the thief is unlikely not to have taken precautions against this possibilty, so any footage will probably be useless anyway.

6. In multi-storeys, look for two adjacent spaces and park slightly over the next [empty] bay. Do it just enough to prevent any car from using it, but not enough to look like you've done it intentionally .

Just some of my routines, I work in a 1.2m per week (30,000+ customers] supermarket and have been there for the last year, without a mark..
You may have others to add.

Mark.

[Alfie]

My advice for avoiding car park damage to your precious Zed:
Go shopping in the wife's car.

Alfie.

[Andre_z_3000]

Good tips, I've got a mile case of carparkphobia myself, am hoping it passes with time.

['MC' MarkC]

Andre; have you been to the UK and seen the size of the spaces over here? Unless you're in the habit of parking your car vertically, you are unlikely to manage more than a few days without a chip in the door paint or a trolley scratch.

A friend of mine recently watched a woman who, upon returning to her car which she had reversed in, found she had to walk around the back and push her trolley in between the two cars behind. However, they were parked at an angle. She managed to wedge the trolley between them, and then lost her temper. So with her teeth bared, she shook the trolley back and forth, scraping both cars quite badly . Lovely.
Once she'd gone, he left his details along with her vehicle's for the two car owners. It transpired that one of them was a local policeman. Bear in mind that you can't claim against their insurance in this case. The policeman gave her a seven-day 'producer' (where you have to take your MOT, logbook, and insurance documents to the station), and made a note of her tax disc expiry date. He said it wouldn't be worth taking her to court, so he would be visiting her four times a year to ensure that all of the above were kept up-to-date for the next couple of years.
Still doesn't sound like justice to me though.

[Craig]

while I agree with all the points above - just one gives me concern, point 5.

['MC' MarkC]

Ok Craig. So lets assume your shop has a clear as day pic of the offending vehicle driving away, after having thwacked their door against yours (again, clearly visible on the recorded images) while getting in. You then have a vehicle reg + model +colour etc. Let's now assume the reg number is genuine and registered to the current owner. You then have to report it to the police. It isn't 'failing to stop', as there hasn't been what you could describe as an accident. You are also on private property, so either way, the police are hardly likely to be too interested. Even if they were willing/allowed to provide you with the registered owners' details, you would then need the offender to provide you with insurance details, which they wouldn't be obliged to do. Your only option available, at the end of all this, is now to take out a private prosecution... need I continue?

In the case of your car being stolen, I would have to suggest that anybody able to get around a modern immobiliser is hardly likely to allow their faces to be seen on camera :?:

If somebody has broken in and pinched your stereo/personal belongings, then you might have a chance of catching them. However, they are most likely 14yrs old, or a junkie. In either case, your only recompense is to claim for criminal compensation. Good luck. Oh well, at least the lowlife will be barred from the store .

[Phooto]

Another tip - don't park next to people carriers / 4WD cars, they normally are ful of kids who fling doors open, and parents who are prepossessed with the little gobsh**es, and fling the doors open while stretching in for the little darlings.

I use the parent and child spaces as well, they are MUCH wider. Trouble is, I have to take my mum to the supermarket with me.

Or try keeping a child seat in the Z for effect...

[spokey]

If you are even in Huntingdon station car park, do NOT park next to a green Land Rover 110. Every time I see the driver getting into the car, the car next door has its alarm going off.