Parking Tips 101

[two_wheel_mayhem]

You dont know any big secrets, and some of your so called strategies suck anyways.

Im sure 6 and 7 are the way I park all the time.

I'll bet you think you know some big secret to playing euchre too.

[Alain]

Originally Posted by 2SSARMY

My parking tips:

Park in between the mother fing lines.

that's as simple as it gets people.


as for the original post....... try taking two spots or as you call it (the squeeze technique) and you'll come out to find your car keyed to hell.

no matter where you park it's a gamble

[greenvillepilot]

I already got Keyed. I hate non Camaro owners LOL

[SSOOCH]

Insurance. That's my tip. If your going to get a door ding, nothing can stop it.

[Homestar1217]

Originally Posted by rtcat600man

Take an end spot next to the curbing and park tight to the curb. This leaves one side protected and the other as far from the line as possible. I always park the passenger side to the curb so that I can see my drivers side as I get in which was to the open spot, this way I can look up and down my drivers side for marks.

That's what I do and I WORK at Wal-Mart. Park next to the island at the back of the lot, and it works great cause there's a little hatching between the actual spot and the curb so parking right up to the curb gives me like 6ft of space to the other line :-)

[HDDAN]

Get a shitbox for the mall and Wallmart etc. Only use your Camaro to drive, not to park. My Harley strategy is this; if you are near my Harley when it is parked, you can be sure that I can see you. When on a road trip, I will not take a hotel-motel room that I can not see the bike out of the window. When at work in my SS, I am thirty feet from my car and can see it out of the window. When I am at work on my Harley, it is up against that very window on the sidewalk. Nobody gives a shit about your Camaro and they will slam their doors into it. This is where I park at work. I can see it all day long.

[formuladan]

Sorry, but I'm not on board with any of these strategies. My simple rule is:

Don't park

I use a golf car to run errands and take my motorcycle when I go out to eat. I work from home so the car stays in the garage all day. If I had to commute to work, I would definitely get a beater.

Every once in a while, maybe once a month, there may be an occasion when I have to use the car to run an errand. My rules are this:

Park away from everyone else on an end by a curb. Avoid shopping carts and high-traffic areas. Back in with the drivers side by the curb. That way I can lean out the window and get as close to the curb as possible. Be in and out of the store as quickly as possible. Never once had a problem.

If a parking lot is so crowded that I cant park away from other cars, I won't park at all. Means there are a lot of places I can't go, but that's my choice.

[Amn_Bly]

All i have been doing is park about three to four spaces away from the cluster of other cars. By doing this i have had 5 4th gen and a 3rd gen park next to me, also those who similar feel about their car will park next to you while leaving at least two spaces between you and those dreaded mini vans. Also avoid those carts! Never park near them or those "cart corrals" because some people like to just "push it into the corral" and ends up hitting the four cars next to it. Just my .02

[Camaro_Boy]

At the walmart in my town, the parking lot is kinda like a hill. I park on the high side so i dont hav to worry about shopping carts rolling into my car. (carts cant roll uphill)

[Camaro_Boy]

somthing else that kinda throws me off is how close the front of my car is to the curb. can somebody giv me a tip on telling how close it may be???

[Berean]

I just leave mine in the garage and only start it up on weekends. I never get dings that way.

[sportyb24]

I'm like formuladan execpt I have a company ride my cars stay in tha garage till tha weekend and then I jus take to spot where I go seem to wrk since I've been doin it for years now wit varouis car that I own!!!!

[jtzako]

At work I park against the curb someplace in the lot. This gives me a bit of extra room between me and the next space. At shopping places I try to do the same thing but I usually park quite a ways out. Like at Wal Mart I park in the very last space in the row.

[CamaroSkooter]

Originally Posted by rez333

Here are my thoughts on the topic of parking that helps prevent door dings. This subject has been brought up so many times, I feel I need to speak up. As they say: the sign of insanity is repeating something and expecting different results.

In other words: parking on the far side of the parking lot is the sign of insanity because it's not working is it?

So here are my parking tips that have so far worked for me:
1) Parking on the far side of the lot doesn't work fundamentally because it is uncontrolled. You're parking in a place that has empty spots around you, and the fact that you have a nice car shows that there is something very special about that place that obviously I don't seem to know about - so why not I park there as well? (same as line-ups - if everyone is lining up, it must be good). You can't control who parks around you, so therefore it's a bad strategy.

2) Therefore control the people who park next to you. Strategy 1 is to park next to a nice car. This is the best strategy. The car needn't be expensive - it just needs to be brand new. All people, regardless of pay grade, love their car - especially when it's new.

3) Avoid parking next to mini-vans (frustrated and distracted mothers), trucks (rd-nks) and commercial vehicles.

4) Park on the line if there is a car two spots over on the same side as the line you've parked close to. This is called the "squeezing out the competition" strategy or SOC. It works especially if the the car two spots over is a junk car, commercial car, or intimidating truck. Nobody likes to park next to those types of cars either, and the fact that you've made that spot even smaller makes it less attractive. And since you are so far to one side, chances are that the car on the other side of you is far enough that you won't get a door ding.

5) Deleted - secret.

6) Deleted - secret

7) This only works for WalMart parking lots, as WalMart is the only place I know with "free" carts. Simply park the cart in the parking spot next to you (and position it so it won't roll into your car). Most shoppers when driving around looking for a spot, frankly can't be bothered getting out of their car to move the cart. The constraint is that there must be more attractive parking spots than the one next to yours.

---
That's it for now, but it works for me. I must say that all of the tactics mostly only work for non-crowded semi-empty parking lots. Tactics #5 and #6 seem to work in any parking lot, even the really full ones.

ps. I've deleted #5 and #6 because I think I don't want those tactics going around the internet. Sorry, but I too am selfish and want those ones all to myself.

1) While this may be partially true, the fact is that the majority of people are too lazy to park that far away. If you're parked out in BFE, and someone parks next to you, then they are either deliberately trying to be an ass, or they truly believe that by parking next to you then their car will also be safe. If the vehicle that parked next to you is an obvious beater, then my latter statement does not apply.

2) Not necessarily. Lots of people buy a new car simply out of necessity. They couldn't care less if they've got dings, dents, or scratches. As long as it gets them from point A to point B, then they really couldn't care less what kind of shape their vehicle is in, even if it's brand new. I have several co-workers who have purchased new vehicles in the past year and have already turned the back seat into a trash bin. It's disgusting, but people are like that. Also, the "nice" cars aren't always the nicest people. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a few pretentious Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes owners that would door ding your car just because you parked next to them. Now, if it's a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Maseratti, Bugati, or high-end Audi, I might be okay with this concept. But really, who parks one of those at your local shopping venue? Actually, if someone owns one of those and is taking it to run errands, I might still be a little wary...

3) Actually, if you park next to the passenger side of a minivan, it might not be so bad. The back doors slide, not swing open. Of course, this is assuming that no one is riding shotgun

4) This is a very brave thought process. Imagine, if you will, that the driver of the beater car that's one space away from you has a brother in an equally decrepit beater car and they want to park together. Guess what, you've just invited yourself to a nasty door ding that may require your car to get a tetanus shot...

5) Really?

6) No, really?

7) Have you never heard of grille guards? Most of the guys I know who drive trucks either have a grille guard or a full steel replacement bumper. I guarantee you if you set a shopping cart as a decoy, they don't even have to get out of their truck to move it. That grille guard/steel bumper will do the job just fine. Now, maybe if you decided to flip over the shopping cart, then I might see this working. But at that point you're asking for someone to key your car out of spite. You're better off not taking your Camaro to Wally World. Ever.

My advice:

Do whatever you can to find a landscaped island in the parking lot, and park as close to it as you feel comfortable doing. Backing into said spot would be ideal. This is also applicable to "end spots." Get as close to the line that's towards the end as possible. However, if the end spot you're preparing to make your car's temporary home has a lot of traffic, then you may want to find an alternative location.

Common sense is your biggest ally. Parking at the top of a hill is a good idea in grocery store parking lots. Leaving a spot or two between yourself and the closest vehicle is also a generally safe idea.

You live, you experience human idiocy, you learn. Sometimes there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, you just have to deal with it. I don't condone violence, but I can certainly understand the frustrations and motivations behind it. Keep your cool people. Remember, karma's a bitch