meem

man -- i swear my car is a disaster magnet that's growing in electromagnetic force by the day.

yesterday i narrowly escaped getting hit by falling tree limbs, then almost got the whole side of the car scraped by a downed treelimb that hadn't been properly moved to the side of the road (coming around a turn in the dark -- eek!)

then today i go out to lunch and do my usual job of finding a corner space i think no one in their right mind would want to park next to. so i get out of my car and start the long trek to the door when for some odd reason (psychic bond with my car? ;-) i decide to peer back at my car. man, was i glad i did -- i wish someone had been there to tape the look on my face as i catch sight of this crusty old lady in a taurus, three kids in tow, rounding the bend and heading right into the neighboring space.

fearing the worst i start a brisk pace back to my car, my eyes firmly fixed on the old lady's head as she struggled hopelessly to fire the neurons necessary to bring her car to a stop. finally, the car comes to a rest about 1 foot away from mine on the passenger side.

i briefly stop in sheer shock as i watch her (yes, it was a visible process) decide she was going to "straighten out" by pulling her drivers side wheel towards my car and backing up. the lady, apparently guided only by bright light and an imminent crunch, begins the process, lurched over the steering wheel and looking the wrong way. the scene: t-5 seconds to impact, me in full sprint towards my car with key-in-hand, grandma with screaming kids fully committed to her "braille-method" maneuver. seconds later, i reach my driver's side door, my sudden arrival apparently startling the lady into braking, giving me much needed seconds in my getaway.

urn the key, shut the door, roll out. yow. i'd say i would've been toast in another 2 seconds. i never knew taking care of this car would be such a workout!

--
meem

Jim Graham

<i>> my usual job of finding a corner space i think no one in their right mind would want to park next to</i>

This happened to me at the end of my very first drive in the car after leaving the dealer. I was meeting some coworkers at a restaurant that day. When I got there I drove right by the entrance and went to the back lot and parked away from everyone else near the back door of the restaurant (the door from the kitchen - not an entrance). As I'm going into the restaurant I watch a beat up minivan pull into the parking lot and go all the way to the back of the lot (past about a dozen open spaces) to park in the spot right next to my brand new car. Grrrrr...<p>...jim, SF Bay Area
2000 S4, Santorin/Silver, all but phone

Ms4Kita

Funny tales!!!I thought this stuff only happens to me!!!!Minivan moms, shopping carts, the obscure parking magnet....I feel your pain!!!

Bichon

Those of us who park in the boonies see this all the time.

You park in a spot far from anyone else, with many dozens of closer spaces.

But by parking your car in that area, you have somehow given it the "seal of approval", and other drivers who would otherwise never consider parking that far away park next to you. Its as if they think their car needs a friend to socialize with while they attend to their business.

Brett G

I don't know how far away from everyone else you park, but I know there are people out there that purposely find their way to these cars. Why? So they can push a shopping cart into it, key it, deflate the tires, etc. (you get the idea). Yes there are some people who actualy do just look at the car, but people who can't afford a nice car don't like it when those of us who can show off.

To avoid these a**holes, I park near the outer limits of where everyone else is. Many of the people that park that far away are also concerned about their car. Look at how well kept the cars nearby are. Just because you wouldn't buy one doesn't mean that the owner doesn't care for their car. Park next to one.

Avoid parking near 2-door cars. Their doors swing out farther. Also, avoid other obvious hazards.

Finally, parking way out in the boonies probably makes your car more likely to be run into. I see people all the time flying through parking lots paying no attention to the marked aisles. Sometimes, they have to hit their brakes or turn the wheel to avoid another moving car. In the latter case, that could be your car they turn into (and drive away from without reporting it).

My $0.02.<p>Brett Gissel
'00 S4, Pearl White/Onyx

mattchow

NO matter where i park in the parking lots i swear i have a big *** sign that says "expeditions and excursions and any other car come park next to me" There is always some truck parked next to me WHEREEVER i go. I swear, i can park in my house and some random suv will come and park in my driveway.<p>_rl [1998.5 a4 2.8 quattro]

lltek clear corners; lltek clear side markers; lltek eyebrows; lltek m&s car mats; jahn h1 superblue; a!avantgarde sports grille with a! logo; a!avantgarde spoiler; brullen 3rd gen cat back exhaust; llumar metallic tint

RSV-TT

people are more careful when they have to park in front of a light post because the concrete base of the light will crunch any car. it makes the driver think twice about flying into a parking spot and therefore are more likely to take care in watching their surroundings. just something i do.

winder

i have had my car a day over two (wonderful) months.
NO parking dings, and only minimal nicks from road rubble.
NOT easy to do in Colorado. our DOT and highway maintenance invests in body and paint shops, AND windshield companies. [that IS NOT a joke!! they spray rocks and dirt on the road if it drizzles at all at 50 degrees F, between November and April.]
parking lot heathens, and the familiar person who can BARELY manage to keep it straight down the road, let alone park in a finite space. i have managed to avoid with remote parking in areas that are GND to almost anyone else.
i charge my anti-ding polarity [ZEN] battery by seeking 'truth' from the long walk.
park far enough to walk in roughly the time it takes to drive, but not so far as to need bus service.
THATwinder....

Mugatu

<p>00 Imola / silver / 6-sp
APR chip, custom exhaust,UUC shift kit (40%), Neuspeed race springs and sway bars, yellow calipers, MOMO shiftknob

DBishop

Does anyone know if you catch someone in the act of door dinging, and they refuse to acknowledge that they've done damage to your property,or do the right thing and give you their insurance info, can you get their license # and report them for 'hit and run' ?

I reported some scum bag daddy's boy who scraped his car across another's bumper in a parking lot,
backed out, moved his car to another spot, got out and walked away ! I found the owner of the damaged car, and gave him the scumbag's license #. He called the police,they found the scumbag's car, and later called me to verify that I witnessed the whole thing.

Sometimes I just want to b!tch slap the idiots on the road for what I see happen. This last one I had to do something about.....

&^%$^%$#^%*&^%$%$@#%^$@^%$
There, I feel much better !<p>David Bishop
'00 S4,Imola/Onyx,BBS-RC,UUC shifter
dabiS4hop@mindspring.com
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