My cars collect dents like it's going out of style .. or coming into style, can't decide which. My LS has been hit a half dozen times, everything from a little ding to a "can't open the passenger door all the way" type hit, none of which had me in the car for it. So my strategy seems to be: give up and drive a horrible looking comfy car.
Mental wrote:Cole_Trickle wrote: ...I try to avoid parking downhill of a cart return. Ive seen too many have a mind of their own and roll down a hill. When I was 15, my job was at a Kroger that had a steepish hill going away from the store. Any cart that got lose would end up next to a car at the Taco Bell that was nearly a 1/4 mile away.That sounds like an awesome beer fueled race
...No never...
I've used all of the above strategies plus a few more. I park in a parking space where the front of my car is facing the wind. Chances are if a car parks next to me the door won't get caught by the wind and ding my door. I leave one car space between me and another car that is parked really far out, unless I can park even farther away, I find leaving a gap of 15 to 20 car space breaks the herding impulse. I walk my carts to the corral every time. If I have to park next to a car I prefer four door cars. Two door car doors are longer and have a better chance of causing a ding. I park far enough away for the door to easily open to the first stop but not to the second or full open position.
Well, I'm in the camp of not having a nice enough car to care, but all the same, I tend to park pretty well out into a parking lot. I'd much rather walk a little extra than spend time trying to get up close. I'm kind of in the habit now of whipping into the first spot I see. There's usually no one to ding me.
I do not take nice cars to go shopping in, that is what tow vehicles are for.
at work there are two very coveted spots in the employee lot: island on one side, cart corral on the other. If I go in at 8, I can usually snag one of them. Otherwise I always park by an island, no matter what.
Too bad I work at walmart, and the idiots who shop there leave their carts in random places so they can just roll into parked cars. (even when they are NEXT TO the cart corral.) I'm going to start carrying a slingshot with some paintballs, and the next person I see leave a cart in the middle of the lot instead of putting it up is gonna get hit in the face with some blue paint. lol
In reply to corytate:
My second job is in a shopping center as opposed to the Gates, barbed wire secure site my full time job is at. Find a spot to park crooked in and no one will line up with you.
dj06482 wrote: My personal favorite is when you're sitting in the car, they crash their door into your car, notice you're there and say "Sorry."
They say sorry to you?
Someone parked docked against the MX6 about two weeks ago at the grocery store.
I was almost mad for a minute, then i looked closer. I have a piece of plate steel holding part of my front bumper up. They managed to hit my car in that EXACT spot, causing no damage beyond a half inch scuff on my plastic bumper (OH NO!!!!!), but their bumper was cracked and spiderwebbed at least 10" in every direction.
I promptly LOL'd then left.
My tactic is to drive a very narrow car and if neccesary park next to the sliding door side of minivans. Just don't pull far enough forward to let the front door hit your car.
Haven't read anything past the title.
But if you have a car you care about, park farther out and add the 25 seconds of additional walking time to your cardio.
There really isn't anything simpler or easier than this.
I follow a lot of the stratagies listed already whether I'm driving nice cars or not. Additionally I try to schedule shopping at potentially hazardous places during off peak hours when lots are not as full. Just before closing time is good because most of the cars left are employees who have to stay till close. Late nights and Sundays are very good if the particular business is open then, because frequently there's a lot adjacent to the one for the business that is completely empty.
z31maniac wrote: Haven't read anything past the title. But if you have a car you care about, park farther out and add the 25 seconds of additional walking time to your cardio. There really isn't anything simpler or easier than this.
In my original post I noted how this is guaranteed to get someone to park next to you.
Count me in the "drive a beater" crowd.
In reply to plance1:
Not that I have ever done this... 
But I don't ding other peoples doors...
I don't worry about door dings because I own a paintless dent removal company. Although we specialize in hail damage repair, we do fix our fair share of small door dings and shopping cart dents. My advice is to park far away, the extra walk is good for your health as well as your car doors. Try to avoid parking next to large trucks and two door vehicles and pay attention to what type of tree you park under for shade. Acorns and other falling debris can also dent your hood, roof or trunk. There are some great products and ideas for your garage so that you are not self-inflicting any dents. Feel free to contact me for more info or service.
http://www.autohail.com/doordings
or
http://www.autohail.co/contact-autohail/
Can you fix a canoe?
In a parking lot.
Back when my 'rolla had paint, my strategy was to park far away. Now that the paint's wrecked, my strategy is to not spend any money on paint.
Appleseed wrote: Can you fix a canoe?
He offered useful advice, I'd call it fair game for now.
Get in the first shot!
Drive a piece of E36 M3 and you'll never notice the new dings.
I need to get my new volvo in to get a dent fixed that is annoying me to no end.. how does anybody get a pin dent in the exact middle of the roof? (this is not a sunroof car)
The best vehicles for avoiding dings for me were my F350 Crew Cab dually and my current GMC dually. The extra wide rear helps keep cars away. The length of the Crew Cab (21ft+) seemed to keep them away as well. Also a NRA sticker helps, they think you are some crazy country folk/redneck who just may retaliate.
Wife bought a body cladded Avalanche. I think there has been one ding in 5 yrs of owning it. Everyone's door hits the cladding instead of metal.
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