I have just finished my first week of ownership with my beast, I am constantly watching out for other drivers crowding into my lane or parking too close to me. I know it is just me being paranoid and wanting to baby my car. When does it stop (lol). I figure after a couple of weeks it will pass (or not). Has anyone else felt the same way when they first picked up their baby?
I have relaxed ever so slightly while driving my beast, however, I'll never take it to a destination unless I know I'll have good parking to choose from. I try to put it in perspective that $hit is gonna happen and the car can be fixed but dang I don't want anything to happen.
I almost got slammed into at an intersection a few months ago....that gave me all the encouragement I needed to get off my arse and get a second car my daily driver and winter ride. I will say that I never want to own a car that is a trailor queen that never sees the road...these cars are too good to let sit idle, however, it's also too darn good in my eyes to not take the upmost care in ensuring it continues to remain in pristine condition.
2000 Anthracite M5...18k miles and absolutely perfect...
....one day i parked my car at the airport. I was late so i parked as close to the terminal as i could get. Came back next day and car had been pushed onto a traffic island. No witnesses. Needed new hood, headlight and bumper
Never relax and never park next to coupes (big doors) or old bangers.
To be safe i now park so far away from where i am going that i was probably closer before i left home
It never ends at least not for me. I am fortunate enought that I have a company car to use as a beater (if you consider a Ford Taurus fortunate!). But, i'm always parking as far away as possible. My wife says we should just walk to the mall! If you have to valet I always give the guy $10 when I give him the car and ask him to put it in a "safe spot". Has worked so far. Just last night had to go to a customer's holiday party. It was at one of those catering places and there had to be at least 300 people there. The line for the valet going in was huge and the parking lot was very cramped. I got very nervous. Guy comes over give him the $10 and ask him to please be kind! When I came out I started to follow the guy to see where he put my car as he kinda disappeared behind some tall hedges. To my pleasant surprise right on the other side of the hedge all by itself was my car
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Chris '07 Porsche 997 TT Slate/Black
Sold '06 997S GT Silver/Black
Gone but not forgotten '04 E55 AMG w/ Kleemann K2 and IC upgrade
Brilliant Silver/Charcoal, Burl Walnut, DVD NAV, lighting package, electronic trunk closer, CD changer, integrated phone, parktronic, Autowerks sport steering wheel, Mirror etched Valentine 1, lidatek LE-30 laser jammer
If you have to valet I always give the guy $10 when I give him the car and ask him to put it in a "safe spot".
Twice I've just said "Here's $20 if you let ME park it HERE!
I agree that I consider parking when picking a car. I also consider how much time I will have when I arrive: if I have 30 minutes to find a 'safe' spot- fine. But if it is a drive up, park and go I get very nervous and make other arrangements.
Safe spots include: distance, spots against a wall or walkway, poles on one side, etc best spots are those 'funny' ones where there is a single space and no neighbors close....
Ard
PS Last new car this lasted 5+ years... and it never fully goes away.
I find that getting the first ding, dent or scratch during the first week lets you get past all that uncomfortable worrying. Like hitting an owl 8 hours after picking up my brand new '96 Z3. Or 3 days after buying a '04 X5, having some nutcase smash in the windsheild with a bat. Yup, gets rid of all those parking lot & valet jitters.
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1989 750iL sadly ignored, but still runs great
2000 M5 117,000 miles
2001 Tundra Hauls Stuff
2008 Z4 M Coupe On the cover of Oct. '08 Roundel
2008 Mercedes C350 Sport wifey's car
2009 BMW R1200GS-Adv for on & off-road
Not... in the car.
Thanksgiving morning.
Car was parked on street overnight in front of our house.
Fairly safe neighborhood, but fairly busy street.
I came out that morning to install the AUX input kit and saw glass on the sidewalk... then I saw the windshield.
I surmised the weapon was a bat, due to the shape of impression in the glass. The swinger was most likely standing on the sidewalk. One other BMW got the same treatment in the neighborhood that night. The cops took a report over the phone, but didn't see the point in coming out to see it.
I taped up the large spiderweb (to keep more glass from falling out), and spent the next 3 hours vacuuming glass shards and glass dust from the interior. Luckily they hit the passenger side, so I could drive it to the dealer and get a new windshield put in before my wife arrived home from her trip to see her parents. It is her car, and I didn't want her to see her new baby all battered and abused.
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1989 750iL sadly ignored, but still runs great
2000 M5 117,000 miles
2001 Tundra Hauls Stuff
2008 Z4 M Coupe On the cover of Oct. '08 Roundel
2008 Mercedes C350 Sport wifey's car
2009 BMW R1200GS-Adv for on & off-road
I've actually been pretty relaxed from the beginning...just try to be prudent without going too much out of the way. I do however try to avoid parking next to cars that have a child seat in the back for two reasons:
1) Small kids love to just throw the door open...they're usually not big enough to control the door very well. A lot of times they will kick the door open! Yikes!
2) Every watched a parent strapping their kid into a child seat? I've seen it numerous times where the mom or dad will inadvertently bump their open door into another car while buckling their kid up in the back!
By now ALL cars should have sliding front and rear doors - like on minivans - anyway! Or canopies - like on a fighter jet! Hey, isn't THIS supposed to be the future??
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