Why can't i have a good looking car

Obviously it depends upon where you like and park. And if you have a young driver in family learning to drive. Parking in a parking garage is looking for trouble. Look what kind of car you are parking next to. If its a POS then good chance they will open the car door wide and chip your car.

I often park my pickup in the far-to-walk section of a parking lot where I can take the middle of two parking spots and no one will care.
This is me. I always park as far away as possible. I have even left places because I could not find a suitable parking spot.

Then there is always…..
 

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Move to Canada or the US. While that doesn't safe you from encountering idiots the parking spots are significantly wider at least. Parking spots in France, Italy or Germany are as tight as they've been in 1960, when most cars where much smaller. Quite often you can't even open the door when you come back to your car. I too try parking my car at the farthest spot of the lot. It doesn't help though. Even if my car is the only one in the entire row - some idiot will place his car right next to mine. As tight as possible of course.
That idiot is the one without major dings and dents.
 
It amazes me that no matter what i do to keep a car looking good, there's ALWAYS someome backing into my car, who doesn't give a **** about anything. It's been the same since i've started driving. When i bought my C180 two years ago it was in mint condition. It is starting to fall under the "reliable POS" category pretty fast and this wasn't the plan. It already has a very deep gouge in the paint, door dents everywhere and slightly broken corners on every bumper. This morning i had my rear right fender heavily dented and scratched by my mom maneuvering while looking at her phone. I park my cars as far as i can from other cars, do everything i can but there's just no way around it, i have to drive around in cars looking like trash and i don't know how some people keep their cars looking so fresh. This is a bit of a rant but why can't people have any respect for what's not theirs? Not that i have very interesting cars but i'm utterly pissed.
Welcome to the club.I try to keep my truck clean and well maintained ,but always a deer or tree limbs in storms crashing down or some other bs that keeps it in the body shop way to much.Like the deer this morning that ran square into the drivers doors ,Thanks A hole. :mad: .Truck is a magnet for whatever wants to hit it it seems.Might sell it and buy a older truck that i could careless about ,then i wont care what runs into it.
 
Because nobody respects other people's stuff. Me (left) parked some two hours before the other car (right) parked, keeping in mind by the time the second car parked, there were no more than 4 cars in the lot.

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I park as far from the store as possible. Still surrounded by cars even way out there.
Here's the thing. I park next to a car that's already there, always at a reasonable spacing of course. I don't like dings or dents any better than anyone else and a car already in place on one side is one less potential event.

Given the chance I'll park between 2 vehicles that are already there. That's 2 less potential events.

You should want me parked next to you. I've never door dinged anyone in 50 some years of driving.
 
I don't even live in a city, used to live in the middle of nowhere not too far from Brest, then lived on the coast for many years then surrounded by fields again. Each parking lot is a danger. I also have people hitting their doors on my car while i'm inside it quite often. Roads are good indeed but having to park in a city is a total nightmare, i rarely have to nowadays, public transports get you anywhere without too much hassle. It came to my mind that the good looking cars without any scratches are either cars that are less than one or two years old and not driven as much as i do or simply week end cars. People in north america seem to keep their cars much much longer. Here, a 200 000 km car is considered done by non car people.
 
i had a 2008 Jeep that someone swiped the side/corner on with enough force to detach the lower valance, just pulling out of a parking spot next to me. I learned a trick. I reattached it with round head screws where the most common impact point was, and used 3-4 in a line. I did the same thing on the other corner/side, and basically it was like having studded corners. Folks continued to side swipe the vehicle, the bumper stayed on, and the studs did more damage to them than mine. This was all at work where folks tend to gravitate to the same spots. After a while, it was obvious who the guilty vehicles were, and it stopped happening.

oddly enough, with the f150, it hasn’t been a problem.
 
That is some original thinking right there. (y) Do you consider the appearance of the cars you're parking between?
Yes I do. I wouldn't park beside a clapped out or rusted out vehicle. My assumption is if they don't care about their vehicle (which may or may not be true) they won't care about mine either. But any vehicle in ordinary good condition is fine.

When I get back to my car one or the other vehicle I parked beside may be gone, but there isn't a different vehicle very often. So I think I've usually cut down on the side traffic.

I sometimes take down the license plate number of a vehicle I park near. An example would be when parallel parking behind a vehicle with a dangerous looking hitch or a rear mounted spare tire.
 
Sometimes it's just an unlucky car. I had 13 Sentra I bought brand new that had the same rear passenger door replaced 3 times. People just loved backing into that door. I got rid of that car and haven't had any problems since.

One habit I have in parking lots is i try to park next to cars that are as nice or nicer than my own. I also glance in the cars next to me and look for car seats or any signs that children may enter/exit. I bought my 19 F150 new, and with this technique there are no dings or blemishes of any kind.
 
Sorry to hear about that.

I know how you feel!

I bought both my Tacoma, and my wife’s 4Runner, to keep for many years. I wash, and detail them, both because I enjoy doing it, and to try to keep them looking good, and in good shape.

Just recently had to contact a paintless dent repair guy to fix a ding in one of the doors of the 4Runner because someone opened their car door into it while we were on vacation in Gulf Shores and I was forced to park next to other cars when we went on a boat ride.

Luckily, the dent came out easily, but the PDR guy, trying to help, buffed the scuff out, but, in the process, left a hologram in the clearcoat. Sheesh, can’t win.

Anyway, I feel your pain, and, I’m quite sure, so do all the other BITOGers who like to keep their vehicles forever, and try to keep them in good shape!
 
Sidepanels clean, rear too. Hood is a battleground of stone chips. :( paint otherwise OK.

Thankfully around the car is quite protected by plastic. They look at close a bit beaten, but not from distance. 😅
I think people will be little more careful if car looks polished and clean. I wash each week, and keep it shiny. Cleaner than neighbours porshe.
 
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