Have you considered looking for a bumper guard? Last time I visited New York City, there were a ton of cars there that had them on their bumpers
1 Like
Haven’t thought it if until you’ve mentioned it! I may have to consider it if another person decides to park against my bumper
I seriously doubt if there are any statutes prohibiting one car’s bumper from touching another, so I am not sure why some forum members are urging you to contact the local PD.
Is it annoying?
Sure it is!
But, unless you can demonstrate to the cops that actual damage took place to your car, I don’t believe that they can–or will–become involved.
I really do empathize with you, but short of installing bumper guards, I don’t think that there is anything that you can do about this situation.
1 Like
From the moment a car leaves the assembly line it is on a down hill slide into oblivion that will come sooner or later regardless how we try to avoid it. I often overlook the need for washing and vacuuming out but never miss a scheduled maintenance on my vehicles or overlook taking care of any indications of problems that crop up. And I have spot painted a few dings that became annoying even to my standards. But in the long run I just want dependable, safe, comfortable transportation that doesn’t get so dilapidated that it brings attention to me at a red light. To each his own.
An hour on a Saturday morning with a rattle can of paint would do wonders to those bumpers.
2 Likes
Its spring so on my list is detailing both cars. Interior shampoo, clay, machine polish, glaze, and hand wax. Plus I usually detail the engine compartment at the same time. Scratches would upset me.
1 Like
Automated parking is coming, even before self-driving. I avoid crowded parking situations.
A lot worse has happened to my 31-year-old pickup - and I’ve done the body ‘work’ (if you can call it that) and painting myself. You can guess how it looks. But the compression is still book, as is the gas mileage, and everything else mechanical works well.
1 Like
It’s already here. I’ve seen TV ads for GM and Ford products that park the vehicle for you. I imagine there are others.
I’d be doing just the opposite, I’d make sure there wasn’t enough room to park behind me.
That sounds like a fine way to gain respect from your neighbors, I can’t imagine that would invoke any harm to your vehicle.
I don’t want to piss other people off by not parking right… I see people do this all the time and it creates less parking all together on the street. No, people just need to fill the spaces without hitting other cars. And if there isn’t enough room then they need to move on.
What you’re telling us is that you have zero respect for other people’s property.
I don’t support that attitude. Are you aware that you could damage their parking pawls? The fact that you consider this behavior okay saddens me. The world would be a better place if people respected one another.
In '86 I had a brand new minivan. I was parked “live” (with me sitting in the driver’s seat listening to the radio) waiting for my then-wife to come out of the bank, when some lady with a full size sedan and Massachusetts plates decided to parallel park in the space in front of me. She backed into my van, drove forward into the car in front of her space, then backed again into my van. She did this maneuver three times. Aggravated, I got out of my van, walked over to her car, tapped on the driver’s window, and said “lady, do you realize you just hit my van?” I guess I was hoping for an apology. Or at least a sign of embarrassment. What I got was language more foul than I’d heard since military basic training. In Boston, many drivers use the bumpers of others as their guides to parallel park. It’s wrong, and I’m confident that some parking pawls of others get damaged by doing it, but that’s part of the reason Bostonians have such a rotten driving reputation.
3 Likes
They apparently have no respect for the OP, they keep hitting his car.
If you don’t want to tick them off, let them keep hitting your car.
You’re not going to change them, if you want them to quit hitting you, you’ll have to change.
No, those scratches are from other people parking behind or in front of me in a small space. I am relatively careful when parking or pulling out.
“you consider this behavior okay saddens me” no, but I consider it part of parking on the street. 9/10 people are considerate and do no damage, it’s the other 1/10 that is careless. or perhaps that is 99/100, dunno.
I will say that this type of damage seems to have decreased recently, perhaps because of the increased number of backup cameras.
edit: parking in Boston is difficult. You can drive around the area for a long time looking for an opening, so when you find one that is a little tight, you take it. I’ve often parked with only a few inches (say 4 inches) clearance front and back. And without hitting the other cars.
The main reason for the difficulties, as I understand it, is that resident parking stickers are issued free to anyone that can prove residency, and typically there are 3-4 times stickers than there are spots.
But again, they are “bumpers” and have that name for a reason.
1 Like
Well if it was always the same people then yes, maybe i would park like you suggested. However, it’s not. So I’m not going to make less parking space for normal driving abiding citizens just because I’ve had a few idiots bump me.
The only solution that I can see is making the poor parking practice more of a problem to them and less to yourself @John_Andrew_McCormick and without knowing your personal limits and the opportunities you have it’s just a matter of throwing out suggestions. I might try placing some not so lightweight concrete blocks 2 feet away from my bumpers so that the problem parkers must strike it long before it contacts my car. If a 2 wheeler is needed to move the blocks the errant parkers wouldn’t likely move it to gain room to park. I had a problem with kids cutting across my yard on bikes and ruining my wife’f flowers so I set up a low rail fence using landscape timbers and the problem ended.
Of course if you make a habit of being a few steps away from your car when the inconsiderate people arrive each Sunday and stare at their every move when parking they will find a warmer reception somewhere else and hopefully make a habit of parking there.
Perhaps some bumper guards are the best course of action
Just look at your first picture. You’re consuming TWO parking spots. You’re leaving enough space to encourage people to park there but not enough to allow them to do so without nudging up against your car. Why don’t you pull ahead a bit more or back up to the entrance. I’m betting people are looking at you as the problem- why did this *&^% not leave enough room and suck up two spots? There’s always more than one viewpoint…
2 Likes
Bumper guards are an excellent idea. We install a trailer hitch on every car we have ever owned and mount a bumper bar in the receiver when not using it. Then, you have a practical solution for the rear and only have to deal with the guard on the front.
2 Likes
Well if I did that I’d be blocking the driveway in front of me.
“APSG Front Car Bumper Protecter, Ultimate Front Bumper Guard. Front Bumper Protection License Plate Frame. Tougher Than steel
Limited EDITION) BumpShox MAX - Front Car Bumper Protection, Ultimate Front Bumper Guard. Front Bumper Protection License Plate Frame. Tougher Than Steel.”
Here are adds for a couple of license plate bumper guards. They should work at parking speeds.
1 Like