For those of us with "Nice" Diesels,or Nice Cars whats your Parking Lot Parking strategy?
For me its obvious. Never sidle up to a Miniavan or 4 wheel Pick up. Thats because loading will be going on, and a 4x6 or some teenager with a metal belt is gonna swipe your car. Minivans always have multiple passengers and they don't always get out gracefully.
I always stay away from the trucks. I always avoid junkers and teenager cars because the drivers and riders don't care about other people's cars usually.
Likewise never take your car to Home Depot. Everyone buys something big, like a snowblower and then tries to jam it into their backseat often at the expense of your new paint job.
I always stay away from economy and minicar parking. I also dont park near where they collect the shopping carts because you are asking for a 22 car shopping cart train driven by a teenager to smash your door in,
I always look for the Peach Spot. Thats the one where you got a 2004 Corvette on one side and a 2006 BMW on the other side. Their owners dont want their doors dinged and won't ding yours. The other peach spot is the one where one of the sides of you car is protected by a curb...
SORRY for this inane post, but I had my car dinged at the mall the other day!

i do not purposely aim at cars.. and i push 5 at a time.. company rule.. i far end of the lot since im an employee but any other time i usually like to occupy 3 spots horzintally

Well, that sucks. I normally look for the end spaces where I can get close to the curb and leave lots of room on the other side. Parking near nice cars works unless the nice car leaves and is replaced by some beater. My wife is the worst, she parks her 240D at the far end of her company lot, about 50 yards from the nearest other car.

I have owned several nice cars through the years and have come to the conclusion that if nothing you do will prevent dings and such from other people. I used to go food shopping at 2 am (I'm a night owl) and park far away from everyone only to come back and see a car parked right next to mine. So, I bought a 23 year old car and honestly don't care enough to check anymore. It already has dings and scratches.

where ever i park i always for some reason seem to get a mercedes on each side of me

You should probably clarify what a "nice diesel" is =)

personally, I think that a W123 300D 2.5t is a nice car, but it doesnt (in my mind) need good paint to be a nice diesel =)

Sorry I cant contribute, but my paint is 24 years old and looking it. Its always been a debate in my mind with the wife's 2005 Subaru - park it remote and stack the odds in my favor or park close and risk dings- normally I just park close, having a 1mo old son lends itself to this anyway...

-John

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2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)

Who has a W123 300D 2.5 turbo? I didn't know Mercedes made one of those.

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TXBill



Former owner of a few diesel MB cars
1998 Lexus ES 300 In Chicago We Trust

My prefered spot is the last 2 in the row, all the way in the back. Taking both spots. You must do this in the back and only if there are no other cars around or you run the risk of being keyed.

Other than that I look for a spot near an island where I can only possibly have 1 person next to me. Or I look for other MB's or BMW's and such.

Danny

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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I always park WAY OUT in the parking lot....I don't care about dings, stuff happens you can't control. I park WAY OUT so I can get in a bit a of a walk, stretch my legs, burn a few calories....but then again, I always take the stairs for the same reasons.

Park WAY OUT! It'll do you and your car good!

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Mark
1983 300TD Wagon
Even a broken watch is right twice a day

the 2.5 is either in the 190D or the later gen 300D's 1990 and up..FWIK

Ive been trying not to get my 87 300D dented, especially after i had just waxed it. But sure enough i go to the mall park it under a shady tree. And i come to may car with a shopping cart up against the passanger side rear door. Hoping to see no scratches or dents the car was dented and the plastic thingy (dont know what its called) fell off Put it back together but still the car has a dent!

Oh well its getting repainted soon anyway....

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Current:
05 E320 CDI
07 GL320 CDI
08 Sprinter
05 Dodge Cummins
01 Dodge Cummins

Previous
2004 E55 AMG
2002 C32 AMG (#2)
1995 E300
1978 300D
1987 300D
2002 C32 AMG(blown motor :[
1981 300SD
1983 300SD
1987 300SDL
2002 Jetta TDI
1996 S420
1995 S500
1993 190E 2.6
1992 190E 2.3
1985 190E 2.3 5-Speed

I hope you are joking. Eventually, this WILL get your car keyed (and/or hood ornament taken), and I won't even feel bad about it.

The most dangerous part about parking lots is hardly where you park. In my experience parking lots are where accidents are most likely to occur, as people are more worried about scouting out the best spots than they are about other cars.

So my parking lot strategy is to drive very defensively. I usually do park fairly far away from where I'm going, though. I just don't care about parking close! A little walking never hurt anyone.

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Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...

notice the i usually park in the back with the rest of the Mercedes Benz's and BMW's. ill let the old and people with kids have the close spots. parking in the back is alot easier than searching for a spot like an idiot.. plus walking that distance gives you some much needed exercise

I usually park as FAR away from ANYTHING as possible, usually at the end of a row. And when there are other nice cars I usually park near them. My favorite spots are wide ones at the end of a row, so i can get close to the curb, and keep as much distance from the parking spot to the other side. The longer walk is always nice- plus I can scan the parking lot for anything interesting to look at. Often times I return to my car to find it surrounded by other benzes. One time I returned and found a cream Volvo 240DL wagon next to me... it was IMMACULATE. The paint looked new, trim looked new, interior looked new, and it was fully detailed.

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Nate

1995 E420
1992 BMW 525i
1984 300D Turbo sold
1993 Volvo 244 sold
1995 Volvo 944T R.I.P!


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