What have you done to your MK 7 today ?

[JoeGTI]

Outside schools first thing in the morning is one of the scariest places to drive by! Supermarket carparks are a breeze in comparison. I'm amazed that I don't hear of serious accidents outside schools tbh, with the way "blind" mummy's and daddy's behave behind the wheel on their drop offs. I regularly have to swerve to avoid one of them reversing out onto the main road after they've dropped off the little darlings 

[Mk7-GTD]

Removed some posts due to foul play, keep it friendly people. 

If only you could teach people how to park life would be a lot rosier.

No problem parking here it's the other selfish people who leave dings and dents that's the problem. It's not arrogance either it's trying to protect something from malicious damage. If someone parking in 2 bays at the furthest spaces away possible in a supermarket bothers you then that's an issue for you.
Three people have commented in this thread that theyve suffered malicious damage from inconsiderate people and you seem to think that it's all a big joke!

Where have I said or even intimated that people(I being one of them) getting cars damaged by other people in car parks was or is a joke?

You obviously have a problem with both comprehension and parking. As said before that says more about a person than words can sometimes express.

For what it is worth I have a brother that parked one of his cars(properly) in a hotel car park and another person done more damage to his car than even the most expensive Golf costs and does he now park in two parking spaces, no because he knows how to park and he is not an......

If you think that much of your car that you can't except(different from expect) the probability of getting it damaged at some point maybe then perhaps you're driving the wrong car.

I would love to know the % of people that think it is okay to park in two spaces?

[Mk7-GTD]

Outside schools first thing in the morning is one of the scariest places to drive by! Supermarket carparks are a breeze in comparison. I'm amazed that I don't hear of serious accidents outside schools tbh, with the way "blind" mummy's and daddy's behave behind the wheel on their drop offs. I regularly have to swerve to avoid one of them reversing out onto the main road after they've dropped off the little darlings 

Where a outs are you in the green isle?

[JoeGTI]

Outside schools first thing in the morning is one of the scariest places to drive by! Supermarket carparks are a breeze in comparison. I'm amazed that I don't hear of serious accidents outside schools tbh, with the way "blind" mummy's and daddy's behave behind the wheel on their drop offs. I regularly have to swerve to avoid one of them reversing out onto the main road after they've dropped off the little darlings 

Where a outs are you in the green isle?

I'm over in the West of Ireland 

[Booth11]

Outside schools first thing in the morning is one of the scariest places to drive by! Supermarket carparks are a breeze in comparison. I'm amazed that I don't hear of serious accidents outside schools tbh, with the way "blind" mummy's and daddy's behave behind the wheel on their drop offs. I regularly have to swerve to avoid one of them reversing out onto the main road after they've dropped off the little darlings 

6 months after getting my mk6 GTI, I was parked up doing the school run to come back to find a dent in the front wheel arch, fog light pushed in (as bracket had been snapped), and scratches on the side of the front bumper and wing.  Never found out who did it, but I'd wager it was one of the other parents.  Had to have the whole wing repainted and blended into door. Cost a pretty penny. 

6 months in with a new car seems to be a damage black spot for me - the door ding on the R happened at 6 months and now the rear bumper damage. 

[JoeGTI]

You've had a terrible run of luck Rebecca. Hope it changes and that you get the damage sorted out... Once it's fixed properly you'll soon forget although the dent to the wallet is hard to stomach 

Just don't resort to taking up 2+ spaces to park - it's not the answer imo   

[Exonian]

as I've said, I'm not a double bay parking participant but I can't fathom why it's deemed antisocial so long as it's done responsibly when it's not actually going to deprive anyone of a space.
If it's OK for people to own T5's, X5's, Q7's etc that make the bays either side redundant if you actually want to open your door safely then in effect these "I'm considerably richer than yaw" (old Harry Enfield sketch) people are blocking three bays. Modern parking bays are too small and too many people have as much respect for their car as they do their considerably less expensive washing machine.

If Mr Mk7-GTD's brother can afford a car that can sustain damage as expensive as a Golf and not be written off then he's wealthier than 90% of the population and not really going to flinch at a repair cost, more likely as with most businessmen he'd be more worried about time lost sorting it out. Therefore I'll assume he was furious and doubly so if he takes pride in his car too, and a needless insurance claim, hassle etc.
Top marks to him parking responsibly in the first place and he has my sympathies, naturally.
For many people though,  the cost of constant minor repairs could end up at a level they're just unwilling to accept or unable to keep affording.

I'm sorry but on a forum section around cars that can do double the UK national speed limit then I'm sure those doing some pontificating about 'anti social' defensive parking habits obviously wouldn't ever consider far more anti social things like speeding then?

Explain why two bay parking is worse than/as bad as speeding. Please!

There's a section on here where people go to great lengths explaining how they clean their cars to a mirror like finish using expensive chemicals, machinery and rare waxes. I used to spend four to six hours every weekend cleaning my cars once upon a time. Can you blame people for wanting to protect those bits of machinery they've spent years saving for and many hours cherishing?
Yes, the detailing section bores my Arse off but I can relate to the people that post in it and I fully respect them wanting to protect their investments as best they can so long as they do so responsibly. And going by the type of people being referred to here they're definitely by far the most responsible. And no I'm not referring to me!! Not by any means.
Yes, damage is likely to happen at some point in a car's life but trying to minimise it should be applauded.

I'm open to all sides of the debate - convince me why parking over two bays is bad if it's not going to deprive someone of a space.


Edited as a paragraph vanished when I was fiddling around on an edit using a piddly phone screen

[JoeGTI]

Fair points Exonian.

I will still argue it's the wrong approach to take (regardless of number of available spaces, although it's totally inexcusable in a busy carpark imo) for various reasons, chiefly:

1. Most people (imo) will think at best you can't drive or worst, that  you're an arrogant twit. It's like  saying "I'm alright Jack" as you pull the ladder up to safety and give 2 fingers to everyone else below. My cars better than yours, etc.  People will view you in the same way as those who take disabled spaces. This may not matter to you of course, but who needs that attention drawn to them? Maybe that's why I drive a Golf. I like to blend in. I don't want to stand out as the showy idiot who thinks his sh1t smells sweeter.

2.  You are drawing even more attention to your parked car. Ironically in your efforts to avoid damage, you're definitely much more likely to irk someone who may take it personally  (as per my first post today on this topic). How do you know that while you're off shopping that the carpark gets really busy and there's smart arse in the corner taking up 2 spaces. How do you think that's gonna go down? I remember one day many years ago I was sitting in my car while the wife ran into the shops to get something. A passer by quite literally attacked me as he took exception to the way I'd pulled up near the shop entrance. I'm quite sure he'd have keyed the car or worse had it been unoccupied. Again I say, who needs that hassle?

I'm as anal as anyone else about their car on this forum. The implication that I thought it was "a joke" or that I suggested it was in any way acceptable that people get their cars damaged is not on. All I tried to argue was that there are alternative ways to avoiding damage than parking like an arsehole.

[Exonian]

Here's how I try and park btw, that's an end bay in a near deserted car park!

[JoeGTI]

I don't see much wrong with that effort Exonian 

Love the wheels too - really suit it.