Parking the S2000 in a safe place is no doubt at the top of our minds. A garage at home is useful for keeping the car safe from the elements – natural and human. Parking the car in public though can be a challenge as the car now is fair game for all things that could potentially harm it.
Parking in public, invites the attention or rather the lack of it from inattentive drivers that may be compensating by driving a giant SUV. Dude! I know you have some big doors, but you don’t need to swing them open all the way.
The car also serves as a shopping cart magnet for those that cant or wont put a cart back in the proper place. You’ve got to also factor in those that will go out of their way to park next to the cool car, even though you took the pain to park the car a mile away from the entrance. In compiling such a list, we must also acknowledge valet parking attendants. While some of them are very good and clearly respect any car, the others have either never driven a manual or seek to live out some kind of Grand Theft Auto fantasy by launching your car and power-sliding into its intended parking space.
What’s more the car is also unsafe in the company of friends. You are standing around with your friends who are not on S2Ki or car nuts for that matter, and one of them decides to strike a stylish pose by leaning those riveted jeans they are wearing against the car. I don’t know about you, but I’d jump up in the air, momentarily defying the laws of physics as I curse, beg or request said person to revert back to a posture unlike that of The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
As a personal aside, I keep the S2000 under its cover even in the garage, lest something befall it. You could call me eccentric (however I am energetic), but I also carry my car cover in the trunk and use it when I need to park in public for extended periods of time. I feel better knowing there is a layer of protection on the car.
What about you? What precautions do you take when parking in public or private? OR is it a travesty to keep the S2000 parked?
S2000 Forums-> Public Parking Thread: How do you park in public?
NOTE: S2KI welcomes the opinions of its members on the S2000 and on all topics related to the S. Should you feel the creative urge to pen a few words then by all means do so and PM Energetic, Aashish2 or Onehots2k OR send us links to what you would like us to write about and we will feature you (or your community) on the S2KI Home Page.
Related posts:
- A Honda S2000 with a Mind of Its Own An anti-theft system is one of the most popular accessories...
on Oct 20th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Where i work has a public parking lot, what’s worse is that its next to a super market. my only tactic is to park on the first parking spot of the first row, leaving only one car to park next to. The downfall is the dust being picked up by all the passing cars and buses. its tough! Best possible solution=>>>> make more money and get a daily driver!!!!!
on Oct 21st, 2010 at 2:17 am
Which reminds me of valet parking. I come out of the venue hand the attendant my stub, I watch his every move from walking to the car and getting in. I watch as he attempts to start the car by turning the ignition key. He flips it back off, then back on thinking it’ll start this time around. I start sprinting to him before he fucking breaks my key… I tell him get out, I got this. I hop in and immediately start the engine, then he turns around scratching his head. I hate valets and compact parking!
on Oct 21st, 2010 at 4:31 am
Anticipating a long weekend with my wife in the S to the beach, I did extensive internet searches until i found a hotel with an underground parking garage underneath the hotel proper. My thoughts? Keep the car out of direst public eye to keep it safe from vandals or theives. Protect it from he elements (sun sand and rain.) In the end, no matter what you do you cant stop something from happening, but you can sure try to reduce the chances.
on Oct 21st, 2010 at 6:31 am
^ lol I do the same thing, i.e. look for hotels that have a parking garage.
on Oct 21st, 2010 at 7:30 am
It’s not really too big a deal to me. It’s an $8000 Honda with over 100k miles, if it doesn’t have dings and dents that means i’m not driving it enough. It stays dirty b/c the previous owner put so many holograms and swirls in the paint with a buffer that i cant stand looking at the car when its nice and clean.. haha
All the valet’s around here know my car, we always laugh when they take 20 mins to start it and then stall out 5 times before getting to the parking lot (spec 6 puck clutch)
If I bought it new or bought it in perfect shape I’m sure I’d be a little more anal about it, but as it is, I just enjoy driving it and could care less about a door ding.
on Oct 21st, 2010 at 9:37 am
First I would park at a corner spot so only one car can get next to me. If not then park next to a nice car? This means that thru wouldn’t want to hurt there car either? Allbelse fails park hell a far by urself only to come out and wonder why out of all the spots he parked next to mine……………..cuz I drive an s2000! that’s wsup
on Oct 21st, 2010 at 10:13 am
i either park far as hell when in public lots, or i find a spot in the front/back of the parking lane that has a curb next to it. that way only one car will be next to me. i also try to park it as close the the curb as possible without curbing my wheels to give as much space for that one car that might end up next to me. i do valet and we are all good with the cars, but you cant trust every valet. especially after the stories i’ve heard. at the hotel i work at i am lucky to be able to park in the valet section so my car will never get hit by guests and kids flying out the door in our parking garage. those spots are real narrow too >:(
on Oct 21st, 2010 at 12:54 pm
ohhh mann…!! this brings up an incedent that happend to me.
I am stationed in hawaii-navy. my friends and i deceided to hit up the beach to get some sun. as protective as i am with my baby i deceided to park away from my friends… who drive nice cars aswell. while i was walking back to them, they were laughing at me histerically because i parked soooo far away. to my defense i wanted to keep it off the suvs. as you guys might know or NOT hawaii has reallly BAAAAD drivers. after a long day at hanauma bay.. as we were walking back i seen a white indentation thinking it was just the reflection of the lines of the parking spot. but as i approached the car i noticed i big dent on the drivers side. idk guys but idk if you ever hear a grown man yell out for his life… BUT I DID several times..it was painful to see that no matter where you park or how much precatuion you take to keep your baby safe… there still going to get you!
good thing the female who bumped into it left her info on the dash:D..
on Oct 21st, 2010 at 2:01 pm
this is a goodone im big when becomes about this since some one hit my integra (previouscar ) with a shopint cart on porpusse now i always try to park faraway from people not too far to call the atention of people but yeah away from everyone or if i go somewhere i always look for a first spot where i can park really close to the sidewalk and the cances for someone to hit my doors are less “got to hate door dings”
on Oct 22nd, 2010 at 9:00 am
wow i feel this. it is true and the best one is when people decide to lean on ur hood or fenders, or when they see my cf trunk and decide topass theyre hands over it when it has some dirt on it. and door dings, omg i hate door dings ive owned my s for about a year now and had around 5 door dings, and that is with my finding a good place too park, some people out there just dont care about others cars and those people i hate!!
on Oct 22nd, 2010 at 5:50 pm
one of these days, i’m just gonna get a good game of texas holdem’ going on my touch and sit in my car and wait to see if anything happens and catch the b@stards redhanded
on Oct 22nd, 2010 at 7:08 pm
because we ALL know how difficult it is… pain/stress we got to go through…
when I see daily driven nice cars with no door dings / clean body, I respect their effort and I know and they know what we go through. only WE know.
One day, they’ll come out with softer door edges. At least it will eliminate SOME of our problems =]
on Oct 23rd, 2010 at 9:54 pm
I never park mine where I cannot see them. My 95 Civic is the workhorse. The S cars are not driven in rain, snow or at night.
on Oct 24th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Everytime I park in a public parking lot, I try to park as far away as I can from all the other cars. I even go hours before my class, just to get the parking spot I want, So I can rest asure my car will be okay while I am in class, the same goes for work. I always have a tendency to park near one of those islands in the parking lot, so I know at least one side of my car will be 100% Okay. And for the other side I can only hope no one will swing there door in to mines. It’s quite inevitable, but we try our best. And people wonder why I take care of my car so much. And reguardless of my car, I do this for everyone of my car. If I drove a beat up car, with paint coming off, obviously I wouldn’t care where I park, how worst could it get from it’s current conditions. lol
on Oct 25th, 2010 at 11:54 am
I don’t have an S2000 yet but the amount of dents my truck has from parking lots definitely has me worried. Of course not enough to avoid getting one. My solution to parking at work will be to arrive early so I can park in the best spots. It could be worse though. Cars like the Dodge Challenger are as wide as a Dodge RAM and they also have really large doors.
on Oct 26th, 2010 at 9:44 am
Sooo, my car was backed into for the third time since Ive owned it. Finally got an honest driver who confessed and will pay for it. Still doesnt stop the down time and the fact that its not OEM anymore
on Oct 26th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Anticipating a long weekend with my wife in the S to the beach, I did extensive internet searches until i found a hotel with an underground parking garage underneath the hotel proper. My thoughts? Keep the car out of direst public eye to keep it safe from vandals or theives. Protect it from he elements (sun sand and rain.) In the end, no matter what you do you cant stop something from happening, but you can sure try to reduce the chances.