Heres the deal

My job is in a quasi high car theft area (Paramus, NJ) my Eclipse GSX was broken into in my company's parking lot last year.

I love driving the S2K and have been taking it to work. I have two choices

1) Park in our company parking spots, very close to the entrance and almost no chance of theft...but a very high risk of door dings (my 99 Civic Si got 5 door dings in one year of parking there)

2) Park in the outer parking lot away from the other cars...almost zero chance of dings but a kinda high theft risk.

What would you guys and gals do?

I have been using choice 2 for the last few days and am very paranoid all day at work.

Keep in mind I do use the Unbrakeable
Autolock www.unbrakeable.com. I also have a beater car...but I LOVE drving the s2k and for the almost $700.00 bucks a month I pay I feel as if I should drive it ya know?

Please Help

 

ttt

 

Make friends with someone in the safer lot and agree to park in a way to avoid dings. Failing that, change jobs and move to a better part of the country.

 

Thanks but neither are options as the spots are not assigned, they are just first come first served. I would actually like to move but all of my friends and family are in the area so i don't know what to do...guess I will have to drive the beater

[This message has been edited by Argetni (edited December 05, 2000).]

 

For me..I would make sure I didn't leave any valuables in the car. As strange as this seems I think I would almost rather have my car stolen then trashed. Insurance would always buy me a new one, instead of driving in a beat up current one. If thats not an option for you why don;t you get yourself a cover and some bumpers and park where everyone can see it. No dings and kinda obvious if someone wants to steal it. Pulling the cover off, bumpers etc.
Not the greatest idea but it's all I can think of right now

 

I'd park way out or drive the beater.

 

Dang,
I feel so lucky that i have a safe lot to park in at work. thei first few times i parked at work, I left the boot on so i just left the top down! Thanks for the reality check!
i'd drive the car and park close. yeah, door dins are gonna happen, but the whole point of getting the car is to drive it yes? besides, after the first ding, its not so bad. You can always get a pair of traffic cones and set them on both sides of your car when you park in the company lot =). i'm sure people will notice a little more...

 

Argetni, that pseudonym ain't a take on the fact that your Stook is Silver is it?

In my situation I always park as far away from other vehicles as possible. In my view door dings are the worst kind of damage you can receive - they are so minor yet they irritate the hell out of you each time you see them. Then if you want to get them fixed you're up for the price of spraying the whole door - and let's be honest the colour match is NEVER perfect.

No, keep it away from those other drivers and I think you'll find most everyone else will respect your vehicle and not touch it even if it is parked out in the boonies.

 

I would use the beater.

 

I have taken to using the car cover when I am in close proximity to other cars. The cushioning effect is such that all but the most violent swats will just bounce off. If I were you, I would park in close and use the cover.

I don't know if you want to do this, but I have found that it only takes me about thirty seconds to put the cover on or take it off.