Afternoon to all in the back room.
I have a question that I dont know the answer to, let me explain....The other day I parked my car (on a public highway not a car park) on the outskirts of the city center. I left a 5-6' gap between the Megane that was infront of me and the Fiat behind. After a couple of hours shopping on returning to my car the Fiat and Renault had been replaced by a Bora at the rear and a Mini (proper one) at the front both only 6" or so from my bumpers. Both cars were parked without annyone in them and no houses around to knock doors and ask who ownes them. I dident want to force my car out in fear of damaging it (the owners of the Mini and Vw did not seem to care about there cars or they wouldent have wedged them up against my car) and I dident fancy waiting around for them to appear after X amount of time. Luckily the owner of the Bora appeared as I was loading the boot up and they drove off (thats after I told him about what both he/she/they had done and his answer was for me to pink fluffy dice off!). My question is this - if no-one had turned up would it have been against the law to have lifted the back axle of the Mini off the ground and move it a few feet foreward? Answers if you please Ladies and Gentlemen.
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YOu know how to park by touch? Pick the lightest car (say its behind) then ever so gently reverse back into it and keep going till you shunt it down the road.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Better still, fit bullbars, check for CCTV and make a mess of their car - may think harder about how they park next time :)
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Quite right TVM. Usually does no damage, the essential thing being to do it gently until in full contact with the other car.
However DD explained the other day in quite shirty fashion that he would physically attack anyone he caught doing that to his car. His justification seemed to be that modern cars don't have bumpers, just imitation ones that are more expensive and provide less protection than real ones.
Personally I don't even think they're pedestrian friendly. Cars sold as having urban pzazz (like small Renaults for example) are simply fraudulent if they don't have fairly tough, fairly flexible bumpers that scuff but don't fall to pieces when used.
I don't understand this 'my motor stays impeccable or I kick and scream' line. It seems to me impractical in modern urban conditions.
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However DD explained the other day in quite shirty fashion that he would physically attack anyone he caught doing that to his car.
Yes I damn well would. As I drive an auto, there is no movement in the car whatsoever when the box is left in Park. So instead of being able to possibly move the car slightly (unless the handbrake was firmly on) the bumpers end up taking the battering when trying to nudge it back a couple of inches.
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Ah yes DD, the extremely crude transmission lock.
When you try to shunt a car, it becomes obvious very quickly whether it's going to move or not.
But I thought you said your car didn't have any bumpers, just joke imitations? Really you ought to blame the manufacturer, instead of people inconvenienced by the way you park.
;O)
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When you try to shunt a car, it becomes obvious very quickly whether it's going to move or not.
Lud, I don't know if anyone has mentioned this to you before or not, but parking isn't meant to be a contact sport.
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DD: of course they have, and I agree. Two things though: in very tight places some touching of the cars fore and aft is likely if not inevitable. And some people - not you I'm sure, and certainly not me - park exceptionally stupidly to take up and waste the maximum amount of space. How long must one drive round looking for a parker? Sometimes there just isn't time.
When pushed, I have on perhaps half a dozen occasions in my life gently shunted a car to make space for myself, never so far as I know making a mark or doing damage. The fact that the last of these occasions was the other day, and the car shunted my wife's, is just a coincidence.
A few months ago I did while unparking make a small bruise on the bumper fairing of a very nice old-shape Megane Coupe. I left a note giving my phone number and recommending polish. The guy never rang.
Don't take me for a toerag just because I'm practical.
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And I forgot to add: 6" plus 6" make a foot. Surely one can get out by 'feel' without even moving the other cars?
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If there are two of you, it was always possible to bounce the rear of a Mini sideways to solve this problem - even up a kerb if necessary.
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I would have tried moving the Mini by pushing it, rather than using my car. If necessary ask anyone passing by for help in pushing.
The other alternative would have been to give the boys in blue a call, as technically both cars were causing an obstruction. I feel sure if they had turned up they would have helped move the mini and probably given both a ticket as well.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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carry a trolleyjack in your car and lift the offending car up and leave it at a crazy angle,that will make them think next time and no damage (unless you use fuel tank for jack position ;) most people dont park in gear so its an easy option and little strain required
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I was once 'trapped' in a hospital car park by someone who had invented another bay in the middle of the car park. I asked at reception, who arranged for the security patrol to attend with 4 small sets of wheels which clamped round each wheel of the other car, lifted it up, and allowed them to push it wherever they liked.
I wouldn't have minded seeing the owners face when they returned to find the car in a bay (the security staff put it in the bay I was using once I had pulled out).
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I agree with Lud above - I think you could have got out. It helps to have steering that's light at parking speeds. I had a Renault Safrane in the 1990s that was brilliant at getting into and out of spaces only a foot or so more than its own length, simply because one could twirl the wheel fast while moving slowly.
Typing that, I get a sense of deja vu - this must have come up in another thread recently. Sorry if I've repeated myself but it must have been in answer to a different question!
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Buy a Defender and use that to go shopping. Peopeole tend to keep a respectful distance. Note this only works with a Defender don't bother with anything built further east of Solihull.
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I think you'll find most manufacturers handbooks state that a vehicle should be left in gear as well as having its handbrake pulled firmly on when parking. Both our cars are fitted with towbars,so feel free to try touch parking with the rear of our cars ;-)
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