Street-Parking Survival

[StiggyNYC]

It's a jungle out there! Here's what I must do to try and protect my CR-Z from the perils of urban living (and it's still no guarantee). What do you do (short of posting a 27/7 guard complete with a dog and an AK-47)?

[Kyleseghatch]

WHere did you find all those high tech wrappings?! I have a garage but when I go out to wal mart or something I ALWAYS park far in the back with no cars around me. By the time I come out my car is surrounded by other cars...

[jcrhee12]

Originally Posted by StiggyNYC

It's a jungle out there! Here's what I must do to try and protect my CR-Z from the perils of urban living (and it's still no guarantee). What do you do (short of posting a 27/7 guard complete with a dog and an AK-47)?

DUDE! That is so awesome. I need those here in LA as well. I've seen too many prius drivers bumping into other vehicles when they try to get out of a close street parking.

[Ludercrz]

hahaha. that's awesome.

reminds me of the Insurance commercial i saw on TV once.
guy parks his ca on the side of the road, then takes his time putting a car cover on top of it to protect it from scratches once he'S done he "beeps" his alarm and starts walking away when a Big Garbage truck backs up right into it, crushing it.

[StiggyNYC]

I googled "Bumper Protection" and came up with all sorts of items. I already had the Bumper Blockers from my Jeep Cherokee and Honda Fit; however, they are technically for indoor use only...they aren't weatherproof (although I'm tempted to douse them with Scotchguard) and are made primarily to protect bumpers from parking garage walls and supporting columns. I discovered this morning that, on the street, they aren't fool proof (and lots of fools park on NYC streets)...apparently someone snagged my rear Bumper Blocker while trying to pull out of their space, and managed to slightly scratch (argh!) my left corner (am currently working on improving the mounting apparatus for the Blocker!).

Of more concern to me was preventing dents on the sides, particularly from non-caring taxi-cab escapees (my Fit was riddled with those). The DoorShox seem to help (time will tell), and lots of people come up to me to ask about them. I also got a BumpShox for the front end (as many "drivers" seem to think that the term "bumper" means you're supposed to bump into them).

None of this is a commercial; I just got very frustrated with what would happen to my Fit...and every single dent, ding, and scratch on it had occurred when I was nowhere near it (including the damaged rear bumper mount that had occurred when, apparently, a few humans decided to test their strength by repositioning my car by lifting it). I won't park in a garage anymore...it's way too expensive, and all the initial damage to my Fit (including scratches to my dashboard) occurred in the garage; I can get all the damage I want out on the street for free!

I love my CR-Z so much, I've been seriously considering moving out of the City!

[forty2j]

Something seems wrong with wrapping a $20k car in bubble wrap. It's like putting a cubic zirconia ring in a safe deposit box to make sure nothing happens to it. :-p

Seriously, though, I would never park on the street. I'd get a garage space, and I wouldn't use the car if my source and destination were both in the city.

[StiggyNYC]

And there's the rub: a lot of my work takes me out of the City; hence, I need a car. Garage parking in NYC is a hassle unless one makes a LOT of money: you always need to call ahead, sometimes the night before; the least expensive monthly parking (for me, that was $250...the garages in my neighborhood cost over $500) is always a hike (like a subway or bus ride...sometimes both...or a 30-block walk, which is always fun in the rain or snow); and, besides the normal tipping that needs to be done every time you use your own car, there's the Christmas bonus-thing that always grated me. I mean, they post a HUGE marker board in the garage for all to see that they're keeping track of who's been giving them their "gift". In return, your car receives either the minimal amount of dents and scratches, or more if you haven't lived up to their expectation of you...parking garage extortion at it finest!

Like I said, I can get all that on the street for free; so, unfortunately, I have to take my chances. The interesting thing is, I see really expensive cars parked on the street all the time, without any protection at all. Apparently for the 1%-ers, they can repair and/or replace their wheels very easily.

[Jayemtee]

My parking is fine in my garage. I need those things driving around the city of Las Vegas, with all those tourists looking everywhere except where they are driving.

[Mercival]

How does all risk insurance fit in with this? I just got the CR-Z and up till now i have been parking it in the Amsterdam city center saying to myself that IF something happens i can get it repaired at a Honda dealer for free. Of course, over-using this would have consequences for my monthly fee but up till now the car survived dentless..

I am not sure how similar systems are here and there though. And how NYC insurerers deal with 'dents'.

[CR-Z Canadian]

Stiggy, now that's funny, except that it isn't. Still, i'm surprised that in NYC, those things don't get stolen (not to mention your CRZ, parked out on the street)!
Mine's parked in the corner of our riding arena for the winter, so it has a greater chance of having my wife's horse put a hoof through the fender, or me being bucked off my young horse and through the windshield right now, than it getting any parking spot rash. That is, unless the resident raccoons take it out for a joy ride! LOL.