Ok heres the deal...lol, back when i was in autobody school i restored a 72 chev pu, painted it 92 gm Bahama blue over white dp primer, looked awsome (purple) under the parking lot lights due to the little bit of frost blue pearl in the clear coat...anyways i once went to the mall and parked a long ways away from the door, at least 18 open parking spots away from any other car in the lot, after about an hour i come out and there are cars parked all around me with all the open spots still between my truck and the door Now that i have my GP i try to park in a way so i dont get them pesky door dings or shopping cart damage, but every day at work some nut in a beat up old ford tarus has to park right next to me, even tho theres enough room on either side of me to be at least one spot away...so i guess what im asking ...or ranting about is, how do you park?, and are nice clean good looking cars just magnets, that draw people in?

That's my guess. They get jealous and want us to join them at used up, spit out, and regurgitated.

I know man, its sucks, seems like cars tend to flock together, if you park in the middle of nowhere you come out, 5 or 10 cars have migrated to be around your car, never fails

Yep Always seems to happen...I park, no one's around, come back out, I've got 3/4 ton, 4x4 trucks parked all around me.

x100000million

I parked WAY out in the Walmart parking lot, a good ten-fifteen spaces away from anyone else in any direction. I was in the store for a grand total of five minutes, and when I got to my car, there was a little cluster of cars around me. Just me. Still a huge space between us and the rest of the parking spaces.

As for how I park:

badly.

I try to park far away from other cars, but at my school parking is at a premium. So I end up parking in the back of the lot with many people around me and have to hike, what seems a couple miles, to class.

If you park at the back of a lot at a walmart or a place like that. The people parking next you may be employees. When I worked retail we always had to park at the very back of the lot where no one usually parks. You might have shown up just as the next shift of people were coming in.

It wasn't at the very back. Our Walmart parking lot is longer than it is wide, I was in the middle part, all the employees park over at the side, where the shipping trucks come in. I have friends that work there, they've worked there for years and that's where they have the employees park.

I think cars are just innately insecure and need the company of other cars while their owners are gone.

Cars in parking lots are like Cheerios, they have adhesion bondage

Instead of parking far away, when I find a spot at school, say between two vehicles, both are parked straight in, I usually park closest to the left car because most of the time it is one individual getting in and out of a vehicle and the left car the driver gets in on the other side so your driver side should be ok and the right car driver side opens at your paseenger side. So I try to give the right car a little bit more room to open the door and keep a ding from entering mine. Sometimes I pay attention to the car or even the driver so when I come out and find something I can track that person down. That is only in cases where I have a gut feeling this parking spot is unlucky. When I lived in an apartment complex, someone keyed my spoiler from one end to the other. What a loser.

me n my buddys park far away, and if theres a ding on are car door or something from the guys next to us's cars, we return the favor with are foot lol

thats just stupid and wreckless.

End spots..... You can put your tires right on the line, or right next to the curb, whatever it may be.
If I'm by myself, I put the passenger side against the curb so I can easily get in and out of the car. If I've got a passenger I usually "put myself in the dirt" so the passenger won't track bark dust into the car. I will walk the curb to stay out of the flower beds.

Another spot I will grab if I'm only going to be a minute is the spot right next to the Handicap. I can put my tires right up to the line of the HC spot, and have plenty of room to the other side.... If you're going to be longer than a few minutes don't try this as wheelchairs, crutches and canes can give you a good walloping.

One more tip for the shopping center lots.... Don't park at the bottom of an incline. Try to place your car in a spot that shopping carts left in the lot won't find their way to if they start rolling.

Later now,
Clint(King of the haters of door dings)

I generally try to park away from everyone.

Anything else I say from this point forward would just be a repeat of what Clint said.

I just pictured that and it was just too funny.

Another aspect of the car magnet phenomenon: Parking near a light pole at the far corner of a parking lot, causes other cars to "slingshot" past your car on their way to the exit, despite the fact your car isn't anywhere near it. The pole no doubt acts as an antenna of some sort...

Unfortunately, door dings and scratches in parking lots are difficult to avoid, unless of course, one resorts to more drastic measures...

if im at the mall or a busy store and ill be gone for a while .... i will park at the back of the parking lot and usually back into two spots.... right downt he middle line of the two and this usually works. I only have one door ding on my car as of yet (*knocks on wood*)

where i work i can see a piggly wiggly parking lot and i kid you not those shopping carts can get up to bout 20mph. I will back in between two straight cars and get my passenger side super close to their passenger side. So my massive door doesn't hit the car next to me.

and if they have a passenger, well then tough

I bring a padded car cover with me where ever I go.

And that's how you ensure you'll get door dings.

I don't sweat it much. If your car is a DD then it's gonna get beat up. No sense stressing over it. All it will do is bring you ill health.