City Dwellers

[jnj2455]

Parallel parking, you're guaranteed to get bumped every once in a while. Leads to paint scratches, scuff marks, etc. Sometimes leads to a creased bumper if you get tapped by a pickup truck rear bumper for example.

Some things you can do...
Tuck the side mirror in on the street side when you park. Our mirrors fold which is great.
Leave equal space in front and rear, less likely to get bumped.
Don't park next to someone who is all sideways with one wheel on the sidewalk or generally parked like an ass.
Find out who your neighbors are, and which ones give half a shit about their cars. Try to park near them.

If you can find off street parking its the best. My apartment complex has an outside parking lot, so the only possible problem would be door dings. A garage would keep it away from the weather, and would be "better." Of course, all those things cost extra. Its only worth it if you think it is.

Truth is, in the city you're better off getting a 10 year old small car and driving it around with NFG.

I'm trying to convince my dad to get a new car so I can pay him 2k for his old beater. Thing is, he leaves his car with a parking valet near work and literally every week there is a new scratch or dent on it so he's not getting rid of his beater any time soon.

I debated getting a B5 passat 1.8T manual but what's the point of having that and making payments on the GTI at 23 years old? It makes sense to beat up my GTI and hope when it gets all tired and old I can afford to get a Mk7 Golf R.

 

[ModdedEuros]

Having driven in center city philadelphia, you just assume your car is gonna get banged up on street parking. Between people who don't know how to parallel park and tap you and people driving by and clipping a mirror, it will happen. Years back I parked for 5min as I ran into a building, my buddy was still in the passenger seat. Taxi cab cut some dude off, he swerved and clipped my car while my friend was in there. Luckily he had his DSLR, grabbed a shot of his plate as he sped away.

 

[luv my dub76]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bx3RO7FaRA

 

[snowsled]

Move out of the city.

I can not even imagine choosing to park a new car on the street in a big city. Why do you guys live in those big cities anyway?

 

[JayFine]

Having lived in South Philadelphia for a few years I can say that street parking will lead to scratches, damage, and headaches if you love your car and go ballistic every time a new scratch appears.

I lived on a very narrow one way street with parking on either side of the street. I lost side view mirrors on my old car from not being able to fold them in as they were fixed. Front and rear bumpers had scratches from idiotic drivers incapable of parallel parking. Trim got ripped off when someone side swiped my parked car. I was once parked on a corner spot and came out to my entire front end sitting on the ground (hit and run).

I also had mishaps of burglary and vandalism. My passenger side window got shattered and my windshield got smashed in and the entire glass was riddled with spider cracks.

All of these things only happened to me in the city and once I retreated back to the suburbs I haven't had a single problem since.

Now this is only my personal experience and not even the same city that you will be in but just some insight on what could happen.

 

[ElectricEye]

I work in Downtwon Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Heights.

My job would give me a parking pass, but I don't accept it for two reasons:

1) The cost of tolls, gas, and mileage are not worth it when we have efficient public transportation options.

2) I see what happens to the cars parked on the streets around here, and I know people who park on the streets around here.

Bumper covers take a beating.
You would have to cover them unless you don't mind screw hole damage all over yours.

The cars also ger banged up due to other cars and cabs pulling up and letting passengers out.
Lots of damage done that way.

Also, where I am, lots of deliveries are made, and somtimes delivery trucks are right on top of your car.
My former supervisor once pointed out the window at his car as a guy making a delivery was actually setting the packages down on my supervisors car.

 

[Zillon]

If I lived in an urban area, I'd ditch the car entirely and ride a bike/public transportation.

I live and breathe cars, but it's simply not worth it.

 

[honda2vw]

Metro NYC checking in

My job doesn't offer a garage but I have found this street with no parallel parking but vertical parking on a residential street which is a long walk but it's both exercise and ensures I get no dings scrapes or bumper damage.

Garage parking is very expensive and trust me eventually you get the same damage as parallel parking on the city streets especially if they are valet driven. My friend worked valet at a busy parking garage and he told me accidents happen and the signs allow them to walk away scott free.

 

[Baldeagle]

Choosing the lesser evil in this situation is still a pretty bad compromise. Parking garages squeeze those cars into spaces. I doubt they are much safer than the street. In your new environment, you WILL get car damage. If you can’t accept that, sell your car and buy a beater in order to keep your sanity.

 

[D Griff]

If I lived in an urban area, I'd ditch the car entirely and ride a bike/public transportation.

I live and breathe cars, but it's simply not worth it.

This. I don't think I'll ever live in a very urban areas and one of the big reasons for that is that I love cars and always want to own at least one. But honestly, in NYC or similar, it just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. Urban life isn't for me in many ways. Reading Electric Eye's post made me cringe but that's just the reality.

OP, maybe sell the GTI and get a beater?

 

[johnny_p]

If I lived in an urban area, I'd ditch the car entirely and ride a bike/public transportation.

I live and breathe cars, but it's simply not worth it.

Yep. When I ride my bike through center city Philly I am usually faster than traffic. When I commute by bike I'm overall a bit slower but not by much (15 mins or so).

Its not worth owning a car in the city if you don't actually need to. Potholes, shitty roads, higher insurance, guaranteed to get damaged somehow, higher chance of hit and run, break ins, and gas prices are higher. Public transportation, car share programs, or bikes are the way to go.

 

[corydd]

Do you have it for your rear?

Haven't picked one up for the GTI yet but we have one on our other car and it was definitely worth the $45.

 

[stuck24]

Take mass transportation 4 days a week. Treat yourself to one day of driving. THERE.

Either way, it's a car, it'll incur some scratches/ damage over time. The more anal, the more you'll be driven to tears.

I park on the street often, but different circumstances overall. No problems.

 

[jnj2455]

I like to tell myself that Hoboken isn't nearly as bad as like downtown Manhattan but it's probably on par with Brooklyn. I ultimately decided tonight that I'm probably going to let go of this one apartment. The guy I was gonna sublet from was pretty disappointed when I told him but I was also up front and said that I care a bit too much about my car to subject it (and myself) to street parking.

I wish my work was within biking distance but I'm in the construction field and I have to follow where the client decides to expand. Otherwise, I would have gladly left the car safely at my parents' house.

But everybody is right about valet garage parking not being risk-free. I left my car with a valet at my buddy's apartment and one of the fucking valets opened my driver's door into an unprotected pillar. Chipped the paint off the door edge but the primer stayed intact. I took two deep breaths and just got in and drove away. I only let it slide cuz it was a small paint chip and I knew I would have a hard time proving that they fucked it up. Nothing some touch up paint didn't fix.

And so the saga continues.

 

[rich337]

I live/work in San Francisco. Paying for a garage space is something I never regret or consider stopping.