Let's say that you live in a condo, and you have a dedicated space to park your
Max in. The car on your right is a well kept mid 90's altima, and the one on your left is a
beat-up old POS Plymoth. Now, imagine that your parking buddy on the left
with the Plymoth decided that he doesn't like to park in the middle of his space
all the time. Not only that, but suppose his very large wife feels the need to
open the passenger side door all the way just to get into and out of the car all
of the time.

This, of course, causes a multitude of FPD's to your driver's side door.
And no, I'm not talking about Fixed Partial Dentures.
I'm talking about Fat Person Dings.
(An FPD occurs when an overly large and lazy person inconsiderately opens their
door all the way just to get in and out of the car, thus causing his/her door to
hit the car sitting adjacent to it. )

What makes it worse is, my Compustar alarm pages me everytime my shock
sensors are activated. Living on the 7th floor, I can never get down there soon
enough to catch the atrocity in the act.

Now, imaging this is your bright and shiny 2002 Sterling Mist Nissan Maxima SE
getting dinged all the time.

What would you do?....

ps
I'm stuck with the parking space. No other options...

 

First I would confront them saying another member of your complex saw them hit your car. Follow that up with video survalence (sp) then confront them and complex management, to resolve your issue.

 

FixedPartialDentures!LOL! (i own a dental Lab)

I feel u man- the major buying point when i bought my townhome was the garage(mine) & 1 car driveway- So my wifes POS VW Beetle has been subject to
many FPD's when she parks across in the common parking lot

Is it me or are parking spots too small for these big asz door american cars?

 

I feel for ya'. Short of proof (as was mentioned surveilance, act witnessed, etc.) what can you do? I would document each occurance, take pics (video if possible) date & time stamp the incidents, etc. Whatever it takes to obtain some proof then 1. Aggressive confrontation with proof in-hand (get some frustration out if nothing else) 2. Demand "Fatty" puts cash in your hands within 48 hours to compensate for the (get a quote) repairs or; "Fatty" can expect a court-date. Let "Fatty" decide the most cost effective exit to what now becomes her problem.

Lastly, have a hammer in your parking stall. "When you get a dent...Fatty gets a dent!" If thier car is a serious POS and dents are useless, go for the treads or some other item that makes them feel your pain.*

Luckily I have a wall on one side of me and foundation barrier that protects the front of my space so I can "angle in" and protect my car. The other side? Man, I have this bimbo that parks a CLK430 next to me and this chic couldn't park between the lines if her life depended on it. She is always over in my space by almost a foot on some days. But...she is a hottie and not a fatty and at least no damage is occuring so...I cut her some slack.


*Disclaimer: I'm not advocating a felony here (at least not in writing). Stay within the misdemeanor "price range."

 

You play a spy:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=14959
And record all that and then charge their insurance.
You could also get this, it's cheaper:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ayphotohosting

 

You guys made my day when I crash my pos accord today.

 

I actually talked to the guy, and he basically brushed it off.
Some people just don't understand the concept of common courtesy.

I mean, I expect to get FPD's during the life of my car while I'm out and
about, but when I'm parked dead center of my designated space at home,
I don't think I should have to worry about that.
(Especially since the cars next to me are also assigned to their respective spaces.)

I can't wait till I'm outa dental school and can sell my condo to buy a home
with a large garage and preferably several acres of land to keep the weirdos
off my doorstep.
Until then, I guess I'm stuck next to this inconsiderate bozo.

Sheesh.


ps
Camera/VCR not an option since there is nowhere to put it near my parking spot.

 

If your condo is not full you could ask condo-association or whoever the title holder is if you can use another parking spot.

I feel your pain, condos are not fun for car-lovers, I know.

A portable and a web-cam can work wonders.

 

Beg management to move your spot. If all else fails accidentally drop a few nails directly under the tire pointing straight up into inside of rear tires. J/J
Get them on tape and catch 'em some how. Then make that fata$$ fix your Max.

 

tell her to lose some friggin' weight

 

I would tell her to lose her fat azz or get a truck to haul her big wide load in the bed.

 

Shoot at her fat azz. I would.!!!!!!!!

 

Don't most condo communities have a list of rules and regulations? I'm sure that this situation has to be breaking a few of those. See if your office has a copy of the rules and read through and see if by what your neighbor is doing, it is breaking any of those rules and get the condo management involved. Hope it works out for you.

 

IMHO your best step is to approach the condo association and state that you want another parking space and state your reasons. A little proof of the FPD (video) would help your case immensely. Having lived in a condo (Germany) many moons ago I had the same situation, but it was the person's kid doing the dinging on my 320i BMW. One of my good neighbors (a fellow Ranger) informed me of the situation and we came up with a plan and took care of the problem. Needless to say, finding your Opel on blocks is not a pretty sight. The next day the Opel was gone never to be seen again. Take this story with a grain of salt, but after reading about your problem, it brought back memories.

Pedro

 

what i learned:

eye for an eye - she hits your car, u brea her tail light, then headlight, then take a hubcap off

do not own nice cars in condos

fat people are overweight

damn opels

 

I agree, but DON'T tell them first. Just setup the video. You can probably rent it or something. But do it, get them doing it a few times, and then make them buy you a new paint job.

 

Just put a note in your window that clearly says "This car is being video taped and if you ding my door you WILL be held responsible."

 

Unfortuately, your only recourse is either to catch them in the act thru video surveillance and/or hours of lying curled up & hiding on the floor in the back seat, or some other way of obtaining evidence.

Once u have evidence of one door slam, it's simple to require (perhaps in front of a policeperson or someone from the complex's security team) that the car be placed next to yours and the dings in your car 'mapped' or aligned to their door edges, at which point u can prove they are the cause

Between 1982 and 1984 I was the president of our condominium's Owners Association and was party to one very similar situation, eventually the owner of the car -a metallic green Honda Accord hatchback- decided to lie down in the rear seat/hatch area to catch the offending party -another fairly fat person, in this case a guy- who was dinging his car. I think he spent like three evenings in hiding this way. The car was slammed one evening, immediately jumped out of the rear hatch, called the condo security force who called me, the door ding was lined up with the door that caused it, the offender could not deny he had caused it & he had to pay for the damages.

It's all a matter of just how hard you want payback......

 

Try to find out her arrival/departure. Borrow a camcorder from Walmart (with all the accessories) and video tape her. This is damage to private property.

I couldn't even imagine someone dinging my door all the time when I know about it and I know who it is. You got either patience or you just don't care.

My original solution for people dinging my door was to carry a metal spike and a container of salf. Punch a hole in the offenders car door and pour the entire container of salt in. Of course, parking a little farther out is a better solution.

PS: **** will also work.

 

i really dig this idea. the fact that there may be someone or something constantly peering over their shoulder could be enough to scare them. my friend used to live in a townhouse complex, and some dude parked his car in her designated space. we wrote a note saying that if he doesn't move his car, we will have it towed, and put it on his windshield wiper. rest assured, the next morning, that h0m0 was out of there and never seen again.

 

Big enough for her to see it. Be creative and add food pictures so you can be sure she looks at it.

 

My neighbor scratched my right side with a key, and then scratched the corner of the bumper while backing up. I know it was him, but have no proof. He doesn't do it since. Go try to proove it.

Although the idea with a metal spike and salt seems nice

 

nothing's funnier than sugar in the gas tank!

"what is your major malfunction?!"

 

Nice...a Bevis and Butthead quote (well actually a Sgt. Hartman quote)

It is interesting to see the range of responses to this problem. Personally I like the note idea because you haven't done anything criminal and yet reinforced your SINCERE wish that your car be treated with the proper respect.

Of course, more drastic means may be nessecary...but only cross that bridge if you have too.

 

I like the note idea, but some people will just see that as a reason to be even more stupid and ding your door two times instead of once.

 

Is it covered parking?

If so, get this:http://www.seenontv.com/prod-pages/doorsaver.htm



They have other kinds of "door pillows" that you slam in your door frame that hang over, but I think a FAT A$$ would use that as their guide on how far the door can open. It should still prevent dings though.

Also, I'm all for the broken tail light/headlight or better yet a missing license plate. Personally, I'd sue them in small claims court after I caught them on video.

 

Just find a spot and have your association move you- preferably between two nice cars or on an end spot

 

I spoke with the managment office, and they are trying to get me into another
spot which is at the end and has a curb on one side of it.
(Only one parking neighbor and a curb on the other side instead of cars parked on both sides of me! )

Might take a little while, but at least the ball is in motion now.

Thanks for all the advice.
The only problem is that he doesn't care about his POS car, and would probably
do double the damage back to mine if anything happened to his.
Sucks to not have a private garage.

I do like that "door pillow" gadget(I bookmarked the page. ),
but it's an outdoor lot.

On the bright side...at least the FPD's all hit nicely on that plastic door
guard strip that runs horizontally along the middle of my door.
I guess I'll just eventually get that replaced when I move out of here.
Keep up the creative thinking, everyone!

 

Like I mentioned....search around the web, because they make ones that hang by strings that you slam in your door.

Looks probably, but at least you'll be protected from any REAL door dings until you get moved.

 

Great one! That would be too funny to see that-

 

I'd get it in yellow and paint "WIDE LOAD" on it in black.

 

ask the lanlord if you could install some sort of blockade, a sheet of plywood or something between you two

 

Good idea!

Some of those 3ft construction cones would work PERFECT.