One of the most common places for a car to get dinged and scratched is in a grocery store parking lots and parking areas of other shopping centers. If you value the look of your car then you are going to want to do your best to protect it every time you take it out and this includes when you go shopping and have to park in the dreaded, crowded lots known for causing so much vehicle damage. Here are 5 tips for parking in a crowded parking lot without ending up with any damage to your car:

Park away from the other cars if possible

If the bulk of the cars are all up near the store's entrance and there is plenty of empty space out away from the store, then you should be parking further out. However, you don't want to park so far out that you have now made your car an easier target to be broken into or stolen either, so it's a fine line between parking away from the crowd and parking too far away.

Park in your own space

One of the best ways for you to get your car dinged by someone else's door is to park too far to the left or too far to the right inside of your space. When you do this, the person who pulls into the space next to you will need to open their door far enough to get out of the car and if you are too close to their door is likely to hit yours and leave a mark on it.

Don't squish between two cars

If there are two cars that are both parked relatively close to the inside lines and there is an empty space between them, you should look for another space. Otherwise, you are risking damage to both sides of your car. If either person has a hard time getting in their door after having you squish next to them they may be mad and damage your car even on purpose.

Don't park around curbs 

If there are areas in the parking lot with curbs, even ones used around trees to protect trees, you want to make sure you don't park around those areas. Otherwise, you will be increasing your chances of having shopping carts ding your car when people carelessly leave them near the curb to roll right into your car.

You may want to park exactly next to the shopping cart holder

While parking right next to where the shopping carts get stacked may sound like an odd suggestion, it can actually prevent dings. When people are so close to the holder, they will actually put the cart into it. Also, the spaces right next to the holders tend to be a bit wider, which will lessen your chances of being dinged by someone's door on the other side of the car.

Contact a company like G P Automotive for more information and assistance. 

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