Protect Your Car Paint from Parking Lot Dents
Austin Auto Body Tips

Exercise Caution While Driving in Parking Lots

Many of us drive in a hurry without being careful and watching the distance with cars in the front, back, and sides. This eventually results in unnecessary collisions causing parking lot dents. Take your time to park your vehicle or drive out of the parking lot. The Rearview mirror and side mirrors can be of great help in this regard. Make the most out of them while driving in the parking lot, so that you avoid scratching your vehicle onto other cars.

Avoid Parking Too Close to Entry or Exit

How often do we leave our car bodies intact in the parking area and return only to notice scratches or parking lot dents tearing through the paint at one or more points? With the culprit gone, you can’t force someone to pay for the damage. What you can do is park smartly the next time around.

A myriad of parking lot dents occurs near the entry or exit points where cars enter or leave the parking area. The underlying reason being these points typically experience high traffic, where inexperienced drivers end up scratching other cars, especially when making turns. The tendency to park near the entrance or exit stems from our reluctance to walk and end up parking in the spot closest to the shopping center or business. Since every shopper or driver wants the same, their chance of bumping into your car is increased.

Hence, one great strategy to safeguard your vehicle from them is to park in slots at the end, with only one side of your car exposed.

Provide Sufficient Room for Other Vehicles

Another way we invite parking lot dents is by parking too close to the vehicle on one side. When you do that, the owner of that car may hit your vehicle’s side when they get back and open the door to get into their vehicle. Some drivers or passengers will do that on purpose due to frustration. Even your own kids may open the door without considering the car parked next to yours. That’s why it’s important to leave enough room on both sides of your car when leaving it parked.

Park Near Cars with a Similar Height As Yours

Another effective way to protect your car paint from parking lot dents is to park it next to vehicles of the same height. This makes it considerably easier to maneuver and make turns without coming into contact with other vehicles, thereby reducing the chances of parking lot dents and scratches that damage the car paint.

Don’t Violate the Speed Limits

If there’s one area you should never consider speeding, it has to be a parking lot. Large parking lots that receive heavy traffic often have speed limits that you must observe. Speeding beyond those limits can easily result in costly accidents and collisions. To maneuver the parking area safely and avoid parking lot dents, it’s important that you maintain low and moderate speeds inside the parking lot.

Back Out Slowly When Moving Out of Your Spot

Another instance when drivers end up colliding with other parked or moving vehicles is when they move out of their slot faster than they should. When going in reverse, in particular, you don’t see any vehicle in the way or arriving at your back, but as soon as you pull out speedily, another vehicle suddenly pulls out at the same moment, resulting in a minor collision. Hence, be sure to pull out slowly, especially when reversing your car.