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Original poster

Feeling stupid :( (struggling with multi storey car park!)

75 replies

CustardD123 · 25/08/2019 16:12

I've been driving for 6 months-ish so a fairly new driver since passing and I have a very small car.

I'm generally fine with driving but find parking to be tricky sometimes (especially in bay parking if the car next to mine has parked onto the bay lines so then I end up with only a small gap so worry excessively about scraping their car). Some days I can park into a bay perfectly first time and sometimes, even 10 attempts don't work..!

Anyway, I thought I'd try going into a multi storey car park for the first time today and struggled even more with the tight spaces.. and stupidly scraped the rear driver-side bit of my car on the ramp going up a level :(

....and knocked my tyres on the exit after putting my ticket in and the barriers go up :(

Got so insulted by a fellow driver (short bald overly loud man) that I shouldn't be driving, how did I pass, etc etc. when I was struggle to get into the a bay (felt like I was gonna scrape the car on my left)

Any tips? & any words to make me feel better? I feel like a completely stupid sub-human..! :( I'm mid-20s, female by the way.

OP posts:
GreenwoodLane · 25/08/2019 17:00

Multi stories are the work of the devil. And I’ve been driving 25 years. One of the local multi stories by us has repainted all their bays to increase their size as people were avoiding it as they were too small.

cricketmum84 · 25/08/2019 17:15

Done the same. I had been driving about 6 years, went too quickly round the bend and hit my tyre and front drivers side of the car coming round the bottom of the ramp. I had just swapped from a micra to a big SUV and hadn't got used to the big car.

I tore a huge hole in the tyre wall and damaged the alloy. DH was not impressed!

KatoPotato · 25/08/2019 17:23

It honestly gets easier! Once you learn the true size of your car, and get to grips with the space around your car you'll be grand!

I used to think I was going to hit cars until I realised I was nowhere near them, but it just takes some time and practice.

Ignore the bald bastards - he has to go home and be that guy!

Just look at the rainbow stripes on every corner of every multi-storey, we've all done it!

Interested in this thread?

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Driving & parking
TSSDNCOP · 25/08/2019 17:34

Alexa I just returned from Cyprus and observed diagonal bays in the MS car parks. Very good idea.

In the UK, go straight up to the top.

ReTooth · 25/08/2019 17:37

I'm a really experienced driver and park in lots of different multi-storey car parks and still find some of them to be tricky.

NoSquirrels · 25/08/2019 17:42

Any tips? & any words to make me feel better?

I gave our new-to-us and shiny car a HUGE scrape down two panels on the concrete posts/up ramp when we’d only had it a week or so ... bad combination of much larger car than I was used to, being in a hurry and being flustered by up/down ramp etiquette (oddly designed). An expensive insurance claim later and I won’t park there any more - even though rationally I think I’d be fine!

So, don’t worry. It’s not uncommon.

Atalune · 25/08/2019 18:07

Reverse in. It takes practise but it’s MUCH easier.

GeneandFred · 25/08/2019 18:13

Go at your own pace.

Ignore the many dickhead who had a go at you.

Drive up till its clearer.

Always, always if you can reverse in. It's so much easier than nosey parking.

Practice makes perfect. You'll get there. Honest.

JuniperOakPark · 25/08/2019 18:14

Driving instructor will help. Explain, pay for a lesson and they'll help

Definitely worth it, I paid for a motorway lesson when I had passed my test. We did 3 hours of on and off at junctions round the roundabout and back on. It helped having him there to help me judge the best position to get onto the motorway.

I hate parking in forwards, I can reverse like an expert but I am always scared of scraping someone's car. But I can do it, I know I can but I avoid it like the plague.

Pay your original driving instructor if you liked them, and they can just take you into car parks. I always think it should be something you are taught to do, especially going up and down the ramps etc.

Sparklingbrook · 25/08/2019 18:16

The spaces in our nearest multi stories are tiny. There's a pillar in every other one too so you have to watch your wing mirrors.

You only have to look on the pillars and the ramps that are covered in different coloured car paint that everyone has difficulty.

One of them has what I call the 'spiral of doom' to get out. It's like a very narrow helter skelter for cars and is also covered in paint.

I tend to head for the top as it's less busy.

UrsulaPandress · 25/08/2019 19:20

Tried parking DHs mahoosive Merc in a disabled spot in a multi storey in Manchester and it was too small.

BikeRunSki · 25/08/2019 19:25

I always drive to the top of multi-storeys, where there are usually more empty spaces together, so I can pull in without anything on either side. More likely to be able to drive through a space to be facing outward as well, without having to bay park.

Honeyroar · 25/08/2019 19:29

I sympathise. I hate them too. I took my husband's Range Rover to work recently and parked in the staff multi storey. When I came to go home the two cars aside of me and the car directly opposite were slightly sticking out of their spaces and I literally couldn't get out!! I had to do a 20 point turn until I was facing the wrong way! Thankfully it was 5am and I was able to drive out the wrong way.

Our hospital carpark has some diagonal spaces and they're much better.

Next time next time shout at the grumpy bald bloke to "bugger off you unhelpful fat fecker"

MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours · 25/08/2019 19:32

go at your own pace, anyone behind you can just wait their turn, DO NOT let them get to you

remember that even if the spaces and driveways are on the small side all cars can get in and out of them so keep your position close to the side you can see best and there will always be enough room on the side you cannot see

my best tip for multi storey car parks is to wait until someone else is leaving and follow them out, I have a dreadful sense of direction and live in fear of just driving myself off the roof, or going the wrong way round, so I always watch to see which way is out by spying on everyone else.

twolobsters · 25/08/2019 19:36

I parked on the very top level on the roof for the first year as it was empty. Ignore people like that, you'll get it you just need practice and confidence

Chivers53 · 25/08/2019 19:37

They are always so tight, the turning going up and the spaces themselves, please don't let it knock your confidence; yes your car is a bit pranged but the bloke was an arse, no one was hurt or in danger. It's one of those things that can just take a bit of practice to feel confident, can you go around it early or late when it's likely to be a bit quieter? Try it a few times and then go again during the day when it's likely to be busier. I always reverse into spaces so I know it's easier to get out if someone parks really close or is really long and visibility isn't great for reversing. Supermarkets are good for practicing parking in general as has been suggested, 6 months isn't long in the scheme of things, soon enough though it will be like second nature :)

Jenala · 25/08/2019 19:37

Shortly after I passed my test I wedged my now DHs car in a space in a multistorey. The front driver side was touching a pillar and the rear passenger side a wall.

I think the key is to practice plenty and build your confidence. Avoiding it will just make it a thing that will be a problem for ages. I now drive a mondeo estate which is really long and manage fine even in small multistoreys. I think it's only because I forced myself to keep doing it.

Also are you driving in or reversing in? Driving in is sooooo much harder, I avoid driving in at all costs. Reversing is easier as you much better visibility in your mirrors as to how close you are to the other cars. It's much harder to tell driving in.

funnyflower · 25/08/2019 19:40

Ah they're awful places! Don't feel bad OP, you'll nail them one day! 💪🏻. I've been driving 21 years and avoid them like the plague but then I do drive a big VW transporter van..DH whizzes round them in it whilst I shut my eyes feeling sick!!

MardyLardy · 25/08/2019 19:44

Pay for a lesson and reverse park. My car is a whooper and I can get it in spaces so small we can’t open doors - but only by reversing in. I never drive in - how do you know where your car is?!?

Hannahthepink · 25/08/2019 19:46

Yep, multi-stories are horrible. I took the whole length of trim off the side of my first car and had to phone my Dad to get me out of the first bloody one I went into!
My best advice is not to avoid them though, get back in the saddle and keep practising. Go to higher, emptier levels and really try reversing into spaces. There are really helpful YouTube videos on parking, and get blind spot mirrors for your wing mirrors, they will completely change how confident you feel reversing between lines!

SnugglySnerd · 25/08/2019 19:51

Reversing in is easier but not always practical if e.g you have to get a pushchair out of the boot.
I find that if I aim towards the back of the car in the space ahead of the one I want to park in, then reverse back and get straight with the space then can usually drive straight in accurately.
Suggestions to practise in a quiet car park are a good idea.

KatyaZamolodchikova · 25/08/2019 19:53

I took my wing mirror off the first time I tried to get into a multi-story. I was so worried about being close enough to get a ticket I drove too close and it popped my mirror in. Except then I was panicking and didn’t put the handbrake on so rolled back opening out my popped in mirror and wrenching it off. With DH and DSD in the car. It was awful.

baubled · 25/08/2019 19:54

I still hate multi stories but I've started to reverse in and it's so much easier to see what space you've got!

I used to avoid reversing but then moved on to a main road so I had to start reversing in otherwise I would never get out in the mornings. I quickly realised that side mirrors are your friend in the right position and you can easily see either side so much better for tight spaces, you've then got the bonus of being able to drive out rather than trying to reverse out of a tight space, just think you have to reverse one way so why not try it going in!

I would say go to a supermarket on a night time and start getting used to how far you need to pull past to reverse back in, although I find it easier with two cars either side than empty spaces but if you're worried about catching them try without first.

thesnapandfartisinfallible · 25/08/2019 19:55

Reverse in. Cars are much more maneuverable going backwards. Get the arse end of your car approximately halfway across the car beside you and full lock the wheel. Then you only have to worry about missing the car on the other side.

Itsjustafly · 25/08/2019 20:00

If you need to park forwards start turning in slightly later than you feel like you should. Practicing is the best thing to do though and although reversing is easier I think under pressure and with cars behind you, you need to just be able to nip into a space forwards.