If you buy a massive 4×4 SUV...

[bravefox]

... to ask you to practise parking it in a single space? Saturday afternoon in the town multistorey and the number of huge cars parked half in a second space is 🤯

We have a hybrid estate at the moment, it's so low to the ground that with all of the speed bumps around our area, the car is scraping along the road, regardless of how quickly, or slowly, we go over the bumps.

We have two small children so need a big car to fit extended rear facing car seats in (which are huge), shopping, and also all of our holiday things as we only holiday in the UK. DH also likes camping so we needed a car that could fit all that in.

We're upgrading to an electric SUV soon, which is only marginally wider than our estate. I can park it in a single space, but if I can't park in the parent and child space, I'm buggered if someone parks next to me. I can't get the kids out, I can't get myself in... So yes, sometimes I do deliberately park badly to make sure people don't park next to me. I'm not proud about the paintwork, but I do need the space!

So a car bigger and wider than the average SUV, how would that assist with parking, using narrower roads etc?

Yay!!

We're upgrading to an electric SUV soon, which is only marginally wider than our estate.

If it's only marginally wider, then why can't you get people out, when you can in the estate?

I can park it in a single space, but if I can't park in the parent and child space, I'm buggered if someone parks next to me.

Welcome to the real world, @Eviolle . What makes you more special?

I can't get the kids out, I can't get myself in...

Really? How wide is this car?

So yes, sometimes I do deliberately park badly to make sure people don't park next to me.

There's no justification for this - it's selfish.

I'm not proud about the paintwork, but I do need the space!

And we don't need the space as well? I remember driving round and round a supermarket car park a while back, and at least three people had done what you did, rendering the space next to their car impossible to use. It is selfish.

Because the average SUV wanker wouldn't be seen dead in one. I chose it deliberately to be a similar size but a totally non aspirational vehicle of broadly similar functionality.

The thing is though is the majority of people driving these vehicles haven’t actually got £100k just sitting in their bank account !! Am actually very surprised that anyone would commit to this kind of financial commitment for a bloody car 🤦‍♀️
Would do ,if I could do are my thoughts.
It’s the same mentality that makes people get their very mediocre cars souped up with loud exhausts etc !

They can be bought for a few thousand pounds secondhand. No bigger financial commitment than any other car.

I have not done this, but I can understand it. Our lol cinema has a really old carpark and my car literally overhangs the white lines BOTH sides about 6 inches. I missed the start of the film (actually it was just trailors but I hated going in late) going to find parking elsewhere and then walk 15 minutes in the dark and cold back (with hubby). Tbh, my main reason for not parking there was I likely to have someone open their door into my car or bump the corner, and you get a medium car in either space next to me I won't be able to get back in 😂

So yes it's bad, but equally spaces need to be bigger in a lot of places.

And here's another fallacy about car ownership, posted in big bold letters on Mumsnet like it's gospel.

@User19876536484 you are just wrong about no bigger financial commitment. No one who buys cars used should just look at the sticker price as the final cost.

Yes you can pick up a used Range Rover Sport (first generation) for a couple of thousand. Or a Mitsubishi Shogun, or a Discovery 3 etc...

..and I'm only speaking of the proper 4x4s here, not the comical hatchbacks in cosplay.

But after you've spent those few thousand...

You'll have much larger bills for transfer box, suspension, timing belt, old diesel engines failing and needing a £10k repair (which usually means the car goes back on Autotrader for £1500 with the "needs a bit of work, easy fix" lie) , main bearing collapse..

And that's not including the known issues with things like oil contaminating the engine causing failure, or my favourite is the fact that with a giant 2.5 tonne SUV, you're going to need to price in running costs for 20 inch tyres, regular suspension refreshes (especially if you have the desirable but prone-to-failure air suspension on some of the older models)

... You just can't compare the running costs of these class of cars, with a Touran, or a Galaxy, or a Passat.

Yeah they might look all nice and rufty tufty for some of you, but they will drain your wallet and still look like an old heap. If you like that kind of thing, crack right on.

JacquesHarlow

I can only assume that you have had some bad experiences with 4x4s. Specifically the Land Rover brand which is notorious for its unreliability. Other makes are available.

I have progressed from a hatchback to a SUV then to a 4x4 as my needs changed. My 4x4 is 16 years old and I have owned it for 8 years. It doesn’t cost any more to maintain than any of the other cars I have owned and has been significantly more reliable than the brand new SUV I bought.

As aside, my husband’s car has 20” tyres. Yes, they cost a lot, but the current set has lasted 30,000 miles and probably has another 10k left in them.

I gather that there is a real problem with insuring Range Rovers in London as some models are easy to steal.

Exactly. I've been fortunate, so far, with no issues with my RR, but it's quite new. But when things need fixing or just maintaining then it's always costly. Very.

So it's foolish to buy one if repairing them is going to stretch your finances. Same with being paranoid about getting the occasional scratch or ding because of the repair costs.

They're beautiful cars and should be a source of pleasure, not angst and stress.

I believe there is. However the most stolen car in the UK by some margin is the Ford Fiesta. Relatively low value so I suppose it doesn’t hit the insurers so badly. The Range Rover doesn’t make the list until number seven.

https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-most-stolen-cars-in-the-uk/n21162

I can't get the kids out easily in the estate, it's a struggle. I end up opening the doors against other cars and dinging paintwork etc. and whilst I may not be proud about my car, I appreciate that others won't be happy about it! If the space is on the wider side I can manage it, but otherwise, I'm stuck.

Not saying anything makes me special, just explaining the difficulty due to narrow spaces not suitable for modern, bigger cars.

The car is 1.85m wide. According to Google, parking spaces are between 2.4-2.6m width on average, which means that if I park smack bang in the middle of the space I have potentially less than 30cm to try and get a 3 year old and a 1 year old out of the car. 30cm isn't wide enough to open the doors fully, never mind get a child out.

Call me whatever you like, I will park in a way that allows me the space to get in and out of my car. It's not my fault that parking spaces are too small for modern cars. If they were the right size, there wouldn't have been spaces anyway whilst you drove around, so it's a bit of a moot point to me.

It's strange that my car is the same width as yours, and I have two kids, but have never felt that i needed to park across bays.

I have a Golf - I just looked up the width, it's just over 2m. I have never considered that I need an extra wide space, it's just a normal car, isn't it?
I have never touched anyone else's paintwork and would be mad if someone dinged mine.

I don't think spaces have ever been wide enough to allow you to open the doors fully if there is a car next to you. Car parks are probably busier, so it used to be easier to find a spot with no other cars around.

Well bully for you.

Totally true regarding Landrovers offerings. The shogun however and a number of other 4x4's are fairly robust. An example would be an older kia sorento/hyundai santa fe. Good ones can be bought for under £3k. Nice to drive, good equipment.

Run it for a couple of years without major issue and you have had good value. Could scrap for £500 ish. Cheap motoring.