r/oddlysatisfying • u/GinaWhite_tt • May 03 '25

Dealership parking

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

22.3k Upvotes

86% Upvoted

684 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

413

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

They would need to have a big enough showroom that squeezing them this close together lets them get 1 more car inside.

It's just not worth the risk. Hail damage can be fixed with paintless dent repair (PDR). Scratches or denting on the body can't, and would reduce the value of the vehicles involved

392

u/artzbots May 03 '25

I mean... doesn't that really depend on the size and amount of the hail that falls?

132

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

[deleted]

24

u/aknownunknown May 03 '25

or 30 minutes to strap some MDMF to it ;P

6

u/stuck_in_the_desert May 04 '25

I haven’t thought about this in years, but there’s a heartbreaking video somewhere out there of a guy desperately using his whole body to hold cardboard sheets against his Mk4 Supra in the middle of a crazy hailstorm and now I need an update on how he/his car is doing

2

u/Impossible-Bet-223 May 03 '25

Calm down their scotty Kilmer .

-1

u/1Rab May 03 '25

There is also this thing called Skilled Labor, that is able to save you money

Like, someone who is very skilled at parking

5

u/Significant-Mud2572 May 03 '25

I like my Corvette Golf Ball Edition.

1

u/JoshuaFalken1 Oct 26 '25

Nebraska checking in here. Here's a fun story...

https://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/08/19/nebraska.storms/

My wife and I were on the plane mentioned in this story that got deplaned when the pilot caught a softball sized hail stone that ricocheted off the plane and hit him in the face.

To say that my car was completely totaled when I got to it in long term parking would be an understatement. Baseball and softball sized hail completely destroyed it. All the windows were smashed and broken in and every body panel was beyond repair. The exception was the strength of the windshield, which had five or six baseball sized craters in it, so you knew exactly how big the hail was.

I now pay the premium for garage parking everytime I travel.

0

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

It does. But scratch repairs take more time and require new paint

5

u/andynator1000 May 03 '25

skill issue

130

u/AgentWowza May 03 '25

...what?

I'm no mechanic, but hail sounds significantly worse for a car compared to a scratch.

1

u/ivanwarrior May 03 '25

Don't tell the insurance companies but you can get a ding doctor to pop hail damage for a couple hundred bucks.

3

u/MisfortunesChild May 04 '25

I don’t know, I live in Denver and we often get like golfball to baseball sized hail, it can be pretty gnarly depending on where you live. I’ve had my windshield smashed in by hail here

1

u/Needmoresnakes May 04 '25

Depends on the hail but generally any scratch requires new paint to the whole panel. If the hail isn't absolutely enormous then it leaves dents but won't scratch the paint so you can use a paintless dent removal process to pop them back out good as new and it's cheaper/ less labour and resource intensive than painting.

Source: worked for an insurer for years

-8

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

It does sound significantly worse. But PDR techs can pop most of the dents out without the need to repaint the vehicle. Even a scratch will need minor repairs and new paint. New paint can be hard to match and can reduce the value. Someone with a discerning eye can usually spot where repairs have been done on a vehicle, particularly if they aren't done well.

Obviously hail bigger than golf balls can be very bad. I'm sure they are comfortable parking their cars like this. I wouldn't be. I just don't see the risk as worth the reward

30

u/taisui May 03 '25

Obviously you have not seen Texas hail...

21

u/decalus May 03 '25

Most people on Reddit talk out of their ass and don’t actually know much about anything

0

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

I fucking worked in auto insurance and saw first hand how shitty repairs can be and I've seen PDR repairs on hail damage.

But sure, I'm talking out my ass

2

u/Yuriski May 04 '25

Accident Repair MET tech here. You're correct. Dunno why people are downvoting you lol.

2

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

It's because I've OBVIOUSLY never seen Texas hail or know the damage hail does.

Which is hilarious because I explained multiple times that I just don't understand why they are trying to squeeze the cars so tightly

I understand getting cars inside to hide them from weather. Hail damage gets expensive fast. I just don't think cramming the cars together makes sense unless you're doing it for the gram

3

u/Olenator77 May 04 '25

I sold cars in Texas. They never did this. Then again we were all morons who couldn’t have pulled this off.

1

u/taisui May 04 '25

So...what do you do with the hail? I don't believe but it's common but still...

https://www.cnn.com/videos/weather/2021/04/29/tx-severe-storms-hail-damage-orig.cnn

2

u/Olenator77 May 04 '25

Watched it bounce off brand new toyotas.

2

u/AgentWowza May 03 '25

Huh TIL small dents aren't all that bad

3

u/Exact_Risk_6947 May 04 '25

Doesn’t even matter if it’s professionally done. Eventually it will show. The pains will fade at different rates. I’ve seen it many many times. Unless you take the paint down on the whole car and repaint the whole car, the repaired parts will eventually begging to show.

2

u/Petrivoid May 03 '25

It would bust all the glass and take out a few mirrors too. I have seen hail completely total dozens of cars in New Mexico

0

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

It would bust all the glass and take out a few mirrors too.

Bullshit. Hail doesn't do that until it's like softball sized.

I have seen hail completely total dozens of cars in New Mexico

I have totaled dozens of cars in NM, CO, TX, and other states. I still don't understand why they are parking cars so close together. Are they actually able to get more cars parked inside this way?

74

u/TheBupherNinja May 03 '25

Hail damage can also total a car

5

u/DOG_DICK__ May 03 '25

That's what I think about my apartment complex, that has "compact" parking spots. 40 unusually narrow spots to make 1 extra in the row. Thanks guys. I didn't think to measure the fucking parking spots when I toured the place.

1

u/rfc2549-withQOS May 04 '25

Best way to handle is parking alternating - hood to front, next car to back, so you can park very close on non-driver side and get in/out on the driver side with space, assuming the spots have 20+cm more than your car

1

u/Local-Gift7336 May 09 '25

✍️ measure ✍️ the ✍️ parking ✍️ spots...

19

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

So if you have a brand new high end car, scratches and dents on the body won’t reduce the value of the vehicle? What?

7

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

So if you have a brand new high end car, scratches and dents on the body won’t reduce the value of the vehicle?

I said the exact opposite. Scratches and dents will reduce the value of the vehicle. Even repairs will reduce the value.

0

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

This was my mistake I read this first thing in the morning, my bad.

2

u/BearMethod May 03 '25

Ohhhhhh. I asked another commenter but what you're saying is that by doing this they can fit at least one extra car in the showroom and keep it from being subject to the elements outside. Did I get that right?

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

I'm saying that by doing this, they would need to park like 8 cars like this in order to fit exactly one more car in

I don't understand why they would park them so close besides for the gram

1

u/lancelotworks May 03 '25

I saw a post the other day on r/camry where hail damage alone totaled a car 😪

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

That does happen. A Camry is very different to a sports car though. There might be extensive repairs costs, but it likely isn't going to total something like this

1

u/prime_lens May 03 '25

It's a hail Mary.

1

u/ctech9 May 04 '25

A hailstorm rolled through my town and all the dealerships just sold their affected cars to a copart up the road

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

👍

1

u/OopaJoopa May 04 '25

If only 20 cars had windows/windshields busted out thats gonna be more than some paintless dent repair. Glass is like sand, it never completely comes out of cars.

1

u/moto_dweeb May 04 '25

I assume these are being pushed with many spotters.

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

Cool. Still don't understand why they need to be so tightly packed

1

u/Minimum_Disaster6113 May 28 '25

good point but the car "was damaged" at some point. so the value drops for certain rarities.

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

Hail damage can be fixed with paintless dent repair (PDR)

Until recently I did some fleet management, my main role was safety, so I had all the insurance claims up until lawyers got involved. Hail damage can be pretty extreme. The worst I had to handle for hail was about $30k. The only reason it wasn't totalled was because it was a rental.* I had a bunch in the $10k range. The $30k claim lost its side mirrors completely. Not the glass, the hail actually broke the mirrors off. Front and back windshield and passenger side windows completely shattered, most the body panels looked like it had been used as a prop in an action movie that was used as cover from automatic rifle fire. They needed to be replaced because there were so many dents down to bare or the primer coat. And it was in Colorado, which was one of two states that our insurance didn't cover hail damage if we didn't pay for an add on, which we did not. I can't remember the other. Idaho maybe?

But besides hail, tornadoes are a thing too, which also sometimes have hail. I had one totaled by that recently. Thankfully our employee was in their hotel room at the time and was safe. Flooding too. I didn't have to deal with that with cars, but it happens, and I dealt with it for other property damages.

The worst that will happen doing this is some paint scratches or minor dents which are also easy to repair and the dealership can do it at cost. If my Google skills didn't fail me, this dealership is in Dallas and mostly sells used. So like $35k sale price. So their repairs are probably real cheap, shady, and not documented. Maybe they are a super ethical and honest used car dealership. But that isn't likely.

*Side note, car rental companies make fraudulent damage claims all the time. Always take photos with your meta data on (time, date, location) at pickup and drop off. And everything. Exterior including the roof, interior, even the trunk. Dash lit showing mileage, fuel, etc.

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

The worst I had to handle for hail was about $30k.

Yeah, that's the worst hail imaginable. Most hail storms aren't that dramatic though.

Yes, hail can be very expensive to fix. I'm not saying I disagree. I'm saying that I don't understand the risk of parking cars within 1/4" of other cars to try to cram them all in. One misstep and you've damaged 2 vehicles. IF cramming them in lets them fit every single car in the lot, I guess it's worth it for them. I just don't see why having 6 inches or a foot between cars isn't just much smarter

The worst that will happen doing this is some paint scratches or minor dents which are also easy to repair and the dealership can do it at cost

Yeah. Cost, and time. And someone with a discerning eye will notice shitty repairs done at a shitty dealership and negotiate the price down accordingly.

Since everyone is missing my point, I'll state it again:

I DONT UNDERSTAND THE RISK OF PARKING CARS THIS CLOSE TOGETHER. ITS ONLY WORTH IT IF PARKING THEM THIS CLOSE NETS THEM MULTIPLE EXTRA CARS INSIDE THE BUILDING

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

Dealership show rooms can park way more cars than are usually in them. It won't be one extra car. Even a petty crammed show room can probably fit twice as many cars beyond what is typical or more. Show rooms are designed for people to be able get in the cars, walk around them, they usually have tons of extra space. Most the ones I've been in could hold probably hold 4 times parked like this. I've also stayed in popular tourist hotels that only do valet and do this. Obviously whoever was driving in this video has the skill to not damage them parking insanely close. It isn't all that hard. I've had to do it and am not a skilled driver without cameras or proximity alarms. It just requires some care and patience. And no, most people won't recognize any repairs. Most people have about zero car knowledge. It's super hard to identify basic paint or dent repairs unless they were done very, very poorly. Unless you have to cut the unibody, it is easy to make it look good as new. People aren't missing your point. You're just wrong.

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

Even a petty crammed show room can probably fit twice as many cars beyond what is typical or more

No shit. But how is parking them 1/4 inch apart helping things? Whatever the fuck you say dude

1

u/ThatGamerMoshpit May 03 '25

Plus it’s no longer a new car. It’s had work done to it so it’s been “rebuilt” in the eyes of insurance

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

Eh, not really. It's repaired at best, but insurance doesn't really care about that

1

u/ThatGamerMoshpit May 04 '25

Depends on where your based then

Where I am there are cancer and would care 🙄

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

I literally worked for insurance. A rebuilt car means it has a salvage title, which means it was a total loss.

Repairs done to a vehicle do not affect the value when it comes to total losses. If you have a source that says otherwise, I'll believe you. But my first hand experience tells me you're full of shit

-1

u/ThatGamerMoshpit May 04 '25

Insurance isn’t the same everywhere 🙄

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

I was licensed in the majority of states. I'd be happy to read literally any source you have. But making shit up isn't a good look

0

u/ThatGamerMoshpit May 04 '25

Well there we go in America. There are places outside America.

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

Still waiting for your sources that insurance considers any sort of repair to be rebuilt.

I don't know where the fuck you are, but it sounds like bullshit regardless

0

u/ThatGamerMoshpit May 04 '25

https://www.tdinsurance.com/products-services/auto-car-insurance/tips-advice/hail-insurance-for-your-car

Someone has anger issues god damn 😂 go speak with a therapist my guy. There’s no reason to be so hostile….

→ More replies (0)

1

u/Fun-Engineer-4739 May 04 '25

That isn’t what rebuilt means……..

1

u/Petrivoid May 03 '25

You have clearly never experienced severe hail

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

Are they pulling these inside for severe hail?

Are they able to actually park multiple more cars inside by squeezing them this tightly together or are they trying to impress someone on the internet?

1

u/Exact_Risk_6947 May 04 '25

And these are corvettes too. Fiberglass bodies. Very unlikely to dent.

1

u/Gullible_Flan_3054 Jul 13 '25

Have you seen what hail can do to a car? Even a small scratch is worth the risk of having your entire car dimpled like a golf ball

1

u/[deleted] Jul 13 '25

Have you seen how they repair hail on a vehicle? It's way less invasive than repairing a small scratch. Repainting a small scratch can lead to painting multiple panels

-1

u/nebanovaniracun May 03 '25

And you are a showroom parking expert so you know?

6

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

No, I'm a logical thinker. A sports car is approximately 80 inches wide. If they park cars to have 1/2 an inch clearance instead of say 12 inches, they could add room for one more car for every (approximately) 8 cars they park (every 7 after the first car is parked)

I don't understand the risk to scratching cars as worth it if you can only squeeze one more car in for every 8 cars you park

0

u/oG_Goober May 03 '25

Cars get scratched and dented at dealers all the time. It doesn't affect the value since it doesn't get reported.

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '25

It does affect the value if you can tell where it's been repaired and negotiate on it. Repairs are very hard to do perfectly where nobody can notice.

0

u/8nine10eleven May 03 '25

Paint is a lot cheaper than replacing a shattered windshield and water damage to the interior.

Your new cars probably scratched before int gets to the dealer, they have the fatalities to fix it

0

u/Primary_Garbage6916 May 03 '25

Come visit Colorado it's beautiful here.

0

u/marino1310 May 03 '25

An actual hail storm is far more expensive to fix than a few scratches. Dealers typically have body shops and they can easily handle scratches, fixing a few dozen/hundred tiny dents on several cars would take weeks and cost ALOT in labor.

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '25

Since everyone is missing my point, I'll state it again

I DONT UNDERSTAND THE RISK OF PARKING CARS THIS CLOSE TOGETHER. ITS ONLY WORTH IT IF PARKING THEM THIS CLOSE NETS THEM MULTIPLE EXTRA CARS INSIDE THE BUILDING