Street Parking Argument with Nasty Neighbor

[bbbbmw]

Someone wise once said "Do everything possible to live in peace with your neighbors." It's really true - makes your life better, and theirs.

I have a fair number of older neighbors, who can be pretty particular, and set in their ways/opinions. I've witnessed many of them age over the years (even though I haven't...), and realized that it's not uncommon for dementia to manifest itself in nastiness. And it's really not their fault; their younger and intact selves would be horrified to witness their own actions.

I'm working on being more patient with old people, whether in being a neighbor, driving, shopping, etc.

[Haywood]

I can't believe nobody brought this up yet!

[Angry Ketchup]

If parking your car is truly an aggravation in your life....


1) You're holding on way too tight.


2) Maybe have the "wrong car" for your means/lifestyle... ('Apartment' & 6er?? Buy his house so you don't have to deal with him... duh. You can park your cars in his house.)

[lsturbointeg]

oh how I miss the apartment days! always worrying about crappy neighbors opening their doors and hitting yours with no care in the world.

[750lxi]

Thanks for everyone's objective feedback! Difficult to be objective when dealing with this bs.

Been a week and aside from two straight days where he took up two spots (instead of one or the other), things seem back to normal; I've seen him take up just one spot since, but in a different area of the road. I have a feeling his 'protest' isn't over however.

Everyone's right it’s a risk to continue further, but it’s a risk I'll take, as he shouldn't be taking up two spots. Not planning to go crazy on him, but to let him know he's a jerk if taking up two spots.

The building I’m in doesn’t have a garage and the homes have driveways.

To clarify, he was facing in the wrong direction for the spot (hence the need to turn around, as I did). If he wanted to cross the center of the road to the take the spot, he should've done so, so he could've 'stolen' the spot from me. And hey, if he did do that, I probably wouldn't have gotten into it as much as I did, as he would've already 'been in' the spot.

He was in his new Grand Cherokee. Also has a new Corvette (which he always keeps in his driveway) and the wife has a new A3 Convertible. Yes, he has a long driveway that can fit all of his cars, but they keep at least either the Grand Cherokee or the A3 on the road.

I appreciate everyone’s wise words, but with parking as such a premium, how am I to allow him to take up two spots? Only thing I can think of is that if I see him continue, I'll take up the two spots as well when both open / available? But that's wrong, as I don't want other people starting to do the same.

Lots of amazing detailed analysis and advice. Wisdom beyond everyone’s years, but difficult to heed. Lots of funny posts too, bringing some levity to the matter; thank you.

In the end, if I actually see him parking and taking up two spots, something must be said; can't be taken for a chump. I'll try really hard to remain calm, but must make him realize he’s the ass. Going to be difficult.

In all, impressed with the maturity here.

Will keep everyone updated in time.

My replies as follows...

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

You may give him a piece of your mind, but since you haven't before, shows you may be an internet hero.

Thanks, but no internet hero; will confront him if I catch him in the act of taking up two spots.

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

Usually if someone parks like a ass often enough sooner or later someone will mess with the vehicle.

Good point!

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

He's a dick. No law against being a dick. He's also a homeowner who is financially invested in his place and is probably ticked off that he has to fight for parking in front of the house he paid for, in competition with an endless cycle of apartment dwellers who have no vested interest in the neighborhood.

You're right, and had he somehow turned around right where he was and 'stole' the spot from me, or even boxed me out of it, by pulling into it, but facing the wrong direction, I would've probably let it go, but he knew he had to turn around at the end of the block, as I had, to have properly taken the spot.

Originally Posted by S63tu919

It seems like a misunderstanding. Also if things were fine prior to the altercation and you were content with the parking situation before, an apology is the only way to start any type of dialect.

Thanks for your wise words, but no apology from me; I did nothing wrong. Also wasn't a misunderstanding; he's lived on the block long enough to know that you need to go to the end of the street to turn around for the spot. In fact, after I pulled into the spot, that's exactly what he did; he went to the end of the street to turn around.

Originally Posted by MGM135is

You could buy a very inexpensive car like an old Toyota Corolla and take a day off while he’s at work and park it there. Since you don’t really need to drive it, just let it stay parked there. Nothing wrong or illegal with that. You both will have to park a little further away. If he does anything to the car, you won’t care. He will also have to look out his window and see the eyesore.

Interesting.

Originally Posted by obert

Best thing is to forget about it. Even an apology would make the guy think your a push over and he will continue being an ass anyways.

Yes, not going to be the chump here.

Originally Posted by xander_g

Time will go by, you will gain his trust and learn his weaknesses, when the opportunity presents itself and it will, you will crush him.

Highly intelligent; little / no patience for this though.

Applicable to other life matters though. Thank you!

Originally Posted by Not_Judy

Nothing frustrates people more than to realize that no matter how hard they try to upset you, you remain a gentleman and completely unaffected by his childish antics.

Completely correct, and thank you for the rest of your thoughtful analysis.

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

never major in minor things, just let it go.

Neat quote.

Originally Posted by Darth One

talk to him face to face and say, look, let's bury this and make an effort to get along. no one will win if we escalate this.

Solid; to the point! Advice I want to take, but he may go tell me to whatever, at which point, things will escalate...

Originally Posted by eluded

Great advice here. I would definitely apologize and admit wrong. Get things back to "normal" and about a month later toss a giant boulder through his cars rear window.

Thanks, not admitting wrong, as I wasn't in any way.

Cameras everywhere, unfortunately (/fortunately?).

Originally Posted by nyalpine90

street parking is public to any1 even if its in front of your property. why is he parking on the streets? you cant block parking spot or claim it... his house doesnt have a driveway/garage?

He has a driveway and a garage. Usually keeps two of his cars in his driveway and one on the street. I believe so he and his wife want to have access to each of their cars at any given time without blocking each other in; can't fault him for that, but he shouldn't be able to take up two spots on the street.

Originally Posted by Savageenterprise

I also heard screws are mans best friend

Ha.

Originally Posted by Hurricane Beefaroni

Expose a bit of the dirt under the grass by the curb then high pressure blast the dirt to splash muddy water everywhere.

Cameras. :|

Originally Posted by Real Dodger

Let it go. But do not apologize. Park there when it is open, and blow it off when he's a jerk and takes 2 spots. Remember, when he does that he's not just pissing you off, he's pissing off everyone else who lives near you and may want to park there. Let him deal with the fall out.

What you write is succinct and clear, but not easy, for me, at least.

Originally Posted by Sea-Tac

The incident is over now. Its past. Let it go, Keep in mind even though it was a minor encounter It is still road rage.

If a confrontation happens again with the same party in question walk away if it is safe to do so. If not stay in your locked car. Call the police. They will handle the situation for you and be very effective about.

No argument here; smart post.

Originally Posted by Darth One

agree with this. a jerk can't help but be a jerk to everyone. and everyone needs their neighbors. i can't understand why people don't understand this.

I don't get it either. Guy must've known full well what HE was doing. Yet he was accusing me of 'knowing' what I was doing(!?), as if I was stealing the spot, which I was in no way doing. What's wrong with people? So strange. :|

[750lxi]

Originally Posted by aozer

i pay for an assigned covered parking at my apartment and the piece of shit assigned to the spot next to me has left 10+ dents/dings in my door.

it has taken all of my willpower not to fuck this baby dick motherfuckers truck up, but now i just park elsewhere (even though im still paying for the covered spot that i no longer use).

Woah! One zen mofo you are.

Originally Posted by The0pportunist

Remember us forum members are a rare breed, we wouldn't damage our worst enemy's car, let alone someone we've just had a heated argument with.

IKR.

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

I had a parking situation myself once when I lived in an apartment. We had an underground parking lot with keycard access. Each spot was numbered and assigned. There was a wait list for getting access. After about 6 months of living there I got the call that a slot had opened up. I happily signed up, paid my first month's payment, and got my keycard. Parked my car down there for the first time that evening. Came out in the morning and found a massive dent in the side of my rear quarter. Huge! Like 18 inches in diameter and about 2 inches deep. Lucky for me there was a security camera pointed right at my car and I was friends with one of the on site security guards. We sat down and watched the DVD. Saw a dude in an Audi TT badge into the garage, drive down to my new spot, get out of his car, karate kick the dent into my car, and drive off. We followed him on the cameras to his parking spot, out to the elevator, into the apartment complex, and up to the 5th floor where his apartment was. Totally bizarre. I was thinking "who in the Hell is this and how did I piss him off this much?" Turns out the guy was a local surgeon who had had 2 parking spots in the garage. He gave one of them up and apparently thought it was still his through the end of the month or some BS like that. My initial inclination was to absolutely destroy his little yellow Audi. Other thought was to completely F with him at work. I went with the better option and called the cops; let them deal with it. I got a call the next day from his lawyer who was very eager to cut me a check for the repairs so long as I signed a document saying that the good Dr. was not at fault and the situation was settled as soon as my car was fixed to my satisfaction. I got my car fixed, took the payment, and went on with my life. Wasn't worth escalating into anything further.

OMG. Amazing story. Thanks for sharing.

Hope some other work was done on the fuck's dime too.

Originally Posted by URBAN LEGEND

Will this matter in 10 years? If not move on.

Originally Posted by FCobra94

If it's street parking maintained by the city, etc. and not privatey owned by the apartment building, go on your citys website and file a complaint via online form, etc. the next rime he decides to park like a dick.

Thanks for the thought, but doubt they'd do anything; no lines on the ground.

Originally Posted by Mingwan

Figure out a way to shift his car closer towards the fire hydrant. Maybe get some power lifters to help you. Then call the cops on him for having his car too close to the fire hydrant.

HA! I too thought of this! But cameras. :|

Originally Posted by F30lolz

OP, is he still taking up two (2) spaces?

Did for the first two days thereafter, but hasn't as of late. I think only because others restored parking order. That said, should the opportunity present itself again, I imagine he'll take up both.

Originally Posted by Maynard

I'd make peace. Find him and tell him s/t like 'I was thinking about this and realized I just went off my gut, but on reflection should have given you that spot. Was thinking first there claims the spot, but then I thought it over and realized that since you live right there and saw the open spot you were already thinking to park there, so didn't mean to piss you off (kind of like, in a tie, the homeowner trumps the renter)'. You aren't really saying you were wrong, just acknowledging what he probably was thinking, and taking it out of the realm of only one person being right (don't know about you, but if I was a homeowner in this situation, I'd appreciate that recognition). I mean, how often are you gong to be in this exact situation again anyway where both of you are right there for one spot, so being the bigger man verbally may end up freeing up that extra spot he's passive-aggressively taking up, and you won't have to look over your shoulder every time you park there (or after somebody else inevitably does s/t to his ride, since he's asking for it hard).

Solid, mature post. Thank you for the play by play. Not going to be able to execute, however. He has ample parking of his own. I get why he / his wife parks on the street, but since he has a driveway and garage, he shouldn't be as rude to take up two spots on the street.

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Does he ever leave a window open enough to pour a bottle of this in?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OCEWGW..._-t8UBbY515Y52

Wowch!!!

Originally Posted by Slaney

One night after dippy did it once again I went out later and replaced all his caps with mine and just laughed walking away listening to the quiet whistle of air coming from all 4 tires.

I would, if not for cameras.

Originally Posted by catcher22

Part of me says to try and clear the misunderstanding by communicating with him somehow (a note, in person, etc). However, that usually doesn't work.

...People are weird, man.

I know right; him being difficult to begin with shows that communicating intelligently doesn't work.

Originally Posted by catcher22

I've honestly wanted to do this so many times. There's gotta be a market for this. The "Move a car a parking spot" lift.

[750lxi]

Originally Posted by bbbbmw

Someone wise once said "Do everything possible to live in peace with your neighbors." It's really true - makes your life better, and theirs.

I have a fair number of older neighbors, who can be pretty particular, and set in their ways/opinions. I've witnessed many of them age over the years (even though I haven't...), and realized that it's not uncommon for dementia to manifest itself in nastiness. And it's really not their fault; their younger and intact selves would be horrified to witness their own actions.

I'm working on being more patient with old people, whether in being a neighbor, driving, shopping, etc.

Solid quote, solid post.

Work in progress!

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

Originally Posted by Haywood

I can't believe nobody brought this up yet!

As I was peeing in the shower of my gym's locker room yesterday. It amazing how Seinfeld has accurately defined every trivial experience in life.


I had a guy like this in philly. He had a nice G class benz which was street parked in front of his house. there was a no parking sign immediately before the spot...now I began to appreciate the finess.

My man legit had a beater car only to hold two spaces. He would park slightly above the no parking boundary effectively taking up two spots. When the merc came home either he would squezze both cars in...if he only had one spot he would replace the merc and put the beater somewhere else.


i used to watch from the balcony...it was annoying as first. but I began to respect his craft

[Matt@EuroJerks]

Maybe ask him to rent a spot in his driveway if he is not using it.

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by 750lxi

Please help with the following:

I live in an apartment building on a corner at the beginning of a dead end road. The dead end is only wide enough for one lane of traffic and one row of parking. The road has space for 5 parked cars, and to take one of the spots you need to go to the end of the road and turn around, as the spots are facing out, towards where you enter.

Anyway, I entered the dead end, go to the end to turn around, and once done turning around, I see another car, the car of a neighbor, in the lane of traffic stopped across from the open spot. He hadn't been there a second ago, as I wouldn't have been able to pass otherwise, so he was behind me as I entered the dead end.

I pull into the spot and he asks me to roll down my window. He then asks if I'm taking the spot, which I say yes. He said he was there first and I said what are you talking about, you're in the road and I was turning around to take the spot, I was here first. He said you know what you did, I said I don't care what you think I did, but I didn't steal the spot from you.

He then states I should be careful, as I'm very close to a fire hydrant. I say, if you want to play that game, feel free to park here any other time as well. (While there's space for two cars, one of which being somewhat close to the hydrant, there's still far sufficient room around the hydrant and people park there all the time, never having any tickets.)

After continued arguing, I finish parking, get out of my car and he continues down the road to turn around at the end of the dead end. Note his home is directly across from the spot we were arguing over.

The next day I now see he's taking up two of the spots, as he's parking between the one further from the hydrant and the one closer to it, such that if someone were to park behind him now, they'd be too close to the hydrant. There are no lines on the ground indicating spots, just a residential street.

What should I do next I see him? I want to be sure to give him a piece of my mind. He's now taking up two spots like an ass in retaliation of our altercation. There are 7 or so homes on the block plus my apartment building, which has 18 or so units, so parking is at a real premium. Any thoughts on how I should proceed?

Thinking to knock on the doors of the other homes to speak to the homeowners about this prick, as they've been his neighbor longer than I, but wondering what I should say to him directly should I see him.

Thanks.

Tell me about the firearms you possess. Or can get.

[Haywood]

Originally Posted by G35POPPEDMYCHERRY

As I was peeing in the shower of my gym's locker room yesterday. It amazing how Seinfeld has accurately defined every trivial experience in life.


I had a guy like this in philly. He had a nice G class benz which was street parked in front of his house. there was a no parking sign immediately before the spot...now I began to appreciate the finess.

My man legit had a beater car only to hold two spaces. He would park slightly above the no parking boundary effectively taking up two spots. When the merc came home either he would squezze both cars in...if he only had one spot he would replace the merc and put the beater somewhere else.

i used to watch from the balcony...it was annoying as first. but I began to respect his craft

"What's the difference? It all goes to the same place!"

I've always said, there's a Seinfeld episode or a song for everything in life!

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

Originally Posted by Haywood

"What's the difference? It all goes to the same place!"

I've always said, there's a Seinfeld episode or a song for everything in life!

I dont know how larry david could almost have every life situation bundled into such an amazing show....

I had lunch with the CEO and my dude legit opened a snickers onto expensive china. And proceeded to eat it with fork and knife. I almost burst into tears.

[Run Silent]

Man - after reading all of this - is it really necessary to get so worked up over a bloody parking space? Good grief. In the immortal words of Sgt. Hulka, "Lighten up, Francis."

[******]

Originally Posted by Haywood

"What's the difference? It all goes to the same place!"

I've always said, there's a Seinfeld episode or a song for everything in life!

The shrinkage episode was a classic...

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

Man - after reading all of this - is it really necessary to get so worked up over a bloody parking space? Good grief. In the immortal words of Sgt. Hulka, "Lighten up, Francis."

*

[Red Bread]

Somehow this thread reminded my of my bozo neighbor. He's some sort of a rent a cop. We live in a gated community, we've got nine speed bumps from the entrance to our garages. There are four or five stop signs too. But all of the stop signs are right after a speed bump and meant to protect folks turning onto the main road heading towards the exit.

But when you're coming into the property, they're all setup to where you don't have any real reason to stop. So I never have. I slow for the speed bumps, but don't stop for the stop signs.

That little bozo honks for ten seconds each time when he's following me. The amusing part is that he'll drive double or even triple the posted speed limit and stop for about ten seconds at each stop sign in between. So you'll violently disobey one law to try to enforce another? Brilliant.

I'm amused that he's that disturbed by my practices, and others, less than 10% of people stop for them. I've had the misfortune of getting behind him, and he'll stop for thirty seconds at each one. So I just pull over and read my emails or go get our mail instead.

The highlight is that my car was recently totaled and I had two totally different rental cars and now a new car. He's honked at all of them.

I've always been curious if he honks at every speeding car when he's coming home. Or folks without front plates. Or people who don't use the their signal. Or turn their wheels the correct way when parked on a hill. Life has to suck to be that wound up about stop signs on private property with absolutely no cross traffic.

[irishbimmer]

how was your car totaled?

[Captain Blood]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

Man - after reading all of this - is it really necessary to get so worked up over a bloody parking space? Good grief. In the immortal words of Sgt. Hulka, "Lighten up, Francis."

That's my line.

[Kooch]

I was once asked do you want to be right or do you want to be happy? Makes sense in dealing with spouse and others outside of the circle of trust. I used to chase people down and cut them off when I felt slighted but more recently don't feel it's worth it. Not sure if it's the cost of the vehicle or personal maturity. It also comes up on these forums. Some folks post to add value others post to get the last word.

Originally Posted by irishbimmer

how was your car totaled?

He didn't stop at a stop sign.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

He didn't stop at a stop sign.

Haha, well played!

Parking garage at work collapsed. My car fell 25-30'.

[TheWatchGuy]

does he have a legal age daughter? if so, jimmy the lock on his car, and bang the daughter in the backseat.