A FEW TIPS ABOUT PARKING YOUR CAR OUTSIDE IN THE SUMMER
The hot Little Rock summers pose some additional considerations for you to consider when parking your car all day outside on a surface parking lot. Some tips are listed below that may be helpful, particularly during these summer months while others are more universal and are things you should always be mindful of.
LEAVE A WINDOW SLIGHTLY CRACKED OPEN
The heat inside your cars interior can become excessive while sitting outside in the sun all day. Darker colored cars and cars with dark interiors can reach even higher temperatures inside. Always try to leave one of the windows slightly cracked open just an inch or so, preferably a rear window, to let some of the heat built up naturally exhaust from the car interior.
KEEP ITEMS OUT OF SUNLIGHT- OUT OF SIGHT
Many items that we keep in our cars can be damaged or destroyed due to excessive heat or prolonged exposure to the suns rays. We have seen cassette tapes, CD’s, cosmetics, electronic equipment, access cards, cell phones, cameras and many other items lying on dashes and in car seats that didn’t look like they were doing very well in the sun! Windshield Sun Screens can be helpful in this regard as they block off the sun from entering through your windshield. If you use one of these and you are a monthly parker, make sure your current hang tag remains displayed for our lot checker to see.
In all cases, keep anything of value out of sight by putting them in your center console, glove box, trunk or other similar area. Although our checkers visit lots at various times throughout the day, we are not a security firm and cannot be held responsible for the malicious actions that some people seem to enjoy perpetrating. You’ve probably heard the cynical old phrase in the past, “If it’s Free there’ll be a long line and if it’s not bolted down, it’ll get stolen!", and we’re sorry to say, there IS an element of truth to that. Keep valuables out of sight in your car and if there is such a person in the area, they will most likely prey on someone’s car that has left things out that attracted their attention.
TREES CAN HELP WITH SHADE, BUT. . .
Please note that parking under or near a tree can indeed allow your car to remain shaded for extended portions of the day. However, “nature’s” luxury also many times brings “nature” along with it and tree sap and bird droppings can be the result. Keep both of these things off your car’s finish by frequent washings as paint damage can occur.
FINISH AND RUBBER PROTECTANT
Make sure your car has a coat of “wax” on it to protect it against the elements. More importantly, keep a good rubber conditioner on all rubberized surfaces and make sure it is one that has UV Protection in it. Window moldings, bumpers, tires. . . anything that’s rubber, needs to be treated frequently. Nothing will dry out, fade and make rubber brittle and ineffective any faster than “baking” it in the sun all day long everyday with no protection. Also be ready to replace your wiper blades more frequently. Wiper blades generally aren’t worn out because of sweeping water from your windshield but rather are ravaged by the sun’s rays every day. When it does rain and you really need them, that’s when we notice they are streaking or chattering and they need replacing. Replace them BEFORE you can’t see very well driving in the rain. Also, many cars now have leather seats or simulated leather interiors. The summer heat and sun can dry those out and cause premature wrinkles and cracking so keep your leather interiors well conditioned. There are many products on the market that moisturize and condition your cars interior and those should be used liberally in the summertime.
GENERAL PARKING
Make sure you are evenly parked within your marked stall and aren’t crowding the parking space next to you or taking up two spaces. This is not only inconsiderate but increases the chances of a door ding or other contact. And speaking of door dings, even if you aren’t so concerned about your car it’s likely that the owner of the car next to you cares about theirs so be careful when opening your car doors, especially on windy days, and avoid “clunking” your fellow parker’s car. If you have an SUV that happens to have huge protruding mirrors on it, you might want to fold one or both of those in if they are obviously something that may become on obstruction for you or the cars next to you when walking or pulling in and out of the parking space.
Have a parking application on file with us and make sure that the information is kept current, even if you have been a monthly parker for years. The contact information comes in very handy once in a while when our checkers spot a car that has a tire going flat, a radiator or transmission leaking fluid, lights left on or other such things. We then can take the license plate and hang tag numbers, match them up with our records, and contact the owner to relay the observation. There have been many times that we have been able to contact a vehicle owner so that they could address a problem during the day instead of begin “hit” with it when they came out from work and were ready to leave that evening.
Make sure your hang tag is clearly visible for the lot checker to see and make sure it corresponds to the current calendar month. We usually send our hang tags and statements out early and in plenty of time for the following month but try to get in the habit of waiting to display the next months tag on the first business day of that following month. Unfortunately, we have had a few of our monthly parkers put their new hang tags on display immediately and then give their old one for the current month to a “friend” so they could try to use it for a few days until the end of that month ran out. Naturally, we tend to take a dim view of that practice and monthly parking privileges for those involved may be discontinued when caught.
Hopefully some of these parking tips will be useful for you. We sincerely appreciate every customer we have each day and want to provide the Best parking experience we can for you. Be safe and enjoy your summer!!