[centaur]

I always and always prefer a covered car park irrespective of how far it would be. The reasons have already been called out by others. Also if I were in your place, even if I came early and found level 1 empty, I would still park it at level 6 or 7 and the reason for this is simple - those levels would have lesser number of people moving around which greatly reduces the risk of scratches from dangling ID cards, keys, buttons, belt buckles etc. I prefer to park my car in places which is slightly remote for people activity yet has sufficient visibility for the safety of my car.

Call me crazy but whenever I am in a new office I actually study the parking for around a week and then find the best spot (covered+least people movement) to park my vehicle on a regular basis. That has helped so far but unfortunately this can be taken care of only in office spaces and not public parking like malls.

To end it with another crazy example from my book. I recently changed my project and had to move to a new office. I was given 2 options to choose from (say A and B). My entire team sat in A (not that I needed to be with my team as I can easily work remotely) and also office B was around 3 kms (6 kms additional in a day, to and fro) further away from office A but you would not believe me when I say, I choose office B just because it provided me a cover car park which office A did not have

[Ithaca]

I would prefer to park in a multi level parking because the vehicle is protected from the elements and various birds who use the vehicle as target practice. In our scorching summer months, a vehicle parked in an enclosed area is relatively much cooler than the one in open areas.

It is no wonder that most builders in the suburbs of Mumbai quote different (read as exorbitant) rates for podium / enclosed / basement parking slots vs the open parking slots in the compound around the building and these enclosed spots are lapped up fastest by people buying property in said project. While house hunting in Kharghar, there was a difference of Rs 1.0~ 1.5 Lakhs between open parking and enclosed parking.

Yes its another thing that selling open parking slots is not allowed by the govt but reality is something else when you go to buy a house.

Sale of Open Parking space is not allowed.

[Palaver]

It's a no brainer really, almost anybody who cares for his/her car would chose multi-level parking as opposed to open parking. It's safer, protected from the elements and potentially less chances of scratches. But at the same time, before parking your beloved car at one of these multi-level lots, please make sure that they have enough security cameras and watchmen at the premises to avoid any malicious activities. These premises are a hotbed for such acts and you should always ensure that you are protected against these.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Regarding driving up the ramp, I don't see any demerit unless of course if you stuck on the slope which take a toll on your clutch.

All the people in hills use half clutch on a very steep slope [where your bonnet is visible] and nothing goes wrong in either of them, hill hold etc won't practically work as you have to be in that position for few minutes.

I was surprised seeing people queuing up their cars this way [while waiting for traffic to clear] but I too got the hang of it. No burning clutch, nothing. You can't use your brakes, as the moment you lift off, your car will ram into the car which is at your back. And no one uses the hand brake technique, one may use, but is easy for a petrol head.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by GTO

• If your office doesn't have a multi-level option, but the open parking is safe / fenced, use a car cover to protect your car.

The biggest problem with car cover is RATS. I have used car covers in both open and closed parking and it is a home made in heaven for rats. Just 1 month of usage my car had broken horn/reverse sensors, blocked drains. Been a year since I stopped using cover and no such issues now. Unless you are 100% sure that the area is free of Rats, car cover is better avoided.

[spanner777]

I always prefer a covered car parking to an open one, for obvious reasons of safeguarding the car against nature's elements.

Among multi level and basement parking I would prefer multi level because of 3 reasons :
1. Basements mostly dont have proper air ventilation, pollutant levels tend to be on a higher side. If somebody is planning to sit in the car, should definitely avoid this.

2. Basements of most buildings have washroom and other drainage outlet pipes criss-crossing the ceiling. I have had bad experience of leaking pipes and dripping acidic fluid leaving permanent stains on my car paint. I always check the place for any dripping fluid before I park.

3. Basements of some hotels have waste collection point there. Chances of rats are more. Not suitable for overnight parking.

[SoumenD]

Covered multi-level parking anyday. Period!!!

Protection against direct rain(god forbid hailstorm), direct sunlight damaging the color, bird droppings and lately after shower water clogs in stilt or underground basement parks. I don't mind the extra few minutes/metres of walking for that peace of mind on a daily basis.

But yeah at times if its at higher levels it does lead to a bit more fuel consumption but thats minimal. For example in my apartment my house is at 3rd floor but parking is at 6th floor. Distance from entry gate to my parking spot is approx 1km which is kinda annoying at times after a long day of work, but then I know incase of those torrential rains and water clogging it wont be affected

[NTO]

I would always prefer a multi level closed parking. I recently moved back to Chennai and my current office is in a shared building and I have to park my car in the surface parking. The covered parking seemingly is limited in number and is reserved to business heads by company policy. The demerits are:

1. The car gets exposed to direct sunlight. I once went to the car in the afternoon as I had to take my phone's charging cable. The car was so hot and I literally apologized to my car for torturing her this much! My Vento has never seen environmental abuse other than when it is being driven. I feel so sorry for the car for all the joy it gives, I torture it in return.



2. A clean car is a welcome place for evening breaks. In the picture below, you can find a bunch of retards having no respect to other's property. The car in picture is my Punto where the bonnet is the Tea table and spilling the tea invites no courtesy to wipe it also. Also, these people like movable objects like wing mirrors, wipers, rubber beadings which they meddle with.



And my Jazz is no exception and it struggles through in the same way since day 1 of me driving it.


I have fought with my office admin for a covered parking space in multi level parking. I even told them to rent an additional parking just for me and I am ready to pay how much ever it costs. However, they turned a deaf year. i took the quarrel to the CEO of my company and still there is no solution to this. I have done enough now and I am thinking to resign from this job and join a new one where i would get a covered parking.

[theapollohelios]

Originally Posted by NTO

I have fought with my office admin for a covered parking space in multi level parking.
==========I have done enough now and I am thinking to resign from this job and join a new one where i would get a covered parking.

Why not just buy a car cover? It wouldn't drastically reduce the heat which your car has to endure, but at least it won't have to face direct sunlight, and no one would tamper with the wipers or mirrors.

[NTO]

Originally Posted by theapollohelios

Why not just buy a car cover? It wouldn't drastically reduce the heat which your car has to endure, but at least it won't have to face direct sunlight, and no one would tamper with the wipers or mirrors.

Yes, I tried it for a while. However, it is easier said than done. The heat quotient decreased significantly however, the dust on the surface of the car rubs against the surface of the car and create superficial scratches. Also, Covering Vento is no one man's job! It easily requires two people. Parking the car in the open is definitely a crime and there is no two ways about it.

I tackled the tampering issue by confronting the people myself and now it has not happened in a while. However, I get strange look from certain people whom I confronted and they've chosen cabs parked in the office premises as their breaking spot.

[NiInJa]

Covered parking for me, even if it is a multi-level parking, but sometimes you need to keep a watch on that as well. I had parked my car in Phoenix market city Pune once and when I came back there was water dripping on the windscreen from the ceiling, that water was hard (probably some cement/ limestone mixed with it) and it scarred my car's glass
The scars have gone over the period of time but they were there for a few months.

[Lij]

Originally Posted by NTO

Yes, I tried it for a while. However, it is easier said than done. The heat quotient decreased significantly however, the dust on the surface of the car rubs against the surface of the car and create superficial scratches. Also, Covering Vento is no one man's job! It easily requires two people. Parking the car in the open is definitely a crime and there is no two ways about it.

The minor scratches from the dust on cover rubbing on car surface can be removed by a quick detailing job, but not the bird poops, so I prefer to cover my car, with additional benefit of keeping it away from prying eyes/hands/feet etc . Learnt it the hard way with a couple of bird poops which I didn't notice and was left on the car overnight. Now its a permanent mark on the paint.

Not sure how you cover the Vento, but its not at all difficult to cover a C-segment sedan alone. Just check a few videos on you tube and you can do it yourself.

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Covered parking for me, even if it is a multi-level parking, but sometimes you need to keep a watch on that as well. I had parked my car in Phoenix market city Pune once and when I came back there was water dripping on the windscreen from the ceiling, that water was hard (probably some cement/ limestone mixed with it) and it scarred my car's glass
The scars have gone over the period of time but they were there for a few months.

Even I prefer a covered parking, multi-level or basement. I also faced this issue of water dripping once in the covered parking of my office. Usually I do check the spot for any water markings before parking, but unfortunately the place where I parked didn't have any. Only when I came back in the evening did I notice that quite a bit of water dripped on the car bonnet. I removed most of them by wiping using normal water spray but one spot remained which could be seen clearly while under the light. Had to take it my regular detailer the next morning who removed it within a couple of minutes.

[puneetakhouri]

Multi-level parkings have numerous advantages and all have been mentioned in the posts above, but one of the problems I faced in Multi Level Parking is a quite silly one but can happen to anybody.

I drove up multiple levels in the parking of R-City mall Ghatkopar, Mumbai, finally found a spot, parked my car. So frustrated I was trying to search for the parking over the last 45 mins that I forgot to remember the pillar number where my car was parked and I even forgot the floor where I parked.
After the shopping duties in the mall, visited 3 parking levels pressing the remote lock button and spending 30 mins in this entire process, I was finally able to locate my car. Also learnt never to take my car to a mall no matter how big a parking they have.

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Covered parking for me, even if it is a multi-level parking, but sometimes you need to keep a watch on that as well. I had parked my car in Phoenix market city Pune once and when I came back there was water dripping on the windscreen from the ceiling, that water was hard (probably some cement/ limestone mixed with it) and it scarred my car's glass
The scars have gone over the period of time but they were there for a few months.

I had faced similar problems in the basement parking of my building 2 years back during Mumbai monsoons. It was something like limestone or some chemical which dripped over my car roof as well as rear windscreen. I got it off simply by rubbing lemon on it and wiping it off. Trust me it works, cheap and a very handy technique.

[Palaver]

Originally Posted by puneetakhouri

I drove up multiple levels in the parking of R-City mall Ghatkopar, Mumbai, finally found a spot, parked my car. So frustrated I was trying to search for the parking over the last 45 mins that I forgot to remember the pillar number where my car was parked and I even forgot the floor where I parked.

That can happen to anybody. I remember once I got so disoriented that I ended up searching for a really long time (felt like ages) in a mall's car parking only to realise later that I was looking in the wrong mall and had in fact parked in the adjacent mall. Felt really stupid afterwards. Luckily I was alone that day so no one else witnessed my genius. Lol

[abhii176]

This is actually a very easy choice for me - multi level car parking/ basement parking any day. As far as possible, i try and avoid parking my car out in the open and exposing it to the sun and dust, and this probably one reason my car has still retained most of the paint sheen even after almost 9 years.
In my previous organization, i had to park my car in the open and everyday after work, my car used to be covered in a layer of dust. It was a real pain and i used to hate driving back home in a dirty looking car cos i am very particular about keeping my cars clean and shiny.
In my current workplace, we have 2 levels of basement parking and i usually park in B2 and personally, dont find it a challenge to park in lower levels of basements or higher levels of MLCPs.