One in five drivers have suffered a car park door ding

A recent study of UK drivers has found that a shocking one in five drivers (21%) have suffered damage in a car park from a door being opened onto their car by a neighbouring vehicle.

The study, which was released by leading parking company YourParkingSpace surveyed 2,000 drivers to find out their biggest parking gripes and also found that a similar one in five drivers (19% also struggled when exiting their vehicle because the parking was too tight.

UK parking spaces, are known for being a tight squeeze for many drivers, despite the growing size of the average car, spaces have stayed the same size since the 70s. In 2024 insurance company Churchill revealed the average car was now 1.8 metres wide. With UK standard UK spaces being set at 2.4 metres it’s no wonder drivers are suffering door damage when parking.

UK spaces are still larger than those in France, Italy and Spain though who’s spaces are an even tighter squeeze at 2.2m wide. They aren’t even the tightest Revive! have found though, in the city sprawls of Japan spaces are limited to just 1.9m wide and only 1.55 metres tall, so say goodbye to your Range Rovers.

At the other end of the scale we have Germany, who have a much more sensible standard of 2.5m. The Japanese would consider moving in at that size. The rest of the world is dwarfed however by the USA where spaces are up to 2.75m wide, and 5.5m long, enough room for an entire family reunion.

It’s no wonder that UK drivers feel a little hard done by when they do get parking damage nowadays as they almost have no choice but to come into contact with their neighbouring cars. If you do suffer a parking dent the cosmetic damage caused can be more annoying than it is difficult to repair, due to the non-structural nature of the damage. This means the repairs are significantly more cost effective than a vehicle in motion impact would be.

Specialising in SMART repairs since 2004, Revive! have the largest network of accredited repairers across the country. We have worked with the IMI to develop the cosmetic repair accreditation – the definitive standard for professional SMART repairers in the UK. A panel repair typically takes just a couple of hours and can be done at your home or workplace, minimising the impact on your day-to-day life.

The panel will be sanded, painted and polished using our SMART repair techniques to contain the repair to as small an area as possible, while still retaining the original factory paint colour and finish, making sure the repair is flawless alongside the rest of the standard paintwork.

If you have suffered car park damage and are interested in our repair services, please get in touch with our team now!

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