Going to go to school up at Berkeley starting this fall again, but this time with a G. Parking lots are a luxury up north, learning to street park is a must. Need to be able to park without leaving love taps like everyone else does up north.

I suck at parallel parking, tips would be appreciated.

Pull up till your about even with the next car with your trunk hanging out a little bit. Put it in reverse, turn it in all the way, back it in slowly and gradually turn the wheel back out. bam, completely in.

k drive towards the spot u want to get into then right before u hit the curb make a sharp left or right and pull the e-brake

god help me

Practice, Practice, Practice, one thing that helps...turn you're right side view mirror down so you can see the curb better as you come in, just don't forget to turn it back before you leave...this really helped me the first time I parallel parked the G...just until I got a sense of the size and my "Zone" of comfort...
In the end you really have to "feel" the car...like the force, but better

why do you care about avoiding "love taps," when no one else does (as you stated)? i can understand wanting to be able to park from a pure skills-based perspective, but don't worry about bumping cars--you can be the best at parallel parking, but your G is going to get thrashed anyway by SUVs (not everyone in the bay area is granola) and stoners. i guess what i really want to know is why you're going to park your g in the street--especially in berkeley??? best of luck in school, but my advice would be to rent someone's garage to park your g (a few hundo a month--you can afford it, after all, you have a $35k+ car!), and then ride a bike to campus. of course, buy a cheap, used bike, because it's going to get stolen.

I have a sheltered garage for the G to stay inside, and it's going to be staying there. No way I'm just gonna leave my car outside Berkeley streets for no reason.

Just whenever I have to go to the city (San Francisco) or go to a friends apartment, I'm gonna have to parallel park for an hour or so. I'll probably be safe if I do my part not to bash into other people's bumpers (which is why I'm practicing now) and from other bastards bumping into me if I minimize my street parking time.

Lowering my right side mirror seems like a good idea. Will try in the morning tomorrow and see if it helps. Any other tips you guys have would be appreciated.

open parking lot with cones! the best practice!

Do you have a 5AT or 6MT? Sucks to parallel park a manual on the hills of San Francisco if you ever visit there. Just take your time and don't panic.

what is parrallel parking? i own a g and have no clue what parallel parking is...
help me!

First of all, GO BEARS!

Where are you going to be living? Apartment or dorm? You should get an apartment with a garage/carport spot. Then just try to use friends' cars when you have to park around College/Ashby, Shattuck, etc. Believe me, your bumper will look like a shotgun hit it after 1 semester. If you never touch another car parallel parking, the others will hit you. Spend the extra money for the car spot!!

I thought parallel parking was a requirement when u take your dmv test?


If you're not comfortable parallel parking on your own, you might want to install backup sensors. Here's an example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WIREL...93637192QQrdZ1
I think this one's better because the box is wireless which makes the install easier.

Ebay has a ton of them which I even bought for my dad. Make sure you buy the one with the distance meter and not the one with just the beeping noise. At least with the meter, you know exactly how close you are to the other car. If you get the set with 4 or more sensors, you could attach them to the front bumper as well.

It should be, but there is a reason America has some of the worst drivers on the road. I went to get my liscence and they didn't even make me take a test I was amazed, they just gave me a liscence 'cause my drivers ed teacher signed a paper. Note, I was never taught how to paralell park either.. good thing I already knew how.

Get curb feelers and your done.

First and foremost, congrats on attending Cal. I occasionally go back and visit the campus. Street parking is going to be extremely tough to find. Street parking close to campus will either be metered or permitted, I believe.

Waaaay back in my freshman year in '76, I parked in student lots. I don't know if these are still available. Better to be prudent and investigate the parking situation.

If you are living in the vicinity, I would ride a bike to and from campus.

I trust you will have a great experience at Cal. Good luck!