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lost car in supermarket carpark

(81 Posts)
Fennel Thu 06-Sept-18 19:41:51

I've only just got the confidence to drive down to our big Tesco once week for the main groceries etc.
I get there early, 9.30 ish and park, trying to be as close as possible to a main entrance.Go up the escalator and do my shopping.
Fine up to now, but when I get down again, register the parking ticket, but where is my car? The carpark is packed by now, and it's HUGE. All 4 sides around the store. This morning I must have walked over 15 minutes looking for it.
With my trolley. TG found it eventually.
Any advice how to track the parking place.

moobox Sat 08-Sept-18 07:47:41

Courtesy cars are great. I have been known to drive from the garage, go to do the supermarket shop and come out not even knowing what colour it was

monanny Sat 08-Sept-18 07:44:30

Lots of good advice. Just a funny story that happened to me, my daughter and two granddaughters. We had parked the car in Denton Texas and went to order a takeaway pizza. It took quite a while and we were starving and couldn't wait to get back to the car and hotel to eat. We couldn't find the car and wandered up and down the side roads. We started eating our pizzas while looking. After about half an hour of walking and eating we found it.

Aepgirl Sat 08-Sept-18 07:26:46

Yes, tie something on the aerial so that you can spot your car from a distance. Or shop in a different supermarket that doesn't have a huge car park.

mokryna Sat 08-Sept-18 07:26:16

ditto stella1949 but not just one, take photos of the individual parking number, another of the line, floor level and exit doors etc.

pollyperkins Fri 07-Sept-18 15:45:02

I was going to say buy a bright or unusual coloured car! The majority ard shades of grey/blank/ silver so any coour would help. I like red cars but I've seen yellow, green and tomato shade cars occasionally.

goldengirl Fri 07-Sept-18 11:17:54

I've just got a new car which is a very bright colour. It sticks out a mile in a carpark of dull coloured cars but I do try and find a landmark - just in case!

oldbatty Fri 07-Sept-18 11:10:29

I absolutely force myself to take a very careful note of which floor I'm on. Are there any colours or numbers? Are there any landmarks? I try to park near something like a post or a light. It's like learning to read or play a musical instrument. It takes all my energy.

annodomini Fri 07-Sept-18 11:08:56

My solution used to be my granddaughter when she was younger. She could unerringly find my car in the most crowded carpark. Unfortunately she is now grown up and gone south. But now that we have both Aldi and Waitrose close at hand I no longer need to go to the big Tesco.

henetha Fri 07-Sept-18 10:12:15

I used to have this problem, so I bought a sparkly blue butterfly to attach to the top of the aerial. It definitely helps.

NfkDumpling Fri 07-Sept-18 09:27:35

I’m with Missfoodlove and Janeainsworth. Choose a smaller supermarket or shop locally. I hate parking in multi-storey car parks and have traipsed miles when I’ve forgotten the floor number or got in the wrong lift!

We’ve saved money shopping at small shops as we don’t impulse buy and just get what we need. Also it’s local food and supports local shops.

Fennel Fri 07-Sept-18 09:14:54

Some good ideas, thanks. I think I'll try tying something bright on the aerial.
There's not much choice of supermarkets here, I would have to drive much further to find an alternative. And I do like this one.

Missfoodlove Fri 07-Sept-18 08:01:36

Try shunning big supermarkets and use a local market, butcher etc.
You may be surprised at the cost and quality and of course you will be supporting independent traders?

stella1949 Fri 07-Sept-18 05:14:58

Take a picture of the surrounding area when you get out of your car - especially if there is a number / letter denoting the area .

varian Thu 06-Sept-18 22:54:09

I have a friend whose husband owned a garage selling second hand cars. She didn't actually have her own car as her husband was always giving her different cars to test for a week or so. She once came out of a hypermarket loaded with shopping and looking round the vast car park, not only could she not find her car, but she couldn't remember what car she'd been driving.

Maggiemaybe Thu 06-Sept-18 22:49:09

No advice, but I sympathise. We once had to wait till everyone else had left a music festival carpark because we hadn't taken note of where we'd parked - it was bang in the middle and we were literally the last out of the gate.

And just last year we were about to ring the police about the car that wasn't where we'd left it in a beachfront carpark, when we realised that there was an identical park a few hundred yards further on.

janeainsworth Thu 06-Sept-18 22:32:11

My solution would be to not go to a big Tesco.
I go to our local Co-op where you can park outside, or the local Waitrose which is a small one. Even if you couldn’t remember where you’d parked, it would only take 2 minutes to walk round the car park. Provided you could remember what your car looked like you’d be finegrin

Nandalot Thu 06-Sept-18 21:56:47

A roof box is useful for finding one’s car. We’ve just taken ours off so having to cope with the ‘finding where you have parked’ problem again.

Nandalot Thu 06-Sept-18 21:54:52

Once, on a ferry with friends, we went down to our car deck to find both our cars had disappeared! We had a surreal few minutes until some huge doors opened and we found our Carson the outside part of the deck.

Willow500 Thu 06-Sept-18 21:46:14

I've lost count of the number of times I've lost my car! The worst was at a festival - even though I'd taken note of where I'd parked I walked round for an hour getting more and more panicked as I failed to find it. Eventually I found a marshal who asked a variety of questions and finally determined I was in the wrong field - he kindly put me on his tractor thing and took me to the right one. By that time I'd missed the main act so had to leave feeling terribly stupid and very annoyed with myself!

Many years ago my dad called the police as he said his car had been stolen from the street he'd parked it in. Before they arrived he suddenly remembered where he'd actually left it! Never lived it down!

I can get lost anywhere and my husband despairs of me in service stations - I come out and walk right past the car in the wrong direction. He just sits and watches me till I finally find him then berates me in front of nearby drivers for being so daft - jokingly of course grin

I recently bought a tracker which plugs into what used to be the cigarette lighter socket - an app on my phone can take me directly back to the car apparently. So far I've not needed it but it's reassuring to know it's there if I did.

lemongrove Thu 06-Sept-18 21:45:27

I like a car that is easily spotted by it's colour.... so never buy a silver or pale blue one.

Melanieeastanglia Thu 06-Sept-18 21:43:38

Years ago I came out of the supermarket and started to look for my car. My son, aged 18 months, had not started to talk but helpfully pointed a finger in the direction we had to go to find my car. I was amazed that he knew.

NanKate Thu 06-Sept-18 21:23:20

Some car parks have numbers or letters to say where you have parked your car. Why some supermarkets have removed these I do not know. ?

midgey Thu 06-Sept-18 21:18:22

My daughter has a snowman on her aerial. She constantly looses her car but it does help .....a little.

Diana54 Thu 06-Sept-18 21:15:22

My sister ties a pink bow onto the aerial but that's not much help if it's the wrong car park. I go before 10 am and it's not too busy so no real problem.

Fennel Thu 06-Sept-18 21:02:43

smile like me today, Greyduster.
I eventually found there was an extension of the carpark round the other side of the store entrance .