A TikToker’s parking rule has reignited a familiar debate among car enthusiasts: does it matter who you park next to?
Car guy Jay (@turbochargejay) said he refuses to park beside “crappy” or visibly neglected vehicles to avoid door dings and scratches in a video posted on Oct. 21, 2025.
Many CarTok users agreed, arguing that people who don’t take care of their cars probably won’t take care around others’. Others, especially those driving older models, joked that they’ll keep parking wherever they want regardless, and if you don’t like it, park elsewhere.
Commenters shared pictures of their nice cars to see if Jay would park next to them or not. TikTok user @4o8.ak shared an image of a gold, loved and modded Honda sedan. They asked, “Am I valid?”
@turbochargejay replied, “You Honda gang and this clean so ofc 🔥.”
CarTok weighs in on “parking next to beaters”
Jay announced he only parks next to new cars, sports cars, and luxury cars, before adding, “If I can tell that you care about your car, then you all good.”
“The people with them f****d up a** cars that are parked next to your ass ding the f**k out of your door,” he claimed. “Anytime somebody with a f*****d up car parked next to you, you come back and your sh*t gonna randomly have a ding in it or a scratch in it.”
@turbochargejay Ts be killing me 💔 #cartok #carcommunity #automotive #cars #car ♬ original sound – turbochargejay
Drivers in the comments replied with their own parking habits
Jay’s post resonated with commenters who take care to protect their nice cars. Like Jay, they scope out the parking lot for well maintained vehicles to safely park beside. Others wrote that they double park in order to protect their precious cars, or they avoid cars altogether and park as far from the destination’s entrance as possible.
“I ALWAYS check how nice a car is taken care of before parking next to it, cus them mfks don’t be giving a fu*k to damage their own car so they DEF not gonna care bout yours.”
“I double park and all the way in the back.”
“If I can tell you don’t care about YOUR car, why should I expect you to care about mine?”
TikTok users driving around in beaters also piped up to let everyone know they’ll continue to park wherever they please. Nobody’s mad that a man with a car baby is judging their POS cars, especially if it means they won’t be crowded in parking lots.
“Look, I have a Nissan Altima, and I’m parking wherever 😭.”
“I wish everyone had your mindset. I would be in paradise with no one parking near my shit.”
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