"Misparked" Car: My Friend Doesn't Know Where He Parked. Lol. Help?

ozbjunkie on 07/10/2022 - 04:19
Last edited 07/10/2022 - 11:05 by 1 other user

Oh boy.

Having performed a grid search like the budding reconnaissance officers we are, and not having google location history, I presume at this point my friend has to wait for council fines to start turning up. Seriously can't understand how it was not in the area.

I suggested we call the police tomorrow and report the car "either misplaced or stolen".

Any other ideas? (Aside from preventative measures for the future)

PS you are welcome for this morning's entertainment. Someone is sillier than you!

PPS my friend is not me, I am far too irresponsible to own a car

Automotive

Comments

  • bobbified on 07/10/2022 - 12:50

    Is it parked on the street or an open carpark…. undercover carpark? Anything he remembers should help narrow down the search significantly. Did he go to a train station after? Rather than just search the entire area, go back there to see where his "last memory" was…. and start the search from that point.

    For example, there's no point doing a street-level grid search if he parked in an undercover carpark or somewhere that's not visible at street level.

  • pharkurnell on 07/10/2022 - 13:12
    +4

    lets be honest, anyone who loses a car this badly shouldnt be driving.

    • ozbjunkie on 08/10/2022 - 09:06

      Agree strongly

  • Pelicannn on 07/10/2022 - 13:25

    Tell old mate he should buy OzB's favourite high value depreciating asset - BMW comes with free GPS tracking via the app so you know where your car is parked.

  • snapper17 on 07/10/2022 - 15:49
    +1

    does he have an iphone? there is a way to see last location of the parked car

    https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/iphone/ipha13ef1c2e/io…
    https://www.business-standard.com/about/how-to-find-parked-c….

    • isthisreallife22 on 07/10/2022 - 18:47
      +2

      I think the fact that this feature exists is a pretty good indicator that the problem occurs more often than some on this thread might assume

  • pulpfiction on 07/10/2022 - 16:17

    I lost my credit card in a bar once after a lengthy bender. I took the train home so used google maps the next day to retrace my steps from the train station.

  • Munki on 07/10/2022 - 16:17
    +2

    Dude, where's his car?

  • [Deactivated] on 07/10/2022 - 17:27

    How on earth could someone forget - long term… where they left their car!? I can understand forgetting for moments because of walking out of the same spot from habit, or thinking of something else while walking off, distracted, etc. But to genuinely be unable to back-trace ANYTHING, ANY point of reference or memory, like which door of a supermarket they walked into, something they noticed/saw/heard while crossing a carpark or street… which triggers, "OH YEAH… that's right. It was over this way."

    Time for an early onset Alzheimer's check.

  • Homr on 07/10/2022 - 17:49
    +2

    Can't believe no one has mentioned this

    Take him to a psychiatrist for Hypnotherapy so your friend can recover the memory lost.

  • tonka on 07/10/2022 - 18:32
    +4

    Just ask on the local community Facebook page. Maybe even offer a reward.

  • bradl822 on 07/10/2022 - 18:34

    Check location history

  • TEER3X on 07/10/2022 - 18:36

    Having performed a grid search like the budding reconnaissance officers we are, and not having google location history

    • bradl822 on 07/10/2022 - 18:50

      Yep, not going to lie, only read the title lol. Any photos with exif data?

  • Windows98 on 07/10/2022 - 18:43

    Google maps location history

    • GrueHunter on 07/10/2022 - 22:39
      +7

      So you didn't even get to the middle of the second sentence?

  • isthisreallife22 on 07/10/2022 - 18:46
    +6

    If this thread was on reddit it would end up on news.com.au

  • yamahamoto on 07/10/2022 - 19:47
    +2

    Happened to my friend once where he parked at crown casino and get back to the wrong floor. Yet surprisingly the same car was parking in that similar spot and he tried to open to no avail. This was an old 92 Honda and it took him 15 mins cratching his head to realise this is not his car at all.

  • fredk1000 on 07/10/2022 - 19:52

    Yep, happened to me once in a shopping centre.
    Car got stolen.
    And the car got used in a bag snatching.
    Collected the car in a suburb far away at the police station.

  • figarow on 07/10/2022 - 20:28
    +2

    Give him three shovels and tell him to take his pick.

  • northern nsw on 07/10/2022 - 22:10
    +1

    haha, went to the Avalon Air Show, arrived Friday midday-ish, parked in the car park, oooh look pretty planes and stuff.

    Needless to say, but I will, when trying to find said car late that dark night it took me and my Dad hours…never again!

  • Oz em on 07/10/2022 - 23:16

    Does he have Apple Maps? It shows where you parked the car even if you don’t use the maps feature ever.

  • SolitaryMan on 08/10/2022 - 01:28

    Happened to me for all of 10 seconds. “Hey Siri, where did I park my car?” Problem solved.

  • morse on 08/10/2022 - 01:29
    +1

    Has he found the car yet?

    • ozbjunkie on 08/10/2022 - 09:09
      +3

      Didn't reply to my messages all Saturday so I assume he and the missus are having a very serious talk

      Or he's still wandering around out there, muttering to himself about how "it should be here, like"

      • morse on 08/10/2022 - 10:15
        +1

        Or he’s drunk again?…

      • capslock janitor on 08/10/2022 - 11:16

        saturday just started

        are u drunk this time

        • Grish on 08/10/2022 - 14:54

          He's Irish…

  • ECE on 08/10/2022 - 06:55
    +1

    Happened to me but in an undercover carpark. I cant find my car too even with an Airtag in it. Good thing my friend who parked beside me remember where we park but that was more than an hour after she left the carpark and ask for her help. 🤣

  • Justaddtang on 08/10/2022 - 08:41

    this is an iPhone feature.
    If your friend is a iphone user - look up “significant location”.
    Apple devices track your locations where you may have spent sometime. It may show where he may park his car.

    I also lost my car, and I used siri, “where’s my car” and it was able to find my car.

    I make it a habit to tell Siri now. “Remember where I parked” and take a photo. so end of the night, I ask Siri “where my car” maps open and guide me back.
    And reason for photo, it give you a visual, plus the geolocation is also in the photo.

    I also invested in apple tags now. Just saves me time to track my items.
    The amount of time I spent looking for my keys. Or wallet.
    Hope this helps.

  • Keplaffintech on 08/10/2022 - 09:01

    location history on Google Timeline?

  • berry580 on 08/10/2022 - 10:14
    +2

    It could genuinely be stolen. Call the police reporting that.

  • USER DC on 08/10/2022 - 10:42
    +2

    Good luck to your friend parking at Chadstone SC

    • capslock janitor on 08/10/2022 - 11:17

      fashion capital of the world

      but op in sydney ?

    • Shiny Mew on 09/10/2022 - 07:28
      +3

      Incidentally I once lost my car for over an hour at Chadstone shopping centre and had to get their administration/security team to help me find it in the car park. Even though I was completely sober at the time, OP's post makes me feel better.

  • love2buy on 08/10/2022 - 13:01
    +1

    Reward for lost car?

  • ChipsChicky on 08/10/2022 - 13:04

    Recreate the scene, ask him to get drunk and drive to your place, lets see whr he parks.

  • kanmen on 08/10/2022 - 13:27

    What's worse, not being able to find your car or getting into the wrong car?

  • MinimalistWallets on 08/10/2022 - 13:50
    +1

    My brother was at a bucks weekend where they lost a hire car once. They ended up having to front up at the airport and hand the keys back saying sorry, we lost it.

    • capslock janitor on 08/10/2022 - 15:34
      +1

      how much did they have to cough up for a lost rental?

      • SolitaryMan on 08/10/2022 - 16:04

        Better off buying them a replacement via Ozbargain.

    • tonka on 09/10/2022 - 23:44

      I know one of the major hire companies has a staff bonus specifically for spotting lost cars. Apparently it's not uncommon.

  • Empharand on 08/10/2022 - 15:04
    +1

    Did you friend have GPS and Location History enabled? I'm not sure about iPhone but Android allows you to login on PC (Easier to view on PC in my opinion) and it basically shows you where you went, use that history and back-track until you find the car. Most times it will differentiate between driving and walking so you should be able to go back to exactly where it tracked you walking after driving. This is of course assuming that Location History and the GPS are enabled.

    Either that or perhaps his car was towed away because he parked somewhere he shouldn't have - I assume if you report it as stolen they will be able to look up the rego and tell you it's in a holding yard?

  • Retchey on 08/10/2022 - 19:12

    Surely Google timeline would be of assistance.

  • paloverde88 on 08/10/2022 - 20:37

    The Apple Watch ultra has a wayfarer function that gives ‘track back’ instructions

  • darkmattersunB6c0MV on 09/10/2022 - 09:16
    +2

    I don't envy your position.
    Usually, I automatically reach my car in whatever parking spot I parked in, even though it is a new place, without even have to think. ( My old brain still manages to store enough breadcrumbs for me to find stuff.)
    But just this one time, I could not locate my car, and for all of 10 min, I panicked.
    The car was on a floor above, it was a new parking, no colour clues, and the floors of the parking were not 3 and 4 but 3 upper and 3 lower etc.
    Good luck and if you want to organize an ozbargain search, let us know!

  • TheTeamRanger on 09/10/2022 - 17:35
    +3

    Any updates OP?

    • ozbjunkie on 09/10/2022 - 21:23
      +6

      Well. I would have loved to come back with an update but I never heard from him again.

      He came into my life just as quickly as he left it.

      He was, to be sure, not a friend I met before. I found him standing in the middle of an intersection between 2 minor roads near my place, asked if he needed help, deduced the outcome if I failed to help him, and decided I was the one.

      While we never found the car, maybe that wasn't the point.

      I'm holding out some hope, perhaps more than is reasonable, that he was a leprechaun come to test me, and good luck awaits in my near future.

      • mapax on 09/10/2022 - 22:01

        Plot twist- he was a traveller who was going to take your wallet but he liked you enough that he didn’t…

      • jmc787 on 10/10/2022 - 01:00
        +1

        99.99% most likely is that he found his car, and you as some stranger he happened to randomly encounter in the process are now irrelevant bordering on nuisance if you're still trying to contact him about it. He may also have given you a fake number as someone he had no intention of ever communicating with again. Your casual "to be sure leprechaun" nastiness no doubt would have been picked up in the original encounter and not appreciated.

        Speaking as an Irish person.

  • cupcake on 12/10/2022 - 15:15

    Drunk Irish man cannot remember where he parked his car.
    Maybe he wasn't even driving. Maybe he was dropped off and can't remember.
    He's probably back in Ireland having a cup of Barry's tea and a digestive. Delighted to be home until the next pub crawl.

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