I have had a challenge parking my small car in my co-op apartment building's indoor garage for the last 21 years I have had a spot. From 1994-2011, I had this awkward corner spot which had part of the side wall jutting out, making a straight-in approach not workable because it was very tough to back out on a curve. So I backed in on a curve which was fine until the owner of the spot next to mine moved out in 2005.
The new owner of that spot had a slightly larger car at first until they bought a large SUV about a year later. Their spot became tougher not only for them to park but made it tougher for me to get in and out, especially (backing) in. My old car was already 14 years old at the time so I wasn't overly concerned if I dinged it up on the wall a little bit (I never did but came close many times). But I surely didn't want to nick this boat of a new SUV if they didn't back in all the way or parked close to the line separating our cars.
In 2007, I got rid of my old clunker and bout a new car, a 2007 Corolla. When I was checking out new cars, I had to make sure the car's width was not larger than existing car or else it would be even tougher to get in and out. I also asked my super if I could get a different spot at some point. In 2011, finally, he told me he would be able to move people around because several spots would open up and after 17 years of battling with this parking spot I would finally get a reprieve.
The spot on the other side of my neighbor's spot opened up so the super moved the boat SUV there and I got his old spot. YAY! I was finally freed of the corner spot. But this new spot had its own issues. First, there was a beam which separated my new spot from the one on the other side of it. I knew this, of course. But now I could park head in if I wanted to. I still chose to back in because it was easier to back in than back out. I still had to get around the beam by backing in on a curve like before. But at least I was not at the mercy of someone else's ability to park well.
I have nicked the beam a few times, scratching the paint near the left front bumper a few times. But two other problems have arisen since 2011. First, the boat SUV owner moved out in early 2012 which cleared their space still next to mine (on the other side of the beam). That's fine, but the new owner has had a tendency to park too close to the beam, and also park head-in so her driver-side door and my driver-side door are next to each other. The yellow line separating our spots is badly drawn on my side of the beam, so her spot is drawn to be about 3 feet wider than mine. She actually wrote me a note once to complain that I was parking on the line and depriving her of space. I left a note on her door explaining that she has a space 3 feet wider than mine and should count her blessings. That ended that conversation and she has tended to park more in the center of her spot to give me (and her) enough space to get our doors open.
What also happened is that my old, corner spot now has another boat SUV in there. How that guy gets his SUV in and out of there is a mystery. Being mindful of the tough spot he is in, I make sure he has enough room to get in and out which pushes me toward the line near Miss Complainer's spot.
It's still a challenge to back into my spot on a large arc and avoid hitting the side wall, the beam, and the SUV. But it is still an improvement over before. And I have the option of going head in if I need to, such as if I have a lot of stuff in my trunk or have to park in a hurry in case I have to go the bathroom. (When that has happened, I'd go back to my car and back it out and then back into the spot.)
I may not have the worst spot in the garage any more because I have seen other drivers struggle to park in spot at the other end of the garage which include beams, walls, and other cars. This keeps me from requesting another spot.
I do agree that backing into a spot on a curve is far easier than backing out of a spot on a curve.
