Shoppers shocked as Bunnings store introduces pricey paid parking

“And just like that I had no desire to go to Bunnings ever again”

One thing about Bunnings is that you could easily spend anywhere between 5 minutes and a few hours wandering the aisles.

But, would things change if you had to pay for parking?

One Victorian Bunnings location has adopted pricey paid parking - and no one is happy about it.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

RELATED: Aussies appalled over embarrassing parking fail

It costs how much??

A Melbourne Reddit user has taken to the platform to share the unfortunate news that they now have to pay to park at their local Bunnings location.

“Bunnings Caroline Springs now has paid parking,” alerted the poster.

Sure enough, in the provided photo, you can see that the Caroline Springs location now has a Secure Parking carpark attached.

The first hour is free, with 2 hours setting you back $5, 3 hours for $10, 4 hours for $15, and 4 hours or more bringing you to the daily maximum of $40.

RELATED: The Coles checkout rule that continues to confuse shoppers

“That’s a bad move”

A number of commenters on the post were critical of the move, saying that having just the first hour be free is not nearly enough for most shoppers, and that the $40 maximum is far too high.

“One hour? You stand in line for a snag for close to that,” one person said.

“$40 daily max? That's steep. I love to wander the aisles of opportunities in there, but certainly not for that price. I'd rather drive off to another Bunnings. At least the first hr is free, which helps if someone wants to duck in and out real fast,” said another.

“And just like that I had no desire to go to Bunnings ever again,” said a third.

“Oooh... that's a bad move,” another agreed.

Some even referenced other stores with similar parking schemes, though nowhere near as constricting as this one.

“Bunnings Newstead in Brisbane is 2/3 hours then payment after. 1 hr is too short,” said one commenter.

“So does Maribyrnong, but it’s first 3 hours free. It is across the road from highpoint. I just don’t know how they’re gonna enforce it given there’s no entry or exit gates,” another added.

Locals then began to wonder just why a change was made - connecting it potentially to nearby gym or church-goers filling up the carpark instead of shoppers.

It’s flexible!

According to Rod Caust, Director of Stores at Bunnings, paid parking was put in place to ensure parking would always be available for Bunnings customers.

And, for those worried about time constraints, he has good news.

“Similar to other stores like Hawthorn and Maribyrnong, we have recently introduced paid parking at our Caroline Springs store to ensure there’s enough parking available for our customers at all times of the day,” he told Kidspot.

“The first hour of parking is free, and Bunnings customers are invited to discuss circumstances requiring extended parking (such as participation in DIY activities) with our friendly team.”

Originally published as Shoppers shocked as Bunnings store introduces pricey paid parking