How to jack it up without hurting it

[mauthner]

I want to jack up one side of my vibe at a time to do a tire rotation. I started this project last weekend but failed. I put my jack in the notched area behind the front wheel and got the tire in the air, but once it was airborne, I could not for the life of me figure out how I was supposed to put a jack stand in the exact same spot the jack was. Can you use a stand a few inches away from the notched area? Or are there other places on the edge of the body where you can safely put a stand? Secondly, does the mere act of jacking the car up, or of letting it rest on stands hurt the coating or bend sheet metal? I have heard of people using blocks of wood, or rags as cushions between the jack and the car. Is that just being paranoid or is it a real concern?I have already looked through the archives of Genvibe but did not find the definitive answer to these questions.

[joatmon]

check out http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=20013, see if that helps