I was told not to lock our luggage in the trunk of our rental car due to theft. If we are driving from town to town, is it really unsafe to leave things in the trunk while we explore a town that we may not want to spend the night in?

The best advice I can offer you is to make sure that nothing is visible in your car. We made the mistake of leaving a jacket, an umbrella, and a road atlas in the seat of our car while traveling through Canada. We couldn't believe it when someone broke in and took those things. The police told us that they probably didn't want those things in particular. The reason they did it was that it was obvious this car was being driven by tourists so they thought there would be more stuff to steal. We did have some things in the trunk, but with this car there was no access to the trunk from inside the car. That's what saved us from losing everything. But once again, it probably wouldn't have happened at all if we hadn't left anything visible in the car. That was a hard lesson, but an important one.

P_M's advice is on the nose. Car break-in is possible anywhere, and they'll be more likely to break in of they think there's something worth stealing - and tourists are generally carrying around more stuff than most. I'd add to P-M's comments - hide anything that suggests your car is a rental car (don't leave a Hertz sticker on the window or a map on the passenger seat, for instance), as this is a sure sign you are a tourist. Make sure you carry anything with you that you can't stand to lose - money and passports. Everything else is replaceable.

Park your car in a busy place - a main square rather than a dark side street.

But most importantly - don't get paranoid. Europe is not a den of thieves, and it is still very rare. I rent cars in continental Europe over 6 times a year, and the only time my car has ever been broken into was outside my home in London last year!

Where are you going, by the way? Europe's a big, varied place.

Kate
London

Hi id,

Put everything in the trunk before you get to where you are going to park the car. Don't let thieves see you putting things in the trunk.

Back the car against a wall, if possible.

Do not end sentences with a preposition.

Good advice from Ira. The time my car was broken into I stupidly put my camera in the boot/trunk in full view in a car park.

You've gotten poor information IMO in terms of not locking things in the trunk; and better information about keeping things out of sight in the car itself.

This information is no different than what you would receive if you were renting a car in the U.S.

Ira, that is so funny, I almost spit out my coffee. Were you a teacher?

We have never had that problem but friends have. We never leave, maps or anything visible except maybe a french newspaper. On the road we try to also dine where the car is visible or where they have a parc.

That wasn't a sentence, it was a paragraph masquerading as a sentence.

I've done this when in transit between base cities. If you really want to see a town, parking a car with a trunk full of luggage may be the only option.

An outdoor parking area in a crowded area is pretty safe. Just make sure that everything is locked and don't leave passports, cameras, etc. in the car. Also don't leave anything that suggests you are a tourist (maps, guide books, etc.).

Try to avoid parking garages. If this is not possible, park near the entrance where theives would be deterred by the high volume of traffic.

Buy a copy of the local newspaper and crumple it up, leaving it out on the back seat. Nothing else in sight - and others' suggestions about not going into the trunk once you have parked the car is so very important.
Carol L

there's always a risk to leaving things in the car but don't let it rule your trip. if you must leave your things in the car due to your itinerary, follow the good advice here and i believe the risk is quite small.

Ira, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.

Although we were never in an area so suspicious-looking we felt we needed to try this, I liked Underhill's suggestion. That was to run a locking cable through the handles of your luggage. Then, if the thief breaks in, he's still stuck with a mass of 5 bags tied together.

Tolerate. "...something I will not tolerate."

Much adieu about no thing.

I like the "bags tied together" idea but if they are any sort of soft-sided luggage the cable is somewhat useless since thieves will often slash those bags to get to the contents.

But, like the enema to the dead man, it couldn't hurt to do it.

I totally agree with not leaving anything visible inside the car.

Leaving a newspaper and pretending to be local did give me a laugh. Most rental cars stand out from others. In addition, anyone can watch a tourist leave a car and know to whom the car belongs.

If there really isn't anything of value in the car, I leave the car unlocked and the window open.

A preposition is something not to end a sentence with, unless there’s a particular point you want to take issue with, a novel idea you want to take up, or a hidden meaning you hope the reader will look for. If you have a rented car you don’t want thieves attracted to, find one with a fixture in the trunk that you can attach luggage to, or else find a wall you can park next to, so they will be discouraged and just walk on by.

Cassandra wins.

Ah, but is that last "by" really a preposition?

;-)

That "by" is a preposition in the implicit construction: "walk by [the car]".