Leaving luggage unattended in our rental
Jun 19th, 2019, 01:03 PM
#21
Every night when you go to bed, somebody might break in and cut your throat. Does this stop you from sleeping every night?
Jun 19th, 2019, 01:11 PM
#23
To the OP: are you satisfied with all the answers which included
it is not a major problem and probably won't happen to you because it hasn't yet happened to me even though i take all kinds of precautions to make absolutely sure it doesn't happen to me so don't worry about it
it is not a major problem and probably won't happen to you because it hasn't yet happened to me even though i take all kinds of precautions to make absolutely sure it doesn't happen to me so don't worry about it
Jun 19th, 2019, 02:47 PM
#24
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Rental cars were supposedly "anonymous" for a few years in France, copying the American decision to remove all rental indications. That period has ended. I can't say for other companies, but I know that Europcar now has visible stickers on its cars. No problem as far as I am concerned. There are other indications for "specialists." Nearly all Europcar vehicles have a licence plate terminating in 76. Hertz cars all terminate in 60. Can't say for the other companies -- I have not paid attention. Really not a problem.
Since I used to work in car rentals (for Avis) even more than 40 years later, I can still spot a rental car, no matter what the company, from at least 100 meters. I imagine that it is the same for thieves specializing in rental cars. Paranoid people should realize that 95% of the "tourist" cars in France are just other French people driving their own car, so there is no reason to target rental cars -- the other cars are potentially just as full of stuff to take as rental cars.
Since I used to work in car rentals (for Avis) even more than 40 years later, I can still spot a rental car, no matter what the company, from at least 100 meters. I imagine that it is the same for thieves specializing in rental cars. Paranoid people should realize that 95% of the "tourist" cars in France are just other French people driving their own car, so there is no reason to target rental cars -- the other cars are potentially just as full of stuff to take as rental cars.
Your logic is very flawed. Logically, it doesn't matter that 95% of tourists drive their own cars (assuming that's true). If 90% (or some other high percentage) of hire cars are driven by travelers (both tourists with all of their stuff and business travelers with laptops, etc), then that's what matters. When you target a hire car, you're very likely to get a traveler. If you target a private car, you might get a traveler/tourist/business traveler or not. More likely not but clearly that depends on the area. Rethink your logic on this.
Jun 19th, 2019, 04:00 PM
#26
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My husband was travelling with a friend in France. Their rental car got broken into and everything got stolen--just clothes in their luggage, but a huge inconvenience as they travelled without any clothes or underwear. Shopping was not on their itinerary, but they got to it as soon as they could. You need to weigh how badly lost items would affect you. If just a "mere inconvenience", then carry on.
Jun 19th, 2019, 05:24 PM
#28
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Obviously, it's a personal choice about risks and benefits. And BTW, note that there are some parking lots in France that have attendants and security cameras, which is quite a different think than pulling off the road somewhere without an attendant or security measures.
FWIW, here’s my personal list of steps once can take to minimize (but not eliminate) your risks: if you do choose to leave luggage in a car.
- Don’t ever leave anything in the car that can be seen through its windows.
- ALWAYS keep key items -- your passport, cash, and bank cards -- with you (preferably in a under-the-clothes passport pouch, with only what you need for the day outside of that pouch), and be sure that that pouch also has a copy of any key documents you might need on one or more days, including the information you will need to report your loss.
- Don’t ever move things from the interior to the trunk in the place that you will leave the car – do that somewhere else, even if it means pulling off the road briefly a mile or so from your destination.
- Try to park in a well lighted area where other people might have eyes-on (not so much because they might act, but because their presence might discourage thieves).
- If possible, park your car in a way that would make it difficult for thieves to gain anything – for example, consider backing the car up to a wall to make it difficult to open the trunk or remove anything from it.
- Be sure you know how to contact your rental car agency and insurance agency as soon as possible after any incursion.
- Assess the costs and risks of leaving your luggage in the car – and not just the dollar costs (with due consideration to coverage through insurance), but also the temporal costs if your luggage is lost, which would include time to file a claim and to replace your most needed items, but also the costs to you in time if you decide to always forego parking with luggage in your car (and that, of course, includes the lost opportunities to see things that you would have seen if you had stopped en route).
Good luck with your decision!
FWIW, here’s my personal list of steps once can take to minimize (but not eliminate) your risks: if you do choose to leave luggage in a car.
- Don’t ever leave anything in the car that can be seen through its windows.
- ALWAYS keep key items -- your passport, cash, and bank cards -- with you (preferably in a under-the-clothes passport pouch, with only what you need for the day outside of that pouch), and be sure that that pouch also has a copy of any key documents you might need on one or more days, including the information you will need to report your loss.
- Don’t ever move things from the interior to the trunk in the place that you will leave the car – do that somewhere else, even if it means pulling off the road briefly a mile or so from your destination.
- Try to park in a well lighted area where other people might have eyes-on (not so much because they might act, but because their presence might discourage thieves).
- If possible, park your car in a way that would make it difficult for thieves to gain anything – for example, consider backing the car up to a wall to make it difficult to open the trunk or remove anything from it.
- Be sure you know how to contact your rental car agency and insurance agency as soon as possible after any incursion.
- Assess the costs and risks of leaving your luggage in the car – and not just the dollar costs (with due consideration to coverage through insurance), but also the temporal costs if your luggage is lost, which would include time to file a claim and to replace your most needed items, but also the costs to you in time if you decide to always forego parking with luggage in your car (and that, of course, includes the lost opportunities to see things that you would have seen if you had stopped en route).
Good luck with your decision!
Jun 20th, 2019, 12:55 AM
#30
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"Empty your car!" is not really a helpful sign. It basically means, "Don't park here!"
There used to be a rental agency in New Jersey called "Rent a Wreck". When I was penniless and didn't own a car, I sometimes rented from them. There was no way a thief would have targeted these cars. They clearly announced, "There's nothing in here except empty beer bottles."
There used to be a rental agency in New Jersey called "Rent a Wreck". When I was penniless and didn't own a car, I sometimes rented from them. There was no way a thief would have targeted these cars. They clearly announced, "There's nothing in here except empty beer bottles."
Jun 20th, 2019, 01:43 AM
#31
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This dilemma is an inherent part of any road trip.
The only solid advice against theft from cars would be:
Don't stop anywhere along the road until you have reached your final destination where you can store all your belongings in your locked hotel room.
If you don't like that idea, there is a lot of good advice above how to manage the risk.
But in the end, anything you do comes with a certain risk, and while you are away with your luggage always safely stored at the hotels someone could break in at home. Or someone could steal stuff from your hotel room.
Or the sky could fall on your head - the latter in Brittany, only, obviously ;-)
The only solid advice against theft from cars would be:
Don't stop anywhere along the road until you have reached your final destination where you can store all your belongings in your locked hotel room.
If you don't like that idea, there is a lot of good advice above how to manage the risk.
But in the end, anything you do comes with a certain risk, and while you are away with your luggage always safely stored at the hotels someone could break in at home. Or someone could steal stuff from your hotel room.
Or the sky could fall on your head - the latter in Brittany, only, obviously ;-)
Jun 20th, 2019, 02:03 AM
#32
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Darn, I was kinda hoping for responses that say; don't worry, those problems are something of the past!
Thanks for the responses and all the information and advice.
The issue I have, is that I can't book into our accommodation and then return to the site, as they are quite a ways from each other. I also do not want us to miss Oradour specifically, as we probably won't get the chance to visit again.Does anybody perchance know if there is a wall or something similar in their parking lot/s? Tried Google Maps, but did not really see anything.
Thanks for the responses and all the information and advice.
The issue I have, is that I can't book into our accommodation and then return to the site, as they are quite a ways from each other. I also do not want us to miss Oradour specifically, as we probably won't get the chance to visit again.Does anybody perchance know if there is a wall or something similar in their parking lot/s? Tried Google Maps, but did not really see anything.
Jun 20th, 2019, 02:59 AM
#34
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Honestly I think you are worrying about not a lot. As said make sure you have your passports on you, plus bank/credit cards. Don't move stuff to the boot when you arrive. Don't leave coats or other stuff on the seats. Millions of people make road trips in cars and rvs and only a tiny proportion get broken nto. The quieter the car park the more likely it is to happen.
Stop fretting and go enjoy your holiday.
Stop fretting and go enjoy your holiday.
Jun 20th, 2019, 03:37 AM
#35
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I toured Oradour at least a half-dozen times in a rental car. I always peeled off or covered up the rental stickers and left a local newspaper on the dashboard and a half-eaten baguette (hardly foolproof and quite silly, but maybe it worked). I never worried about break-ins and never had one. But I'm not of a worrying mindset.
Frankly, it would strike me as a major-league oddity that anyone would target a parking lot in Oradour to steal stuff. While acknowledging that car thieves exist in France, I can hardly think of a place more ill-suited to ripping off a rental car. Use your noggin' when evaluating where it's safe to park.
I agree with heti.
Frankly, it would strike me as a major-league oddity that anyone would target a parking lot in Oradour to steal stuff. While acknowledging that car thieves exist in France, I can hardly think of a place more ill-suited to ripping off a rental car. Use your noggin' when evaluating where it's safe to park.
I agree with heti.
Jun 20th, 2019, 06:58 AM
#37
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So what? Not every rental car is loaded to the gunnels with stuff worth stealing.
The rentals we have had have just had a barcode on the windscreen, and in Spain the plastered with the rental company. Lots of cars have the fuel type on a label on the outside, and no smoking signs in side. DH occasionally used a pool car from work which had both, as did one of his lease cars.
Thieves prefer quieter car parks where they can work undisturbed, or really busy places like motorway service areas where everyone is away from their cars.
Unless you leave your brand new tablet/laptop/DSLR/Dxpensive jacket on display you should be fine, rental car, foreign car, whatever. Thieves want an easy life.
The rentals we have had have just had a barcode on the windscreen, and in Spain the plastered with the rental company. Lots of cars have the fuel type on a label on the outside, and no smoking signs in side. DH occasionally used a pool car from work which had both, as did one of his lease cars.
Thieves prefer quieter car parks where they can work undisturbed, or really busy places like motorway service areas where everyone is away from their cars.
Unless you leave your brand new tablet/laptop/DSLR/Dxpensive jacket on display you should be fine, rental car, foreign car, whatever. Thieves want an easy life.
Jun 20th, 2019, 07:25 AM
#39
Just for the record, I have been a victim of luggage theft in a car. It was in Los Angeles on Melrose Avenue in the middle of the afternoon. It was my last stop before going to the airport to return to Paris. My mistake? It was a car with a real trunk (rather than hatchback), and when I got out of it to stroll and look at the shops, I suddenly decided that it was very warm, even though it was Thanksgiving weekend. So I took off my jacket and put it in the trunk. Obviously somebody was watching me.
When I returned to the car an hour later, the trunk lock had been punched out and the trunk was empty. It was rather a shame that I had taken off my jacket, because my passport and plane ticket were in it. Oops.
Nevertheless, I recovered from the trauma, and it just makes me be very careful about where I park and also to look around so see if anybody else is there. I still have to make brief daytime tours from time to time, just like other people -- have left one hotel and want to see some sites before going to the next hotel -- but have had no other problem in the last 30 years.
When I returned to the car an hour later, the trunk lock had been punched out and the trunk was empty. It was rather a shame that I had taken off my jacket, because my passport and plane ticket were in it. Oops.
Nevertheless, I recovered from the trauma, and it just makes me be very careful about where I park and also to look around so see if anybody else is there. I still have to make brief daytime tours from time to time, just like other people -- have left one hotel and want to see some sites before going to the next hotel -- but have had no other problem in the last 30 years.
Jun 20th, 2019, 08:26 AM
#40
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I toured Oradour at least a half-dozen times in a rental car. I always peeled off or covered up the rental stickers and left a local newspaper on the dashboard and a half-eaten baguette (hardly foolproof and quite silly, but maybe it worked). I never worried about break-ins and never had one. But I'm not of a worrying mindset.
Frankly, it would strike me as a major-league oddity that anyone would target a parking lot in Oradour to steal stuff. While acknowledging that car thieves exist in France, I can hardly think of a place more ill-suited to ripping off a rental car. Use your noggin' when evaluating where it's safe to park.
I agree with heti.
Frankly, it would strike me as a major-league oddity that anyone would target a parking lot in Oradour to steal stuff. While acknowledging that car thieves exist in France, I can hardly think of a place more ill-suited to ripping off a rental car. Use your noggin' when evaluating where it's safe to park.
I agree with heti.
