We will be renting a car and driving through Spain and Portugal in Sept/Oct. I'm just wondering about potential problems if we park our car in the large public lots outside of cities and towns while we explore. This would be between hotels, so we'd have our luggage in the trunk. I have read not to rent Fords, since they are often targeted. We naturally won't have anything inside the car to tempt anyone.......but has anyone had experience with these public lots?? Are they guarded by any local police?

Any tips or idea's will be appreciated.

It really depends on where you are going. Some public car parks are guarded by men and cameras others are not. A lot of CPs are located in city centres too.
I have never heard that Fords are more likely to be broken into than any other make of car. However you never know what car you get until you pick it up. It is usual for a rental company to advertise a certain car but say in the small print "or similar".
You must not leave anything on show to reduce the chances of being broken into. Hopefully your worries do not over come your vacation.

The police do NOT guard public parking lots - they have a lot of other things to do , just like here. Some lots may be staffed - but most are not.

It's best to park with the trunk facing a wall or another car (back in) just to make it more difficult to get into. More important is to have a look around the lot as you enter - if there are people loitering I would go to another lot -perhaps a hotel garage - that is staffed.

(We've done MANY road trips all over europe and have never had any problems. But we're always careful where we leave our car.

and never put in or take anything out of the trunk once parked and leaving the car. try to do all that earlier so it is not so obvious a car full of stuff under that lid!

You can also bicycle/cable chain your luggage together which I think is a really good idea, although I have never done it!

as several posters stated above..the key word is <b>awareness</b>. I've driven rental cars in every European mainland country since the 60's, except Russia, Belarus and Ukraine (which we visited this past October)....admittedly, I take most of the precautionary measures described in the posts above. I'd hate to think it's just a matter of luck...I don't believe it is. After the fall of communism and the end of the Bloc, the Russians were paying big money for stolen cars..hiring gangs of young kids to break in and whisk them across the border....visitors with rental cars had to be especially alert.

Remember the old steering wheel locking devices?...the thieves were hack-sawing through them in minutes...we didn't even bother having one.

Drove about 1500 miles in Portugal last spring, and we felt more confident there than in most any of the others...but nevertheless, we followed the same guidelines as mentioned above. NYT's admonishment is a good one to follow...any unsavory groups hanging in the area...go somewhere else. In Kazimierz Dolny, in Central Poland, many years ago, a cafe owner opened up his personal garage next door and bade us to park in it...it was then that I noticed a rather unsavory group of people having a raucous time of it in a park across the street..and the owner gave a wry smile..<i>"banditten..no jobs, no money"</i> in understandable German/English.

Again, I think you'll find Portugal a very friendly country with perhaps less vehicle theft than others. But, please keep your wits about you...Have a fun trip. You enjoy Portugal.

Stu T.

I think its worth trying out, to put a bike lock through all the luggage. We just don't want to spend any time having to shop in case things get stolen. But that would definately make luggage harder to steal. Now we would just have to remember the combo for the lock!!!
I think its a good suggestion to back the car in. altho it would also make someone opening the trunk less visable... but watching who is loitering around is also a good tip, as is not putting anything in or out of the trunk in a parking lot. Thanks everyone.

kleroux:

I must add...above all, stop getting yourselves spooked because of all of this car worry ...just go and have a good time...but being alert should not hamper your vacation in any way. The very worst thing you can do is to spend all of your valuable time worryng about the damn car and your luggage....seriously, for heavens sake, cool it!!

stu tower

I live in Spain, and yet I have seen more car break-ins in France and the UK than here....
But what is the norm?

Bring a cell phone if possible. Here is my previous post about what happened to my friends:

My friends and another couple had just rented a van at or near Melaga (sp?). As they were driving down a secondary road, they realized they had a flat tire. They stopped to change the tire and a "very nice and polite" Spanish couple stopped and talked with them. The woman went back to her car, then returned grabbing a purse and an attache case from the front seat as she did-these included all of one couple's money, ids, camera and copies of documents. Getting everything replaced and "stops" put on cards "killed" a day and certainly put a pall on the rest of the trip. Call police before you get out of your car should something like this happen.

The woman robbed our friends and returned to talk some more!

ps-My hub and I spent almost a week in Barcelona and had no problems whatsoever so I hope you won't, as other poster says, get obsessive about theft. Just be as careful as you would any place. Don't leave items in plain site, lock your car, etc. etc.

Hi Kleroux; We just returned from Spain and Portugal and had no problems. Our car was parked in public lots in a number of places. Many suggestions how to safeguard your luggage from being stolen. For us, it's the old saying, 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'. Nothing anyone can do about that. Can happen anywhere. But has never happened to us. Don't worry, you will be OK. Dick

I agree not to worry too much about it, however, you do need to take common sense precautions as theft is very common, especially in spain. i would not leave any luggage exposed and obviously i would never leave anything of value in the car (hidden or not).

i would not bother with strange tips such as leaving some 'local' artifact visible such as a baguette in france or maybe in spain it should be some serrano ham??? this is nonsense.

i don't have any stats to dispute what you say about fords but it doesn't sound right to me. perhaps fords are STOLEN more because they are so common and parts are in demand or they are easier to break into....i have no idea. the spanish seem to really like fords and many are made in spain. don't worry about the brand of car, just make sure it's big enough to accomodate all of your luggage out of sight if you plan to leave it parked for long periods while loaded.