anna

I have read a great deal about thefts from rental cars in Europe. Would this be a probability in small villages as in Burgundy? Any advice to prevent this?

Melodie

Hi Anna,<BR><BR>Sadly, pickpockets and car thefts are rampant in Italy, France and Spain (primarily), and they're getting worse all the time. I recently had a client who was mugged on a train in France.<BR><BR>I'm a travel agent, and although I consider myself pretty saavy when it comes to travelling, my video camera was stolen out of my backpack in Italy in 1999 (while I was wearing it, with my husband walking next to me and no distractions or anyone bumping into us - in Lake Como of all places!) Last year someone attempted to pick my husband's pocket in Madrid.<BR><BR>That said, I (knock on wood have not had any rental car ripped off. Always keep your bags locked in the trunk, and the other thing I like to do is buy a local paper, crumple it a bit and leave it &quot;displayed&quot; in plain view. Also, don't leave any maps in the car where passerbys can spot them - dead giveaway.<BR><BR>Hope this helps!<BR><BR>Melodie

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mpprh

Hi<BR><BR>This question runs and runs !<BR><BR>Europeans believe Florida, and USA generally is a big problem. <BR>Americans believe Europe, particularly Italy, France and Spain are a big problem.<BR>I always take more care in other countries !<BR><BR>I frequently rent cars, and visit other countries often in my own car. <BR><BR>I'm not sure it is really such a problem.<BR><BR>The majority of incidents result from leaving the car unlocked, or with visible items inside. <BR><BR>Thieves concentrate on known tourist areas, and are looking for a quick grab. They don't have time to thoroughly search contents, but are looking for easy pickings. Don't make it easy for them. <BR><BR>I take the same precautions in unknown areas as I do with my own car (which is based in South France) :<BR><BR>Park the car in a well lit, visible location.<BR>Lock all bags etc in the boot (trunk).<BR>Make sure your security activities are not being observed(occasionally I've stopped to hide everything before driving to my parking area).<BR>If you have valuable stuff locked in the boot / trunk, park with the rear of the car against a wall or tree to physically prevent access.<BR>Double check all windows and doors are locked.<BR><BR>Other suggestions are less important :<BR><BR>I'm not sure the presence of maps indicates &quot;tourist&quot;. I leave mine visible in my own car.<BR><BR>Rental cars these days are less identifiable ... there are few Avis etc badges and stickers, or standard registration plates.<BR><BR>The value of the car is not too relevant (greater security v richer pickings ?). I had expensive company cars for 15 years, but had no problems.<BR><BR>Driving on foreign plates may be an unavoidable suggestion of &quot;tourist&quot; - take extra care.<BR><BR>Bon chance<BR><BR>Peter<BR>http://tlp.netfirms.com<BR><BR>

Erica

3 years ago, my husband and I traveled from the quiet of Provence (outside Carpentras) and drove to Nice specifically to see the Matisse drawings at the Matisse Museum.<BR><BR>All of our luggage was stored in the trunk and no maps or other 'touristy' kinds of things were in open sight.<BR><BR>We parked in an open parking area near a crowded park.<BR><BR>Nevertheless, when we came out of the museum, the car door was unlocked. Seems someone forced the lock (doing some damage to the car) and took all of our luggage by turning down the back seats.<BR><BR>Luckily, we carried our passports with us always.<BR><BR>We went to a police station to report the theft. They said it was very common that time of year (early June).<BR><BR>The only thoughts that come to mind are that I have blond hair (Swedish heritage) and we were speaking to each other in English.<BR><BR>Wish I had some advice to offer, but I don't. It might be of some help, however, to suggest you drop your luggage off at the place you'll be spending the night before site seeing and to not do any touring (if you need to leave your rental car to do so) on the day you fly out.<BR><BR>We left the next day with only the clothes on our back.<BR><BR>Good luck.<BR><BR>Erica

Wayne

Anna---Peter's advice is worth taking. My own experience, after more than 20 years of traveling in Europe exclusively in rental cars, and in all countries, is apparently not representative. I have always tried to take the normal precautions, and I have NEVER had a car tampered with or broken into. <BR><BR>Unfortunately, I cannot say that about the U.S. I have had cars broken into in supposedly secure parking areas in the U.S.----once in Washington, DC and once in Florida. Not that this is relevant to the U.S., but it seems that at least in Washington, where my car was parked in a private basement parking area belonging to the hotel, it was apparently an &quot;inside job,&quot; with one or more of the hotel employees in on the deal.

D.Phinney

We had our car broken into in Florence. Nothing visible in the car-- the thieves popped the trunk and stole everything.<BR><BR>The police claimed that the thieves had to be Americans or Africans because &quot;Italians wouldn't do that&quot;. Going to the police was a complete waste of time except in terms of adding further aggravation to injury.<BR><BR>Whether in Europe or the U.S., parked cars are an easy target for thieves. It used to be that you were safer in small towns, but with greater mobility these days I don't think that is true anymore... big city problems come to small towns. <BR><BR>The police typically aren't much help, which only encourages the thieves. I don't so much blame the cops for not recovering more stolen property, because there is not much that they can do after the theft has occurred. What I do blame them for is that they typically don't seem to care about this sort of crime and don't do much proactively either. You should have seen Florence's finest yawn when we reported the crime.