Parking Question

[9265359]

9 minutes ago, kalos said:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/3831158/are-you-insured-when-you-leave-your-car-at-an-off-site-airport-car-park-millions-of-holiday-maker

 

You are quoting the Sun as an authority! 
 

Anyway the standard answer to any newspaper article that poses a question is a negative to their proposal.

 

And in scenario 1, are you suggesting the insurance company might not pay out if you left your car parked on the street outside your house whilst you went on holiday? And does it need to be a week it is left unattended? Or just a weekend? Or even overnight? And does it matter if it is around the corner from your house, or does it need to be immediately outside for it to be insured.

 

Those who are happy to take a risk, whether it is booking a Saver cabin or parking in a multi-storey car parks will do so, and those who don’t consider it an acceptable risk will pay for the Select cabins and use the inclusive car parking.

Edited June 14, 2023 by 9265359

[paulatsea]

44 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

Statistics are relevant if it never happens to your car.

 

 

Care to give an example of a car insurance policy that contains such an exclusion, because I have never seen one (and I consider it would be impossible for any insurance company to actually write such an exclusion that wouldn't fail to meet the expectations of the ombudsman).

My mistake - apologies - it was from policy years ago. I am not up to date.

 

[paulatsea]

52 minutes ago, paulatsea said:

Not perceptions - based on facts and personal  experience over many years.

 

Fact - my car has never been damaged or broken into in a secured cruise car park.
It has in public car parks.

 

Fact - Most Car Insurance will not cover loss/damage if car left unattended overnight / for several days in a public car park - reason ?  actuarial statistics on theft damage from public car parks.

 

And peace of mind (perceived or real threat ) is worth a premium - to me.

 

 

 

My mistake re insurance . Out of date and no longer correct . Fact !! 

[solentsam]

7 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

And in scenario 1, are you suggesting the insurance company might not pay out if you left your car parked on the street outside your house whilst you went on holiday? And does it need to be a week it is left unattended? Or just a weekend? Or even overnight? And does it matter if it is around the corner from your house, or does it need to be immediately outside for it to be insured.

wherever I park my car is my home  (to quote Paul Young   I think ) lol 😉

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

Your 'perceived' risk.

 

Whether there is actually an increased risk is a matter for debate.

I think whatever is said you see it as a debate. You park where you want to park and I will park where I want to park. We all have our own choices and will say no more on the matter. Debate closed.

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by majortom10

[Selbourne]

The sad reality is that nowhere is without risk. Unfortunately I have been the victim of several car break-ins over the years. Once in an open air car park in Liverpool. Once in a hotel car park in West London. Another time in a multi-story in Nottingham and finally on our driveway when we lived in Southampton 30 years ago.
 

Thankfully I have never had a car break-in whilst we’ve been on a cruise, but a previous car acquired a dent in a door whilst parked with CPS, which they eventually paid for after a battle. Also, very recently our current car seems to have acquired a nasty scratch on the bonnet, also whilst parked with CPS. Unfortunately I didn’t notice it until a few days later, but we hadn’t been anywhere else and the car had been parked in our garage, so it couldn’t have happened anywhere else. It was too late to hold CPS to account though as we hadn’t noticed it when we collected the car (unlike the dent which we noticed straight away). 
 

I guess that the moral of this story is that we use CPS or Parking4Cruises, not because our car is safer and certainly not because it’s cheap (because it isn’t), but simply because it’s the most convenient. 

[Fionboard]

Over the past 11 years I have parked my car at Holiday Inn over 50 times using their package. Never had a problem although I do not leave anything "knickable" in it. I like to keep the keys with me. 

[peajay]

I have also used the Holiday Inn a couple of times and feel comfortable with the parking location and security. I paid less for parking and overnight stay with breakfast than the CPS price 

[Ardennais]

Gosh, we don’t even lock our vehicles at home! 

[Selbourne]

5 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

Gosh, we don’t even lock our vehicles at home! 

Neither do I, but it is in a garage! It has crossed my mind that in the highly unlikely scenario that somebody broke into the garage and stole the car, the insurance company may have something to say about that, but I guess I wouldn’t volunteer that information 😂 

[Snow Hill]

7 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Neither do I, but it is in a garage! It has crossed my mind that in the highly unlikely scenario that somebody broke into the garage and stole the car, the insurance company may have something to say about that, but I guess I wouldn’t volunteer that information 😂 

Nothing in my car insurance to say I am not covered if car left in public car park.

 

If I don’t lock mine, I get a warning on the Toyota app on my phone and can lock it remotely. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Snow Hill

[Selbourne]

21 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

Nothing in my car insurance to say I am not covered if car left in public car park.

 

If I don’t lock mine, I get a warning on the Toyota app on my phone and can lock it remotely. 

No insurance will prevent you from parking in a public car park. I was talking about the view that insurers may take about leaving a car unlocked in a private garage at home. Not that I would ever do this myself, but some people leave keys in their car when they pop in to a shop or pay for petrol. I have heard of insurers refusing to pay out when cars are stolen as a result, as the owner has failed to take steps to secure their car.

 

I can also check the status of my car and lock it if necessary via an app. It doesn’t warn me that I haven’t locked it at home, but that may be because I am still in close proximity to the car? I’ve never left it unlocked away from home, so it may well warn me if I start to move some distance away from the car, but I won’t risk trying it 😂 

[Josy1953]

7 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Neither do I, but it is in a garage! It has crossed my mind that in the highly unlikely scenario that somebody broke into the garage and stole the car, the insurance company may have something to say about that, but I guess I wouldn’t volunteer that information 😂 

For many years we were the same, both cars kept in the locked garage but in recent years it hasn't mattered because we have had self locking cars.  I am always concerned about car parks since I read an article about some car thieves using some sort of scanner the pick up the signal from the key as you walk away and then they can use that to steal the car.  We can only do what we can to keep our property safe but determined thieves will take whatever they want.

Thinking about this has made me realise that we probably wouldn't get 2 cars in the garage now, somehow since we decided that we only really 1 car, one side of the garage is taken up by things like lawnmowers, electric hedge cutters, chainsaw and other gardening equipment.

 

[Snow Hill]

54 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

No insurance will prevent you from parking in a public car park. I was talking about the view that insurers may take about leaving a car unlocked in a private garage at home. Not that I would ever do this myself, but some people leave keys in their car when they pop in to a shop or pay for petrol. I have heard of insurers refusing to pay out when cars are stolen as a result, as the owner has failed to take steps to secure their car.

 

I can also check the status of my car and lock it if necessary via an app. It doesn’t warn me that I haven’t locked it at home, but that may be because I am still in close proximity to the car? I’ve never left it unlocked away from home, so it may well warn me if I start to move some distance away from the car, but I won’t risk trying it 😂 

A car owner a few hundreds metres from us had his car stolen in January whilst leaving engine running to defrost windscreen, the insurance company didn’t pay out, he was whinging on FB about his insurance company not paying up. The car was recovered, about 200 miles away after use in a ram raid. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Snow Hill

[CaptainPedantic]

2 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

I am always concerned about car parks since I read an article about some car thieves using some sort of scanner the pick up the signal from the key as you walk away and then they can use that to steal the car.

Consider getting a faraday pouch for your car keys to protect from these scanners. And a faraday box for your keys at home for the same reason.

[Pine Man]

2 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

one side of the garage is taken up by things like lawnmowers, electric hedge cutters, chainsaw and other gardening equipment.

Probably worth a fraction of the value of the car it has displaced to a less secure place😉

[Josy1953]

24 minutes ago, Pine Man said:

Probably worth a fraction of the value of the car it has displaced to a less secure place😉

As I said we now only have one car so that car is still in a double garage and the tools that are in the other side of the garage are safer in there than they would be in the shed which would probably be easier to break in

[Pine Man]

2 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

As I said we now only have one car

My apologies, that wasn't too clear in your post.

[Son of Anarchy]

48 minutes ago, CaptainPedantic said:

Consider getting a faraday pouch for your car keys to protect from these scanners. And a faraday box for your keys at home for the same reason.

Tin foil oven roasting bags do the same thing.  We used Faraday boxes where I used to work, which cost a princely sum.  One day one of the lads took removed the outer box.  Foil bag inside with pictures of chickens and other roasting foods printed on it.

[solentsam]

my car is so old i just take the starter handle with me, that will fool them lol. on a serious note my wife has purse with an anti card reader compartment in it so i just pop in in there not sure if it does the trick.

[CaptainPedantic]

Just wanted to come back to this post to say thanks once again for the P4C recommendations - we've just returned from our cruise and we would definitely recommend them. VERY easy to book and to use, only a short walk from the short stay car park to the terminal, courteous service, text messages delivered as promised, very pleased! And saving over £120 for a 300 metre walk! Perfect.

[LA30]

We always use them and thoroughly recommend them.  Glad you had a good experience.  Hope your cruise was good too!

[Windsurfboy]

I have a faraday pouch for car keys , tested it really works , bought on Brazilian river for a fiver. Even if it is held next to sensor in car , can't start car until I take it out of pouch. Always put it in at night and take it with me if Staying in hotels. 

 

I expect p4c will keep hundreds of keys together in a cupboard on hooks. It will be almost impossible for thieves to isolate the signal for any one car.

[Mad4WDW]

On 6/4/2023 at 7:16 AM, Selbourne said:

Having used both CPS and Parking4Cruises, the latter can often be quicker, especially with the bigger ships. 
 

As most passengers use CPS, you need to be very clear to any Marshalls that stop you on your drive into the terminal that you are just dropping off. You go to one of the drop off lanes (that taxis etc use), rather than the lanes used by CPS, and unload your luggage. Passengers can alight from the car at this point and wait for the driver to return. The driver then drives the car the very short distance to the short stay car park for that terminal. Look for the Parking4Cruises flag and there will be a staff member (or members) checking in cars. Once they have checked your car, you leave them the key (same as CPS) and walk the short distance back to meet your travel companions. 

When you return at the end of the cruise, you just go to the short stay car park to collect your car. This can often be a much shorter walk than where CPS may have parked your car, as the car parks they use are massive!

 

Whilst it sounds more complicated it’s actually very simple and at busy times with the bigger ships is much quicker, as you don’t get caught in the long holding queues that CPS deploy before they commence checking in cars, when the lanes are full, or when waiting for their drivers to return from parking cars. Plus, of course, the cost saving can be considerable, especially with cruises of 14 days or above. We have taken On Board Credit in lieu of CPS parking and the cost of Parking4Cruises has been £100 less than the OBC offered!

Hi Selbourne,

 

Just wanted to say thank you for this comprehensive reply to the original question here. We've just booked a 31 night Princess cruise and I was looking at our parking options. Your response here was reasuring enough for me to book P4C instead of CPS. £188 compared to £377 and that was for their more expensive option with some flexibility for early car pick up on departure day! 🥂

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

I have a faraday pouch for car keys , tested it really works , bought on Brazilian river for a fiver. Even if it is held next to sensor in car , can't start car until I take it out of pouch. Always put it in at night and take it with me if Staying in hotels. 

 

I expect p4c will keep hundreds of keys together in a cupboard on hooks. It will be almost impossible for thieves to isolate the signal for any one car.

It would also be nigh on impossible to get any car out from the nose to tail rows, and tight parking between the rows, and they do have security lights and cameras as well.