Is car storage a better option than airport parking? (Atlanta: rental car, coupons)

[Jack_Tauson_Sr]

I am trying to figure out what would be the best option to leave my car since I am going to be out of the country for a month in December.

Should I rent vehicle storage (climate/nonclimate controlled) near an airport or airport parking would be better?

[Need4Camaro]

Well, depending on your confidence and personal risk assessment for the pandemic, my personal choice would be to leave the car at home, take MARTA, fly out. If you're confident enough to be on an airplane I can't imagine MARTA being too much worse, that or Uber / Lyft to the Airport.

As for your question though, I probably would get a garage. I dont think you'll run into problems with airport parking but Im protective of my vehicles.

[cwkimbro]

Where are you coming to the airport from?

If you're in the Atlanta area take an Uber, request it a night in advance and have them come earlier than you need. It will be your cheapest option.

If you're coming from a secondary city in Georgia, use the Groome van service. https://groometransportation.com/ They travel to Columbus, Athens, Augusta, Macon, Athens, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Auburn to ATL. I do not know how Covid is affecting their service! In normal times the service is pretty frequent.

If none of that is an option, I'd just park at an off-site parking lot and eat the cost. I travel a good bit on long work trips, so I run into those a good bit. I usually park at the Parking Spot, which is slightly cheaper with coupons/reservation discounts. WallyPark would also be a good one to consider. I do not use the ones that are closest to the airport on Camp Creek Pkwy, they charge more. The closer to I-285 on Camp Creek Pkwy, they cheaper the offerings with a discount.

www.theparkingspot.com
www.wallypark.com

You should be able to get the daily rate between $6 to $7/day, but they may make you pay upfront and won't refund if your trip is cut short. They will have a shuttle that will drop you off at the curb of the terminal and pick you up at a dedicated off-site lot pick up point on the lower level of the terminal. You will not get a discount if you do not make the reservation to get the rate in advance! If you just drive up, they charge default rates between $9-11/day usually.

If you're traveling on an international outbound flight from ATL. You can either use the options above and use an airport shuttle that goes from the domestic terminal to the international terminal (give yourself 20 minutes; it takes 10, but you might need a few minutes to find it for the first time and you might have to wait on the next shuttle) At the domestic terminal, the pick up for this shuttle is located at the end of the terminal next to train to the rental car center.

...or you can park at the only off-site lot by the international terminal, http://www.TheFastPark.com . The problem is they charge more and do not always provide you the discount. They sort of have a competitive advantage on that side of the airport.

Other lots do shuttles to the international terminal, but they come with drawbacks and I always had trouble when I used them. The Parking Spot 1 requires you pay for covered parking and shuttles only operate every 30 minutes, so it isn't convenient. TheFastPark usually costs about $10/day and coupon deals aren't as good, but the shuttles are frequent to the international terminal.

I use The Parking Spot the most and occasionally park at the TheFastPark for international use when the trips are shorter. For long trips, I use the cheapest parking and use the airport shuttle between the domestic and international terminals.

When you go out of the country if your first flight is international, you're going to the international terminal. If you're first flight is domestic and you're connecting in another US city, then you go to the domestic terminal.


But also consider your return... If your original flight is international from ATL, but you fly back through JFK and connect to Atlanta... you will need to use the airport international shuttle anyways, so go with the cheaper option.


One last thing you can try, but you need to do your research... You can rent a car from your home town for one day and drop off at the rental car center in ATL and rent another car for one day on your return. You will need to investigate how much that will cost you from your location.

[markjames68]

I’d keep it at home and also set up a trickle charger for the battery.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by markjames68

I’d keep it at home and also set up a trickle charger for the battery.

+ 1 .. an older battery probably won’t like sitting unused for a month and will slowly drain.

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by Jack_Tauson_Sr

I am trying to figure out what would be the best option to leave my car since I am going to be out of the country for a month in December.

Should I rent vehicle storage (climate/nonclimate controlled) near an airport or airport parking would be better?

Leave it at home and have the person who is watching your home also tend to your car once a week. Take a car sharing service to the airport.

Even if you have stopped your mail, etc. I find that the USPS still sometimes delivers mail, pipes may burst, etc. so it is always good to have someone look after your place while you are gone. Not to mention making sure your home stays secure.

Have a wonderful and safe trip!

[Jack_Tauson_Sr]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

Where are you coming to the airport from?

If you're in the Atlanta area take an Uber, request it a night in advance and have them come earlier than you need. It will be your cheapest option.

If you're coming from a secondary city in Georgia, use the Groome van service. https://groometransportation.com/ They travel to Columbus, Athens, Augusta, Macon, Athens, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Auburn to ATL. I do not know how Covid is affecting their service! In normal times the service is pretty frequent.

If none of that is an option, I'd just park at an off-site parking lot and eat the cost. I travel a good bit on long work trips, so I run into those a good bit. I usually park at the Parking Spot, which is slightly cheaper with coupons/reservation discounts. WallyPark would also be a good one to consider. I do not use the ones that are closest to the airport on Camp Creek Pkwy, they charge more. The closer to I-285 on Camp Creek Pkwy, they cheaper the offerings with a discount.

www.theparkingspot.com
www.wallypark.com

You should be able to get the daily rate between $6 to $7/day, but they may make you pay upfront and won't refund if your trip is cut short. They will have a shuttle that will drop you off at the curb of the terminal and pick you up at a dedicated off-site lot pick up point on the lower level of the terminal. You will not get a discount if you do not make the reservation to get the rate in advance! If you just drive up, they charge default rates between $9-11/day usually.

If you're traveling on an international outbound flight from ATL. You can either use the options above and use an airport shuttle that goes from the domestic terminal to the international terminal (give yourself 20 minutes; it takes 10, but you might need a few minutes to find it for the first time and you might have to wait on the next shuttle) At the domestic terminal, the pick up for this shuttle is located at the end of the terminal next to train to the rental car center.

...or you can park at the only off-site lot by the international terminal, http://www.TheFastPark.com . The problem is they charge more and do not always provide you the discount. They sort of have a competitive advantage on that side of the airport.

Other lots do shuttles to the international terminal, but they come with drawbacks and I always had trouble when I used them. The Parking Spot 1 requires you pay for covered parking and shuttles only operate every 30 minutes, so it isn't convenient. TheFastPark usually costs about $10/day and coupon deals aren't as good, but the shuttles are frequent to the international terminal.

I use The Parking Spot the most and occasionally park at the TheFastPark for international use when the trips are shorter. For long trips, I use the cheapest parking and use the airport shuttle between the domestic and international terminals.

When you go out of the country if your first flight is international, you're going to the international terminal. If you're first flight is domestic and you're connecting in another US city, then you go to the domestic terminal.


But also consider your return... If your original flight is international from ATL, but you fly back through JFK and connect to Atlanta... you will need to use the airport international shuttle anyways, so go with the cheaper option.


One last thing you can try, but you need to do your research... You can rent a car from your home town for one day and drop off at the rental car center in ATL and rent another car for one day on your return. You will need to investigate how much that will cost you from your location.

Thank you for the detailed info. I live in Birmingham and will be driving to ATL for an International flight.

Groome service is not available for Atlanta from Birmingham. Not sure what's going to be the scenario in December. I heard they are restarting their services slowly.

[Jack_Tauson_Sr]

Originally Posted by Beretta

Leave it at home and have the person who is watching your home also tend to your car once a week. Take a car sharing service to the airport.

Even if you have stopped your mail, etc. I find that the USPS still sometimes delivers mail, pipes may burst, etc. so it is always good to have someone look after your place while you are gone. Not to mention making sure your home stays secure.

Have a wonderful and safe trip!

Thank you for all the info. Forgot to mention in my post that I live in Birmingham and hence trying to figure out parking options. If it's costing too much, I guess, I could go for renting a car from Birmingham and dropping it off at ATL airport.

[Jack_Tauson_Sr]

Originally Posted by markjames68

I’d keep it at home and also set up a trickle charger for the battery.

Thanks for the info. I will research on trickle charger. Heard it for first time. I got my battery replaced with new one recently in June so I guess it would survive for a month.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Jack_Tauson_Sr

Thanks for the info. I will research on trickle charger. Heard it for first time. I got my battery replaced with new one recently in June so I guess it would survive for a month.

If you do end up parking at an ATL offsite parking place you can also look into solar trickle chargers that plug into your cigarette lighter. It’s not a true charger but a maintainer. You put the panel on your dash to catch the sun and plug the cord into your lighter socket.