Leaving a car in in an open-air parking lot for a week?

[NARFALICIOUS]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Yes, I did. I then quoted the relevant part, to which I was responding. The fact that you happened to work at a shop that let people park there indefinitely does not, in any way whatsoever, mean that shops have no choice but to let people do so.

Considering the size of our lot and the fleeting nature of our business, saying "yes" to the most trivial of requests meant a happy customer at no additional cost.
Given these facts, what did it benefit me to tow their car away?

I've done this at a different shop too (dealer) with my own car for the weekend (3 days) after an oil change.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by NARFALICIOUS

Considering the size of our lot and the fleeting nature of our business, saying "yes" to the most trivial of requests meant a happy customer at no additional cost.
Given these facts, what did it benefit me to tow their car away?

Exactly.

[chet everett]

I'm some ways it is probably more routine for folks to leave the car parked in the same spot for a four or five days absence -- that probably morris the pattern of folks that have a car but work in a location where they only use it for weekends.

I would also think that if you have a routine business relationship with a locally owned car repair business they might be Ok with occaisional longer term parking / storage.

No suprise that a "strategy" that includes leaving car on-street for as long as two weeks would result in at least one parking ticket, I suspect that a huge percentage of tickets fall into same category.

Originally Posted by Prost

My experiences:

I travel a lot for work, and I have routinely left my car on South Loop and West Loop streets while I take the L to the airport. Usually it's only for 4-5 days, but sometimes when I'm on vacation I've left it for *gasp* two weeks! I always check the city's street cleaning schedule to make sure I won't run into issues with that. After doing this for almost three years on and off, I've gotten one street cleaning ticket (my fault for not checking) and zero break ins. My car is a 1997, so it's nothing new and flashy, in case that matters. Not saying what I do is fool proof and smart, and perhaps I've gotten a bit lucky that there's been no street closures without ample warning, but it's served me well.

In regards to leaving your car at a mechanic for a week, just ask. Some might care, some might not. When I needed my car serviced, I would always drop it off before I left town, but I also have a relationship with my mechanic which allows me to do whatever fits my schedule.

[Prost]

Going back to what the OP asked, street parking is one thing, where you blend in with many other cars. If you're parked in a sparsely filled lot in the middle of the night, I can see how that would be uncomfortable. When I lived in the South Loop I remember most lots weren't too empty at night. Just a thought, but I think some residents have monthly parking passes for many of the lots. But then again I've parked on side streets in the West Loop that are pretty empty late at night, so who knows; maybe I've just been lucky up to now.

And back to my experiences, parking on a city street for two weeks is probably not the smartest move, mostly because of the risk of last minute ''no-parking" signs going up while you're away. I only did this once, and I probably wouldn't do it again. I got my ticket when I was gone for three days, go figure.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Prost

Going back to what the OP asked, street parking is one thing, where you blend in with many other cars. If you're parked in a sparsely filled lot in the middle of the night, I can see how that would be uncomfortable. When I lived in the South Loop I remember most lots weren't too empty at night. Just a thought, but I think some residents have monthly parking passes for many of the lots. But then again I've parked on side streets in the West Loop that are pretty empty late at night, so who knows; maybe I've just been lucky up to now.

And back to my experiences, parking on a city street for two weeks is probably not the smartest move, mostly because of the risk of last minute ''no-parking" signs going up while you're away. I only did this once, and I probably wouldn't do it again. I got my ticket when I was gone for three days, go figure.

I think I have heard cops say "stick to what the crowd does -- the wolf gets the sick animal off by itself and misses the herd"...