Should rental car be left unlocked or not?

I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;ve seen similar posts to this in the past, but unfortunately, I wasn%26#39;t paying attention. Now that we have decided to rent a car for a couple of days while on Oahu (staying in Waikiki) I find the question relevant.

So, should we leave the car doors unlocked (or at least one of them)? We don%26#39;t plan on leaving anything in the car (including the trunk). Even if we do leave anything it would just be towels, sunscreen, etc. Also, is theft from the cars really the only problem or do we chance having the car itself stolen (especially if the doors are left unlocked).

Don%26#39;t know if it makes a difference, but we are only renting a compact car (like a Ford Focus), nothing fancy like a convertible or anything.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Should rental car be left unlocked or not?

Have seen ';advice'; like this, but seems to me like leaving your house unlocked so a burgler doesn%26#39;t break a window.

Would suggest not leaving anything in the passenger area (towels etc.) that give the appearance of covering something up.

Also, have heard that the bad boys sit on near-by hillsides looking for people to open the trunk %26amp; put a purse inside; don%26#39;t even give the impression of doing so.

Should rental car be left unlocked or not?

Doesn%26#39;t make a difference what kind of car it is....it%26#39;s the easily re-sellable items inside they want. My car (Mustang) has been broken into twice in the last several months. Our POS beach beater was hit last weekend w/approx a dozen or so others. We only knew because the glove box was open every time. They got nothing for their efforts.

Don%26#39;t risk a broken window. And, don%26#39;t leave anything in the car you don%26#39;t mind loosing.

All people will ever find in my car is left over sand, a beach mat and a beach chair. All can be replaced :)

I%26#39;m just curious if theft is as bad when you pay to park in a parking lot in Honolulu, or is it mostly the scenic stops that the thieves target?

Our last day there we will check out of our condo at 10 am, but our flight doesn%26#39;t leave until 10 pm. Our luggage will be in the trunk all day. I was trying to think of some things we could do and places to eat where we could keep the car in sight or park in a somewhat safe place. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

tlb64 - - you may want to ask the condo folks if you can leave your luggage with them - - sometimes they have a room they lock luggage in for that very reason.

If it makes good sense to leave the doors unlocked (presumably so a thief won%26#39;t do dmage while breaking in) then by the same reasoning you should also leave the trunk open.

When you are in a crowded area with lots of people around you should have no problem. If you are in a remote area take all precautions.

Please do NOT do this... your car is a target anywhere. If you value whatever are in your suitcases, JUST DON%26#39;T DO IT.

I would recommend that your hotel keep your luggage for a few hours while you%26#39;re out exploring.

ooooops.......... sorry, must have replied in the wrong post :)

Unfortunately leaving our luggage at the condo isn%26#39;t an option (I checked). The manager said our only option would be leave the luggage in our condo and pay for an extra half-day (late checkout) if it won%26#39;t be occupied by someone else that afternoon, but it is. I also checked with Delta to see if we could check the luggage early and they said no. Guess we%26#39;re stuck with it for the day. But I don%26#39;t plan to leave the car no matter what. It would be bad enough to have a few things stolen, but to have EVERYTHING stolen would be too much.

tlb,

Not to scare you or make you more paranoid re leaving things in the car.....but, one of the places my car was broken into was in valet parking for one of the most upscale hotels here. I won%26#39;t name names but they did pay to have my locks fixed and car rekeyed. If you have to leave your things in a car, I would guess a parking area w/cameras would be better than other choices.