A little worried to leave my car in the parking lot now...
By courtknee525
@courtknee525 (3742)
United States
October 28, 2011 4:54pm CST
I work in a mall so my car basically sits out in a parking lot for hours on end. There are security guards driving around but they're never in the lot where I park. The mall has been known to attract some shady characters that could be a little troublesome.
Well today, I had work so my car was out in the parking lot. My boyfriend and he neighbor came to visit me, found my car, and tried to park near it. He then told me that he saw two shady guys standing around my car and one was trying to look inside of it. My boyfriend noticed and said, "Hey, what are you doing?". They tried to play it off by saying "Dude, it's not even you're car" and all my boyfriend said was "No, it's my girlfriend's". I guess that was enough to make them leave it alone and nothing ever happened. But it really got me thinking, what would've happened if my boyfriend hadn't been there to see them? They could've been totally harmless but to me, looking in someone's car with your face against the window is a bit odd. The only thing I had in my car was my backpack for school. I guess I"m just going to have to either take it out or start putting it in the trunk.
Have any of you had your car broken into, stolen, or close calls with that?
1 person likes this
7 responses
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
29 Oct 11
i live in a mid sized Canadian city and we have the same problem. the police have fixed that by putting 'bait cars' in the parking lots. newer cars with stuff in them so they look atractive to a thief. the car locks with the thief inside after the thief has started the car!
1 person likes this
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
29 Oct 11
haha I've seen tv shows where they do that! I think it's a good thing to do but I'm sure there's still a ton of car thieves out there :( Its sad to think that and have to worry so much about leaving your car places.
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
29 Oct 11
That would definitely be a scary experience. I used to manage a store in a mall here in California. That meant I often had to close up at night and take the money to the bank's night deposit. Fortunately, we could call for a security guard escort to our cars, and I did after dark. We were expected to park in the far lots so the customers would get the closer spaces.
So far I've never had a car broken into, but they always warn us to lock our cars here.
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
29 Oct 11
I think I can call for an escort too, I just don't know how. Luckily, I haven't had to work too late yet so I really haven't had to worry. And I usually get off the same time a few other people do and our cars are usually in the same area. I would always worry about my car at night and after yesterday I'm going to worry during the day too. I have no idea what those guys would've done if my boyfriend hadnt seen them and said something. I don't keep anything valuable in my car so I have no clue what they're after. Hopefully, this won't become a problem in the future, I hate having to worry about my car while I'm at work.
1 person likes this
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
30 Oct 11
No, I didn't :( I didn't even think of doing that. If I ever hear of anything weird like that happening again I'll definitely find out how to report it to security.
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
29 Oct 11
Did you report what happened to the security people? Maybe if they have your license number they will make it a point to get out to your lot now and then.
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
31 Oct 11
I've never had my car broken in, but when I used to live downtown, my neighbor's car was broken in. It was all because he left a few coins and a bottle of water overnight. I guess for some shady characters, they don't care breaking car windows as long as they can get some change.
After that I've learned not to leave anything in the car. Specially if I park anywhere public. Bags are usually left in the trunk.
I'm glad that your car was not broken into, but you should be careful. And not leave anything oin the open.
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
1 Nov 11
I've never had my car broken into either and I hope I never do. It's amazing that a thief will go to such great lengths just to get some extra money. The only thing I had in my car was my backpack but I keep it hidden behind the seat and my car has tinted windows. Now, I'm not going to take any chances and I'm going to keep my backpack in the trunk. Other than that, there's nothing really that useful in my car lol
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
29 Oct 11
I'm glad your boyfriend was there. I used to work in a hospital and nursing home. The lower parking lot was for the nursing home section. It was there that my hub caps were stolen. Lots of workers got their hub caps stolen. We had one security guard but that was a joke.
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
30 Oct 11
Oh wow, that's pretty bad. I'm glad my boyfriend was there too. I would've been horrified if I got off work and walked out to see my car had been broken into or worse..completely gone. There's not really anything they can really take off my car. My car doesn't have hubcaps, it just has alloy rims and I don't think someone could take them off without first getting through the tire. I'm just worried someone would take the entire car :(
@courtknee525 (3742)
• United States
30 Oct 11
I definitely agree about some security guards being a joke..no offense to any of the good guards lol. I feel like most of the time they just drive around in their little security guard cars and don't do much. Maybe it's just the sight of the car that acts as a deterrent for would-be criminals? Whatever the reason, I just wish that my parking lot had a few more roaming around.
@xmichelletarax (370)
• United States
31 Oct 11
first off im glad they showed up. and that your car is ok
where i live i can pretty much leave the keys in my car and have it be fine. when i go into town i take my keys but never really lock it. maybe because it is such a piece of junk that noone wants to bother it, or maybe its the mess inside that stops them. i practically live in my car so it is always a huge mess lol.
about a year ago i had a grand am. it was a nice car. the sound system alone in the car cost around 3,000 dollars. i had at least another 250 dollars worth of CDs, neon all the way around, pretty much custom everything. one day on my way home from work i got a flat. i didnt have a spare and i had no cell service, i had never had a problem with anyone before so i grabbed my keys and started walking.
my dads house was about 3 miles away so thats where i went. we grabbed a spare he had and some tools threw them in his truck and went to get my car... by the time we got there... EVERYTHING in my car was gone and i mean EVERYTHING. they even took the 3 tires that werent flat, sound system, cds, neon, seat covers, even a spare set of keys that didnt even go to the car. my bag with my school books. any parts they could get off quick were gone. ALL OF IT.
idk why but i still never lock my car but that was the only time anything has happened.
@xmichelletarax (370)
• United States
12 Nov 11
yeah i have always liked it but at the same time i wish i was somewhere bigger because there is literally NOTHING to do here.
and yeah i thought it was weird too but then i remember that there is a college town near by and the people are crazy there.
just last month i brought my mom into work (she works in the college town) and almost every window had been smashed out on main street. they completely trashed the college. i almost hit god knows how many of them because they were either running in the road or even better, drunk and dancing in the road and refusing to move for traffic.
the college kids usually stay away from my town because it consists of a tiny general store, a gas station, post office, small bank, on diner that is only open until like noon, and a fire station. the school i used to go to was a pre-K through 12 and there was only 400 students in the whole school. my classes had a max of 12 people in them.
but the only thing i can think of is that one of the college kids got board
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
3 Apr 12
I highly doubt those guys were all so innocent. Doesn't sound it to me. Why were they even looking in your car? I would be asking security to check that parking lot out as well as the others. And they should do it randomly. All too often they have apattern and these theives figure it out. They know just what time security will be around and when they are not.
I've had my car stolen twice and broken into once.
