Car Insurance And Parking Where Do You Park Yours

Written by Editorial Team

14 April 2008 / by Rebecca Sargent

Residential streets are where most parked cars are vandalised, new research by AA Personal Loans has revealed. The study showed that 43 per cent of participants whose cars had been damaged were parked on a residential street at the time.

According to the research, 72 per cent of British drivers have had deliberate damage inflicted on their vehicles through keying, kicking or smashing windows at some point during their time as a car owner.

Car parks, particularly multi-storey car parks, are often regarded as dangerous places to park. However, the research showed that drivers are twice as likely to have damage done to their cars on a residential street as in a supermarket car park and more than three times more likely than if their car was in a multi-storey car park.

Where you park your car can influence your car insurance premium, particularly in a city. According to AA Insurance, keeping your car locked in a garage overnight can save you between seven per cent (in a rural community) and 35 per cent (in an inner city environment) on your car insurance quotes.

If a garage is not an option, the research shows that the next best places to park are in a doctor’s surgery or hospital car park, outside a school, in an airport car park or outside a restaurant, each of which accounts for just three per cent of car vandalism.

Commenting on car vandalism, Mark Huggins, head of AA Personal Loans said: “A car is a serious investment and finding it vandalised is frustrating, heartbreaking and of course expensive. If you are paying for your car with a personal loan, the last thing you want is the added financial burden of sorting out repairs so it’s worth thinking about where you park.”

Offering advice on where to park, Mr Huggins continued: “If you are out and about, choose well-lit car parks preferably with good security such as CCTV even if it means a bit of a walk or a higher parking fee.

“And, although it is not always possible to park off road at home, try to park in a well-lit spot and take simple precautions like folding in the side mirrors to reduce the risk of them being knocked off.”

© Fair Investment Company Ltd