Saturday 12 November 2016

Rental Car Stolen??

Number one, parking is a pain in Adelaide CBD (Central Business District) where the Hotel Metropolitan is located. Only street parking is available. Just outside the front door is limited to 1/2 hour (for $3.60). There are parking garages with corresponding rates during the day. Most street parking enforcement ends at 6pm until 8am the next morning, so the front desk recommended moving the car from the expensive garage to the street for overnight. The problem with this is how busy the CBD is at night. Particularly when there is a block party going on to celebrate South Australia being voted 5th on Lonely Planet Best of Travel 2017 list. So about 9:30pm, we go out to check on what is available near the hotel. There is one spot at end of a small cross street between the hotel and the garage. I leave Dave to squat on the spot while I get the car out of the garage. He has to fend off 3 enquiries about the spot, but holds his ground. I get there and leave the car. Got to make sure we move the car before 8am the next day.

Getting the sleep was not easy with a punk band playing downstairs. Ear plugs were mandatory. Up at 7:30 to be in some condition to move the car. Downstairs at 7:55, around the corner into the cross street, there is only one car down the end. The key fob doesn't seem to make the lights flash. And the doors are still locked. This is not our car and it is the only one on the block. WHERE IS MY CAR? Did it get towed?

There is no info on the parking sign about who to call, so onto the internet. Adelaide Council Customer Centre is who you call about towing. They have no record of any cars being towed. I call the police in case the tow has not been reported yet. 'Where you drinking last night?' was one of the questions. I only had one with dinner. 'You will need to come down to the station to make a report', he said. Called the Customer Centre again and they checked directly with Parking Enforcement with no towings last night. #$@&%*! the car is stolen. Now what do we do?

This means I have to go the police station, make a report, call the rental company (I didn't take the extra coverage). Much repeated silent cursing.

Dave says the modern immobilization systems should prevent the car from going very far. So lets go down and look around the area to see if it is still near. As we enter the cross street,
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Dave points out that this is not the street we parked on. It is the next one over (there are 2 between the hotel and the garage). I hurry over to the next street ....... and there it is at the end!!! Amazing how memory is flexible.
Not our car
Was parked here
Safe in cheap garage now
I moved it to a surface garage that had all-day parking for $5. Now for breakfast and continue our tour of Adelaide.

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