You've put in your vacation request, booked your plane ticket and found someone to take care of your dog. But what about your car? Somehow we always manage to leave parking arrangements to the last minute, like "it's the day before Thanksgiving and I have no clue what I'm doing with my car" last minute. Unless you want to rack up street cleaning parking tickets (or risk getting towed), you're going to need to find someplace to stow your ride. So we've come up with six ideas for what to do with your car when you travel.
Park near (but not necessarily at) LAX
As long as you're okay with waiting for a shuttle, Lot C's $12-a-day rate is a steal compared to the central terminal area's $30 rate. But if you're headed out of town during peak holiday travel you might find yourself facing a completely full Lot C (you can check the capacity in advance). Consider reserving a spot off-site instead; we've found that the more-legit-than-it-sounds CheapAirportParking.org offers reservations at garages within a few blocks of the airport, often for the same price as Lot C or even less if you pay in advance.
Take FlyAway and leave it at Union Station or Van Nuys
The $9 fare for the FlyAway shuttle to LAX is about the cheapest way to get to the airport. The same goes for parking: The underground garage on the east side of Union Station offers parking for $10 a day (you'll have to fill out a form, though, if you plan on parking for more than three days) while the Van Nuys stop is only $4 per day.
Leave it at your office
If you drive to work, chances are your employer provides you with a parking space—or you're paying out of pocket for a garage. If you have overnight privileges, just leave your car at your office lot and Uber or Lyft your way to the airport from there.
Ask a neighbor to move it on street cleaning days
That spot right outside of your apartment is perfect—except for Wednesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 10am and noon. Don't risk the $73 street sweeping ticket; politely ask a friend or neighbor if they can move your car for you.
Lend it to a friend
Pass off the responsibility to a friend in need of a car—especially if said friend has a driveway. Just remember, though, that if your friend is going to be driving your car, you'll be assuming some risks. Whoever you lend your car to should be covered by your insurance, but there's the key word: your insurance. Any accidents or damage incurred could put a dent in your premiums.
Cross your fingers
You did it. You found the Holy Grail of parking spots, only a few blocks from your apartment with no restrictions or threats of $60-plus tickets. But you know about the 72-hour rule, right? L.A. technically considers any street-parked vehicle that hasn't been moved in three days to be considered abandoned. But parking enforcement probably won't care, unless someone has actually called to report your car as abandoned. So you probably won't get towed (because who does that?), but there's always a small risk.
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