Any lawyers in the house? Storing my car in a parking lot!

[Philly-Night-SR]

I finally found a guy advertising a parking lot in the Quakertown area that I can store my Mitsubishi in for $30 a month. The lot seems safe enough, but do you think I should type up a quick agreement for him to sign before I pay him for a few months advanced? Something to the effect that he agrees to be allowing me to park the vehicle there and he is responsible for his employees to not mess with the car or tamper with it in any way. I will have vandalism insurance on the car, but I just want to cover my ass. Is this right for me to do or am I being weird ??

Thanks!
Steve

[Ronin Tactical]

There's a federal statute, that is backed up statutes in every state I know of, that makes the owner of the property, when storing your property, responsible for the "care, custody, and control". So many storage places, and regular businesses, have signs that say they're not responsible for theft or vandalism, but those signs just shoo away people who don't know better - no matter what is posted, whomever takes control of your property is responsible for it. Any lawyer can walk right through the "not responsible" waivers, they're a joke.

My concern would be whether the person who owns the storage area has a solid insurance policy to cover your ride while it's in storage...

You're covered on your policy, so, God forbid, something happens to your ride, it'll be handled, but the owner of the land it's on is ultimately responsible, and your insurance is only a backup plan.

[igo4bmx]

There's a federal statute, that is backed up statutes in every state I know of, that makes the owner of the property, when storing your property, responsible for the "care, custody, and control". So many storage places, and regular businesses, have signs that say they're not responsible for theft or vandalism, but those signs just shoo away people who don't know better - no matter what is posted, whomever takes control of your property is responsible for it. Any lawyer can walk right through the "not responsible" waivers, they're a joke.

My concern would be whether the person who owns the storage area has a solid insurance policy to cover your ride while it's in storage...

You're covered on your policy, so, God forbid, something happens to your ride, it'll be handled, but the owner of the land it's on is ultimately responsible, and your insurance is only a backup plan.


damn good to know!

[james_ls]

Oh wow...didn't know that. So even though they might have a sign or whatnot...aslong as we don't sign anything we are covered by a higher-law??

[Philly-Night-SR]

Jim Lewis:

Thanks so much for the info! He doesn't have any signs anywhere. The place where he is letting me park my car is on his business' property. He is probably just doing this to make some extra cash so I'm not sure how his insurance would work if god forbid anything did happen. Do you think that I should have him sign anything confirming that he is storing my property?

Thanks again,
Steve

[Ronin Tactical]

If he has business property, he probably has a "garage" clause in his insurnace that covers storage of vehicles, equipment, etc...

I'd still say that you have full-coverage insurance, but ask if he has a separate policy, to see if he gets all squirrely on you - that'll tell you if he has insurance or not...

[Philly-Night-SR]

awesome, thanks I will talk to him tonight. do you think I should have anything more than just vandalism insurance on the car?

[Ronin Tactical]

No, regular comprehensive usually covers fire, theft, and vandalism, as well as acts of God, like storm damage.

[Philly-Night-SR]

I don't have any insurance on the car right now. I drive my Infiniti, which has Comp, but the Mitsu just sits so I dropped insurance on it. I am just going to get vandalism ins on it and tell Progressive that I don't drive it at all.... good idea or no?

[Ronin Tactical]

No....mainly because if a storm knocks a tree down onto your car and the storage dude doesn't cover you, you're out of luck. Explain to your insurance company that you're not driving the car, it's being stored, and ask them the easiest way to protect you - you certainly don't need comprehensive and collision while its in storage, and more than likely, they have a piolicy just for this - very similar to people docking their boats for the winter - they're being stored, but not being used, so exposure (of liability or claim) to the insurance company is limited.