LAX airport parking: pros and cons of private lots
Last month, for a departure from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), I parked my car at LAX’s Lot C for a few days. I’ve always done so, and it’s never been a big deal, or a bad one for that matter – the fee is $10 per 24 hours, including tax (the farther-away Lot B costs $8 per 24 hours).
But for a flight this past weekend, I thought I’d bargain-hunt a little. I Web-researched and found several private lots, one advertising rates from $4.49 per day and up. All seemed to be open 24 hours and offer free shuttle service to the airport terminals.
I settled on LAX Park Place (No. 23 on this map), and I quickly found that the “$4.49 per day rate” was only for stays of 29 days or more. The rate for self-parking was $6.95 per day (pre-tax) when I booked online ($27.80 for the four days I reserved), so I was still saving — I thought. But my online reservation also noted a $7.99 charge for “Internet service & port fees,” and then, next to my “total amount” on my online reservation was an asterisk denoting a 10% city tax to be added to my total amount. Of course, there was also the couple bucks that I tipped the driver for dealing with my bags to and from the terminals.
In the end, I would have paid less by sticking with Lot C. However, LAX Park Place offered all kinds of extra paid services, and sometimes vanity trumps financial prudence: My car was filthy, and if I had parked in the LAX lots, I wouldn’t have gotten my car washed while I was away (yes, for another $15.95 added to my tab, plus tip). And, well, it sure is nice driving a shiny car home after a long weekend away.
I know I’m overlooking the time factor — I didn’t time-test the two different modes of transport to the airport, though I’m pretty sure my LAX Park Place journeys were a little faster than my last Lot C trip, which required a relay of two shuttles to reach the terminals. However, I would bank on All Star Parking (No. 12 on the map), at $13.95 per day, being one of the quickest options, for its close proximity to the airport and, from what I saw, frequent shuttles. But I haven’t tried it. Have you?
What’s your modus operandi when parking at LAX? Do you favor private lots over LAX lots? Which one(s)? Why/why not?
– Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times
[Photo: LAWA.org]
4 Comments on “LAX airport parking: pros and cons of private lots”
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October 4th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
The easiest and most convenient, especially when I fly Southwest Airlines, is Park ‘N Fly @ Park One. It is located adjacent to the SWA terminal so I can literally just walk straight into the terminal without taking a shuttle. It’s $15.95/day and sometimes I can get it even cheaper by going to their web site (www.pnf.com). If I’m not traveling at peak times, I’ll sometimes have my wife drop me off which, depending on our relationship at the time, can cost me more or less than off-airport parking.
October 24th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Sorry that there weren’t more comments on this. (I only found the article through a Google search for “LAX Parking.”) In any case, I do in fact use All Star Parking, and have for years, with generally good results. They are in fact extremely close to the terminals, and most of the time, a shuttle van winds up following me as soon as I pull into the lot, so that they’re literally waiting to drive you to the terminal. Upon returning, I’ve had to wait awhile for them to pick me up after I call for the shuttle, but it’s never been an outrageous wait. The price has crept up over the years; now about $14/day, I think (with a 7-day special.) I did have one problem when I last used them: I had an 8-day trip, and they had a good weekly rate advertised on their web site. Something told me to print it out; good thing, because the posted price at the entrance was far more than the web price. They tried to charge the higher price, but the attendant made a call and then honored the ad. (Guess it wouldn’t be a problem today: apparently they didn’t renew their domain registration, and their site is offline.) The parking spaces are truly tiny, and it seems to be more popular recently; has sometimes been very full. Usually, they will let you park at the entrance, and they’ll park for you when a space comes open (no extra charge.) Overall: Excellent location & quick shuttles.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I’ve tried a few different places, and planning ahead helps, so does printing out the online offer. Now I check a bit, but tend to end up at Johnny Park, which is I think across the street from Lot C and runs about $7/day for outdoor parking. Its called Valet, but you park in front of an office and leave the keys when you check in at the desk, pick them up there as well, and never really see the valets. Shuttles are larger than the van types and hold maybe a dozen people and luggage, so you get a bit of delay as the shuttle fills up and drops off other groups. If you are running late with a trip out of LAX your toast anyway, so an extra 20 min or so doesn’t bother me.
I make my reservation through another site because it seems a touch cheaper and Johnnyparklax.com doesn’t lay out all the costs as clearly. http://www.airportparkingreservations.com
If I remember correctly JP was willing to put our sunshades in the windows when parking our car, which is nice.
January 14th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
It seems like every airport traveler is watching its budget with a more careful eye. When flying from LAX airport, I usually book either LAX self parking lot or Fox Auto Parks. Not only these lots usually have the cheapest rates, but they also provide decent valet service. There off-holiday minimum rate is less than $6 per day. I usually book them through http://www.cheapairportparking.org