Leaving the Car on the U.S. Side: Border Parking and Crossing on Foot

For a dentist appointment, dinner in Tijuana or a weekend with family, plenty of people skip driving across altogether. They park in one of the lots near the port of entry, walk over, and pick the car up on the way back. It is a sensible choice. It just moves the risk from the road in Mexico to a parking lot in San Ysidro or Otay Mesa.

Why walking across is often the simpler choice

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico says U.S. insurance is not sufficient for driving there and that you need a separate Mexican policy. Leaving the car on this side removes that question, along with border traffic in both directions. People still need their own documents: a passport book or passport card, and for most land travellers an FMM entry permit, although the Embassy says people staying in a border city for less than seven days may not need one.

Check crossing hours before you plan the return. CBP's San Ysidro port page lists the main port as open every day but gives separate, shorter weekday hours for its PedWest pedestrian facility, and those can change.

What a car in a border lot is exposed to

A parked car is exposed to three things: theft of the car, a break-in, and vandalism or parts theft. All three are what comprehensive coverage is for. Liability-only coverage pays nothing toward your own car, whatever happens to it in the lot. If you carry comprehensive, a broken window may fall under a glass deductible, and the deductible on the rest of the claim still applies.

Belongings stolen from the car are a different question. Personal property inside a vehicle is generally a homeowners or renters policy matter rather than an auto one, and how it is handled varies by insurance company.

What to take with you, and what to leave

• The registration card. Vehicle Code section 4454 requires an owner to keep the registration card, or a copy, with the vehicle — but says the requirement does not apply when the vehicle is left unattended. Taking it with you keeps your name and address out of a stranger's hands. Put it back when you return.
• Everything with your address on it: mail, the title (which should never live in the car), garage door openers.
• Both keys. A spare hidden on the car is the first place a thief looks.
• Nothing visible. An empty-looking car is a less interesting car.

Before you walk away, photograph the car, its plate and the spot you parked in. If something happens, you will want proof of its condition and location.

Choosing where to park

A staffed or well-lit lot with a ticket or receipt beats an unattended corner or a residential street. Note the lot's hours, especially if you might come back late, and tell the attendant if you are leaving the car overnight or for several days. Keep the receipt; it shows when the car went in. Parking on neighbourhood streets near the port risks permit restrictions and a tow on top of everything else.

If you come back to a problem

1. Do not move the car if it has been broken into; photograph it as you find it.
2. Report it to the police. Both San Ysidro and Otay Mesa are within the City of San Diego, so the city's police take the report. Ask for the report number.
3. Tell the lot operator in writing.
4. Report the claim to your insurer with the report number, your photos and the parking receipt.

If you park at the border regularly, check whether your policy includes comprehensive and what the glass deductible is; those two lines decide how the bad version of that day goes.