<p>I'm pretty sure that I will be accepted as a transfer student to UCLA this fall. I'm very concerned about parking. Especially, since my car is a modified honda civic(type of car that thieves look for). I have invested thousands into the car and still adding more until the build is finished. I was wondering if the parking structures were a safe place to park a car at night and during the day.</p>
<p>I'm considering leaving my car at home while at school but that would mean that I'd have to take the bus everywhere I went and it would be more difficult to go home on the weekends or down to orange county to chill with friends. All in all, I need a second car =(</p>
<p>I wouldn't know cause my car is still sitting in my garage back home...</p>
<p>Safe or not, I'm pretty sure you would have anti-theft stuff like any car enthusiast would have.</p>
<p>Car alarm (a good one), kill switch, special lug nuts for rims, and detachable aftermarket steering wheel. But that won't save you from door dings....</p>
<p>the UCLA structures are very safe. however, westwood street parking is less so. if you do bring your car, i think it would be wise to have an apartment with an assigned parking spot. my neighbor has a modified bmw and parks it in our carport behind the building and seems to feel safe about it. but parking on the street is a hassle for everyone and i don't think you'd be comfortable with it considering your situation. </p>
<p>if you do dorms, you have to consider that parking is definitely not guaranteed, especially for on-campus students. in that case you'd have to either not bring the car or find a parking space off-campus to rent. not having a car, especially as a third year, isn't fun and generally makes life much much more difficult than it should be. </p>
<p>So yeah. i think if you manage to get a secure, assigned space you should be fine. but just know that UCLA assigned parking is a total crap shoot.</p>
<p>seconded. i would never park in the streets around here. cars are so close together you literally have to bump/shove the other cars with your car to get in or out.</p>
<p>some people dont care, but i dont want any part of your car to come in contact with my car. and while you're at it keep your body/clothing/accessories away from it too. :mad:</p>
<p>LOL. Yeah. I guess the off campus apartment is the route for me. But I want the chance to make some good contacts while at UCLA. Which is the reason why I want to dorm. I just don't know about paying $100 a month to park my car in a garage but hey, if it comes down to that, I will probably do so. I'm just worried about walking home drunk from a club on an early friday morning. Isn't there liek a fine for public drunkeness?(is that a word? drunkeness)</p>
<p>VTECaddict: i know what you mean. Some lady just hit me in a parking lot. <em>note</em> a week after I got a paintjob and some new wheels/tires. Busted a brand new dunlop sp 2020! oh well, I got reimbursed for it though but that was like 3 months later. Man insurance companies take forever.</p>
<p>JP I was in your situation. I had a built up CRX and decided to buy a daily driver that was less theft prone for UCLA. </p>
<p>I've only met one other honda guy here and his DC2 got stolen within the first two months of the quarter parked in a UCLA garage. I also know a guy whose stock civic got stolen in Westwood about 2 months ago and two other people who have had there windows smashed and radios stolen.</p>
<p>Also, there are only two bars in town and no, you won't get a ticket for public drunkness unless you are causing trouble (real trouble, not just being loud). I saw a drunk chick fall flat on her face RIGHT infront of a cop (ie her head was like a foot away from his feet) and he didn't do anything except say, Are you Ok?</p>
<p>Dustyb20: I guess the b20 is for the stamp on your motor. yeah, I just don't want some thieves to take away all my blood and sweat that I put into my car. I got an eh2 that I have been building as a hobby and weekend autox. Ah, you know how it is. I walked out of class the other day at my current school and noticed someone messed with my driver's side lock. I'm going to add LoJack soon but that won't help if my car is parked for like 5 days and I don't check on it cause i'm in class and living on campus. RIght now, the car is never left alone for more than an hour unless its in my garage.</p>
<p>Only 2 bars? eh, but there's always hollywood right? Hit up club Ivar.</p>
<p>my car has a switch added that kills the computer... so you can't hotwire it. the only way it's going anywhere with the switch flipped is on a tow truck.
i mean, that won't stop someone from taking components... but it'll keep the car in place xD</p>
<p>you wouldn't be driving to clubs anyway if you intended on drinking since, beside the westwood bars, everything else is a 10-20 minute drive. taxi style. </p>
<p>and dude, you can still meet people without living in dorms. join things. ECS, clubs, internships, jobs, whatever. you'll meet people. plus you'll ostensibly have roommates, so yeah. it'll be fine. and rent is expensive, but plenty of places offer at least one parking space per unit. you'd probably have to go on the lease in order to get the spot and then sublet the other room/s to roommates. this basically makes you the boss. i've never had any issues with this, btw. it works out.</p>