Find My Ride

Lost cars - either in massive mall parking lots, sporting events, county fairs or airports - are a bigger issue than one might imagine.

Several readers have come up with solutions they were happy to share upon reading my recommendation ("The Auto Finder") to a reader who asked for any gadget that might help her find her car in a too-big parking lot.

Here are three of the alternatives offered up by readers:

A GPS fan:

"When traveling in unfamiliar places, I use my GPS receiver to guide

me there. I have a Magellan Roadmate 5045. Whenever I turn it off, it saves its location. When I come out of the store, I turn on the receiver. At the top of the list of previously taken routes is an entry titled "Car" and I select that. The main screen displays a dotted line. I walk in the direction that the line points, and there's my car. It will not work inside a large building, as GPS signals are blocked. I found all of this out for myself; it is not described in the 10-page printed instruction book, nor the 33-page manual downloaded from the maker's website. Since it's a simple matter of programming, I'd expect that other maker's devices have a similar feature. Perhaps some even describe it in their documentation!"

There's an app for that:

"Numerous smartphone apps use your phone's GPS to mark your car's location when you park, then lead you to it when you return. This is more practical than buying another aftermarket item to attach to your car, and you don't have to have yet another remote with you. The apps range from free to only a few dollars."

Another GPS enthusiast:

"I suggest Bushnell's BackTrack GPS, which is a small and simple to use GPS device that does the same thing as what you recommended and costs $59 or less. The small, round model is the one that I like, but others may serve other needs better."

Thanks to all for great tips. The lost-in-a-sea-of cars problem is a frustrating one, and it's great that there are so many ways of overcoming it!

   (c) CTW Features Email questions to Sharon@ctwfeatures.com