Parking app bargains: Are new deals safe and secure?

CHICAGO (WLS) -- You hand your keys over to a stranger and in return you can get a big break on parking costs.

The I-Team looked into the safety and security of two new parking app bargains that can save you time and hundreds of dollars.

For a maximum cost of $15 dollars a day a Luxe valet on a scooter will now meet you at your destination, then take your vehicle to what the Luxe app calls a "secure and safe parking garage." Compare that to prices as high as $40 for three hours in prime downtown parking locations.

"So once you have given your car to the valet you can see where your car is going and track it to that lot. Once you request it back you can see where it is coming from and how long it is going to take to get it back," says Johnny Wong, general manager of Luxe. "It stays in the lot the entire time."

Wong says Luxe has leased out sections of underutilized, parking garages in the city. For competitive reasons they don't disclose the exact locations, but users can see where their car is.

"We have a complete background check that we go through with all of our valets we also have a $5 million insurance policy in a rare case that an accident may occur," Wong says.

Wong says there have been minor accidents for which insurance has covered damage and provided rental cars. The background checks, he says, stretch back seven years and cover criminal and traffic history. Ben Albers is one of the valets.

"We know what we are doing," Albers says. "We know where we are taking it. I always let them know we are taking it to a very secure garage."

Luxe tells customers to request their valet at least 15 minutes before they want their car back.

Looking to save while you're traveling? FlightCar rents your vehicle, saving users airport parking fees at O'Hare.

"Even if the car does not get rented for the time she's on vacation she is guaranteed the free parking the car wash and the vacuum," says Lee Hillman of FlightCar. "In some cases we are very busy and the car will be driven a few extra miles in which case you will clear three figures easily."

FlightCar says users can actually make up to 20 percent of profits if their car gets rented. You're agreeing to let a stranger drive your car, but FlightCar says they're vetted.

"We don't allow people with more than two minor violations, more than one major violation, any sort of license suspension or issues with their license in the past. We tell them at the door you are not going to be able to rent from us," Hillman says.

FlightCar says it has a $1 million insurance policy on liability and your own vehicle is completely covered. When your car isn't being driven it sits in this hotel parking lot in Rosemont.

FlightCar does not do criminal background checks. A few weeks ago our ABC sister station in San Francisco reported a customer's car was stolen by one of the renters. FlightCar said thefts are incredibly rare.