Renting a car all through the off-peak months

[EMM]

We were in Albufeira on Friday , it was great to be able to park within an easy walk to the old square.
Certainly no quieter than it usually is at this time of the year.
The parking charges as still less than the cost of the bus we used to take from the outskrts when it was difficult even in November to find a parking space.
The cars have just been moved to the side streets and free car parks in other parts of town,

As for Carvoeiro there are a realtively small number of spaces where you have to pay if you look and do not expect to park within 50 mtrs of the square then Carvoerio does not really have a parking problem.
Lack of signage " yes ".

[Octopus]

Could this also be the future for CVO?

As you are pushed to find a parking space in Carvoeiro it probably won't make any difference. The traders will now park further up the road, where it's free, so there should be spaces in the pay spaces, so it might bring more people into town. If you are planning to spend €20+ on lunch, then another €2 to park close by seems reasonable.

The rubbish parking situation was part of the reason why I ended up moving to Vilamoura. It was useless coming into carvoiero on a weekend in the summer and not being able to find a suitable parking area (or one with a wide enough space) and having to go elsewhere - a complete waste of time and frustrating.

[TomUK]

One of them was so old it didn't even have central locking.

Talking about central locking, it would seem that all newer cars in Europe, however humble, now come with central locking.
What did surprise me was when renting in Florida from major rental company, Alamo - in November 2010 and in November 2011. The first was a Dodge Caliber and last time a Chrysler Aveo. On both cars, drivers locked their door with the key, but passengers had to remember to push down the locking button on their doors before closing. A long time since I have had cars like this. America is supposed to be 'the land of the automobile' and I was surprised they still sold and rented cars without C/L. They also had wind-up windows and mirrors that had to be adjusted from the outside (not even a little lever inside).
Is it still possible to buy a car without central locking in Europe?

[shanagarry]

My wife has just hired a Corsa at Gatwick for 10 days (starting this Thursday) through Auto Europe for £123 including all insurances