Visiting Montreal soon - car/accommodation questions

Hello,

My partner and I are planning on driving up from the US to visit Montreal for 4 nights before heading up to Quebec City. We'd like to stay in Le Plateau at a boutique hotel, and the one we're looking at seems to have alley parking behind it. Its hard to get a good gauge on how bad the car theft problem in Montreal really is, or if the issue is overblown. My car isn't particularly nice or valuable, and I have a steering wheel lock, but slightly worried the US plates will make it a prime target. Should I be paranoid and keep it in an underground garage somewhere else? I don't really plan to use it much if at all once we're there, primarily because I don't speak French and driving around and parking in the city seems to be more of a hassle than it's worth.

More generally, would it be better to stay at a downtown hotel? We hope to see the main sites but also would like to experience the less touristy parts of the city, and the Plateau/Mont Royal area seems to be the best bet, but we really don't want to stay in an AirBnB or a sketchy short-term rental considering the reputation they seem to have among MTL residents (and in my city as well).

Any advice is welcome, thank you! Hopefully I picked the correct flair.