I have been asked permission to search my car by police officers half a dozen times, and every single time I briefly considered refusing, knowing that I have a right to do so that is guaranteed by the constitution.

Instead I always caved. Sadly, it's the only logical choice imo.

The main reason is that the job often attracts a certain breed of power-hungry psychos. If I tell him "no sir, I know my rights and blah blah blah", maybe he beats my ass, throws me in county, and claims that I resisted arrest. It's my word against his, a fight that I will never win.

Another reason is that I don't really have the right to refuse anyway. If I say no, he can call in a K-9 unit and claim probable cause. I have seen this happen personally. I've also seen police patrol my high school parking lot with German Shepherds, not for the purpose of actually sniffing out contraband, but for using as an excuse to search the cars of students that they already know are likely to possess something.

Once you refuse a search, and they abuse their authority to search it regardless, they will tear your car apart piece by piece. The one time I actually had something (a small bag of weed when I was 16), I still consented to a search. Fortunately, he gave the car a quick once-over and didn't manage to find it. He almost certainly would have if I had sent him on a hellbent mission.

It's much less of a sweat to deal with a search when you're innocent, but it still sucks. It's an inconvenience, a violation of privacy, and a sad reminder that we're no longer the freest country in the world. You just have to suck it up and deal with it. The alternative can be far worse.