B18C5-EH2

Before you get all pissy and say "this will only help car theft" READ it. These are things that will generally keep car thieves from getting your car, and a few suggestions for things that will help IF they get the car.

The main reason I'm doing this is because I'm sick of seeing cool people's cars from this site getting jacked. I don't know if it's BECAUSE of this site or not, or whether it's just someone local stealing these cars because they have an eye for the expensive cars - even if they look stock.

Anyways, here goes:

It is my impression that even stock-looking cars are being stolen by these bitch-*** car thieves. So even if you've got a "sleeper" you need to keep your guard up as well.

There are ways in which you guys should guard your cars man, and this is stuff that only the MOST determined theif might not want to fool with.

1. NEVER leave your car unattended out of your sight. I know it sounds stupid, but this is what it comes to. When I go out to eat, I always sit in plain sight of my car, and even if it pisses off the people I'm eating with I always look over at my car every few seconds or so. By the time I see someone even stepping to my car I will run out there and "get something I left" out of the car.

2. If you have another car/beater, take THAT to the movies, or any other event that requires you to leave your car alone in a big-*** parking lot.

3. IF you have a garage, ALWAYS park it in it! NEVER get too lazy even if you come home late or something to just open up the door and pull the car in. The ONE time you don't could be the very time your car gets stolen. I lock my car in with a padlock on the inside too.

4. NEVER let too many people know where you live if possible. I don't tell people where I live. They *might* know the area, but I don't tell them what street and stuff. Only my closest friends know where I live.

5. LO-JACK! Hope fully even if your car gets ripped you can locate it before it's stripped down.

6. Even less important is an alarm. It MIGHT help draw attention as the car is being stolen if the theif doesn't bypass it somehow.

7. Get FULL coverage insurance! This way if all is truly lost you can have some money to start over with.

8. TAKE lots of pictures of ALL your mods! Write down ALL the serial numbers of your stuff - even add hidden stamps or heat tabs and take pics of those. And keep all of your reciepts of your purchases. If you get full coverage these things will help you get the money you deserve to REPLACE YOU car just how it was, and not just get a stockie beater that's the same year model.

9. Take all the usual precautions as well - you know, park the car on a curb with the wheel locked towards the curb, park in well-lit areas, don't leave valuables in plain sight, etc. These things do not really prevent the thief from taking the car, but it will help deter them.

11. And as far as this MB goes, unless you KNOW where your car is at ALL times I would NOT post up pics and then list all the mods on the car. If somebody has seen your car before in your hometown, and then they see ALL the mods listed here, it might be too temting to either steal the car or pay somebody else to.

12. *EDIT* Oh, and also here's a neato thing to do. Buy a new ignition switch that has a DIFFERENT key than your doors. This will help keep certain people from stealing your poo poo, like former owners of the car and whatnot.

Ultimately I think if someone is hell-bent on stealing your car, they will end up with it. That's why Lo-Jack and full coverage come in handy. I know you might be saying that it's too expensive to get full coverage, or that Lo-Jack costs too much Jack, but THINK about how much money is invested on your car. ALL could be lost without these things.

If you have anything to add, then please do so. I left a lot of specifics out so I would not throw any dirt to the cvar thieves that might be reading this poo poo.



[Modified by B18C5-EH2, 1:32 PM 2/6/2002]

Accord94DX

Multiple Kill Switches?

B18C5-EH2

That's another way too, but I am also thinking about the tow trucks as well. If you always have an eye on your car, then even a towtruck guy will bug out if you come running up to the car.

I just think it sucks so bad that people have to alter their way of modding their cars, and the way they live their lives just to keep their cars from getting jacked. It totally sucks that I can't take my own car to the movies, or even leave it out of sight for more than a few minutes if that.

markedOO1

yeah, there's very little you can do to prevent getting towed I parked in a private lot and my car didnt even run! (hadnt finished swap) and it still got stolen

HOND PWR

You had some good points. I wonder how many people with hybirds or replacement motors have the VIN# wrote down. I think a good thing to do is put your vin# on everything glass,doors,motor+trans, even those $2000 wheels. If everything is stamped true criminal will leave it.

Sucka Free

how about all those theft deterent locks. some actually work.

-the gear box "club"...bolts to the chasis. kinda like a masterlock on ur shifter.
-"the brake/clutch club"...works like the club, but locks the brake/clutch in position so that it cant be pressed.
-and last but not least "the club"- the sight of it will make any run of the mill theif pass it up because of hastle. theifs can be lazy too!...

and like b18c5eh2 said, if a theif really wants ur car, no deterent system will stop him/her. these things will just slow them down a bit.

i was wondering if they had a car alarm witha beeper system..let me explain.
everyone hears car alarms but rarely look to see if its their car.
so, if there a system where when ur alram goes off...if ur in the range...ur keyless entry beeper thing goes off and starts beeping?
i thought i heard about an alrm that has that...
if so, fill me in!

how much do u pay for lo jack? monthly charges?

p.s. ....good thread/topic

Bgladfelter

you can get a "pager" for your alarm system that beeps when your alarm is activated. That way if you're in the movies or somewhere big you know if it goes off. Most have a range of a 1/4 mile or more.
I don't have one, but I'm considering getting one. Just takes a little more wiring.

On the alarm also add a hood switch, the hood opens and the alarm activates. Also fuel kill relay to shut it off after 5 sec. You'll see a starting/stopping car, kind of suspicous.

Sucka Free

u kno the name of that pager alarm?

Truffle Shuffle

A lot of high end alarm systems have pagers, a popular and very good one (JDM), is the Aladdin 2000. Check out groupbuy.com

Count Blah

One thing that i love doing - sirens inside the car. Sometimes you can get it so loud that you cannot physically stand to be inside the car. Piezo sirens with hidden on/off switches work very well. Also, when alarm shopping, make sure you get an alarm with horn honk and/or air horns. Make it SO loud that theives are scared to death when it goes off. Dont use LEDs either, that helps with the surprise attack element. Ive had first hand experiences where loud air horns have scared theives away from the car. The theory being that noone looks at a simple siren anymore because we have all become so numb to them. However, how many people would look at a car with 3 air horns, the car horn and sirens blaring?

-Todd

Mugen1182

best buy sell stuff like that.

ben_vtec

my friend has a clifford alarm that beeps loudly when anyone goes near to the car. if its used in a busy place it can be annoying, but it works. you cant dissarm the alarm without getting close to the car and you cant get close to the car without setting the beeper off. ideal for when parked on a driveway where no one should be anyway.

bryant

Well some have been listed about but here are 30 Ways to help prevent car theft

1. Take your Keys Nearly 20% of all vehicles stolen had the keys in them
2. Lock your car Approximately 50% of all vehicles stolen were left unlocked
3. Never hid a second set of keys in your car. Extra keys can easliy be found if a thief takes time to look.
4. Park in well-lighted areas Over half of all vehicle thefts occur at night.
5. Park in attended lots Auto thieves do not like witnesses and prefer unattended parking lots.
6. If you park in an attended lot, leave only the ignition/door key If your trunk and glovebox use the same key as the door, have one of them changed. Don't give the attendent easy acces to your glovebox and trunk. Abon reterning check the tires spare and battery to ensure they are the same as those you had when you parked.
7. Never leave your car running, Even if your gone for a minute
8. Complety close your car windows when parking
9. Don't Leave valuables in plain veiw
10. Park with your wheels towards the the curb.
11. If your vehicle is Rear wheel drive back into your driveway. Vice versa for front whell cars.
12. Always use your emergance brake when parking.
13. If you have a garage, use it
14. When parking in a garage, Lock the garage door.
15. Dont leave the registration or title in your car.
16. Disable your vehicle when leaving it for an extended period of time.
17. Change your lock from "T" locks to straight locks.
18. Write your VIN #'s down. and take pics.
19. Engrave Expensive material.
20. Drop business cars or other forms of ID in your car
21. Ignition kill swithes
22. Fuel kill swithes
23. Vistible steering wheel lock
24. floor board lokcs
25. Gear shift locks
26. Tire wheel locks
27. Hood locks
28. Armored collums around the steering colum
29. Alarm
30. Vehicle tracking

Hope this helps some of you out.


[Modified by CR-X, 11:56 AM 2/7/2002]

OneSunkCivic

Gotta get the alarm I got but you can't cause it's not made no more but if you can find one get it. It's a Clifford ACE7500 it is the best alarm you could get I could give you my keys my alarm remote anything you want an you wouldn't get more than a mile down the road before my car dies and the siren starts blazing and it has a very distinct siren loud and annoying. has every option you can imagine I have infrared sensors in the car that detect motion in the car and around it outside if I want to turn it up that high and also a microphone that would set off the alarm if it just heard a whistle through the window. It's awsome sold for over like 3 or 4 hundred but I work at Circuit City so I got it fro $150 and didn't pay for install or nothing. But if you can find it get it. It is very sensitive though like if you are parked by the road and a big truck goes by or a firetruck with it's sirens your poo poo is going off!!!!

Accord94DX

Big Black Guy Named Ben?


[Modified by Accord94DX, 1:47 PM 2/7/2002]

iwhichisme

If youre not able to keep an eye on your car; an alarm, or something that will quicly draw attention if triggered is really helpful. I know because ive had it happen to me. I had the vipe alarm, lojack and the who nine, but unfortunatley heard the alarm go off early in the morning, like 3 am, but i was in a trance between dreaming and being awake, and didnt realize it was my car that had been brken into, fortunately they only made away with my cd's, leaving me with the bitch of having to replace a broken window, and cleaning up crazy glass. My point is if the alarm hadnt went off, i probably wouldnt have a ride now. But its a lesson learned, i keep a much closer eye on my car, and jump if any alarm goes off, whether mines or not. This also may help prevent any vandilizing that a pissed off would be thief may inflict.


peace

bloobin

one way of not being able to get towed... just dump your car as much as possible.

But then again.. that height, or lack of it, is really only to prevent towing.. and does ZERO for anything else!

What do you guys think about autolock?

Halo

A free way to protect against theft is what I like to call the crazy eyes. Let me explain.....I drove into a busy restaurant parking lot once and almost immediately my car was getting checked out by an unsavory crowd outside. I stared at the people with the most insane look I could muster never taking my eyes off them. As I parked and walked by going inside I maintained my death stare. Now when I go to that restaurant they are all afraid of me and my car.... If that doesn't work revert to plan B, that is unplugging your ecu and taking that with you

B16CRX

Autolock is good, much better than the Club.

Still need more than just that though.

Sucka Free

i think a stare [a constant stare] can end up not ur car being taken away, but a good azz kickin.
theres a lot of kids out there who dont like gettin looked at eye to eye...its that whole "what u lookin at" attitude.

the ecu seems like a pain in the azz, and i wouldnt want to mess with my ecu that often.


whats autolock?
-jason

#417R

If you wanted to go the ecu route, you could always pull the ecu fuse instead of taking it out. I also thought I saw an add for a steering wheel that you could remove for security precautions.

C4wrx

how do you guys like that thing that locks the clutch out, have any of you used this, and is this someone what theif proof?

Sucka Free

im gonna get one of those, read above threads.
its like a clutch or brake club. been seeing the infomercials lately on this item.

seems pretty sure, just as much or even more safer than having the club.

bojangs

ahhahahahhaha.. riiiiiiight.. alladin is good stuff eh!?! sheesh, i would highly recommend SEARCHING this topic.. you'll see Teken has a thing or 10 to say about the alladin system..

B18C5-EH2

An AUTOLOCK is the clutch/brake locking device that is much like the club, but even better. I'd like to see someone try to drive the car if they can't even push the clutch in!

Sure the infomercials might exaggerate, but the AUTOLOCK looks really effective. It's not crappy-*** metal like the club, so you can't saw through it, and since it attaches to your pedals they can't cut through the pedals either.

Also, since they'd have to get down in the floorboard they might not want to mess with it because they could not keep an eye out because of the awkward positioning needed to even mess with it.

Looks like a good deal. I would also add this item to the list seen above - i'll dop that later. I would not rely solely on the AUTOLOCK, but rather use it in conjunction to the others deterrants listed.