Modified by 92SleeperH23 at 8:24 PM 9/8/2006

 

What I tell my younger brother is to not play his music loud in the area that his car is going to be parked for a extended period of time, i.e. home,work,school,etc. Also be aware of your surroundings and cars following.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92SleeperH23 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm about to get a new system (deck, amp, subs, whole 9 yards)

I don't have an alarm but I do have a kill switch, </TD></TR></TABLE>

You're worried about thieves, yet you also want a nice system. In my opinion I think you should get an alarm first. A kill switch may aid in preventing the entire car from getting stolen, but a thief can enter your car and nobody would even know. Whereas a motion sensor or paging feature will alert you and a siren will audibly alert you or anyone around. Sure, you may have a stock stereo face as a decoy, but who's to know if a thief wants a stock stereo, or if he just wants to get inside any car w/o an alarm and then just take whatever's inside.

My friend spent all this money on a nice stereo system with zero dollars spent on an alarm, and he had his system jacked in broad daylight while he was at work.

In the end, it is your money, so spend it as you wish. If you'd rather spend the money on a nice system, I'm sure you wouldn't mind spending a little more on a device known as Driveway Patrol.

http://www.drivewaypatrol.com

I don't use it the way it's intended. Instead, I put the sensor inside my car, so once the receiver sounds off, I'll know for sure that someone is inside my car. I can either go outside and confront the thief, or I can call 911, or I can simply start yelling and what not in order to spook a thief.

And to answer your question in the title, I think you car can be targeted because someone might've heard your system. While they may not follow you home directly, they might know someone who's heard your system and seen where it's parked at night.

Also, your car can just be a random target.

 

Well your on the right track, "stealth" your system, [oem dummy face] avoid cranking it where you park, [always good to turn the system down a few blocks from where your going to park anyway], and no stickers telling people what you have.
Most break-ins into cars are random, so just doing the above will not guarantee that the car does not get broken into, in fact there is no 100% guarantee no matter what you do that will keep your car from getting broken into, all you can do is make your car less attractive then the others on the street, and as has been mentioned an alarm goes a long way in that direction, [even a basic alarm] will cut the % of crooks that will hit your car if there are 10 other cars on the block without alarms. 94

 

Opportunity makes a thief target your car. It is almost completely random.

On the other hand, a lot of thefts are committed by people you know. If you go to car shows or street races, they can follow you around or get information about you and then target your car specifically.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by suspendedHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
On the other hand, a lot of thefts are committed by people you know. If you go to car shows or street races, they can follow you around or get information about you and then target your car specifically.</TD></TR></TABLE>

On that note, I don't plan on going to any shows or races or anything, and I planned on telling my future roommate if anyone asks to say I have a stock system, and I'm gonna tell anyone who asks or who mentions it in passing that I have a stock system.

 

like everyone else said man just keep the stealth look, keep it quiet before you park, make sure you bolt your amp at least to the box so they can't just rip it out right away(i learned that the hard way, fuckig theieves broke my windows got my 2 amps, but couldnt get the box out of my old car), or even mount it by the spare tire so you can't see it, anything to hide what you have, theives suck, but we are smarter than them just don't leave your **** in plain site

 

a theif chooses your car when he/she sees that you have something that might be worth money inside of it (or even outside).


if they dont see anything, they wont steal ish out of your car.
(agreeing with slowsohcvtec)

 

I wouldnt recommend tinting your windows either, it just makes it look like you are hiding something you dont want stolen. Leave em clear and stealth the system.

 

+1,000,000 for an alarm.
Get the simplest $150 alarm you can, and make sure the LED is highly visable. I show my ride at meets, work, car shows, etc... My car has 2 sirens outside pointing in opposite directions so it is loud everywhere, and I have 2 sirens inside the cabin of my car. People dont care when an alarm goes off, but if someone breaks into my car I dont want them to be able to hear the gear they are stealing.

My car was broken into once, the glass was broken & the door was openned. THe interior sirens are painfully loud to say the least, and the theif didn't even grab my CD wallet which was in plain view (stupid me I know).

Insurance bought me a new window & my alarm saved EVERYTHING in my car.

Cheap alarm, $150
Extra Sirens can be had for around $10~$20
Buy a couple extra warning LEDs too.

BTW, I have the Viper 791xv & have loved it since day one. (not $150 though)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by zguy95135 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wouldnt recommend tinting your windows either, it just makes it look like you are hiding something you dont want stolen.</TD></TR></TABLE>
OTOH, most people tint their windows simply to keep the interior of their cars cooler and not to hide things from view. Therefore, I can't envision a thief being tempted by a car solely because of the presence of window tint.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kontai69 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
OTOH, most people tint their windows simply to keep the interior of their cars cooler and not to hide things from view. Therefore, I can't envision a thief being tempted by a car solely because of the presence of window tint.
</TD></TR></TABLE> Ditto that. 94