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Hey people,

I'm curious what your experiences are with car theft.

-any attempts on your car?
-any good strategies to protect your car?
-how can I have both a "nice" car and a "safe" car? ie/ keep budget wheels on it, or go with basic OEM aluminum wheels?
-remove the window tint, or does it prevent people from looking in?

-any other ideas???

My last car was a run-down integra, and sure enough it was stolen and found torched. No joke - they didn't even part it out!

 
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your best bet is a 2way paging alarm and a garage to put your car in. another good was is that locking device that goes on the brake pedal you can get them at pepboys. there is also a wheel lock that is kind of extreme but it works it looks like a boot used by the state.

 
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It all depends on where you live, and what car you have
By your name, i'm assuming that you live in chicago, which isnt the safest of places to leave a civic

And if you happen to have a 2003+ civic which incorporated the new security keys, you are less likely to have a break in.

I haven't had any attempts for break into my car, and I always leave my deck faceplate attached, with my ipod in the din pocket.

Try to park in a crowded area, where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic, instead of parking in the back of the parking lot where no one can see your car

Another way of preventing theft. Theft, not break in, is to have a kill switch.
Do not make a ignition kill switch as all the noobs do, make a proper fuel pump kill switch.
What does that mean? They can start your car, drive it for a block before all the gas runs out of the gas lines. then most likely, they will ditch your car.
Why not make a ignition kill switch? because it can be easily bypassed by tearing apart your ignition

I've actually seen some ingenious designs for kill switches where the driver has an extra "key" he carrys around. One for the car, one for the fuel pump.

I agree, a 2way paging alarm is very good.
Another way, if you're willing to spend the money, is to invest in a Revelco system, a bullet proof anti theft device, much more complex than a conventional kill switch.
But you're looking at about 200+ for a 2way paging alarm, and 400+ for a Revelco system

 
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avoiding break-in is easy, dont leave anything in the car, not even a shirt or a penny. if you park in a bad area, kill switch is prolly the best idea. alarm is nice, but nobody cares anymore. ive watched alarm going on and people walk right by the car do nothing. also its easy to disable within 10 secs by cutting the wire. if you are in a hurry and have to leave the car in a bad spot, unplug the ignition coil connectors (but leave them partially plugged in so it looks like theyre still connected). 99% of thieves will never figure it out with how stupid they are. if you really want to make sure your car is there, go buy a parking boot, or two, and put it on the front wheels. 01-05 civics are not very in-demand cars to be stolen, in fact usually they only get stolen for joy rides if that. ive never even had a breakin and i used to park in some bad areas.

if you have a 2-way pager, you better be packing heat while running up to the car. garage is useless, i have seen thieves steal a car from the garage and nobody found out til the next morning. wheel locks are also stupid, you just cut the sponge steering wheel and slide it off.

 
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Yeah, sawsall cuts through it in about 5 seconds- no kidding.

 
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this is one steering wheel lock that i would use http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLLngF_FyL4

 
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I like the idea of a fuel pump cutoff switch. Back when I used to be into air cooled VW's we used to have battery cutoff switches, but that would not work too well with fuel injection and modern radios and stuff.

 
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Raise a snake in the car.
Put a set of half used brake pads in the console with a post-it with the next words: "Things to do".
Or a suspension bolts with a post-it: "find out where this came from"

 
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Full coverage insurance is the best prevention. Period.

 
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That's not "preventing" it, thats for after it gets stolen lol

 
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You're right but knowing that I have full coverage makes me NOT worry about whether my car's going to be stolen or broken into.

Tinted windows help but in some states they're illegal to have them tinted on the driver's side & front passenger's side.

Hiding the head unit, GPS, etc. helps too but personally I think if someone is going to break into your car they're going to do it no matter what theft deterrent you have displayed.

 
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I worry about my deductible lol
I have a very high theft deductible on my insurance to offset my low rates

I wouldnt be too sure about the theft deterrent part
I doubt most people would break into my car, if they got near, and all of a sudden, flashy red/blue lights appear inside the car, and police siren starts blaring from my car

 
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True. I have a $500 deductible. And I pay $80 a month for both my '08 Tundra and '98 Civic.


All I gotta say is...CLIP! Lights & sirens are gone.

 
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How's that going to help me recover the 10 kilos of Cocaine I always store in the trunk? Insurance ain't gonna cover that. lol

 
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Dude, if you were a true drug addict you know you don't leave that shiet in the car. You hide that shiet in your @$$!!!

Not that I'd know or anything. It's just what I hear.

 
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10 kilos...up there? No problem lol

 
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Not if i properly hid and secured that wire :P
but it would def deter most incompetent criminals

My neighbor, who is a police officer has actually found an abandoned car with, not 10 kilos, but about 2 kilos of cocaine in it. there are some stupid criminals out there

 
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I love watching those COPs episodes where the criminal makes the stupidest makes like leaving the shotgun on the counter for the clerk the grab.

BTW, I don't condone criminal behavior.

 
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I do, as long as it's just weed.

You are right, COPS is the best show ever. I love watching stupid criminals try to lie there way out of trouble while they are drunk lol

 
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was it in the car's or the driver's trunk? (remembering some posts up on where to hide them! )

 
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lmao, it was in the the car's trunk :X ...thankfully

 
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About two years ago the city of Dallas was clearing large items off the curbs and found a sofa stuffed with about 100 lbs of coke. Neighbors said it sat there for months. lol

 
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Install a hidden kill switch

 
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^ That one was already covered, read the previous posts.

 
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Keep an attack goldfish in your car

 
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seriously just get Lojack like me, has a nifty thing attaches to your keys, if the car moves without it more then 15 feet, bam lojack is on it, no response they're sending a cop car to retrieve. (they call my cell, if i don't pick up or if i do and tell them its not me in the car cop goes after it)

 
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Our civics aren't worth it to put a $1K security system in. Maybe a beamer.
A 2way is good enough for a civic.

 
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well it was free, in the arrangement when i purchased it from the dealership =]