Player1

I'm buying a Civic in the near future and am wondering about some of the issues people have come across. I've read about stuff being stolen... Emblems, stereos, wheels... And I'm sure a lot of people have seen pleasejoe's pics. Poor guy.

When I get it, the only things I'm planning to change are the emblems (gold emblems on black body) and the wheels (will be going for 17" wheels; haven't decided on which ones tho).
I might get additional gold trim. Which reminds me, are the hoods of the sedans and coupes the same?

How many people have had emblems stolen? And what kind were they? Has anyone had the plain ones stolen?
Anyone have their STOCK stereos stolen?
What sort of stuff is commonly stolen? What should I look out for? Any info on alarms?

I'm trying to avoid as much outside damage to my car as possible so anything else I forgot to consider, please add!

Thanks all!
Player1

mattskav

I havent had any trouble, but i'd say get a real nice alarm....$400 bucks ought to do it...

I live near Boston and Its generally ok, but I wory about the car a lot...

Oh and think now...if you think it's going to be fast, it's not....go get a car with an S or an X in the name.

If your buying it because its big/cheap/fairly nice/and gets great gas mileage........cummon in, the waters fine.

01civicboi

iTrader: (2)

with ANY car, your're gonna have to worry about that issue. if you feel comfortable rolling around with cool stuff on your car, you better consider that other's will want your parts[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/IMG]

Diznavis

an alarm is a good idea, especially if you live in an area where theft/vandalism is a problem. i live in a good area, but im still going to be putting in a good alarm when i have the money. the most common things to have stolen are rims and aftermarket stereo equipment. you should be fine with the stock head unit, no one is going to want that since it will need a code to be usable once its taken out, and it would have a pretty low resale value anyway.

if you get an alarm, dont waste your money on the oem alarm, it doesnt work very well. compustar makes good alarms and there are some other good companies too

Player1

<< if you get an alarm, dont waste your money on the oem alarm, it doesnt work very well. compustar makes good alarms and there are some other good companies too >>



Damn, I've gotta call my dealer. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] It should be fine tho. I won't get the car till late March anyway.



<< Oh and think now...if you think it's going to be fast, it's not....go get a car with an S or an X in the name.
If your buying it because its big/cheap/fairly nice/and gets great gas mileage........cummon in, the waters fine. >>



Yeah, I know it's not fast but I like the looks and I don't want anything else in the price range. If only I found a better paying job... Grr...

djlunatic

the accord and civic were class leading in the most common car stolen nationally. the 7 gen got smart and put computer chips in the keys. its gone down alot since.

lug nut locks save the rims

shock sensor alarm saves the stereo

and a ninja to guard your car @ all times stops vandels

Player1

Oh, yeah. I got the locking wheel nuts too. Definitely worth it. I just hope if someone attempts to steal the wheels, they notice them first. Otherwise I might end up with a shaky ride home. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] And I hope whoever plans to steal the car knows about the key-chip thingy. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

Does anyone know how much the Compustar alarms are? Where can someone get one? I also read about the car starter and how most people won't install them for a M.T. (which is what mine will be).

Oh, yeah. Does anyone know how common it is to have emblems stolen? Any statistics on the kinds that are stolen?

Player1

RRCivic01

<< and a ninja to guard your car @ all times stops vandels >>



i need to get one of those!

NeonNights

Btw, about the starter...were you talking about a remote car starter? I didn't know you could get those for manuals...I mean, since you have to push in the clutch to start it. Would it have some sort of clutch bypass or something? J/w...I'd like one, but I'm gonna get a manual too, and I heard that they only work with autos.

FURY

i wouldnt worry too much about the CIVIC and trim emblems, it looks better without anyway

the H emblem...might end up getting jacked but if you buy a colored/indiglo one you better have spares

Player1

I believe the car should start fine if you leave it out of gear (neutral). There's another thread somewhere about car starters for manuals. Anyway, I also read that they're illegal (but I'd have to verify it for myself). Just imagine what might happen if your car was in 1st or reverse if you tried to start it. I'd imagine it'd jerk forward. CRASH! But I still want one. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

Personally I leave the car in neutral (which I am told is bad even with the parking brake on; will have to verify) when I have it parked so when I start it I don't have to depress the clutch until I shift into 1st. Of course, I'm driving a piece of crap car right now and I don't care what happens to it. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

Player1

SoNiCcIvIc

Any unique looking emblem will be an easy target... and if you're gonna want to seriously keep it on there, then you may end up getting your car damaged if they can't get it off.

When I got my car, the first thing I was worried about was the car being stolen... the 2k1/2k2 Civics... are VERY hard to steal. I remember hearing once that this girl locked her keys in the car accidently and well... coudn't get it open... she called three different towing companies to try to jimmy open the door but it didn't work. The only way they could get the door open was by having the dealer use a master key, and voila, problem solved... plus you have further knowledge that the car is not simple to get into...

But yeah, windows get broken, and stuff gets stolen. Personally, I try not to leave anything valuable looking in my car... my car still looks new inside.

SoNiCcIvIc

Oh yeah, and DO NOT GET THE DEALER'S ALARM. IT HAS NO WINDOW SENSORS. OPT FOR A DIFFERENT ALARM. (And make it sensetive enough that the tires can't be kicked.) [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

I dunno about starting the car in a different gear... but it doesn't matter sometimes, but you should always start the car with your foot on the brake just in case it does jerk but that's gonna happen if you don't realize the car is in gear... but if you want to keep your car parked... just... read the owner's manual...! The car can be started from any gear, but for an automatic, PARK is always the preference.

With a 5-speed manual, turn off the ignition, let the e-brake up and put the car in a gear. Any gear is fine, but the manual prefers reverse (I'm guessing reverse because reverse kinda had a lock... the car is probably gonna have the most restraint being moved while in reverse). Then you can let the e-brake back down if you want... especially if you have to part on a hill. Parking in neutral is fine but the car can still liable to move anyways... it'll stay still with the e-brake on but if you want to give it's parking status more reinforcement, just put the car in gear. Try to make it a habit so your car will be harder to tow. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

Automatics just have a parking brake of course so use it! [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

avenger

I cant have shock sensors b/c the damm gardeners lawn mowers will set the car off, but I got an Model 1 car alarm installed from Omega Research (caralarm.com). It has a starter disable circuit which complements the immobilizer nicely. My valuables aren't protected but the burglars will set off the alarm by opening the door/trunk (the alarm doesn't monitor the lights/voltage it monitors the signals that alert the ECU that the door is open or the trunk is open). All I care about is that my precious doesn't get taken, you can have the sub.

The chips in the keys are a real help in the fight against thieves, but they're pretty easy to bypass if you have the right equipment. My car alarm installer is an ex-con (aren't they all?) and he said how to do it, but he also assured me by telling me that the vast majority of thieves with that kind of equipment are NOT after little old civics, so we're pretty safe [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

CUE2k1

Up here... (T.O) Even the stock H emblem gets stolen, mostly if you live in an area close to a high school. Damn kids!! I replaced my stock emblem with a Blue one and I gave the stock emblem to my gurl's mom, her's got stolen and it was just stock. Definitely, an alarm will do. A sensitive one!!! I'm not too worried about the car though, it's got some really cool stuff in there to keep it safe. I don't even remove the face off my deck and no one's ever touched it... YET!!! I don't have an alarm yet but I have two hyper-blue LED's right above each of the tweeters by the door. It's soooo bright that it seems like some state-of-the-art alarm system, no one even bothers coming close to it. Once I'm done with the car with MOD's I'll post a pic, y'all should see it!!! I'm sure you'll like the lights, everyone else does!!

Player1

<< just... read the owner's manual...! >>

I don't have the car yet. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] No owner's manual just yet.

But earlier, I was talking about starting the car with an car-starter (for M.T.). So, nobody would be able to hold down the clutch or brake to start the car. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] It gets cold here in winter so sometimes I want to start the car without running outside.

But personally, I don't know anything about car starters for manuals so that's why I'm here. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG] Actually, I was here about theft/vandalism but it's all good.

Player1

noypirider

Remote Starter in MT is illegal in jersey... that's what the dealer told me. but you can still have it installed in your car, except that u cannot park ur car in any gear, otherwise when u start it remotely, it'll crash. I know someone who can install that, and he actually offered that to me. I refused because they will remove the chip out of ur keys to have ur car be started remotely, causing the engine immobilizer to be useless. it's still ur choice, tho. having a remote start then compromising the built in security of ur car.

Snowman

Actually the Accords were the number 2 most stolen car in 2000. But anyway if you're real worried there's something out there for you. It's a clear film that you put on your car. When the thief busts the windows, the glass shatters, but it all sticks together. The thief can't get through that and can't get into your car. Still have to get new window but none of your stuff will be stolen. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

Diznavis

compustar can do the remote start safely on MT, they have a set-up that wont allow it to start if its in gear

Devani

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, my emblem is also stolen, spanish speaking kids.....dude it sucks