I recently had some really bad neighbors move in next door that seem to have brought the crime factor with them. I went outside this morning to find that someone had torn the driver’s side window moulding to shreds trying to stick something down the door to open it.
I dont know if they are just looking for a quick grab like say my stereo, or if they are trying to steal the whole car. My car is an automatic and I use the built in steering lock when I park it. My car looks on the outside like a piece of crap, but I have almost $1500 in new OEM parts on her. I know looks do nothing to deter thieves.
I live in an open apartment complex and there are no cameras and the parking area is out of view of my place. I need to know what I can do immediately to keep the car from being broke into and/or stolen. I am not really into alarm systems cause I dont want to molest the wiring. Not to mention I will get evicted if it goes off a lot for no reason.
ask them to patrol your neighborhood more. show them that someone tried to break into your car. they’re there to protect and serve.
i know some police departments are lazy and won’t do much, but its worth a shot. if you ask for their help, and they do nothing, and your car gets jacked. sue them.
I would advise getting an alarm and wire in a kill switch but you’re not into tapping into the wires. Therefore, I would say get an AutoLock for the clutch pedal, AlphaLock for the wheel, Club for the steering wheel, or quick release for the steering wheel. Any combination of those should deter a couple thieves looking for the quick grab (not stereo systems or GPS etc…). Also, maybe take a trip to your local auto parts store & see if they have any battery powered LEDs that make it look like you have an alarm. Best of luck & I hope it works out for you. I live in a rough neighborhood, so I always spend a little while locking my car up whenever I park. Better safe than sorry.
Thanks guys. I am going to start removing the face plate off the car at nights for now on.
I got an automatic, so clutch pedal kill switch is out the question. I need to find an article with an ignition kill switch.
I like the detachable steering wheel idea.
if they cant steer it they cant drive it away, club might work too but it isn’t hard to cut a steering wheel.
[QUOTE=Malformed;2220505]I like the detachable steering wheel idea.
if they cant steer it they cant drive it away, club might work too but it isn’t hard to cut a steering wheel.
need to look into doing a kill switch myself.[/QUOTE]
Multiple cars from my area have been stolen that had removeable steering wheels… One case in particular also had an alarm, clutch-lock, removed ECU and a fuel-kill switch, and it was still stolen.
Theft might not be as bad in some places as others but there is no cure-all for theft. Just try your best to have overlapping layers of security and use good sense when parking or leaving your car for long periods of time.
Get a two-way paging alarm. As far as not wanting someone to ‘molest’ the wiring… there are plenty of people who do bang-up wiring jobs. Go to someone experienced and tell them you want a clean/oem-style install and you should have no worries.
Your car is only going to be as secure as you make it… and not installing an alarm due to the wiring aspect, is borderline rediculous.
If you are going to have an alarm installed, you should ask your installer if he’s willing to do this for some extra $:
Relocate the alarm so it’s NOT under the driver side dash. Most thieves will look in this area right away because most installers place the alarm module here.
Install a small backup battery for the alarm unit. This way if thieves pull the battery, the alarm will still have power.
Install the alarm so that the car’s horns are also being used in conjunction with the siren. This is actually pretty simple and usually just a single wire, but most installers get lazy and just hook up the alarm’s siren. Some thieves just cut the siren line, if you have both the horns and the siren hooked up, the thieves will have to cut two lines instead of one.
Install the siren in a hard to reach place behind the intake manifold behind all the hoses, or underneath the car. Again, just prevent’s thieves from cutting the siren wire.
Some more ideas:
install fuel cut and/or ignition cut switch
removable steering wheel
relocate hood latch cable (if you know how, you can actually open the hood on a DA/DB pretty easily from the outside)
pedal locks (kinda a hassle to put on all the time though and not that effective)
keep your interior clean!! If you have ipods or other goodies (anything that looks of value) laying around in plain view, you’re giving them more incentive to break in.
Take the faceplate off your radio out when your not in the car (same idea as above).
install gps tracking (some high end alarms support this feature) (in case your car is flatbed towed)
have faux (or real) security cam’s pointed from your house to your usual parking spot (deterrent) (hard if you dont own the house or building)
park the car in well lit or high traffic area at night.
Finally, find a GOOD reputable installer for the alarm. Ensure that the installer solder’s his connections and that the main ignition wires are never cut. If your installer does a crappy job, you’ll have reliability issues or random electrical bugs down the road. (i.e. engine not starting and no idea why problems…)
I had to deal with this once. For peace of mind get a 2 way pager alarm, layer with switches detachable steering etc… Most two way alarms have a function to make the siren silent, while the fob itelf beeps loudly when the car is molested. As an owner of a 2 way pager alarm I can honestly say I don’t know how I stayed without one for so long. It has saved me three times, also most thieves see the bright blinking LEDS of the alarm and don’t even want to bother. The greatest part is you can make it ultra sensitive and the neighborhood won’t wake up. Only you will when the fob starts beeping. Best of luck sir, layering is key.
[QUOTE=imcnblu;2220410]
i know some police departments are lazy and won’t do much, but its worth a shot. if you ask for their help, and they do nothing, and your car gets jacked. sue them.[/QUOTE]
seriously? Sue them on what grounds? They aren’t providing 24 hour watch on a 20 year old car thats gained notoriety on a handful of message boards?
I would file a police report, but I’d expect autotheft (or attempted auto theft) to be very low on the priority scale (somewhere just over failure to display a permit for a garage sale, but just under "no parking on residential streets between 2a-6a).
If you have insurance that covers theft or vandalism, it might be time to review the level of coverage you have on your car. Keep your $1500 worth of new parts receipts handy.
but seriously, the fuel cut-off switch is your best bet along with an alarm. i had the fuel cut-off switch in my db, but it was connected when my car was stolen, parked the b*tch for only 30 minutes and come to find that someone had jacked it. damn thieve!!!
I cannot afford full coverage and even if I did it needs so much body work/paint I dont think they would give me anything much compared to whats in it. But parts receipts do not lie lol.
I’d contact your insurance company anyway. I could produce receipts for cases of expensive vodka and 18 mink coats and say that they were removed from my car, lets see me collect on those.