A buddy of mine just informed me that his 2000 Civic SI was ripped off from a local mall parking lot Thursday night. He said that when the police found the car, in a warehouse distict of Ft. Lauderdale near I-95, by using the activated Lojack signal, the f*cking lizard car theives took the entire engine/transaxle, front console/steering wheel and the right front fender! Everything else was pretty much intact.

He said that when he finally got a look at the car in the inpound yard, everything removed had the appearance of a surgical extraction, no undue mutilation to the front-end or interior. He said the officer remarked that the car was specificly targeted for these components. duh! He stated that he was only in the mall for a couple of hours and that it was only a couple of hours after the Lojack was activated that the car was actually located by the cops. Its obvious that these theives were pro's.

Anyways, his layers of theft deterance only consisted of the Lojack system and a 'Club' for the steering wheel.

I utilize four layers of deterance on my CLS-6:
1) Factory alarm with the Key chip immobilizer.
2) Shock sensor install (Thanks ACL.com )
3) Club for the steering wheel
4) Autolock placed on the Clutch pedal
I also try to park in well lighted areas at night and pull into parking spaces front first with the wheels turned sharply to one side.

For discussion purposes and in the sharing of ideas/approaches, what deterance layers/practices do all you guys/gals employ to try and prevent someone from stealing your car?

Thanks.

 

i like to park my car where i know alot of people will walk by and i also like to jam my steering wheel

 

funny avatar..hahahhaa

 

i lock my doors and thats abou it.

 

i have a "ghost switch" installed.... it would be dumb of me to tell u where it (they) is.... but i can give you some ideas....

-seat belt needs to be in
-press door lock down
-turn on headlights
-turn on hazards

essentially the swith needs to be somewhere that u either press or turn on/off. what it does is requires u to turn on/off whatever it is, before the car will start. most alarm specialist can install it, and its relatively cheap (50 bucks CAN). it works against hijackin because the car will not start until say "the headlights are turned on" with or without a key. i mean really, what car theif will think to put their seatbelt on BEFORE trying to start the car?
and u can put more than one.

the CLS has some really great places to put them, so look around and find somewhere that no one would guess to turn on or engage BEFORE trying to start the car.

 

Yeah, when I had my 1999 SI, I purchased the Lojack system with the 'Starter Disabler' from the dealer. (I told my friend to go the same route, but he opted not to ) Now he regrets it big time. The Lojack people hooked up the 'disabler' circuit to one of the dash switches and you had to first turn the ignition on, hit the switch, then start the engine.

There were so many possible combinations and potential locations that it would make it very time consuming to figure out. A luxury these chicken shits don't have. However, they still would have had to remove the Autolock from the clutch pedal first in order to even try to attemp to figure it out. You could tell they just left in a hurry when they felt that the clutch could not be depressed. They probably just moved on to the next poor SOB that was an easier target.

My SI was broken into three times before I said the hell with it and upgraded to the CLS-6 To say the least it kept those c*cksuckers from getting the car started.

 

thats what its about... if they want your car... sadly... theyre gonna get it. but what you wanna do is make it harder for them... throw some obsticles in their way to make it take longer. they dont have time to waste, autolocks (which i have as well) switches, noisy alarms... they just add time and aggravation. but dont let anyone ever tell u ur car is theft proof, I know how (but never would do it), and have seen how the benz 7 series can be ripped off in under 2 minutes (without havin a key).
i also recommend ( i work in a car audio/alarm shop) 2 way alarm systems for people who need the extra peice of mind of monitoring their car. good luck everyone.

 

Nothing personal, but those "security devices" are kiddie stuff. Any dimestore car thief can drive away with your car in seconds with those. If someone wants the car, they'll take it.

Even an alarm can be overidden. Key chip immobilizer keeps kids from stealing your car. In your buddies cas, it was a perfect oportunity to flatbed the car...only car in the lot...

 

o and in addition to that i have a "Big Black Guy Name Ben"

 

Yeah, I just read yesterday that the 2000 civic si was on the top of the stolen list. Truth is if they really want it they can find a way, but you can make it more difficult. I usually park in well lit areas, lock my wheel all the way to one side. Make it harder for a flatbed anyway.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by NSXNEXT
[B]Nothing personal, but those "security devices" are kiddie stuff. Any dimestore car thief can drive away with your car in seconds with those. If someone wants the car, they'll take it.

Nothing personal taken and thanks for your insight; however, the 'kiddie stuff security devices', as you say, are a reasonable proactive control in an attempt to guard a vehicle investment against car theft (Dimestore or professional).

How much control would anyone have over any determined miscreant with a slim jim or flatbed that really wants your car!

I'd rather be prudent in making it more difficult for the SOB's, and sleep a little better at night, then doing nothing and giving it to the f*ck!!!