Don't Let This Happen to You!!!

[azmtbkr81]

A few weekends ago my car was broken into in front of my house in Phoenix. They got my deck, amp, and sub+box all worth about $1500. In addition they got about 40 CD's, destroyed the plastic area of my dash that surrounded my deck, and broke the passenger window. Nothing was in plain view, and the deck was the JVC El Kameleon with dissapearing face but these theives knew what to look for. We are already at a disadvantage becasue MX-3's are seen as sport-compacts that are likely candidates for nice systems, but since then I've gotten some good advice on how to prevent this from happening so here it is:<P>-turn your system off 2 miles before you get home, theives will hear your system and follow you, even if you are not bumping necisseraly, then come back that night.<P>-don't think that a dissapearing faceplate fools anyone, they know what to look for. you are better off getting a deck with a removable face. <P>-don't get lazy and leave CDs in the car, you don't realize how much they are worth until they are gone, mine were worth about $500. <P>-get your windows tinted, this makes it more difficult for theives to see what is inside. <P>The worst part of it all is hearing someone else with a system and thinking it might be yours! Hopefully this won't happen to any of you guys.

[Guest]

actually with tinted windows thieves think that u r hiding s---, and once they r in noone can see them..i agree about the rest though and i am sorry to hear about your loss...hope u get the mx fixed soon..IMO though i don't think they follow u, they may hear u and if they see u're car next time they will get in or they may break in any way and get what they can..oh yah and hide radar detector..they could break in for that and then take your steroeo too..<BR>lata<p>[ July 25, 2002: Message edited by: Custommx3 ]

[Andrew_Pakula]

My car has been broken into twice.<P>In reality there is little you can really do, if they want something they will find ways to get it.<P>Unless your car is parked in some kind of secure facility the chances of your car getting broken into is highly likely at some point especially if you have to park in a more public area all the time.<P>The first time they stold my deck and all my cds, about 50 of them. There was no alarm on the car then.<P>Second time there was an alarm but since my car was parked in an underground garage there isn't really anyone around to hear it. This time however it was obvious they were probably nervous with the alarm going on so they didn't stick around too long. They only took out the amp and subwoofer since they were the easiest to ripp out. They looked at the deck and cd changer but they didn't bother because it would have taken them more time with those.<P>To this date I still haven't replaced my amp and subwoofer, I am a little reluctant to do so. If I do eventually everything is going to be bolted down somehow

[SmokyMcGee]

tint is a bad idea... 1st off..like it was said...thieves think your hiding something.. 2nd the tint holds the window peices together so if it gets broken its just one big peice to remove as opposed to glass shattering all over the place and making noise.

[azmtbkr81]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SmokyMcGee:<BR><STRONG>tint is a bad idea... 1st off..like it was said...thieves think your hiding something.. 2nd the tint holds the window peices together so if it gets broken its just one big peice to remove as opposed to glass shattering all over the place and making noise.</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>They broke my window totally silently, it was parked next to the driveway, no one in my house or the neighbors heard it, not even my dog and he hears everything. These guys were pros. Maybe its a Phoenix thing becasue out here most people have tinted windows to protect themselves from the sun so it doesn't look out of place. I'd rather have a theif have to take a few extra seconds to peer into my window rather then being able to see my deck or anything else for that matter in plain view. It may make him think twice if it was difficult for him to determine for sure if there is anything to steal. [img]shrug.gif"%20border="0[/img]

[SmokyMcGee]

I don't want the hassel of replacing my window so I dont keep a nice sound system. I had my last car broken into. We all had our experiences and our suggestions on avoiding it... but as long as there are a$$holes in this world theres gonna be problems.

[Andrew_Pakula]

The guy or guys who broke into my car the first time were obviously pros judging by the way the broke in and how they ripped the stuff out.<P>The second time the guy or guys probably weren't professionals so that's partly the reason why they only took the easy stuff out.

[Smokin mx-3]

u should make sure that the place you buy your decks from is reputable because in guelph there is a audio place where if you spend over a certian amount of money and get them to install it usually in a couple months your car has been broken into and they know where everything is

[Andrew_Pakula]

Too be honest I think it was the Futureshop guy(from Weston Rd. and 401 in Toronto) that broke into my car the first time for various reasons, I just can't really prove it.

[SmokyMcGee]

My brother got his system installed at this place. He left his cd's in the car..bout 400 dollars worth.. When he got the car back.. they were gone.. and the owner got mad at me for asking if someone who worked there took them. I knew one of his people took them.. cds don't just vanish.. So I made it my busienss to prank call them every so often. I know it wasn't the mature thing to do..but sure as hell was satisfying. <p>[ July 25, 2002: Message edited by: SmokyMcGee ]

[Hy300]

If you've got the cash for a banging system get someone to install a keyless alarm too. There are alarms out there now that if someone breaks in or messes with your wiring the alarms will go off and so will a buzzer on the remote. I have a friend with one of these and it saved him a lot of money because he got to the car in time to scare the would-be thieves away and he got some money from insurance because his ride was broken into.

[azmtbkr81]

Yeah, I agree with you Smokey, I am definetly not putting a nice system in my car, maybe a cheap CD player but I am spending my insurance money on performance upgrades. Although someone once tried to steal the catback exhaust off of my friend's civic so not even all performance parts are safe. I wish we it was like South Africa where its legal install things like flame throwers and giant blades that cut your feet off if you try to break in. I think thats about the only way to stop theives for sure. It would be great to see some theif go up in flames for trying to get your stereo!

[monty73741]

my car got broken into @ them shop....<BR>the theives took there time.<BR>i have some theives.patroling my neighbor hood loooking to steal my clear corners...<BR>i replaced my screw with...hex head screw.to make a little harder...<P><BR>but there gonna get our s--- there gonna get..i dont invest in high tech cd player....either......plus i have a rear cargo cover so no one can see in<P><BR>jason

[SmokyMcGee]

my cargo cover is gonna be out of my car soon. I want the thieves to look back there and see that I have absolutely nothing to offer them. Plus im taking out my back seats cuz it would look wierd still there.<p>[ July 27, 2002: Message edited by: SmokyMcGee ]

[Bundy]

I guess the best thing we can do to protect ourselves is to buy a decent security system on the car. Actually, just like you guys, some punk kids in my neighbor broke into my car once before; broke driver's side window and stole my cd-player. That time, I had my security system in my closet and it was not installed. "stupid me"...<BR>Anyway, thanks to my insurance, they paid for all the damage, but it was just like $800 and my deductable was $500, ended up myself paying $500 for nothing.<BR>After the car was fixed, I took my car to the shop and they installed a security system, keyless entry, and something called 'remote start' for about $300. I believe it's worth having security system on the car, and it sure is convenient to have a keyless entry system on the car.<BR>My neighborhood is not bad, but sometimes, people ask me if I got like turbo or something powerful on my stock mx-3. I liked mx-3 and that's why I bought it, and it must look sweet to other people, too. It's fortunate for us to own such good cars, but unfortunate for our cars to be so damn nice-looking. I love my car just like the other owners, and I believe it's a good investment to buy a decent security system on your cars.<P>Bungo