Keep your car from being stolen (In a thief's own words)

Vampire

Up all night
Joined
Jul 31, 2010
Hey guys, so I just got my new GN last week and I'm thrilled about it...so thrilled that now I'm paranoid about getting it stolen since I've heard so many stories. While I was looking for info, I found this on a Honda forum I used to go on for my old car. I thought it was interesting, and that we could either benefit from the info, or call bullsh** and brainstorm good ways to really keep our cars.

If you have a great anti-theft secret but you don't want to post it here (where every criminal in the world can google it and get ideas) I understand! But sharing info here would definitely help me and I'm sure other owners too; I'm totally new to these cars so I need all the good advice I can get.


HERE'S THE STORY - IT WAS NOT WRITTEN BY ME!!!


About Me and My History:

As some of you already know, I'm a convicted felon. Been there and done that ****. I've stolen over XXX amount of cars, from civic hatchbacks to NSXs. YES, I've pulled a couple. They're not that fast. They're no harder than anything else. But that doesn't mean to go out and look for one God Dammit! Ehhemmm anyway, I've done time in jail several times. No prison yet, but that's around the corner if I do it again. I've gone through counseling because I thought I had a mental problem. I mainly stole Hondas and Acuras. I never really wanted to steal any others. This was all back when I never had a car of my own yet. I wanted to be a racer I guess. I wanted to show off my car-stealing skills to others so much that I ended up with a list of felonies. Car thieves don't always wear all black. They wear slippers, khaki cargo shorts, and Hawaiian shirts like I did. All of this **** and 90 miles more of info I could tell you is all the past. It's no longer my thing, but I am willing to educate those who are willing to listen (read).

What Thieves like me would look for:

Location
First right off the bat is the location of the car. If its in a well-lit area with high foot traffic, chances are the thief will be less inclined to take the risk. Obviously someone might see him. Its also very important for a thief to look like he owns the car he's trying to get into. Sometimes location won't make a difference if the thief knows what he's doing or is confident in his ability. It also depends on what method he's using to steal the car. That'll make a big difference as to what locations he'll chose to work in. If he's got a master key or what is often called a "Shaved key", location can make little difference. Master (Shaved) keys allow access times as quick as 1 to 10 seconds. The thief gives himself a set amount of time to work with before he starts to look too suspicious. Usually in my case, high risk area=10 seconds allowable MAX, Medium risk area=15-30 seconds, and Low Risk(dark neighborhood 2am)=all the time needed.

LEDs
A thief will look for flashing LEDs inside. It's not always a sign of an alarm because it could be a decoy. There are ways to find out if it's a decoy or real alarm, and hitting the car is the simplest method among MANY MANY others. Factory stereos have a flashing red LED on it which is engaged when the car is off. It flashes at a different rate(slower) than a real Alarm LED. I should know!

Steering Lock
He'll also look for a steering lock. Depending on what kind of lock will give a red or green light for the thief. The AutoLock brake pedal lock DefConLevel 6 Bull**** is frickin stupid. It'll just stop the thief from using the brake. The car can still be driven away. My sister has that lock on her accord one day and I got in it and drove it around the block right in front of her! In my opinion, the MasterLock Titanium 4 Prong Steering wheel lock is really good. Chances are they ain't gonna waste their time to cut that or the steering wheel, especially not in the front row of a mall parking lot where others can see them.

Stereo/Other Electronics
If you have a removable face plate on your car, take it off when you get out of your car. If a thief walks by your car and sees that it's missing, he knows there is a 50-50 chance that either you have it hidden in the car somewhere (glove box, under seat, behind seat in the pocket, center console) or you have it with you personally. It'll make him want to take the chance a little less. He might move on to the next car. This applies to any other electronic stuff in plain view in your car. If you have an in-dash DVD unit, VAFC, aftermarket gauges, PS3, or whatever he'll want to break in and take that ****.

Alarm
Whatever you do, DO NOT put stickers on your car pertaining to any type of alarm. If you put, say, and VIPER sticker on your door window, he'll just know exactly what wires to cut! No LoJack, Python, nothing. Don't put those fake ass blue LED scanner light bars that go back and forth either. Dead give away. Also, If you are planning on getting an alarm installed, go with someone you KNOW does good work. I don't care what kind of alarm you have. A $10 alarm is far better than a $300 Compustar any day if the installer didn't do it right. Hide that control Module! The better you hide that module the more difficult it'll be for the thief to find or cut the wires. Even if you can make him search 30 more seconds, that's an extra 30 seconds more you've just bought yourself to run outside your house and smash him in the eye socket with a _________(you pick your weapon).

Transponder
A Transponder is a Chip built into a key that, when trying to start the car, it sends a signal to the ECU which then authenticates with the ECU. Technically you don't have to have the transponder key as the key starting the car. As long as you have the "chipped" key within 7 inches from the ignition, you can have a copy of the key in the ignition to start it. I don't know why you would want to do that but, yea, it's possible. Just letting you know. This isn't something that you can get installed if you currently don't have it. All I want to say is don't think that these are undefeatable. The average car thief won't be able to steal a car with a transponder. There are several ways of beating a transponder system, it doesn't matter if you know what these are or not. Just know that there are several ways to get around it. There's nothing you can do to make sure they CANT beat it. I've seen situations where someone had a transponder in their vehicle and got their car stolen. The insurance didn't want to give them any money for the loss because they claim the technology can't be beat. Bull$h!T !!

Door locks
Shave your locks. Not everyone wants to do this but if you can, it's one of the best deterrents. This'll make it very difficult to enter a car. Yea they can use other methods like a jimmy or even a Code Scanner. There are devices that few thieves have that can open all alarms within a certain distances away from them, all at once. Just imagine standing in the middle of a parking lot, you hit the button on the remote, and all the cars start unlocking. They have it! I don't know where they get it, but they have it!

LoJack
No one is supposed to know where the LoJack modules are installed. Not even the owner of the car. They don't install it in the same place every time. It's always random. I have LoJack in my car and I have no idea where it is. I got a $100 discount in Auto Insurance too! Definitely good to have if you want your car recovered if it gets stolen. If you don't care and you just want your insurance to reimburse you for the loss, just stick without it.

Wheel Locks
These are very good to have. Good thieves have wheel lock adapters already. They might have a couple different styles. If you got yours at Autozone or somewhere else well known, chances are they have your same wheel lock adapters too! Put 2 different kinds of wheel locks on your rims. It'll make it that much harder for them to get the lugs and wheels off.

Insurance
Full Coverage. If you think you live in a neighborhood that is prone to theft or have a car that would be a decent target, you better have full coverage.


In short:
Lock your doors!
Hide your alarm module very well
MasterLock Titanium 4 Prong Steering Lock
Remove Stereo Faceplate
Have Minimal Electronics in plain view
No Alarm Stickers on windows
Multiple Wheel Locks
No Fake flashing LED scanners
Park in high traffic areas
LoJack
Full Coverage Insurance
 
New GN? do you mean USED GN but New to YOU as owner? Just bustin nut.

Congrats on the car & thanks for the info
 
I can get by the wheel lock adapters with ease. Hammer an oversize socket onto the lock.. Bingo off in no time.

I had to do that when I lost my key on a car I once owned.
 
I can get by the wheel lock adapters with ease. Hammer an oversize socket onto the lock.. Bingo off in no time.

See thats what the heck I'm talking about! I wanna know what works and what doesnt. Of course nothing is foolproof, but anything that makes it harder to take is a plus.

BTW it has 38000 original miles so I wasn't far off calling it new...heh heh :cool:

Thanks for the help 6pack, any more wisdom you can share?
 
Unplug ecm wire. (orange by battery) Or just take out the ecm, if you want a lot of security. If they really want it they'll come with a tow truck. Friend of mine in San Diego had it happen. :mad:
 
Unplug ecm wire. (orange by battery)

Wouldn't that reset the ECM every time? I should probably add, I'm driving mine almost daily, and will be until I get another gas-sipping commuter to replace the Honda. But hey, however long that takes, I'm fine with it... :biggrin:

Is it a ridiculous idea to try to get a hold of something like the boots law enforcement puts on cars in some places? (I don't know much about them, I've never seen one used here in CA.) Not for daily driving, but maybe when its sitting unattended or whatever...
 
I repoed cars for 10 years and let me tell you we seen all the tricks. If you do use a club turn it around so the key faces the wheel. cant pull the lock out if it is on like that. alarms never phazed me. An alarm going off in Chicago.enough said on alarms. Most of the time I was in the dynamic. I could have your car loaded in under 30 seconds.Hook and book as we called it. Insurance is the answer or lojack but there is ways around that also:biggrin: Full coverage and a glock that will cover it. I wonder if there is a discount for the glock.
 
I repoed cars for 10 years and let me tell you we seen all the tricks. If you do use a club turn it around so the key faces the wheel. cant pull the lock out if it is on like that. alarms never phazed me. An alarm going off in Chicago.enough said on alarms. Most of the time I was in the dynamic. I could have your car loaded in under 30 seconds.Hook and book as we called it. Insurance is the answer or lojack but there is ways around that also:biggrin: Full coverage and a glock that will cover it. I wonder if there is a discount for the glock.

Nice tip about clubs. I hear you about the whole alarm thing...complete waste of money IMO. You're basically putting the safety of your vehicle in the hands of surrounding passers-by, hoping concerned citizens will run over and confront the would-be criminal...what a crock! Everyone I know including myself hears another alarm going off and just thinks "geez, shut that thing up!" My dad-in-law once made an hour-long drive on SoCal freeways on a weekday afternoon with a malfunctioning alarm that wouldn't stop blaring. Didn't even get pulled over!

I have a Glock too, full of hollow-points always ready to go...although I don't even know why, in lame-a** California all a discharge would get me is locked up, certainly in defense of mere property (this state, I swear...) Anyway, I'd rather make the car a hard target, then have something like LoJack to back it up. Its insured to the hilt, but seriously, insurance companies = different set of crooks :mad: Much rather have MY car back, as I'm sure most TR guys would.

Tow Truck = GREATEST FEAR :frown:
 
Oh I forgot to mention the club buster.That thing is sweet.Crank it down and snaps the club like a pretzel. Not to many people bought the buster. Just us thieves:eek:
 
Far short of SLEEPING in it.
I would say a BIG Dog in the Garage might help.

If your out running Errands, make the wife or Girlfriend go into the store and sit there in it.:D

Like Chopped said most thieves that are EXPERINECED know most of the tricks.:frown:

Some of the minor anti theft will keep the rookies at bay.

Last but not least good classic car insurance
 
Blow your headgaskets. That will keep most thieves from stealing it.:D
 
If you rig up and hide a kill switch for the fuel pump, at least you won't have to worry about a theif DRVING it away. It'll start....die...and not restart.
 
Is it illegal to ground the battery to the car?
If the thief touches it, he'll get the shock of his life.:eek:
The problem is if the innocent bystander walks by.:eek:

I've never had the guts to do it.
I'm scared it will mess up some electronics.
 
If you stay away from the generic stuff and do some free thinking, and use more than one security device, the only way they'll get it is with a tow truck. You'd be hard pressed to stop a tow truck if they want it that bad. I could leave the keys in mine and they'd never figure it all out (assuming it's all activated). Without the keys they'd first have to pry off the permanent steering column guard.

The new locking lugs from mopar are a PITA without the key! They have a sleeve around the outside that spins freely on the socket so you can't hammer a twist socket on it. You have to first chisel the sleeves off of them and then use a twist socket. It's doable, i've done it with no damage, but a theif would find an easier target.

Most important things to remember are to not attract attention to it (impossible with a GN) and make it hard enough for them to bail and find a better target.
 
I know a guy with more cars than garage space and he used to chain three cars together with two giant a$$ chains ran thru the axles that would make them hard to steal with a tow truck!!!
 
Well, like I said in an earlier post....I used to cable my '66 Vette to a telephone/power pole, every day of my life....the cables being 1 1/4" wire woven, used by helicopters to lift heavy equipment were I worked. Pain in the ass, heavy, and you get dirty doing it all of the time....but I still have the Vette after 38 years. Three other cars were stolen one night out of my apartment parking lot, one was right next to my Vette. Was worth it to me. Did the same with my '69 Vette....must have worked, I still have that one after 28 years and counting.:cool:

I've come up with a real nice way to keep my '87, trouble, time consuming but worth it. Will not share...sorry. And yes, depending on the way I park it, a tow truck could get it. Now THAT'S sobering.

I may go with the cable caper again with the GN, but, jeeze, they are two 8 foot sections welded together and very heavy! With this darn bad back pain all of the time, I don't know if I'm up for it. I guess it's better to have my wife sit in it with my .44 while I go shop!!!1:biggrin::rolleyes:

Bruce '87 Grand National
 
A few of these might work?
 

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A few thoughts

No Fuel, No Spark, No Powermaster, or No Electric Power..................................NO DICE!!!!!

A few switched circuits will make them move on. It's what they tear up getting this far that really hurts.:mad:
 
That was some good advice and he's right. Most everything can be defeated. The more kill switches u have the better. Personally id rather a thief jimmy my door or pull the factory lock nob up vs. smash my windows. That's just a means to and end. There getten in one way or the other.

But what they leave with is a different story. I agree with the Lojack suggestion to. He's dead on. Over a 95% recovery rate. I think GPS is just as valuable so u can get it back b4 it's stripped.

Lojack must be activated thru LE tho so if the cop aint commen for a while ur in deep chit if they act fast. They usually wont tho. They are generally stupid and get caught or the vehicle is recovered b4 they figure out what to do with it.

A heavy duty traffic citation boot is goin on my car over the winter even when its in the garage. I like the Wolverine with spike option. There are others. If they cant get that off ur car they aint taken it. That thing is very tought to beat. But everything is defeatable.

PitBull TireLock - Wheel Locks for your most demanding Parking Enforcement and Anti-Theft needs!

http://www.tirelock.com/product_p/8-00055.htm
 
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