3 a.m. - I guess it is my turn

[JHarris1385]

Got a knock at my door roughly 3 am last night. It was the local police. They said from the time the call came in from the witness it had only been four minutes since my car was broken into.

Busted passenger window. My auto is parked as close as you can to my balcony (I live in an apartment right now). Ripped up dash, stole as much as they could. Sucks.

I will see today how long it takes to source a window, dash, cd changer...etc they broke getting to my stereo.

[LittleBeast]

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH, that sucks man! I am so sorry. Well I guess it is time to upgrade ;) Good luck with everything, what are you planning to do?

[nfpgasmask]

It's absolutely rediculous petty BS like this that made me leave the city once and for all.

Hopefully everything will get repaired with no issue. Sorry about this.

Bart

[pbkid]

oh man, thats too bad....if you need any stereo information or wiring information please feel free to contact me... i have all sorts of resources about car audio

[tomdietrying]

Sorry to hear that. I wish people could be a little more respectful of others and their property.
Peace.
Tom
012009

[WormGod]

I suggest posting the Dogs of War on your balcony once you are up and running again.

http://www.worth1000.com/entries/102000/102039hMPL_w.jpg

Sucks dude. It has happened to me more often than I care to imagine, and every time I feels just as violated as I did the first. :(

[tom4bren]

That sux.

I once had the vent window busted out & all they stole was a disposable lighter. The worst part was that the ^%*# door wasn't even locked.

Good luck with everything.

Tom

[JHarris1385]

I have it at a Gieco shop for the window and dash treatment. Called my renters insurnace to claim the almost 3-4,000 in items they stole. The whole center portion of the dash was busted off with all radars, gps, cd's, amps stolen........ I hope I get enough back to bring it back to par again.

[etlsport]

that sucks man.. makes me glad to live in the woods now.. that kinda crap used to happen on my block all the time.. thankfully never to my vx or the roommates cars.. but a friend visiting did have her lock busted and dash torn out for a factory cd player

[kodiak]

Sorry man. I had that happen to my old bronco about 5 years ago. In my last two vehicles I designed my stereo around the stock head unit. If you look at the dash in my VX you would never guess there was a $2000 stereo system in there. It’s sad that I would need to do something like that to keep people from braking in to my truck.

[Mark B]

Sorry to hear about your VX.
Call Hillary, now that she is secretary of state, she will be ready for that 3:00 a.m. call as she promised in her campaign speech.

[JoFotoz]

Yup...that suxs.

And it often seems to end up with more damage dollar wise...

.... than the value of stuff taken.

jo

[Riff Raff]

Damn, that sucks. Someday, I hope to catch a car prowler in the act and make him physically pay in blood for all of the other perp's that got away. Perhaps in your new replacement car stereo, you can solder razor blades on the back side of the head unit. Thus, when the thief reaches around to yank the head unit out, he'll slice his fingertips to pieces, leaving his DNA as evidence.

[JHarris1385]

Riff never thought about that one.....

The guy was seen running away with a pistol. The first thing the officer asked is if I had a gun in the car. I said yes, an air soft pistol in a box (present). The officer was relieved to think he theif was carrying this instead of something real. That is until we got into the car and found my air soft gun. Not sure what would have happened if i did see it in action. The enterance to my complex is about a 1/3 mile long with multiple speed bumps and I have a rear facing apartment next to a farm. Dumb spot to steal - they drove that far to single out my car. Luckily someone did see it and probably stopped them from taking evyrthing including the seats.

[Hotsauce]

Been there way too often myself.

Hate to say it, but you are marked now. They will be back soon for the replacement unit. Our trucks stand out and are remembered. Thats why they went so far to break into yours.

I haven't had a radio in mine for almost 2 years now since it was stolen.

I put part of the blame on radio mfg's. Any new car today comes with a radio that needs a code to operate if powered down. Its impossible to buy such a feature in an aftermarket radio because they thrive on replacement sales.

Unfortunatly its illegal to hollow out a radio and fill it with TNT and rusty scraps. Leave the door unlocked. Problems solved one at a time. Repete as often as necessary.


John C.

[nfpgasmask]

Hate to say it, but you are marked now. They will be back soon for the replacement unit. Our trucks stand out and are remembered. Thats why they went so far to break into yours.

Yup, my buddy in Chicago has had his radio stolen 3 times in the same spot...

Bart

[JHarris1385]

Never thought about a re peat.... I have more will to move out finally than ever. Never wanted an apartment but got too picky finding a house and the wife begged me to do something quick. So I picked the nicest ones in town. For my sanity I had to get a rear one with a balcony that faces a farm.

What are the options to deter theft from window breakage?

[JHarris1385]

Well hey at least I am driving a 4cyl Focus now!

[psychos2]

Never thought about a re peat.... I have more will to move out finally than ever. Never wanted an apartment but got too picky finding a house and the wife begged me to do something quick. So I picked the nicest ones in town. For my sanity I had to get a rear one with a balcony that faces a farm.

What are the options to deter theft from window breakage?

I would go with an aftermarket alarm system . You can get them with a glass break sensor or better yet a proximity sensor. Goes off before they break the window. shawn

[taylorRichie]

Happened to my first truck, stole the entire stereo system. 3 Precision Power amps ($$$) 2 subs, a capacitor, battery, deck the works... It was parked at a repair shop... I'm sure the alarm was going off like crazy, but for some reason they don't detract criminals anymore... enough people at the grocery store set off their alarms accidently that no one pays attention... kind of like the anti-theft buzzers at Lowes and Home depot... It never fails those go off everytime I leave the store, half the time they deactivate my purchases, the other half they just wave me through without checking my receipts.

My Boss just had his car broken into a few weeks ago, and a few neighbors have had the same over the course of a month or so. He is going to put a $10 bill on his dash, and leave the doors unlocked. Then he's putting a Field Camera (for hunting) tucked nicely in the foot well, and another in his driveway hoping to get a nice picture for the authorities. Atleast the perp better hope, cause if my boss catches him, he might have a slug in his chest.

I recommend a "SMILE YOU'RE ON CAMERA" sticker placed on the window.

[nocturnalVX]

What are the options to deter theft from window breakage?

Your only options are to either keep the stock stuff nobody wants, or get a system with a removable faceplate to deter theft. I never leave my Ipod attached, and remove the faceplate when in iffy areas (should remove it more often, but I don't). Your alarm didn't go off? I'm glad there wasn't a confrontation... these lowlifes have no respect for life (and kill for pennies). I would hate to have lost a member of this family for a few stereo bits.

[psychos2]

When I was in florida I had about $2000 in stereo equipment in a escort with ahatchback. You could see it all through the back window. I had one person attempt to steal it. They broke the window and ran when the alarm went off. If I did not have the alarm it would have been gone. They say not to leave anything visible including plugs for ipods, nav systems, cell phones etc. this is what they look for. I would get an aftermarket alarm system, If there is a chance they will leave the car alone and pick an easier target it is worth it. shawn

[Hotsauce]

An alarm is no deterence here.

My AVIC-N3 was stolen with the faceplate removed.

You can buy a new faceplate for any radio on ebay or similar.

A pager alarm will work if you're close enough to respond, but you better know the law. In NY the law requires you to retreat from such encounters as we have no castle doctrine(your home is your castle and you may defend)

John C.

[Bieredalsace]

They'll probably steal the camera too! I do like the razor blades soldered to the back of the unit.

[CrnCnn]

man this whole thread is making me nervous. I came home from lunch yesterday and some kids were walking in the gate, I live in an apt. too. They were the wannabee hoodlem looking type and they were eyeballing my truck. I get to park pretty close but it looks like it wont matter.

I need to get the garage cleaned out, then I will feel better.

[Chopper]

Part of what I love about Florida. Not only do we not register guns, and make their purchase pretty easy....we allow and in alot of places...encourage their use. All I need is concern for my personal saftey, or my property to legally ventilate you. They handed out fliers at the Orlando airport to warn visitors when the new looser law passed a year ago. We've five dogs, a handgun in every room (bathrooms and garage included) one in each of the vehicle center consoles....an auto Mossy 12ga. combat by the bed...and a little somthin-somethin special in my pocket at all times. Promise.... I will never point it to scare you. I've Bob and JuJuBee for that. Protect yourself! You deserve it!

[kodiak]

This is what I used on my stock head unit. It’s not the exact model but it gives you an idea of what can be done.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/USA-SPEC-iPOD-Interface-for-Toyota-Scion-and-Lexus_W0QQitemZ270308821789QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_ Audio_Video?hash=item270308821789&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A543|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318




Sorry man. I had that happen to my old bronco about 5 years ago. In my last two vehicles I designed my stereo around the stock head unit. If you look at the dash in my VX you would never guess there was a $2000 stereo system in there. It’s sad that I would need to do something like that to keep people from braking in to my truck.

[JHarris1385]

I have not called by my auto insurance yet today becuase I was under the impression by them that my renters would cover everything not stock on the VX. Well Allstate renters with a $1,000 deduct will not cover anything that is powered by the car. The last time i talked to Gieco they said they will only cover factory items....Getting them on the phone now.

[JHarris1385]

Geico will only cover factory installed items....I would have needed endorsements on each additional stereo device that I had in there prior to this claim.

Allstate has a $1,000 deduct, $200 cash max, $500 cd max.....CRAZY....never thought it would be this hard to get back what they stole.

[tom4bren]

Dang Son - sorry to hear that you're having that much trouble.

Sorta like - bend over & smile.

[pbkid]

well, just my 2 cents as i see probably 5 vehicles a week that i work on have been broken into and have had items stolen out of them....

first, a good aftermarket security is key, not something that just beeps if the shock sensor goes off....i mean spend some serious money on something..(this is my recommendation to anyone with a VX considering we are highly targeted)...I have a $1000 security system on my VX...considering i spent that much money on the stuff on my roof alone, i think its not that big of a deal....

secondly, even if it costs more money, have someone wire up an LED to each door, so that when they look in the window to see if the car is locked they see the flashing LED...that will be enough to deter some people....also have LED's wired up to the rear window and the dash right next to where the radio goes.....i know all this costs quite a bit, so if you have a security system installed i would be more than willing to do a write up on how to add additional LED's....

also, i have seen people wiring TONS of LEDs all over the car so people know there is security, and all they do is put a switch that causes the LED's to flash when on....there is actually no security on the car, just the illusion of good security because of 30 flashing LED's lol.....

also, when you have them put on the security system, have them wire the system to the headlights instead of wiring it to the park lights, that way when it goes off, everything nearby lights up....therefore scaring off most criminals...

Lastly, (this i havent done yet, but its the next security mod for me)..
go buy some 'hella horns', they are made by the company Hella and they are awesome.....most factory horns on a car are about 60-80 dB(thats volume for those that dont know)...the hella horns are 160dB....they wire in place of your factory horns and they will DEFINATELY wake you up if you park anywhere near your house, they will also wake up anyone in a 2 block radius...(im not sure what 160dB is relative to, but im sure someone can chime in on that...i think its something around a jet taking off...they will be as loud as semi-truck horns at least)....
of course, have the hella horns wired into the security system also...for obvious reasons....

if your on a tight budget, at the very least hook up multiple LED's to a switch that causes them to flash and just flip it every time you get out of your car, a lot of times theives will look at the door locks and if there is a flashing LED they wont try to break into the car (audi uses this technology with putting their security LED's next to the door locks)....

thats my deterrence soap box....sorry if its lengthy but i work with this stuff all day every day and i think that my extended family deserves a little bit of the industries tricks.....

good luck, if there is a need for a write up on any of this let me know and ill spend a day or two and take some good pic's....

[etlsport]

ive been meaning to put LEDs next to my door locks a la audi/vw.. my plan was just to piggyback off of the stock alarm LED.. should be pretty easy and doubt that it will draw enough energy to make any difference in the flash speed or battery drain.. just note that most LEDs you buy in automotive stores have resistors built into their wire leads.. more than likely you will need to cut those off for them to work properly with your stock alarm flasher... as for the horn.. this one one of my fav mods... 18" airhorn mounted behind the bumper (its the chrome thing towards the bottom of the fans and an air compressor next to the passenger headlight) it was $50 off e-bay and maybe 1.5-2 hours of install time

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/medium/air_horn_008.jpg (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=9825)

ask spike or tom.. its stupid loud ;Db;

[tom4bren]

"ask spike or tom.. its stupid loud"

Yup - I even heard it over his 'stupid loud' stereo.

[JHarris1385]

UPDATE:

Still not fixed. They said there is a huge delay for the window???

[CrnCnn]

I had my door panel off fixing my handle and noticed glass inside the door. The previous owner definately had been broken into. Hopefully it was the only time for my truck.

[CrnCnn]

UPDATE:

Still not fixed. They said there is a huge delay for the window???

Do items only come from Japan now?