ARTICLE: How to protect your car from THEFT

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Dippy- what an awesome write up, keep up the good work.

Spike

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by dushmish

I am a techno savage, so requesting others, it will be really nice if we can click pictures of gear lock, steering-pedal lock, etching, etc and share with all who live in smaller cities or are ignorant about these things.

Here's a pic of my car's theft deterrance applications a steering lock ,the club type and a gear lock,U type.I had a Autocop prior to fitting the gear lock,but that thing died on me in 3 months so got the gear lock instead.

I think a car should have minimum 2 deterrants atleast apart from the car's own ignition and door key.

[blackasta]

our house has 3 cars parked inside - the i10 with audible alarm, the wagon r with immobilizer, and the M800...well... with nothing!
But all are parked inside our compound behind a 4 fold steel gate which makes a LOT of noise when opened, plus we have a light glowing all night long - courtesy our neighbor's narrow passage.
I guess as dippy mentioned - light is a big deterrent.
I read somewhere here that people have installed DVRs with multiple camera and motion assisted recording(though stray cats/dogs are an impediment to motion assisted anything). Love to get hold of something like that and do a bit of tinkering around.
I was thinking of getting steering to pedal locks for all of our cars - and sumeethaldankar posted his car's pic!

[GSMINC]

Good thread dippy,
deserves a 5 star rating,

Bangalore tbhpians, any idea where one can get number etching on the glass done.
would really help me & other bhpians in bangalore

[jasonbourne]

This is amazing thread. I have always wondered that a community so big as this didnt have an article summarizing the key points in Car Security.

The most imporatnt part in any induced theft (I say induced becuse of the favourable conditions created around the "Theft magnets" - Cars) is the absence of light. Even if we have smallest bulb glowing in the place where we park our beauties, it will make the modern day "Tomb Raiders" to think twice before even thinking about stealing that car.

As far as the motion sensors are concerned, with the amount of stray dogs on the indian roads once might never sleep in his entire Life!!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by samsag12

The usual modus operandi of the car thieves is that they keep a watch over the car for sometime and monitor the activities of its owner.

Here's one more modus operandi, applicable to cars which have a keyhole on the fuel lid cover. They will remove your fuel lid cover at night, make a duplicate key and fix it back within a couple of hours. Modern cars use the same key for the fuel lid, boot, door and ignition. A night or two later, when the coast is clear, the thief will simply walk up to your car, use the duplicate key to gain access, start and be off with it. This was standard practice with the Mitsubishi Pajero.

Originally Posted by brar.arsh

but would'nt a cover will add more security to it??

Hardly a deterrent. In fact, he could well steal your stereo / work on the ignition in full privacy with a cover!

[brar.arsh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Here's one more modus operandi, applicable to cars which have a keyhole on the fuel lid cover. They will remove your fuel lid cover at night, make a duplicate key and fix it back within a couple of hours. Modern cars use the same key for the fuel lid, boot, door and ignition. A night or two later, when the coast is clear, the thief will simply walk up to your car, use the duplicate key to gain access, start and be off with it. This was standard practice with the Mitsubishi Pajero.



Hardly a deterrent. In fact, he could well steal your stereo / work on the ignition in full privacy with a cover!

Hmm i think if its covered completely, would'nt it be difficult for thief to get in??

[samsag12]

Originally Posted by brar.arsh

Hmm i think if its covered completely, would'nt it be difficult for thief to get in??

Mr brar.arsh you can cover the car but not the intentions of the thief

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by brar.arsh

Hmm i think if its covered completely, would'nt it be difficult for thief to get in??

I hope you are talking about a plastic/cloth cover. Steel cage is a different prospect all together.
If the thief gets under the cover and forces open the door locks open and gets in the car while the covers are on, then he can work through the ignition as he pleases w/o anyone noticing. This can be done even in the day if his luck doesn't run out and is desperate enough. And I've reached the pinnacle of my imagination.

[beejay]

An essential thread when we hear of stolen cars and bikes every other day.

Ideally my vehicles cant be stolen. I park below my house and the only to the road is an incline where the vehicle needs to be started. My two friends and their local friends take refuge under my vehicles. The slightest of noise wakes me up. So I guess I am safe.

Whilst at Bangalore I used to park the Palio on the road. That was scary. Yet I am glad that the Palio is a dud and does not interest these thieves.
The parking attendant in me used to sandwich the car clinically between the neighbors rides. This way they loose their cars first.

Etching on glass is a very good idea. Guess I should get the same done. Any idea where this is done? I remember reading an article here where one member got his Scorp back after a cop noticed that the etched number did not match with the plates.

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

very good suggestion and really practical.

Most important, never handover the key to unknown

A common practice I've seen these days at pay and park lots. I'm amazed the ease by which owners hand over keys to the attendants. I'd rather keep looking for a parking space than do this.

Originally Posted by samsag12

So many odd cars are transported to Nepal and then re-registered there.
Some cars meet their fate by being broken apart and sold in pieces.
That's the story of many of the cars stolen.

Yes absolutely. A friend's stolen Scorpio was found in Nepal. It is a top destination for stolen cars

Originally Posted by brar.arsh

ok now this is good one. i need one sugestion from your side. i am buying a linea this month and it has a rolling code imobilizer so i will do most of these things, but would'nt a cover will add more security to it??

While a cover is good, it doesn't take one long to get the cover off. Is your car parked where a trusted watchman keeps an eye on it?

Originally Posted by blackasta

our house has 3 cars parked inside - the i10 with audible alarm, the wagon r with immobilizer, and the M800...well... with nothing!
But all are parked inside our compound behind a 4 fold steel gate which makes a LOT of noise when opened, plus we have a light glowing all night long - courtesy our neighbor's narrow passage.
I guess as dippy mentioned - light is a big deterrent.
I read somewhere here that people have installed DVRs with multiple camera and motion assisted recording(though stray cats/dogs are an impediment to motion assisted anything). Love to get hold of something like that and do a bit of tinkering around.
I was thinking of getting steering to pedal locks for all of our cars - and sumeethaldankar posted his car's pic!

Absolutely. A steering and pedal lock goes a long way in making the steal difficult for the thief.

Originally Posted by GSMINC

Good thread dippy,
deserves a 5 star rating,

Bangalore tbhpians, any idea where one can get number etching on the glass done.
would really help me & other bhpians in bangalore

Thanks for the rating. I dont know about Bangalore but in Mumbai we have had cops coming with etching guys to our building asking residents to get it done. I have also seen cars being flagged down on the road to get the same done. They usually have an etching guy on hand there.

[beejay]

Originally Posted by Dippy

A common practice I've seen these days at pay and park lots. I'm amazed the ease by which owners hand over keys to the attendants. I'd rather keep looking for a parking space than do this.

Thanks for the rating. I dont know about Bangalore but in Mumbai we have had cops coming with etching guys to our building asking residents to get it done. I have also seen cars being flagged down on the road to get the same done. They usually have an etching guy on hand there.

Like I posted somewhere before, never trust these parking attendants, irrespective of the joint. I don't mind walking back a mile but I park my own car. There is no point crying foul after the damage has been done which is most likely.

Nice move by the Bombay cops. How much do they charge? Now this is on my priority list to be done for the Xylo.

[brar.arsh]

While a cover is good, it doesn't take one long to get the cover off. Is your car parked where a trusted watchman keeps an eye on it?

No there is no watchman, its a huge society and i have to park on the street with huge number of cars over there from NANO to BMW.
Could you please suggest something, and one point that if the car is stolen, how does the insurance company treats one? i mean will it be covered in insurance?

[Gansan]

It might be a good idea to keep the car covered as well, with a cover that does not announce loudly what it is concealing. It just might provide that much more deterrent for the thief to look under the cover to see what car it is; he might prefer the one nearby that is left uncovered and leave your car alone!

[nairrk]

@DippyInteresting and informative thread - Very good.Parking the car in ones own house parking area or garage. If the house is facing a road, it is better to park the car against the gate(reverse position). This way it will be bit difficult for thief/theives to push (tow)the car and take out to the road. Instead if the car is parked focusing front of the car towards the gate, it is easy to tow away the car by just releasing the handbrake. And once they manage to take the car on the roadand thier job will be more easy.It happened to my friend who then just bought a maruti zen and parked the car in hishouse garage. The house is in side of the national highway. As said, he reversed the car in the night itself parked the car in such a way that car is positioned towards the gate (easy for him to drive away next morning).He woke up in the morning to see the car disappeared from the garage?