# Do you lock your car? Would you buy a car without locks **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665 "2011-09-17T22:10:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/41 "2011-09-19T16:14:16Z")
I never used to lock my car. We live in a quiet hum-drum townhouse complex where everyone knows everyone. Then the kids in the neighbourhood started getting older. Now, since it is a quiet place with little to do, teenagers will come around and go through cars who’s doors are unlocked. It is worth the extra second so that my cheap sunglasses and children’s books are still there. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/42 "2011-09-19T16:35:59Z")
> [@littlespeedysuperbike](#): > > I’ve recently decided that locking a car is almost entirely pointless. Bust a window and the repair will cost more than just about anything you’d dare leave in a big display case in public. > > If you could buy a car without locks, would you? Just pull the door handles and they open. The trunk would be lockable with no inside release. Considering “they” say many thefts occur due to people leaving their doors unlocked (not just with cars, but also homes), I most certainly lock mine. As previously stated, many thieves are opportunist, and it’s not uncommon for them to just pull on random car door handles to see who has been careless enough to leave their car unlocked, thus giving them the chance to easily go through the vehicle. Breaking a window? It’s happened to me, and it’s annoying, but also a lot more obvious. Insurance took care of it. > [@Bosstone](#): > > I have heard anecdotes from folks who drive or drove soft-top convertibles that it’s better to leave the top down while parked, which amounts to the same thing as leaving it unlocked, as a thief would be more likely to tear the top than break a window if they wanted to get in, and those tops are ridiculously expensive. I have an uncle who used to do this, for just this reason. I’m not sure how well it worked, though. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/43 "2011-09-19T18:39:00Z")
When I had a convertible, it had a locking glove box and a secondary lock box for valuables behind the seats. I never worried about leaving the top down, I could lock anything “valuable” in those places. When I lived in the city with that car, I often left the empty glove box, consoles and rear lock box open to show potential thieves that there was nothing in the car. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/50afbb/32.png) [@Agent\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Violet)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/44 "2011-09-19T18:50:25Z")
i had a car stolen from in front of my house one night…in the middle of a snow storm. the car wasnt locked at the time. i figured, what are the odds?? i lock my car at all times now. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/45 "2011-09-19T20:24:02Z")
I lock my doors while in the city but not usually at home or in a nearby small town. While I somewhat agree that a determined thief will break windows, a casual thief would just open your unlocked door and steal your CDs/iPod, whatever and be gone in a few seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Mopal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Mopal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mopal)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/46 "2011-09-19T23:29:33Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I don’t lock my car when I’m in the town I live in, as it’s the functional equivalent of Mayberry, but I wouldn’t buy a car without locks. I do lock the car whenever I travel to larger cities. Have you ever returned to your car to find the back seat full of zucchini? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/47 "2011-09-20T13:34:25Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I was gonna say this. My car locks itself - it’s impossible to “not lock” it. I thought most modern cars had this feature and only the old beaters still had manual locks. That makes no sense. I mean, there are electric locks vs. manual locks, but if I’m leaving my car, the car does NOT lock itself. I have to use the remote and press a button. Of course the button locks all 4 doors, not just 1. Is that what you meant? I can’t imagine any car having doors that literally locked themselves whether you wanted it or not. Even the ones with the proximity keys that you don’t even have to fish out of your pocket: I suppose I could see them being set so that as soon as the key is more than ‘x’ feet away from the car, they self-lock, but that seems like a huge annoyance if you were, say, loading the car for a trip or something. Oh - and like Lynn Bodoni, I once had a car where the doors would self-lock once I started driving the car. I could have disabled that but never bothered. My current car does not do this. Re the poll: I nearly always lock my car doors when driving, and always lock them when not driving (except when in our garage). In fact I insist on electronic locks vs. manual because I like to be able to know that all 4 are locked. It’s a personal safety thing, when I’m driving, and a personal safety / property safety thing when it’s parked. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/48 "2011-09-20T13:55:07Z")
> [@Mopal](#): > > Have you ever returned to your car to find the back seat full of zucchini? I know who the culprit was! > [@Poll: Your bra as a pocket.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-bra-as-a-pocket/591920/102): > > No, that was Stoid’s bra with the cherry tomatoes! I use mine to carry in the zucchinis. ~whistles innocently while running away~ ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/49 "2011-09-20T13:57:44Z")
> [@littlespeedysuperbike](#): > > I’ve recently decided that locking a car is almost entirely pointless. Bust a window and the repair will cost more than just about anything you’d dare leave in a big display case in public. When I was a crime reporter, the most common form of theft was from unlocked cars. The thieves would just go down the street trying all the doors and steal from the unlocked ones. Why go to the bother of breaking windows? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/50 "2011-09-20T14:21:06Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > That makes no sense. I mean, there are electric locks vs. manual locks, but if I’m leaving my car, the car does NOT lock itself. I have to use the remote and press a button. > > Of course the button locks all 4 doors, not just 1. Is that what you meant? > > I can’t imagine any car having doors that literally locked themselves whether you wanted it or not. I know someone who has a Mitsubishi Eclipse of around 2002 vintage that will lock itself, you have to be SURE to take the keys with you when you get out and shut the door. It’s made that way from the factory AFAIK, really dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/51 "2011-09-20T14:29:05Z")
On a lot of current cars, if you use the remote to unlock the car, the car will automatically re-lock itself if you don’t open one of the doors within X seconds. ---
**Author:** ![JoThrive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@JoThrive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoThrive)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/52 "2011-09-20T15:31:45Z")
We always lock our car, and we never leave anything of value in it. Our locked car was broken into once in a parking garage in Colorado Springs. We lost a camera plus a lot of valuable pictures. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![What\_i\_think](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/94ad74/32.png) [@What\_i\_think](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_i_think)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/53 "2011-09-21T01:14:11Z")
if the car is not lock and some one take the radio or steal it out right i don’t think the insures pays if they find out. i do know that the rates go down the more theft deterrent you have so i always lock ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/54 "2011-09-21T01:19:11Z")
> [@What\_i\_think](#): > > if the car is not lock and some one take the radio or steal it out right i don’t think the insures pays if they find out. i do know that the rates go down the more theft deterrent you have > so i always lock yeah this is true I hadnt thought of that good point I mean everyone like to save dough even when you losing dough locking doors can work ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665/55 "2011-09-21T20:38:39Z")
It depends on the car. I had a convertible roadster when I was in college, and I _never_ locked it, because there was nothing in it that was more valuable to me than the top. I’d rather they steal my sunglasses and cheap radio and not slit my expensive ragtop. Same for the Jeep Wrangler I had. I locked the center console when I left something in it, but never the doors. I often leave stuff in my pickup truck that I wouldn’t want grabbed by an opportunistic thief, so I do lock that when I’m in town (but never in my own driveway). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-lock-your-car-would-you-buy-a-car-without-locks/596665.md?page=2)