Let’s assume I keep nothing valuable in my car. And the stereo is an unremarkable standard factory unit that only fits this model of car, so it’s probably of little value to a thief. The only loss I have incurred due to car crime has been the damage done to doors and windows on the couple of occasions that cars of mine have been broken into.
So I’m thinking I would be better off leaving my car unlocked. If any nefarious person wants to have a rummage around inside it, they won’t find anything more interesting than a road map. And they won’t be able to steal the car, short of lifting it on to the back of a truck, because factory-fit immobilisers make hot-wiring virtually impossible these days, right?
That’s my attitude, that it’s so easy to open your car without your keys that someone who can start your car without them can certainly pop the door, and that locking a car with big old pieces of glass between the inside and the outside is pretty darn pointless. I take all my valuables out, and leave it unlocked.
The old saying in the industry is that locks only keep honest people honest. But leaving your car unlocked? As a locksmith myself, I can only imagine that such actions only makes your car more appealing to someone who wouldn’t have bothered with it in the first place. I mean, 99% of us can open a door, not everyone is capable or gutsy enough to break a window or open it with a tool.
And the whole idea that there is nothing in your car of use is completely bunk. Every car that I have seen, worked on, or heard of has a hood release mechanism inside the car. Do you know what that does?
There is a HUGE market for standard/stock parts. Just because you assess your car’s radio or whatever else as low value, doesn’t mean there isn’t a demand for it (a demand that can motivate a thief or layman to take that item).
In sum, leaving your car unlocked is blatantly stupid.
Imagine 3 bored almost-deliquents wandering down the street … Hey lookee here, some dummy left his car unlocked. I know, let’s crap in his back seat. Great idea! <Grunt>. Hee Hee hee!!! Wanders off.
I have driven a series of older clunker-ish cars that you would not think are particularly hot theft magnets. On four separate occasions, in two different cities, someone has gotten into the car and stolen all of the money out of the ashtray, attempted to steal the (factory-issued!) radio on two occasions, and made off with an empty backpack on one occasion. Also, one of the thieves left the driver-side door open afterward, which caused the dome light to stay on overnight, which drained the car’s battery.
No major losses, but extremely annoying, and the one thing in common every time was that I’d left the car doors unlocked when I parked the car that night. (Well, the other thing in common was that I was parking on relatively busy residential streets in urban neighborhoods. Now that we’re in a cul-de-sac in the 'burbs, I think it’s probably less of an issue, although I still reflexively lock my car at night. I LIKED that backpack.)
The only time I have ever had anyone steal anything from a vehicle of mine, the thief broke the driver’s side wing window despite the fact that door could not be locked. I would still like to know what someone was going to do with $50 worth of colostomy supplies.
That was my experience as well. I almost never lock my car, but once when I parked at Yankee Stadium I figured the neighborhood warranted caution, so I locked the door. When I came back the driver’s side window in the back seat was shattered. Nothing was missing, they just rummaged throught the glove compartment and center console, found nothing, and left. At least with the rear window broken I didn’t have to sit on broken glass all the way back upstate. Welcome to the big city, hayseed.
2005-present Ford Focus (European model, I think the US Focus is a different car). Want the number plate?
I presume that this is a security measure addressing precisely the concerns that you raise re stealing engine parts. Similarly, it is not possible on this car to determine at a glance the locked vs. not locked state of the doors from outside. I imagine that this is to avoid making unlocked doors obvious to opportunist thieves. It’s the first car I’ve had which does not have those more visible pop-up thingies on the door tops, and I’m wondering if MsWhatsit’s “clunkers” had the old-style pop-up door locks.
I know what you mean, my girlfriend has the exact model and when she first got it I would tell her to unlock the doors only to hear that they were unlocked.
Not to derail the thread but if, hypothetically speaking, a theft were to occur, would the insurance company care if the doors were locked vs. unlocked?
So, given that a modern car is less likely to be stolen, because the thieves assume it has LoJack, or an ignition kill switch, and everyone tends to ignore blaring car alarms, what can you do to keep a car secure, when you’re not close to it?
Since having the cheapest stereo, and leaving the interior free of possible valuables won’t keep someone from smashing a window, just to look around, what is available as an aftermarket install to let you know someone’s screwing with your car, when you’ve parked it overnight somewhere you’re not fully in control of? I’ve been wondering about this lately, since I may start doing this soon.
Well, an immobilizer (which is fairly standard these days - consult this guide if you’re uncertain if your specific make and model is equipped with one) does a lot. For the sake of brevity, unless you possess the keys and/or the equipment to re-program the car itself (strictly sold to locksmiths and dealers only), you aren’t going to start the car and leave with it. That itself is a very involved process, not a Gone in 60 Seconds type thing.
There’s always the risk of someone flat bedding your car, but honestly, unless you’re driving something exotic, no one’s going through all that trouble.
There exist a slew of products used to protect your car - kill switches, steering wheel/column and shifter locks, audible alarms placed on the steering wheel that sound if they are slightly moved, etc. Search Google, there’s thousands. As I always tell customers, if someone wants to get someone in, they are. The best plan is common sense and good judgment coupled with some decent equipment (immobilizers and standard car alarms are more than sufficient), and that, unfortunately, includes not leaving your car unattended for long periods of times in questionable areas.
I always leave my car unlocked. I’m much rather someone open the door and take what they want than smash a window. The only thing of any value is the satellite radio and I take that with me if I’m in a bad area.
I had a rental car stolen once that was unlocked. The insurance company paid the claim. I told them it was unlocked. The car was found but it was completely trashed. The insurance company only cared that I was in bed at the hotel at the time the car was stolen.
It’s probably an invitation to kids and such. Say a couple of teens see an unlocked car one will dare them and he’ll take. In otherwords, the subject wouldn’t even come up with a locked car.
A real thief knows what he wants, so how hard is it to push down your lock and keep a spare key in your wallet.
On the other hand, I’ve had beaters I’ve left unlocked in all areas and never had anything stolen, 'cause it was garbage. Let’s face it when you drive the kind of car when your foot is on the brake at a red light and you have to keep your left foot on the gas (while the right is on the pedal or it’ll stall), no one is gonna want that.
It depends entirely on where you live or park the car and what type of car it is. I probably wouldn’t leave a nice car unlocked, but I never lock my softtop Jeep because anyone familiar with them knows how to get in when they’re locked. Anyone unfamiliar with them will just take a knife and cut the top. I’ve added enough secure storage that my only concern is the top, so I always leave it unlocked.
I did park it overnight with the top down at someone’s apartment and found the fire extinguisher and change missing the next morning, but they didn’t bother the top or the $1000+ worth of tools and valuables that were secured.
If I lived in the middle of the city, I’d probably do things differently.
If you have insurance, then why worry about anything at all happening to your car? Yeah, maybe the deductible is high, or you have a satchel of diamonds or government records, but those are really special occasions.
I suppose I could be downplaying the value of a deductible to some people. I mean, do any of you really live in places where having your car broken into is expected? I know that there are “bad neighborhoods,” but that’s not the norm for most of us, I expect.
