Protecting Your Car And Yourself

[cowie165]

Guys I am sitting here sadly reading thread after thread where guys have had their cars stolen or been ripped off by guys like GDTNO/doridori32 etc. I've started a thread hoping to share my thoughts on how to protect yourself and your car, and hopefully you can post your thoughts/pointers also.

I work in a security-type role and the first thing that springs to mind is information security.

1. Be careful who you share your address with. Does the tyre shop really need your home address? Could you just provide a contact number instead? If you've just met guys some other car nuts (on a cruise or at maccas or wherever) you don't really need to be specific about where you live...? When cars are stolen from garages, the thieves clearly found out where you live from somewhere.

2. Don't post your mobile phone number in a thread. Use a PM. That way you know exactly who has access to your contact details. Guys have been stung when their mobile has rung and the caller has said, "Yeah mate the suspension is $400, put it in this account... etc."

3. If you have a garage aka carhole, make sure you still lock the car! Until recently I was kidding myself in thinking that because the car was in the garage, it was safe. The cheap rolladoor lock vs. your $600 immobiliser system? You do the math.

4. Don't leave your keys on the kitchen bench. Either buy a Brandt Nemesis (has a keypad)(and apparently Brandt is in receivership?) or put your keys somewhere safe as cars have been stolen whilst the owner was in the house, fast asleep! Your safe spot may be beside your bed, in your wardrobe, in the bathroom cupboard - who cares - just NOT on the bench/table at the front door etc. Don't help thieves out by making it easy. As a guy in a WA thread suggested, clip your keys onto your pitbull when you go to bed

Suffice to say that you have to protect yourself. Be careful who you share important information with. Lock your car at the servo. Although I am so very grateful for the SAU community, you cannot trust someone just because they are a member. Look at their history. How long have they been a member? Are you the first person to do business with them? And the deal seems to good to be true? A GTR front cut for $3000? Where do I send the money!?

I don't mean to foster paranoia, I would just like to see some of the younger guys help themselves and avoid being stung.

If you have any info to share, please do so!

Mark

[cowie165]

If you live in an apartment, or park on the street, perhaps you could post some good info?

[POOMBAH]

When I'm over my g/f's place I have to park on the side street because she lives in an apartment. I usually take out the main blade fuse from the back of the car. I also do it if I have an all day shift at work.

Apart from that, the usual clublock and immobiliser are a good visual deterrent

[jnr32r]

You can actually buy thick chains that are dyna bolted to concrete and have an excellent lock. These can be chained around the sub-frame or rims... excellent for the garage or carport....

[satanic]

This is a very interesting thread...

I keep my Skyline under a carport at night, but since we have 4 cars at home... I park them all in so the hardest vehicle to get to is the 34.

Not only does this make stealing it quite impossible, but those walking up and down my street can't see it as easily.

Besides, I don't think they'd bother trying to break into all 3 cars to only steal one. That's a total of 8 security systems to get through in about 3 minutes.

[Links]

Luckily living in an apartment i've got a garage - chich also has 2 sliding locks that can only be unlocked from the inside.. I've also got a brant alarm fitted so that if my keys are stolen they need to get around the keypad.. I also lock and arm my car even if it's in the garage..

also told the people that live above it if they hear the alarm go off.. they have permission to kick the shit out of the person..

[cowie165]

Ok here's another one.

When selling your car, don't ask buyers to come to your home address. Meet them at McDonalds, meet them at a shopping centre carpark. Plenty of guys have had 'buyers' come to their home and had their car stolen next weekend. It's the equivalent of casing the joint.

[cowie165]

If something seems to good to be true, it usually is. If some guy is selling a 'brand new, in box, AVC-R' for $300 because it's an 'unwanted gift' then either go see it in person or pass. DON'T send money, DON'T be one of the thousands scammed by knobs selling gear that doesn't exist.

[GTRsean]

Use lock nuts on your mags

At least have a 3 point immobiliser

keep valuables hidden when they are in your car

If you park on the street, a car cover is a good way of not attracting attention to your car as well.

Keep your doors locked when driving around to avoid getting carjacked.

[lingeringsoul]

Have a kill switch built into the car.........or if you've bought one with the kill switch, change it to a new location after the sale goes through.

Always have steering wheel locks along with the kill switch as well as ALWAYS CHECK THE DOORS ARE LOCKED.

[cowie165]

Are kill switches still worthwhile? I thought they weren't much chop these days.

Sean are all lock nuts the same? What I mean is, are there good brands and crap brands?

Lingeringsoul, great point about moving the kill switch.

Do you guys still remove the face from your stereo?

[lingeringsoul]

my view on car alarm is bit mixed, any old thief can get it installed and then reverse install it just to see where all the wires are connected, but doing your own kill switch means that only you know what you did to the car, unless someone has put one in already in which case you'd want to change the location in case the guy is crook. Having an alarm does make it harder for the average thief to steal but then again, so does having a home make kill switch.

[cowie165]

I guess it all adds time for the thief to pinch your car. That said, in my opinion, you cannot stop a professional thief. Immobilisers, kill switches, clublocks, and so on are just protection from joyriders/crap thieves who've spotted an opportunity target.

Instead of detachable steering wheels, they should make detachable gear levers or detachable clutch pedals

Is that a shift lever in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

[lingeringsoul]

Is that a shift lever in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

LOL

thieves are treated too lightly these days, screw human rights, cut off their hands as a lesson. I hate thieves more than anything

[Zebbie]

Hmm.... a mate of mine who's partially handicapped, he has to use hand controls (accel, brake etc) -

When modding the car, they cut OFF the accel pedal, put a mating piece with butterfly nuts on the pedal, so that you can re-attach it if a normal person was driving....

(This was to stop him from hitting the pedal by accident, as he had no feeling in his legs)

He used to take the pedal with him, if he was parked in a dodgy place....

Might do the job ;-)

(As a joke, he used to ask passengers to hand him the accelerator from the cubby hole when driving ;-0 )

[Abo Bob]

Ok here's another one.

When selling your car, don't ask buyers to come to your home address. Meet them at McDonalds, meet them at a shopping centre carpark. Plenty of guys have had 'buyers' come to their home and had their car stolen next weekend. It's the equivalent of casing the joint.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I do it a servo so you are on camera. Ask for their licence then text the licence number and their car rego to a friend. If they are genuinely interested it shouldn't be a problem.

[cowie165]

lingeringsoul: Thieves are #2 to keyers in my book. But only just.

Zebbie: rofl, that'd be so much fun

Abo Bob: that's an awesome idea. Well lit and the guys smile for the camera, hadn't thought of that, nice.

[Sumo]

I have had some thoughts *I dream alot when I'm finding problems at work* about how I could immobilise a car to the point where a theif is going to be scratching his brain for quite a while.

I thought about the common one Fuel pump cut, then the possibilities are endless, once he finds the fuel pump cut off, then he would have to diagnose why there is no spark. Then he would have to work out if the cut has been at the ECU or the Crank Angle Sensor. Then once he got it going, im not sure if the oil pressure switch on a skyline will shutdown the motor but I would say it would have a detrimental affect to what the computer reads....

Then he brings a tow truck.

Cheers

Sumo

[sindows]

Ok here's another one.

When selling your car, don't ask buyers to come to your home address. Meet them at McDonalds, meet them at a shopping centre carpark. Plenty of guys have had 'buyers' come to their home and had their car stolen next weekend. It's the equivalent of casing the joint.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats a very good one, i always do that...

When i first started trying to sell my 33, i have someone ring up, say they would be ther ein 40min and they got my address..

I washed the car, detailed it, and waited two hours and no one came, so i rang and she just keep hanging up on me..

Quite bizarr, nothing happen tho, still got the car...

I was a victium to someone smashing my windscreen two or so weeks ago, as well as dinting my passenger door...

Dont know who it was or why it happened...

But they were stupid enough to not take the very very nice stereo as well as leave a hammer and wheel brace behind... IDIOTS.

Thats my 2c..

-Sindows

[d00dz]

Dont give your address when your selling a car, meet at a carpark or shopping centre...