SS: Broken Into...Again

[Memo]

So, it seems the trend continues. This is the 3rd summer in a row I have been broken into. They tried to steal my stereo again. Luckily last time they stole it I re-installed it in a way that would make it near impossible to remove, so they were left without a prize. They did however break my passenger side window and rip off my dash trying to get at the player. I'll have to pay for that myself . What sucks is I live on a fairly busy street, it was broad daylight, I had JUST gotten home and there is a clear view to the drive side of my parked truck from the street and apartment complex. Miraculously....the people walking in and out of the place didn't see anything. Pretty frustrating, but at least they didn't steal my speakers, CDs or break the locks on my doors.....they happened LAST time.

[SnowSurfer]

sorry to hear about that, alarm?

[Nija]

I think they are telling you to move, in subtle manner

[Memo]

No alarm, just a chimp in the backseat, but I guess he was napping

[DarkFury]

C'mon memo.. what's the deal?

Why won't you put an alarm on your car? Monkey chow must be costing you a fortune.

[Memo]

Cause I'm a broke college student?

$180 to repair windshield :/

[SnowSurfer]

how much has it cost you total for all the times your car has been broken into??

[Memo]

Ah yes, here comes the argument of "well an alarm would have covered the cost of the break ins"

Dunno, last time they stole my sound system (amp + subs) and I reported it at MSRP and so that ended up bloating the insurance claim to the point where my deductible was actually covered. The first time they through a boulder out of a speeding car at the windshield so even an alarm wouldn't have helped that. This time they broke the window and that's all. I guess an alarm might have prevented it. Total cost will be between $135-$200 for the window.

The problem is that an alarm is a guaranteed cost while a break-in isn't. Ideally i'd like to have an alarm and will definately have one in the next car I buy whenever I graduate.

[DarkFury]

Ok... I guess so.

Sometimes you just have to consider it "preventative maintenance"... plus, I've actually taken an alarm out of one car and re-installed in into another later (like when I took the alarm from my '89 Ford Probe and installed it into my '96 T-Bird when I traded the Probe in...)

But hey... I guess you've accepted the "risk" of not having one. Oh well... I guess that is what insurance is for, however I just prefer not having to deal with that mess... so far, I've gone about 5 years since the last "attempted" break in and even on that one, all that happened was a busted passenger side window.

[ufcrusher]

Or you can do the following. Order replacement window stickers for an alarm...then take an LED install it on a fixed current where it will be visible. I have seen people just run the LED off of a 9volt battery that they disconnect and reconnect every time. (Obviously the battery is out of sight) As summing you have remote keyless entry, when you lock the car, set it to honk. Thus, the crooks see an alarm sticker, an LED, and heard an "arming" noise and it may dissuade them. Total cost to you: $10 or less.

Heck, I am sure some of us even still have stickers laying around. I never put the actual alarm stickers on my cars because, the highly sophisticated ones can specialize in how to disarm certain brands.

On the other note, I know that a lot of crooks test alarms by "accidentially" jarring the car in such a way that any motion/vibration sensor would be set off. If nothing happens, they figure you are an easy mark....otherwise, they are gone before you even know they were there.

[brainsmile]

why not see if you can invest in an alarm with a pager to let you know it went off? I have no clue how much those cost but maybe we can come up with some sort of collection for you

[Merlin]

It sounds like you live in a really crappy area. Would it really be that hard to relocate? How about a place with a driveway or car port? As a student a place with a garage is probably out of the question. And you won't like this but until you move someplace where this won't be a problem you might want to consider simply going with a stock radio. I mean if that is their prize, why not deny it to them. You may not be able to go thumping down the street but if it keeps your ride safe for the time being....

[Memo]

That's the thing. The area is nice (if it's any indication of the are, Jenna Bush used to live next door to me) but lots of transients float around here in the downtown area because they pan handle the students and people who walk along the main street next to the university. There are lots of churches down the street from me which also have soup kitchens. That tends to attract a big influx of people. My guess is it's these people who do it. Relocating would be impossible as I'd have to sell this condo and that's not really an option right now.

These things are random. It just seems to me that I'm getting super unlucky. I never leave any items in view and remove my stereo head. As a member of the homeowner's board I have pushed for better security which has reduced transients on our property a great deal but like I said, this thing happened in the middle of the day probably only a few minutes after I got home. I found someone that will replace the window for $135 so it looks like that will probably end up being the total cost.

[nickel]

memo to memo: it's really time to change something here. what you are doing isn't working.

[Jenny]

damn

Well, good luck Memo! That sucks.

[HmpDeeHmp]

Sorry to hear about your incident. I just had my car stolen & stripped so I feel your pain and then some.

Out of curiosity, do you play your music really loud before parking? That would be a sure fire way to let everyone in the neighborhood know that you have a system in your truck.

[Memo]

Nope. I used to have a system and I thought that would be a reason for people around me to know that I have something to steal. I turn my radio down to low levels whenever I enter the neighborhood so people cannot hear my music at all.

[whitak24]

sorry to hear about the break-in memo.

hope you can find a good (cheap) place to get your windshield fixed.

[brainsmile]

why don't you ask Jenna Bush to come over and have some secret service guys watch your car.