For California Residents......car jacking

[SilGuy]

I've read numerous articles about car jacking in Cali in this particular forum and others. I'm moving to the bay area (san fran, san jose....etc) in a few months and wondering if its THAT bad. Do I really need to worry that much about it? What suggestions do you guys/girls have for me. I think i'm jus gonna get a few things; one of those steering wheel, shifter, and gas locks. And probably set up my own fuel cut off switch or something. I don't think an alarm would do me justice. If i hear it go off and run out and see like 4 guys jacking it, i don't think im gonna try to stop them and get shot or something..:rolleyes. I don't have the nicest car around or anything, jus a fastback w/ the sileighty conversion and a paint job. Thanx.....

[deeznuttz415]

when you say car jacking do you mean when you're driving and then someone runs up to you and say "break yerself fool" or when you get your car stolen?

Not much car jacking here in SFBAY, but hella theifs here (they should get their hands cut off).

I got my civic stolen in front of my house b4. Then I found my Lovely s14. But the other day some @$$Hoe try to jam a screw driver in my lock. yep they messed it up, but couldn't get it to open.

Anyways I do have an auto lock, Club, alarm, and trun your steering wheel all the way and they lock it. a tow truck would have a harder time gettin' it.

but besides that, if they want your sheit, i'm guessing they will take it. nothing u can do but get full coverage.

Also 240s r gettin hot around here cuz of drifting.

Hope this helps

[masticatingcow]

I really wouldn't worry so much about it... still, a little paranoia will go a long way, and if you are seriously concerned about your car getting stolen, try a few of these things. Remember, theives can't steal a car they don't know exists.

1. Park in a garage or guarded lot. What you want to do is minimize it's visability when you aren't in it. This is also possible by keeping it parked off major streets and/or intersections.

2. Most people can identify a few specific cars in the area they live in, and this includes potential theives, so don't drive in a fashion that makes you easy to pick out of a crowd. This includes everything from a blaring exhaust setup to a bumping sound system and reckless or even routine driving.

3. Don't street race.

4. Though there's very little you can do about it now, unusual or rare cars draw a great deal of attention. You'd be better off driving a stock Vette than your Sileighty. People have a tendancy to remember the unfamiliar better than the mundane. (ex. Was a man or woman driving the last BMW M5 you saw? The last Honda Civic?)

My advice to you is to keep a low profile. And get comp, collision and vandalism coverage through your insurance.

Also, you can spend time and money putting together anti-theft systems, but as you suggested, you wouldn't want to show up and watch someone steal your car, lest you be put in danger. Think about this... what's to prevent them from towing your machine off? If they want it that bad, they're going to get it. All you can do then is hope the police catch up to them before they get it underground.

[wangless]

my car was stolen in socal... now that i do have another i am more paranoid parking outside. cant park inside right now because one of the garage springs is broken (waiting for apartment association to fix it).

i think about back then when i had my white hatch and think about what things i did that might have attracted attention towards me and deeznuttz415 hit almost all of them. i used to blast my system coming home, revving high with my fireball exhuast. DUMB ME. even though i didnt do it that much... i guess it still attracted some attention, enough for it to get stolen.

right now on my current car i have the club and that autolock, ill be getting an alarm soon and making some kill switches. but as soon as i can park in my complex, id be A LOT happier. just be smart about what you do when you park your car around a bad neighborhood.

and full coverage is a good idea, i just dont have enough money for it

[i2ice4m3]

although alarms dont stop thieves from jacking your car, the noise is still a deterrant since thieves like a low profile. anyhoo...just dont leave anything valuable in plain sight, and use wheel locks

[wangless]

dude... what if you put the alarm horn INSIDE the car. so while theyre trying to jack youre car it starts BLASTING in their face along with it blasting outside LOL. i dunno, the idea just popped in my head

[hamsterball]

well.. juss be glad you don't have a civic. people jack those things no matter what. i've even heard stories of stock ones getting stolen.

(hamsterball, who reads stories of cars getting stolen on honda-tech way more than i need to)

[wangless]

LOL... my car was stock ! except for the 5zigen exhuast, and system. my ka was starting to rust me over too LOL

[180fan]

It's not bad in the bay area. In San Jose, maybe for car jackings but not so bad else where. In SF though my exhaust was stolen right in front of my house by 5 a$$ clowns in accords and were gone by the time I got downstairs with my USMC combat knife. Since then I've turned up the alarm, taken it off the main street so it's on a side street, near a street light, in the process of looking for a autolock, and building some other theft deterrent systems into my car. Ha ha ha they'll be in for a real shock if they try to jack my car lol

[i2ice4m3]

built in crotch hammer....

it'd suck to have it go off on yourself tho :oy:

[Radian]

I live in the Haight in SF. There is a local paper that lists crimes that have taken place in the neighborhood over the past two weeks. Usually there are about 15-20 stolen cars in that period of time, 70% are hondas. The others are usually saturns and 240s. A garage would obviously be the best, but cost is often prohibitive. An alarm and maybe a fuel cut off would be the best thing. ***Always remove your radio's face plate***

[SilGuy]

Quote »when you say car jacking do you mean when you're driving and then someone runs up to you and say "break yerself fool" or when you get your car stolen? [/quote]

I meant when my car is getting stolen while I'm not aware of it. If someone has a gun pointing to my head and says "break errrrself", the first thing i'm gonna think is..**** my sil80..haha.

Thanx for the replies guys. I think i'm gonna be living in Hayward for awhile...got damn ghetto...wait..i jus revealed myself..haha They said for the year 2003, the most popular car stolen was the saturn and then the integra...i think 240s..at the time were down the list or i don't even remember seeing it...but thanx for the replies guys...

[KDashy]

I have a couple friends that live in Oakland and both of them have gotten their cars broken into, but got to the cars before they were stolen. One drove a third gen integra and another drove a 94 prelude Si.

[180fan]

lol but that's oakland though lol.

[hybrid_flyer]

I hate to say it but sometimes it is the area you live in as well. I am not saying move to Oakland Hills, or Woodside, just to protect your car. But if you can find a place to live in a quiet suburb that will do nothing but help.

I (in my youth) have left several of my cars in the driveway overnight with the windows down and the keys in the ignition. Now I park in the garage in my house but still.

But if you cant park in a garage, definitly get a fuel or starter kill switch, lug locks, and I would say get a removable steering wheel (hard to drive with no wheel).

[C-Kwik]

Car jackings are relatively rare. It's a very small percentage of the actual number of cars stolen. And it's typically a crime of opportunity rather than a targetted crime. Most car thieves do not like car-jacking. It's too high profile and the penalties are greater. It's easy enough to steal a car without having to resort to confrontation.

[KDashy]

lol but that's oakland though lol.

Haha, yeah, Oakand is ghetto as hell.