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Aloha everyone. I’m part of the Big Island Thieves group on facebook. There are at least 5-6 posts a day of people reporting their car stolen. Are people just not taking the necessary precautions or are the thieves smart enough to overcome every deterrent known to man?
I am lucky so far but now I’m thinking about investing in a steering wheel club or brake pads. Should I even spend the money or just accept the fact that it is only a matter of time before my car becomes another target?
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A lot of cars are stolen specifically to commit other crimes, so vehicles aren't targeted for theft based on chop shop prices because the cars are usually ditched (sometimes set on fire) after the other crimes are committed. So owning a junker won't protect you. The best protection is to maintain comprehensive coverage and not keep anything important in your car.
I'm not too worried about a car getting stolen from our house but it's something I think about when I park in a lot. If you find a practical solution I'd be interested in hearing about it.
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My solution is to stay off of Big Island Thieves.
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Most people will say their car was locked when it was stolen. Like most people will tell their doctor they eat healthy food, exercise regularly, and only drink one small beer in the evening.
Always take your car keys if you’re not in the drivers seat, lock your car doors, and set the alarm if you have one. Most car thieves are not mechanical ninjas, they look for opportunity, not a challenge. Are there thieves who can bust an ignition lock, steering wheel lock, and make off with your vehicle? Sure, but I would guess not as many as Big Island Thieves posters would have you believe.
It’s embarrassing to acknowledge you left your doors unlocked and keys in the car. Very few people would admit to that. Your insurance company won’t like it either.
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06-07-2021, 02:12 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-07-2021, 02:36 AM by terracore.)
A friend of mine had his truck window broken- twice in two separate break-ins. He eventually stopped locking the door because getting the window replaced was so expensive. He never had anything of value in his truck, but the thieves didn't know that until after they broke the window. One time he had like 30 cents in a closed ashtray. They took it.
I had a Toyota that somebody opened the locked driver door with a slim jim. They broke something inside the door when they did it because the door would never unlock from the outside with the key after they damaged it. It wasn't worth the $ of getting it fixed so my option was to get into the car from the passenger side or just stop locking the door. I went with the latter. Nothing was stolen because I didn't have anything worth taking. I lock my door now though, at least until they break it.
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Install a tracking device. Catch a thief.
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(06-07-2021, 06:45 AM)Rob Tucker Wrote: Install a tracking device. Catch a thief.
Any Recommendations?
Puna: Our roosters crow first!
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Hidden fuel pump cut off switch works for me. Mine was 'stolen' last year from the breakwater but it died before they made it to Kalanianaole.
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Don’t people on that media site describe circumstances of their lost cars?
Shame if they don’t. Hide a keys, yeah maybe not such a good idea.
I also doubt that there are a lot of ace car thieves out there who are capable of getting into
a car and driving it off quickly. Most of them are likely to be drug desperados with compromised problem solving abilities. Opportunists, more likely.
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08-09-2021, 02:19 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-09-2021, 02:21 PM by achutch3.)
It seems to me that most car related thievery starts at unlocked cars (door checkers) that will take what they can find and move on. Next in the pecking order is someone who will actually break a window if they see something of value in a locked vehicle. Another is the car running dude that'll take it since its there, unlocked, and running.
I'd say the majority of vehicle related thievery is due to unlocked cars, keys in the car/ignition, valuables left in plain site. Opportunistic theft as others have said.
To get to the level of breaking a window or using a slim jim to get in, defeating a steering wheel lock, and/or another antitheft system, pulling the ignition or hotwiring is going to be way out of the norm and a thief like that would be targeting that specific type of vehicle for whatever reason.
I think if you lock your car, leave nothing of value in plain site, activate whatever alarm system you have, and put a club on the steering wheel you'd be 99% safe. If someone gets your vehicle after doing all of those things there probably isn't anything else you could have done to avoid it.
