To lock or what? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

NoSparkNeeded · #1 10-07-2009, 08:38 PM

Well my incedent is over. New stereo in all the wires traced. A kind forum member has offered to send me a wood panel around the climate control FOR FREE. I'd like to pay, but he refused. This all left me with an interesting bunch of thoughts.

I thought about setting up a honey pot at the trailhead and waiting. Lots of quick cliffs down there, lol. I could perhaps easily catch someone doing another car. They might slip and fall.

Then here I find out about someone we know that did the same thing. Broke into cars. I sort of liked Paul. Poor old Paul was a friend of my stepson's long ago. He has cleaned up his act and is a worthy person now. I'd like to stick my hiking stick through the eye of these farkles but..... could I do that to Paul?

Just like me and the bluejays in the neighborhood. They used to annoy me so much I'd shoot them out my bedroom window more than a few times with a pelletgun. Then I made friends with one. I loved that rascal, she brought me her babies for ten years and would sit in my lap, knock on my window and come when I called her. They still annoyed me, but I could understand. I never shot another. I wondered how you could make the same scenario work in real life like with Afghanistan or something, or this breakin? But strangely, I'd still stick my hiking stick through the eye of anyone I actually could catch in my car, go figger, even if it were Paul. I'd like to fully understand those feelings some day.

Now the new dilemma. I likely forgot to lock it. Mistake one.

I had "valuables" in the glovebox. Mistake two.

Some here on the group said, "good think you forgot to lock, or you would have a broken window to deal with, and you'd be looking for a glovebox door".

Other say "If you were locked, then they would have moved on".

All agree, really stupid to leave your radar detector on the window. I AGREE.

Really stupid to not take off the stereo face and leave it at home, never leave anything in a trailhead car. I AGREE...now.

Lock or not lock. Let them take a look? A stereo without the face? Any value? Lock but leave the glove box down so they can see the stereo face is not there?

What would be the best strategy for a trailhead car? Car alarm? I laugh
at those honking things. Any deterent value? Rig the doors with a remote
switch and a latching relay to the horn?

HMM BEER, back to the couch and stop hiking? Damn I just knew I'd pay for losing 15 pounds and .....uh.. exercising

babymog · #2 10-07-2009, 09:24 PM

Lock it, but be sure it looks like there's nothing worth stealing.

"Detroit's Finest" used to call them "exploratory break-ins", where they'd see a car that looks like it'd have something valuable in it, break the window, sweep around under the seats and in compartments, and move on, ... with the alarm beeping and glass in the driver's seat.

They look for suction-cup marks on the window, cig-lighter sockets without lighters in them, 12v adapters and windshield-mounts, purses, camera cases or luggage, obviously covered items, anything that catches their eyes and makes them feel that it'd have something worth stealing.

Best thing is to leave a car EMPTY, with the cargo-cover retracted and nothing covered so that they can see that it's not worth the break-in. Faceplate should be gone or as a friend of mind did years ago, made a fake faceplate of a crappy old radio to put over the head unit.

In the end, you can only hope that the thieves are smart enough to not break in if there's nothing to steal, but not smart enough to know that it's still worth breaking in. Thieves are usually not that bright.

Oh, and if you have a friend with a big dog, buy him a new dog dish and use his large and crappy one in the rear compartment floor with a large half-chewed rawhide bone, maybe a dog blanket.

Junkman · #3 10-08-2009, 01:39 PM

I've been thinking of something like this for watching my house in the country.
White trash broke in a few months ago.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_94725____SearchResults

Kelly · #4 10-08-2009, 01:46 PM

IMO car alarms work well.

The only car I've had broken into with the blinky red light, was opened with nothing missing.

Graplr · #5 10-08-2009, 02:06 PM

The average thief looks for easy situations. Unlocked cars are easy situations. You probably wouldn't have had a broken window or missing valuables had the car been locked.

NoSparkNeeded · #6 10-08-2009, 06:25 PM

That game camera looks like a neat toy. I'm going to leave the glove box
door open,leave the faceplate at home, lock it up, and park 100 yards up the road at a trailhead for the other side of the road that goes to a visible beach area. When parked at
where the break-in occured, folks are certainly on a 2hr plus hike. The beach trailhead has more random action. I might order the game camera just to play with

.