What security measures to take?

The Club should be just fine.

Michael

Yes, especially since it is visible and the thief will just move on to the next vehicle that looks easier. However if they seriously want that car there isn't much short of a vicious dog that will dissuade them.

If they want the car, they're going to get it. Even in your own driveway. Now that you have a healthy dose of paranoia, here's some help:

I have an '85 Corolla GT-S. People love to steal them. After it was stolen the first time, I installed an audible alarm, a club and an ignition kill switch. As an added bonus, the alarm I installed has a pager that works up to 1/3 mile, so if the alarm goes off, I get a beep on a pager.

I also installed and aircraft type cable that serves to lock the hood in place. It's a PITA, but they can't pry the hood open and disconnect the battery or take any parts.

I also installed small roller switches in the door, so if they walk past and lift the door handle to see if the door is unlocked, it also sets the alarm off.

I also installed an ultrasonic/pressure alarm that senses glass breakage. If the pressure in the car changes due to glass breaking, it sets the alarm off.

Paranoid? Yeah...they got the car once, and even after the main alarm was installed they got in and stole my new radio. But they couldn't get the car thanks to the club and the ignition kill.

Worst case scenario: they come with a flatbed and haul your car away!

Hope that cheers you up a bit! ;)

A person who sells lots of vehicles from his home said he uses steering wheel locks.

In Nogales, AZ, which is next to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, fleet owners use ignition or starter disablers. A starter disabler is the safer of the two because if something goes wrong with an ignition disabler while you're driving, the car can stall.

In the mean time, consider pulling the starter circuit fuse when you park.

Others have mentioned the "Club" theft deterrent. This device is really easy for most thieves to get around. It takes about five seconds. They clip or saw the steering wheel rim in one spot with bolt cutters or a battery saw, spread the steering rim, and slide the "Club" off. Really fast for them, and that is exactly what they like; speed. I've seen this done to cars many times over.

Remember that this is a twenty year old car and even the parts to a chop shop look not too attractive.

I would suggest a simple under hood battery cable disconnect (some I've seen are keyed). Cheap, effective, and most important, takes the intruder time to get around.

I know that there are many more methods to disable a car, but you just need a cheap and simple (easy for you to activate and deactivate) solution that takes thieves time to figure it out and saves you aggravation.

Good Luck!

That's what I thought, but in 2006 it was the third-most stolen car in America. It may have declined a few steps on this year's list, but that's still a lot of risk to think about.

Stef

How often do you get waken up at night? :-)

Did this cable replace the original one? Or is this one in addition to the original cable?

How often do you get waken up at night?

Do passing "boom boxes" get you paged?

Thanks, Stef

This is a 20 year old car! Are you sure you want to spend a bunch of money just to slow down a car thief? If you are that concerned or if you live in a neighborhood where a 20 year old car is desirable, buy full coverage insurance on the car and be done with it. If the car is stolen, replace it with one that isn't such a car thief magnet.

It was heavily stolen , many years ago, now they are all rusted out and have 300000000 miles on them, whats it worth, 800, its not a real target anymore, think, its about 20 years old and needs everything.

2006... #3 most stolen car...

If I wanted to steal a car with the club, I would just cut through the steering wheel and take the club off. Pretty easy and I've never even been a car thief.

That would take to long. Look at the lock on the Club. Easily defeated. I had something called The Big Stick with a cylindrical lock.

I looped it through the 'bail' that clicks into the hood catch, and then ran it to the tie down hook behind the bumper, and lock it with a big Master lock. So it is an extra cable.

Here's an intersting page:

Unfortunately, I had the wheel locks removed from the car about 12 days before they stole it, so they got the factory alloys, too. If you have alloys, get wheel locks. DON'T LOSE THE 'KEY'!!!

I was an electronics tech for 20 years, and install all my alarms myself. I adjusted the sensitivity of the shock sensor so wind and cats jumping on the car doesn't set it off.

On the rest of them, there isn't any shock sensor. I live in a very 'safe' neighborhood; so safe I didn't lock the driver's door on my '89 Mazda...until someone stole the XM receiver last year...

No. This has to be a change in pressure inside the cabin, so wind, etc doesn't set it off.

Parts are getting scarce, and with scrap at an all time high, people are scraping them rather than stripping parts, so the ones on the street are targets.

The Club takes less than a minute to defeat. One of the guys in our office used to use one, even though everyone in the office told him that it was a waste of time and money. His Celica GTS was stolen from a mall parking lot, and when it was recovered about a week later, the thieves had stripped the car of the engine, transmission, radiator, wheels, tires, interior including carpet and Recaro-type seats, equalizer audio system, hood, fenders, rear hatch, both doors, etc. - but they put the Club back on the steering wheel.

Put dents in the hood, doors, bumpers, and trunk lid - it won't be so attractive to thieves for parts.

Audible alarms are generally not very effective, especially in urban areas where blaring alarms are commonplace.

A starter disabler can be effective, but they also tend to cause no-start conditions. The best bet is to park the car in well lit areas.

There you go, take a hammer and some spray paint, then thieves will be to embarrased to drive it, or paint it pink and flouescent green with some big nascar numbers. But who is going to bother a 20yr old car anyway. Forget the club, cutting a wheel takes 30 seconds, a better one locks the break pedal to the center hub. Better yet get a real Bear trap.

From the original post:

It's not stolen to change the plates and drive around. It's stolen because there's so many Camrys still on the road that need parts (body parts, engines, trans, etc.). The steal them and strip them. LOTS of them.

What's "the center hub"?

FBt

Sterring wheel hub