Left in the dark - Headlight thefts increasing

I posted this issue last year when it happened twice to my parent's neighbor's Nissan but our resident lighting expert said there was nothing special about the lights. Normally I don't write nasty stuff (he often provides great information to this group) but he has been a bit bitchy to people in this group lately so perhaps if he discovers he's imperfect he will tone it down a bit.

He's always been "like that" as long as I can remember... but I can't remember an instance where he's been wrong about a lighting issue. I'm sure it's happened, but VERRRRRY infrequently.

You may both be correct: I posit that there is nothing special about the lights, but that they still have been stolen. The reason for this is some theives just aren't that smart.

nate

I'm missing something here, what models are you saying have super expensive lamps?

Keep in mind thieves are usually drawn from the most unintelligent sections of the community. I had a college friend who used to get rid of his garbage by boxing it and leaving the box taped up outside the door, it was usually stolen that afternoon.

Ted

You are.

John

It works better if it's addressed to someone, like you're getting ready to ship it. :) -Dave

BS - another urban myth. Nobody's gonna steal headlights.

I might've or might not've. But I don't believe I ever posted that I didn't believe your neighbor's Nissan's lights got stolen. Thieves are dumb; the specialness of the lights doesn't necessarily have anything to do with whether they'll be stolen or not.

Try actually reading the article.

I take it that both halogen and HID headlamp assemblies are around the same price. It's the difference between the cost of the bulb versus cost of the capsule plus ballast that would make a difference in overall price.

I seriously think that these car owners should invest in a firearm along with training to deal with the situation appropriately.

Why? To shoot out the headlights before they are stolen? And what type of firearm are you suggesting to use? Rifle (single shot, repeater (manual or semi automatic or fully automatic Class III); Pistol (same variations as for rifle - yes, there are fully automatic "pistols"); Shotgun (same variations as for rifles, but I haven't heard of a Class III shotgun); Machine gun (clip fed, belt fed).

Then of course, why bother with shooting out the headlights and perhaps causing damage to the rest of the vehicle. Manually remove the headlights and bring them into your house whenever you park your vehicle at home. If in a "public parking spot", just put the headlights into a pack sack or gym bag.

You should elaborate on what you wrote. Then of course, you realize that you will have to face some legal consequences if you shoot out the headlights. Sort of like the song of a few years ago with the line "Bubba shot the jukebox...."

We await your further wisdom :-)

Ken

I guess Mercedes hood ornaments are out of fashion....

Why call these thieves dumb?.. while the average guy on the street may see it as dumb behaviour, the thieves know how to remove the lights, fit them to their own rides and sell any overstock back to the original owners at a fraction of the cost of new ones..

Thanks for noticing, Nate -- I strive for consistency. ;^{)}

DS

That is great thinking!

DAS

I like the idea of pumping a thief's rear end full of buckshot. Not fatal but very painful...

DAS

Here is a great true story.

In Philadelphi they apparently pick up garbage 1 time per week. A person I know moves there and the first time she puts out the garbage, couldn't believe how ripe it was until it was collected.

So she comes up with a plan. She buys storage containers for her freezer and puts all food garbage in the freezer until the night before collection. Then she puts in out in the garbage. Sounds wierd right?

So she's dating a guy and one night decides to make dinner for him. After dinner he says he'll clean up. He gets started and then confides that in his home he puts food garbage in the freezer until the night before collection.

The 2 just got married.

No joke.

They must have a large freezer. A better idea would be to get a food disposer and then you don't need to worry about storing food/garbage or even taking it out.

-------------- Alex

According to Consumer Reports, NYC is now debating which is worse.... food scraps in the sewage system or in landfills.