4:30 AM everyone jumps out of bed, why did I buy the most stolen car in America?

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,974
420
136
My car alarm just went off, now I can't get back to sleep. My roommate (who is a heavy sleeper) jumped out of bed then called me saying my car alarm just went off. I scrambled to put some clothes on, then I had to find my car alarm beeper ... go outside, the car is parked on the street in front of the house because the neighbors recently put in a new roof and crap was discarded onto our driveway (there may be nails lingering there - so I'll be sweeping that today and parking the car in the driveway again AND buying a foodlight which stays on during the nighttime).

So I stumble outside like a drunk half asleep, my car is still there, the alarm stopped already, there's no one around, I unlocked the car, tried to see if there was any visible damage to the drivers side window or door, none. So I locked the car back up, sweared a few choice words then stumbled back into the house thanking my roommate for his quick actions.

2002 Honda Accord SE + Portland's high auto theft stats = one pissed off Ferengi.

The car alarm I have is the Clifford Matrix 2, is that a decent car alarm?

I wonder if someone did attempt to steal my car, maybe someone passing by accidentally touched my car or a cat (which I would shoot if i saw them and if I had a gun) touched my car?

%$#@! Now we gotta try and get back to sleep, only to "wake up" an hour from now!

$#@##!$!
 

Migroo

Diamond Member
Jul 14, 2001
4,488
9
81
Yeap, a fine car alarm. Dont worry about that.

Get a floodlight that comes on when it detects someone - that:

1) Shows any intruders that you are now aware of their presence
2) Doesnt disturb neighbours with excess and unneccessary light during the night.

Dont leave things in view. Take out jackets, loose change, take the face off your radio and TAKE IT INSIDE if you can. Just common sence really.

<-- recent victim of car crime.
 

MrBond

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2000
9,911
0
76
This afternoon do some experimenting with the alarm. Borrrow a neighbors cat, set the alarm, and toss the cat (gently) onto the car. See if it trips it. Walk past the car and brush against it, see if that sets it off. Try every "accidental" method you can think of, and if none of those trip the alarm, its time to worry.

I really like the accords personally and they'd be on top of my list of cars to buy, but the insurance rate would kill me. Same with the civic to a certain extent, but its more of an issue of never being able to find my car in a lot, because in Toledo I swear you're issued a Civic when you move into the city. The Hybrid model is just geeky enough for me to overlook the conformist-car aspect though, so I may end up with one of those :)

Sucks waking up at 4:30 though :D. At least you shut your alarm off. Someone in my complex let theirs go for about half an hour last week before it either gave up or they shut it off. I don't know why they even set their alarm, our complex is super-safe, and they drive a POS Grand Am.
 

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,528
3
76
This afternoon do some experimenting with the alarm. Borrrow a neighbors cat, set the alarm, and toss the cat (gently) onto the car


Hahahahah! I like it!

You: So, what'cha gonna do tonight, Mike?
Me: Well, I'm gonna borrow my neighbors cat and toss it against various objects just to see what happens.
You: Uh, Mike; isn't that gonna hurt?
Me: Nope, I wont' feel a thing, it's perfectly safe for me.
You: :confused:

hahahahah!

Anyway, RossMAN welcome to the "car alarm owners club." They go off for no reason sometimes. It's always good to check on it though.

My alarm has a perimeter sensor. It took awhile to get it set right. Basically, there's a zone around the vehicle that if entered, makes the alarm chirp. It's called warn-away. I live in an apt complex, with head-in parking. If somone pulls into the spot next to me, the alarm chirps. If I hear it, I look out my window...it's a PITA, but I've had my vehicles keyed once and smashed into once already...time to move...taking care of that in January.

*EDIT*
BTW, this is the first time in history that my search for a new Quote of the Week ended first thing Monday morning! Congrats, MrBond! :D
 

Toxoid303

Junior Member
Nov 3, 2002
8
0
0
Hey RossMAN when i was a kid i used to walk around with my buddy and look for cars with alarms and bang on em till the alarm went off (im not proud of it, i was a dumb kid) waking the owner and everyone else in the area. Then we would hide nearby and wait for them to turn it off. Once it was safe we would go and repeat our stupidity till we got bored. Keep your eyes peeled for losers with skateboards and too much time on their hands. :D
 

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,528
3
76
Originally posted by: Toxoid303
Hey RossMAN when i was a kid i used to walk around with my buddy and look for cars with alarms and bang on em till the alarm went off (im not proud of it, i was a dumb kid) waking the owner and everyone else in the area. Then we would hide nearby and wait for them to turn it off. Once it was safe we would go and repeat our stupidity till we got bored. Keep your eyes peeled for losers with skateboards and too much time on their hands. :D

You have just confirmed my long-time suspicion that all skateboarding, Fubu-criminal pants-wearing, bucket hat sporting, wallet with long chain hanging young people are evil. Prepare to be exterminated. ;)
 

Desslok

Diamond Member
Jun 14, 2001
3,780
11
81
Originally posted by: RossMAN
My car alarm just went off, now I can't get back to sleep. My roommate (who is a heavy sleeper) jumped out of bed then called me saying my car alarm just went off. I scrambled to put some clothes on, then I had to find my car alarm beeper ... go outside, the car is parked on the street in front of the house because the neighbors recently put in a new roof and crap was discarded onto our driveway (there may be nails lingering there - so I'll be sweeping that today and parking the car in the driveway again AND buying a foodlight which stays on during the nighttime). So I stumble outside like a drunk half asleep, my car is still there, the alarm stopped already, there's no one around, I unlocked the car, tried to see if there was any visible damage to the drivers side window or door, none. So I locked the car back up, sweared a few choice words then stumbled back into the house thanking my roommate for his quick actions. 2002 Honda Accord SE + Portland's high auto theft stats = one pissed off Ferengi. The car alarm I have is the Clifford Matrix 2, is that a decent car alarm? I wonder if someone did attempt to steal my car, maybe someone passing by accidentally touched my car or a cat (which I would shoot if i saw them and if I had a gun) touched my car? %$#@! Now we gotta try and get back to sleep, only to "wake up" an hour from now! $#@##!$!

Maybe that 2 day special at 16k thread that would never die made you buy?
 

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,974
420
136
Originally posted by: Desslok
Originally posted by: RossMAN
My car alarm just went off, now I can't get back to sleep. My roommate (who is a heavy sleeper) jumped out of bed then called me saying my car alarm just went off. I scrambled to put some clothes on, then I had to find my car alarm beeper ... go outside, the car is parked on the street in front of the house because the neighbors recently put in a new roof and crap was discarded onto our driveway (there may be nails lingering there - so I'll be sweeping that today and parking the car in the driveway again AND buying a foodlight which stays on during the nighttime). So I stumble outside like a drunk half asleep, my car is still there, the alarm stopped already, there's no one around, I unlocked the car, tried to see if there was any visible damage to the drivers side window or door, none. So I locked the car back up, sweared a few choice words then stumbled back into the house thanking my roommate for his quick actions. 2002 Honda Accord SE + Portland's high auto theft stats = one pissed off Ferengi. The car alarm I have is the Clifford Matrix 2, is that a decent car alarm? I wonder if someone did attempt to steal my car, maybe someone passing by accidentally touched my car or a cat (which I would shoot if i saw them and if I had a gun) touched my car? %$#@! Now we gotta try and get back to sleep, only to "wake up" an hour from now! $#@##!$!

Maybe that 2 day special at 16k thread that would never die made you buy?

Actually if you read the first post I was the whole inspiration for the Accord Hot Deals thread that would not die.

Now I'm thinking that maybe my alarm went off by itself. Sometimes I'll unlock the car, start up the car and the alarm goes off, gives Susan and I a heart attack.

Must borrow a neighbor cat, here kitty kitty :D
 

Aceman

Banned
Oct 9, 1999
3,159
0
0
Ahhhhh, the benefits of owning a 4 door 1995 Pontiac Grand Am. Shoot, I leave my doors unlocked and the keys in it most of the time. Four years in the neighborhood on the fringe of North Minneapolis and not one incident.
 

topgun55

Banned
Oct 15, 2002
76
0
0
the car is parked on the street in front of the house because the neighbors recently put in a new roof and crap was discarded onto our driveway (there may be nails lingering there - so I'll be sweeping that today

Dude, make your A55HOLE neighbor clean up their own crap. They made the mess fixing THEIR roof.
 

isasir

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2000
8,609
0
0
FYI - Clifford Alarms are supposed to be real good.

I too own an Accord (2000 LX V6 Coupe). Thankfully mine gets parked in the garage at home. 'course when I park it anywhere besides home, I do worry about it getting stolen.
 

Desslok

Diamond Member
Jun 14, 2001
3,780
11
81
Originally posted by: RossMAN
Originally posted by: Desslok
Originally posted by: RossMAN My car alarm just went off, now I can't get back to sleep. My roommate (who is a heavy sleeper) jumped out of bed then called me saying my car alarm just went off. I scrambled to put some clothes on, then I had to find my car alarm beeper ... go outside, the car is parked on the street in front of the house because the neighbors recently put in a new roof and crap was discarded onto our driveway (there may be nails lingering there - so I'll be sweeping that today and parking the car in the driveway again AND buying a foodlight which stays on during the nighttime). So I stumble outside like a drunk half asleep, my car is still there, the alarm stopped already, there's no one around, I unlocked the car, tried to see if there was any visible damage to the drivers side window or door, none. So I locked the car back up, sweared a few choice words then stumbled back into the house thanking my roommate for his quick actions. 2002 Honda Accord SE + Portland's high auto theft stats = one pissed off Ferengi. The car alarm I have is the Clifford Matrix 2, is that a decent car alarm? I wonder if someone did attempt to steal my car, maybe someone passing by accidentally touched my car or a cat (which I would shoot if i saw them and if I had a gun) touched my car? %$#@! Now we gotta try and get back to sleep, only to "wake up" an hour from now! $#@##!$!
Maybe that 2 day special at 16k thread that would never die made you buy?
Actually if you read the first post I was the whole inspiration for the Accord Hot Deals thread that would not die. Now I'm thinking that maybe my alarm went off by itself. Sometimes I'll unlock the car, start up the car and the alarm goes off, gives Susan and I a heart attack. Must borrow a neighbor cat, here kitty kitty :D

Well I do have to thank you for turning me onto the Cannon A40. Great camera!
 

iamwiz82

Lifer
Jan 10, 2001
30,772
13
81
completely off topic, but the easiest way to get those nails is to go get a strong magnet, tie it to a string, and walk up and down the area swinging it back and forth. You'll get them all after a couple of passes.
 

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,974
420
136
Originally posted by: topgun55
the car is parked on the street in front of the house because the neighbors recently put in a new roof and crap was discarded onto our driveway (there may be nails lingering there - so I'll be sweeping that today

Dude, make your A55HOLE neighbor clean up their own crap. They made the mess fixing THEIR roof.

Actually I dunno if there are nails on the driveway, I'm just paranoid. So I'll probably do an upclose inspection and sweeping this afternoon.

RishiS - I'm glad that Clifford makes good car alarms but I'm sure if someone wanted to steal my Accord they could have done it easily within 60 seconds (or does it take longer than that?). I would sleep a lot easier at night if I had a garage to park my car in. One day.
 

tcsenter

Lifer
Sep 7, 2001
18,909
559
126
I gotta hand it to Texas and their 'shoot the car thief' law. Bravo Texas!

Yeah, yeah, "but a car is only a material possession, a life is precious and valuable". Bullsh-t!

A car may represent YEARS of someone's toil and hard work that is STOLEN from them, never to be regained or compensated. Simple solution: if you don't want to get shot, don't steal cars. If you steal cars, therefore, you must WANT to get shot. Who am I to prevent people from getting what they want? I say give it to them.

 

PsychoAndy

Lifer
Dec 31, 2000
10,735
0
0
Well, you could spend another $300 and get another anti-car theft device. I think winchester makes one....

-PAB
 

thomsbrain

Lifer
Dec 4, 2001
18,148
1
0
Originally posted by: RossMAN


a cat (which I would shoot if i saw them and if I had a gun)

oh yeah good idea. an animal deserves to die because it walked on your precious car. remind me to shoot you if i see you because you breathed my precious air.

 

Ultima

Platinum Member
Oct 16, 1999
2,893
0
0

If you get a floodlight make it a motion sensitive one, because those lights are damn annoying as hell at night.
 

BeauJangles

Lifer
Aug 26, 2001
13,941
1
0
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
if i had to park my car overnight on the street i'd get the club:p

The club is useless. Takes 30 seconds or less to get it out of the car.