Car Break-in Question

[Xsorovan]

So two years ago my car was broken into while I was in Colorado for a month doing some work. It's a Honda Civic DX and the person pried the window on the driver side back, reached in and unlocked the door. (Then proceeded to decimate the inside of my car) Anyway, I live in the Seattle area and the other night my car was broken into again, using the same technique on the passenger side of the car. (I have hence dubbed this way of entry the "Honda Trick") As I had nothing in the car they took my 6 dollar pair of sunglasses and a printer box full of misc stuff (trash) and left.

I had a questions on the subject:
1. I am thinking about buying a new car and does anyone know of any sites that detail how easy it is to break into certain types of cars? (I'm looking at a Toyota Tacoma)
2. Is there anything I can do as a current honda owner to make the "Honda Trick" less of an option to people that want to get inside my car? (I thought about putting some jagged metal spikes facing down right behind the moulding that the thief couldn't see and when he shoves this arm in the jagged metal would scratch his arm all the way down and when he tried to pull his arm out it would do more damage... but then I realized I might get sued by some stupid thief... and there would be a lot of blood, which would be horrible to have to clean up.)

Thanks!

 

[acemcmac]

I have a motion sensing flood light aimed at my car that can take an RF attachement and set off a remote alarm in my bedroom. One of my next upgrades to the house will be to get this alarm. Something like that happening to my car would go like this

1) Perp starts fvcking with my car
2) Flood light goes off, alarm wakes me up
3) I walk 10 feet from the master bedroom to the lounge, where there are two windows, 4 stories on top of where my car is parked and the flood lights are illuminating, grabbing my loaded AK-47 and a spare magazine on the way
4) I take a knee-down position and fill the motherfvcker with 7.62mm. I've never lived in a home that lended itself to becoming a shooting gallery anywhere near as well as this one does.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

If you leave the door unlocked they won't have to resort to the "Honda Trick"

 

[DougK62]

If you take steps to stop someone from using the "Honda Trick" they'll just break the window.

 

[Vette73]

A basic alarm and as acemcmac said a flood light (if it is a option).

Also toyota trucks use to be real easy to get into, even more so then a Honda. So not sure if they have improved that much. I know the older GM trucks, like 80's back, were easy to steal as the colum was easy to break and get into. The newwer ones improved. So not sure if toyota has improved there doors and locks.

 

[sswingle]

Which window is this?

 

[jdini76]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
I have a motion sensing flood light aimed at my car that can take an RF attachement and set off a remote alarm in my bedroom. One of my next upgrades to the house will be to get this alarm. Something like that happening to my car would go like this

1) Perp starts fvcking with my car
2) Flood light goes off, alarm wakes me up
3) I walk 10 feet from the master bedroom to the lounge, where there are two windows, 4 stories on top of where my car is parked and the flood lights are illuminating, grabbing my loaded AK-47 and a spare magazine on the way
4) I take a knee-down position and fill the motherfvcker with 7.62mm. I've never lived in a home that lended itself to becoming a shooting gallery anywhere near as well as this one does.

I hope a cat or a racoon doesn't walk into the path of that light.

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
I have a motion sensing flood light aimed at my car that can take an RF attachement and set off a remote alarm in my bedroom. One of my next upgrades to the house will be to get this alarm. Something like that happening to my car would go like this

1) Perp starts fvcking with my car
2) Flood light goes off, alarm wakes me up
3) I walk 10 feet from the master bedroom to the lounge, where there are two windows, 4 stories on top of where my car is parked and the flood lights are illuminating, grabbing my loaded AK-47 and a spare magazine on the way
4) I take a knee-down position and fill the motherfvcker with 7.62mm. I've never lived in a home that lended itself to becoming a shooting gallery anywhere near as well as this one does.

I like the options that this presents and the added things I would have to learn how to do as well. The downside to this is that I live in a condo where a floodlight would be highly frowned upon and as my luck would probably have it every time a bat, owl or squirrel ran around the parking lot the flood light would come on, I'd jump out of bed and grab the closest weapon and end up outside in my PJ's before I could even think straight.

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: DougK62
If you take steps to stop someone from using the "Honda Trick" they'll just break the window.

Yes, but the window is not 5 feet from the car and should someone do something that loud I would be awake.

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: ScottSwingleComputers
Which window is this?

Car window wise I've had it happen to my front driver side and front passenger side.

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
If you leave the door unlocked they won't have to resort to the "Honda Trick"

doubt it...they are some real @sshats out there...

my brother had a jeep w/ ragtop....instead of just unsnapping the window cover (which was like 3 or 4 button down snaps) to break in, they slit open the plastic windows to unlock the door...

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
If you leave the door unlocked they won't have to resort to the "Honda Trick"

doubt it...they are some real @sshats out there...

my brother had a jeep w/ ragtop....instead of just unsnapping the window cover (which was like 3 or 4 button down snaps) to break in, they slit open the plastic windows to unlock the door...

If you're a thief I doubt you care about slicing a plastic window, you want to get in & out ASAP.

 

[zixxer]

buy an alarm. A cheap alarm (no remote start or anything) is about $200-$250 installed. WELL worth it imo. It won't stop someone that really REALLY wants your car, but WILL stop people from doing crap like that to it.

 

[AbsolutDealage]

Originally posted by: DougK62
If you take steps to stop someone from using the "Honda Trick" they'll just break the window.

Yup, especially if you put some kind of jagged metal in there. That will just piss them off, and they will trash your car even more after they break the window.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: jdini76

Originally posted by: acemcmac
I have a motion sensing flood light aimed at my car that can take an RF attachement and set off a remote alarm in my bedroom. One of my next upgrades to the house will be to get this alarm. Something like that happening to my car would go like this

1) Perp starts fvcking with my car
2) Flood light goes off, alarm wakes me up
3) I walk 10 feet from the master bedroom to the lounge, where there are two windows, 4 stories on top of where my car is parked and the flood lights are illuminating, grabbing my loaded AK-47 and a spare magazine on the way
4) I take a knee-down position and fill the motherfvcker with 7.62mm. I've never lived in a home that lended itself to becoming a shooting gallery anywhere near as well as this one does.

I hope a cat or a racoon walks into the path of that light.

Fixed

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
If you leave the door unlocked they won't have to resort to the "Honda Trick"

doubt it...they are some real @sshats out there...

my brother had a jeep w/ ragtop....instead of just unsnapping the window cover (which was like 3 or 4 button down snaps) to break in, they slit open the plastic windows to unlock the door...

If you're a thief I doubt you care about slicing a plastic window, you want to get in & out ASAP.

have you seen the how the doors look on a rag top jeep? the windows have button snaps that hold them in....it would have taken all of one or two seconds to simply pull the corner up and unsnap the buttons. that guy who broke in was just being an @sshat...

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage

Originally posted by: DougK62
If you take steps to stop someone from using the "Honda Trick" they'll just break the window.

Yup, especially if you put some kind of jagged metal in there. That will just piss them off, and they will trash your car even more after they break the window.

Yes... but there is some personal satisfaction there...

 

[Xsorovan]

Originally posted by: zixxer
buy an alarm. A cheap alarm (no remote start or anything) is about $200-$250 installed. WELL worth it imo. It won't stop someone that really REALLY wants your car, but WILL stop people from doing crap like that to it.

You are probably right. Drop a couple hundred on an alarm and it's close enough I'll know it's mine. I guess there aren't too many options out there that are cheap/ free.

I'll also keep that in mind with the new truck as well.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
I have a motion sensing flood light aimed at my car that can take an RF attachement and set off a remote alarm in my bedroom. One of my next upgrades to the house will be to get this alarm. Something like that happening to my car would go like this

1) Perp starts fvcking with my car
2) Flood light goes off, alarm wakes me up
3) I walk 10 feet from the master bedroom to the lounge, where there are two windows, 4 stories on top of where my car is parked and the flood lights are illuminating, grabbing my loaded AK-47 and a spare magazine on the way
4) I take a knee-down position and fill the motherfvcker with 7.62mm. I've never lived in a home that lended itself to becoming a shooting gallery anywhere near as well as this one does.

Man, if I had such a device at my house I'd be woken up ten times a night by the animals running around in the yard.

It's unfortunate that you don't live in a state where you could actually do what you describe and not spend a few years in jail.