Being stealthy...

[AnitaRose]

I am wondering how other people keep their systems safe within the car. Besides the obvious alarm or garage..

Ok yeah you can get tinted windows, which I would love, however, tinted windows here in my state, are on good way to get pulled over, which... I really would like to avoid.

In my old car, (2001 Intrigue) I actually constructed a faceplate cover thing. I have the Pioneer AVH-P1400DVD 5.8" Touchscreen. Which as most know does not detach, So any way, long story short, I got a duplicate stock stereo for that car, tore the face off glued the buttons in and put a few clips on it and simply slid it over. Flawless, never any issues, my head unit never grew legs and walked away.

So now I have a new car, or new to me, 2005 Cobalt, I finally just got my system moved in, I don't have anything yet for protection until I do actually get around to it. So as of the moment, I have a big stupid work bag I set infront of my stereo so you cant see it. I just get worried, because I drive all over the place for my work and I usually am working at a location for a minimum a few hours before I head to the next job..

So I was just curious if there are any ideas, I wont have time for a while to do anything about it...

Click to read more...

 

[RangerDangerV2 5,000+ posts]

a glock 17.

 

[jasonbillnelson 10+ year member]

Pictures, serial numbers, lists of what you have installed, and a good insurance company first off.

As far as stealthy do what you can to mount it into the car. In my dodge nitro you have to move the subwoofer and then open the load and go to find my stuff. Second battery is under the Driver Seat. My head unit is the Clarion NX501 and that doesn't detach but would take some time for the thief to get with how I have it mounted. Tinted windows does help but thieves look for what they can grab and conceal quickly.

My old ride, 2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, I had a single din cd player, old school Rockford amp and capacitor and a shallow 10' sub under the back seat. My Driver window was broken and the thief pulled the cd player, found the rca cables, and found my amp and cap under the back seat. Stole that and then pulled the sub box out and chose to leave it. This was between 8-9am on a Saturday morning in Albuquerque NM, 1 block from a main road in a gravel public parking lot. My wife was using the truck for school and found the car around 9:10am.

If you have the money for a car alarm, then absolutely, put one in. I don't have one but I'm very cautious of where I park my car. I ensure it's in a very public place, no alleyways or back roads. I'll walk an extra block if it means keeping my car in a safer place. And I live in Maryland and go to DC pretty often.

 

[joselr3668 10+ year member]

lol I went with a walther pps .40

 

[AnitaRose]

Yeah a car alarm is happening soon.. I just simply do not have the time to do it.. I'll need to like take the day off. But yeah writing the serial number down and pictures, thats really good, I guess I never even thought of that. Thank you

 

[av83 10+ year member]

Using the stock radio front as a cover was pretty slick. Nice.

 

[jasonbillnelson 10+ year member]

yep. Get all that information down. When my stuff was stolen in NM my insurance company covered it and replaced it with a step up of what I had.

Had:

Alpine CD/MP3

Old School Rockford Fosgate 900.1 amp

Rockford 1fd Capacitor

They replaced with:

newest model Alpine CD/MP3/IPOD/BLUTOOTH

Rockford P1000bd

Rockford 2fd capacitor

And they had a person come to do the install.

Definitely worth it to have that information for your insurance company and yourself!

 

[AnitaRose]

Using the stock radio front as a cover was pretty slick. Nice.

Thank you, I thought it was a genius idea. I'll probably do it again, I just need the time to dissect the stock..

 

[AnitaRose]

yep. Get all that information down. When my stuff was stolen in NM my insurance company covered it and replaced it with a step up of what I had.
Had:

Alpine CD/MP3

Old School Rockford Fosgate 900.1 amp

Rockford 1fd Capacitor

They replaced with:

newest model Alpine CD/MP3/IPOD/BLUTOOTH

Rockford P1000bd

Rockford 2fd capacitor

And they had a person come to do the install.

Definitely worth it to have that information for your insurance company and yourself!

Nice! Yep doing it! I suppose thats just common sense. lol this is my 2+2=4 moment.

 

[SounDrive Pro Seller]

Another way to prevent theft is to make it nearly impossible to remove. EX: non-standard screws (square/triangle heads, etc). Of course, that doesn't really help with a head unit. Insurance and an alarm would be a wise investment

 

[AnitaRose]

Another way to prevent theft is to make it nearly impossible to remove. EX: non-standard screws (square/triangle heads, etc). Of course, that doesn't really help with a head unit. Insurance and an alarm would be a wise investment

I like that idea too. alarm is on my list.

 

[naughtyca 10+ year member]

I take pictures of all the stuff i have so if anything got stolen i have pictures to prove i have the equipment. I also added car stereo insurance which added $4.50 and the insurance covers installation.

 

[CJL 10+ year member]

Pics of your hu cover?

Iremember seeing something like that years ago.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

Yeah MN sure does **** for tinted windows. Max you can have I believe is 30%, been a while so I'm not sure, but I've seen the max legal tint and it's not much of a tint at all. I install all of my equipment as discretely as possible, make your ride look like it doesn't even have a system is the first step. After that insurance is a good option, alarms are great. Don't advertise with stickers. If you are in north minneap, or brooklyn park/center don't bump if you're gonna park for a while. Try not to bump near your residence. All of these things will help. Do you actually live in Minneap, or St. Paul?

 

[NIHL8ION]

Definitely get an alarm installed asap! Always try to park where you have a line of sight to your vehicle, and always park as close to any light(s) as you can - This helps tremendously at apartment complex parking lots... I see ppl getting ripped off left & right, but never the ones who park right under the lights //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif Also until you do get your alarm, search around on the web for some stickers - ie: code-alarm / viper / any alarm co sticker will do, and you could even go as far as to throw a little sequential motion LED in your dash on a toggle and flip it on when you park... ANYTHING you can do to deter thieves is a big help, so never advertise your audio with any decals or "steal me" stickers anywhere on your ride and you will be in much better shape than most //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif