My Paranoid Ramblings: How Secure Is My Car?

[mookie]

Howdy chaps.

Just a quickie. I've been reading a few of the 'Stolen' threads and now I've been seized by 'The Fear' that my Golf is gonna get nicked or someone might damage it trying to nick it. My street is quite quiet and average, and the area isn't too bad - but none the less, I am wondering whether to maybe think about updating the security the car came with.

n.b. It's parked on a driveway - no garage.

It has an immobliser, an alarm, and a dirty great lock that goes round the gearstick when it's put in reverse/parked and is itself bolted through the floor of the car.

Is this enough? I realise you can never have enough security, but would that lot be enough to put off the usual toe-rags that might try and nick it?

What sort of security do other people have? Any special precautions I could take that I'm not?

Thanks.

[Bazzer]

Mate, if someone wants it bad enough, they'll get it. You can only do what's reasonable to stop the bastids. I reckon if you religiously do all that you're doing already, it's got less chance of being nicked than the next car (and if you park in a carpark, always look for the easy target or posh motor and park next to that) but you'll do yourself a mischief if you carry on worrying about it....

You COULD get yourself a wheel clamp (or clamps!!), Tracker, pager system etc if you're really expecting trouble! 

[S11EPS]

The way I look at it is this:

If a professional thief wants your car (and I mean really wants it) then there is nothing you can do. They will do a Harry Houdini and make it disappear, or worse, break into your house and possibly physically harm you in order to get your keys.

But this scenario is unlikely.

What you have done is managed to secure your car enough so that it isn't attractive to the opportunist thief, who is the more likely to be breaking into/stealing your car.

Unfortunately, if you don't live in a fantastic area, then this will always be a worry on your mind whilst you own a nice car. You need to decide if the car is worth the worry!

[tobz.]

Would I be right in thinking you have a mk2 Mike???
If so the one thing I would say is armoured door plates, if it doesn't already have them make sure you get some fitted. This is the weakest point and the easiest way of gaining entry to your motor. I have learnt the hard way and on my last two cars ended up fitting them to cover the damage that thieving scum had caused. I fitted them on my current car before they had a chance this time.
If you do invest in some don't be tempted to buy the cheapest ones as you really get what you pay for with these things. The cheap ones are a terrible fit and aren't made from strong enough material.
If your motor already has some fitted then ingore everything I said

[wag,en,volks]

Get a snap off steering wheel ,they have got to be one of the best ways of keeping your car!,

[Judderi]

Flame thrower alarm! 

[mix]

Sleep in your car with a ver large dog and a baseball bat on your lap

[Judderi]

Do you often sleep with a very large dog mix?

[gibby]

Do what you are doing but get some armour door plates like tobz said. Personally I think that the crook locks on the handbrake and gear stick are easily bent so I'd get a full on disklock that goes all around the wheel. Dont leave anything on show in your car, even an empty bag as they may break in to check, take out your stereo or face off everytime you leave the car. For the alarm, does yours go off if some one breaks the window ? If it only goes off if the door is opened and there's a voltage drop then you need to add an extra microwave type alarm, these can usually be added to your existing alarm and will be about £100. If you really want to go further you can add a tracker but these are not cheap and will be about £4 - 500 to install and a yearly subscription of over £100. If you do most of this and it still gets nicked then there's not a lot more you can do.

[mookie]

Think I'll order myself some of those armoured door plates. Out of interest, how easy are they to fit? I've found a guide to doing it, but you know what this intraweb thing can be like sometimes...

I think might also just chain the car to a big stake in the middle of the drive while I'm at it.