Stereo Theft

Hey,
My window was smashed and my stereo was torn out, for the second time in 6 months. I have an alarm. My car does not attract that much attention. What can I do to try and stop this from happening? Oh and any suggestions on a new head unit would be great.
Thanks

Does your alarm go off when the window gets broken? If it does they must be fast getting it out. Or just plain bold and dont care. Try a better alarm. Try a two way paging alarm

Yeah the alarm definitely went off. These idiots also did it in a place monitored by security cameras! But apparently the security guys couldn't get anything from the cameras! The problem is it's either a new alarm or a new stereo, because money is tight. I am getting a detachable faceplate head unit, but that is such a pain... are they safer?

yup....thieves are looking for an easy grab. If theres no faceplate then why bother stealing it? ALWAYS TAKE THE FACEPLATE WITH YOU

I second that. But that still doesnt mean that they wont try to access the trunk for audio gear. If the thief is gentle enough he can get the trunk open without even triggering the alarm. Spend your money on a two way paging alarm. Then work on your system.

Damn. Well I guess I have to upgrade the alarm... any suggestions on brands... systems... things I need gadgets I don't need... whatever. Thanks for the help.

I have heard any of the alarms with the snake names are pretty decent. I'm not very current with my alarms so don't trash on me. One thing you might want to do is when you're getting it installed, get the guy doing it to hide the alarm brain somewhere besides under the driver's side dash. Maybe up inside the dash somewhere. Get your windows tinted too.

from what i have researched and all it seems like the two way pager alarms are pretty decent. and like huflungdung said, the snake name alarms, viper and python just jump off the top of my head, are pretty good. as far as getting a new head unit, i would suggest alpine, as would probably anyone else out there. i bought the CDA-9825 or somethin like that about 4 months ago and couldn't be happier.

I was looking at a Pioneer Premier DEH-P8MP if anybody knows about it, anything would be great.

I got my Alpine CDA-9827 off EBay. The h/u is very nice and I saved.

DEI handles good two way alarms at http://www.directed.com . I have an Autopage 2 way and love it http://www.autopageusa.com . If you plan on getting a new head unit cont get that pioneer. I second the ebay idea. You can get a kick ass deck and save. I have an alpine cda7835 and saved a close to $200

I have heard any of the alarms with the snake names are pretty decent. I'm not very current with my alarms so don't trash on me. One thing you might want to do is when you're getting it installed, get the guy doing it to hide the alarm brain somewhere besides under the driver's side dash. Maybe up inside the dash somewhere. Get your windows tinted too.
Viper?

I've had a premier for 3 years now and had no problems. It's a great deck. Premier also features a 2 year warrenty, the standard Pioneer brand only has a 1 year warrenty. The only other company with a 2 year warrenty is Kenwood Excelon (the regular Kenwood line is only a 1 year warrenty). Both Premier and Excelon are good decks.

As for ebay, be very careful. MOst companies are clear to state that no ebay retailier is an offical retialer. This means that even if you DO get a reciept, they will more often than not honor the warrenty, since in order for the warrenty to be vaild, it must have been purchased through an authroized retailer.

Most stereo places are authrozied retailers, though most online retailers and no ebay retailers are. If the warrenty being valid matters to you, aviod ebay.

I was looking at a Pioneer Premier DEH-P8MP if anybody knows about it, anything would be great.
That's like a $500 deck man you're just asking to get it stolen man. Why would you buy something that expensive if you've already gotten 2 decks stolen already. Yeah it's a phat deck but that's a ton of $ for something you've had bad luck with. But of course do what you want.

That's like a $500 deck man you're just asking to get it stolen man. Why would you buy something that expensive if you've already gotten 2 decks stolen already. Yeah it's a phat deck but that's a ton of $ for something you've had bad luck with. But of course do what you want.

Thats a good point. Before you get a 3rd deck (espeically an expensive one), invest in a good alarm. Get a glass breaking sensor, tilt sensor, maybe a very sensitive proximity sensor also. Make sure to get a trunk pin as well so anytime the trunk is opened it will sound...and get hood locks (I believe thats what their called, I could be wrong).

After you invest in a good alarm, maybe a deck. And also, get one with a removable facplate. Even if they do get the deck, it's no use for them without the faceplate. Don't just remove it and hide it in the car either, remove it and take it with you. Just like a good alarm, it's a visual deterant to buy you time and deter them.

try a 45mm and a sleeping bag, bet they wont be back

you might miss with the four-fifth...wanna really catch a body...blast the twelve gauge shotty...

Hey,
My window was smashed and my stereo was torn out, for the second time in 6 months. I have an alarm. My car does not attract that much attention. What can I do to try and stop this from happening? Oh and any suggestions on a new head unit would be great.
Thanks

A suggestion, if you're going to leave your car somewhere overnight that's not at your house, find the closest homeless man, give him 5 bucks, some mcdonalds and a baseball bat and tell him to make sure the car doesn't get broken into. Haha, should work great.

Seriously there's not much you can really do to make your car theft free, you can try taking the faceplate with you, i don't know if anybody has suggested that yet, but it's a pretty good deterent.

"I'll give you one scenario as to what a good security system consists of, step by step as someone tries to steal your audio. Most thieves will follow these steps, although some are smarter.

1) The first thing a thief wants to do is disable your alarm. So if you have one, you're already one step ahead. He is either going to open the door and pop the hood, or break the grill from outside.

2) Next thing he will do is cut the cables going to the siren to shut it up. But WAIT! You have a second siren hidden under the hood, and the thief doesn't know where.

3) Now he is forced to disconnect the battery, all the while time is passing and the siren keeps going. He disconnects the battery and it still doesn't work. That's because your sirens are hooked up to a backup battery inside the car.

4) Now the theif decides whether it's worth it to continue or get caught. If continuing, the theif must now cut all the cables around the positive ternimal in order to finally disable power to the second siren. This takes more time and assumes the theif has wire cutters.

5) Finally the siren is off and it's time to go for the goods in the trunk. He goes inside the car and pulls the trunk release. But the trunk doesn't pop open! That's because you've disabled it.

6) Now assuming the theif has a crowbar, he will have to try and pry the trunk open. He succeeds, but the trunk will only open an inch. The theif takes a peek inside and sees your sweet amps and sub. Unfortunately, there is a thick cable that ties the trunk to the floor. If he doesn't have wire cutters, too bad.

7) One last hope! Maybe he can try and break down the locked rear seats. So he gets the crowbar and starts hacking away at the lock.

8) Yay! finally he gets to the audio. Overjoyed, he pulls out the equipment and starts loading it in his car while the car is messed up from having the hood and trunk opened.

Now unless you're parked in an abandoned warehouse, someone will see this going on and call the cops or yell something. Most stupid theives will give up after trying the first couple things on the list. Alot of them won't even bring more than a screwdriver and a rock with them.

UInfortunately, the center console and deck can be removed and cleanly unplugged within 10 seconds.

Hope this helps some of you doing security to your cars."

Posted by Gearbox on www.7thgencivic.com.