Scared Camaro owner

[Kilroy123]

I'm new to this forum and new to forum's in gernal...Ok i have a 91 camaro rs which is my first car the car that i have always wanted. Im really starting to hook it up. It really means a lot to me. Well i have this real shady neighbor and his friends that are always stoping by are even worse. They did a drive by on my old neighbors and drove them out of there house. Any ways my car was recently broken into lucky i had just bought a pretty expensive car alarm that pages me when it goes off. By the time i made it to the window to look at what was going on they had already ran off. I don't even know how they got in. They only got the stero half way out. My question is how hard would it be to steal it even with the VATS and a good car alarm? I also got one of those so called "strong" break clubs. The one that locks the break pedal. Also what else would any one suggest doing to secure my car? I am really scared my car is going to get stolen. I live in Fresno, California which is the second worse city in america in car theft.

[Zwrangler]

well i'm not sure if its legal or what but i'd keep a big ass dog in the car at night time if i had to park on the street if you're really that worried about your car getting stolen then get it fully insured against theft or damage, that'll cover you all the way.

[ponchonutty]

Trust me, it is not too hard to steal a car that has VATS or cheap alarm. If someone wants it bad enough, they'll get it. I sell alarms and can get them pretty close to bullet proof but there's always the way around things.

[Genopsyde]

relocate

[espfuel815]

yeah. That's something that really worries me. Well let me tell you how easy it is to break into a 3rd gen camaro. My friend...who is also 16 figured it out in about 30 min. (that was w/o breaking any windows or locks) and if he tried a second time it would take him 5 min. I'm not gonna say how he did it b/c I don't want to place info in the wrong hands, but 3rd gens are definitely vulnerable w/o some alarm system.
Well it seems like they were going for your sound system rather than your whole car...right? But there are always a few things you could do to at least slow them down. Standard safety like the club and an alarm system like you have. Another thing that adds a little hastle..but could help give you a bit more piece...is to unhook your battery and take it in the house w/ you at night. Of course all of these things are a hassle, but it depends on how worried you get...the extra hassle could help put you at ease. Oh, and be sure to remove your CD faceplate when you aren't around, and cover up speakers that are visible from outside.

Most of what I have said are ways to prevent your entire car from being stolen, but not good to prevent break-ins.

If someone has a good idea for that kind of prevention...I would like to hear some as well.

[ridge_runner]

sleep with a gun, and park the car by your bedroom window at night, thats what i would do

[Chevyracincamaro]

screw relocating, make them relocate!!! fight fire with fire, literally, you'd be amazed at how fast some one will move out after you fire-bomb their house...

p.s.- the dog might pee in the car

[vettemaan]

Originally Posted by Chevyracincamaro

screw relocating, make them relocate!!! fight fire with fire, literally, you'd be amazed at how fast some one will move out after you fire-bomb their house...

p.s.- the dog might pee in the car

Classy

[PowerCrazy]

all good suggestions so far and i agree with all of them.... good call on the dog peeing too..... but from my, well my friends, experiences he has a 74 camaro and he was coming out of a store when he saw someone tryin to get in his car so he bum rushed they guy and beat the living shit out of him- ended up in the hospital pretty messed up. let's just say that guy prolly won't come near his car again. but really it comes down to precautions and most of those have been brought up already. just thought i'd share the story.

P.S. as i have been in fresno before i'd also suggest the relocation suggestion, but that's just my opinion.

[CamBoy]

if you have subs in the car, one way to help from some one stealing them and the whole box is it bolt the box to the car, grandted that involves drilling holes, but if you are worried about it then go for it.

[mike123]

if your so worried just put up a security cam , if something happens to it you got video

[tacoma man]

i have a 1990 z28 it has the pass key for the VATS system, if some one tried to steal my car. it wont run if you try to hot wire
it. the starter would have to be changed and so would the
entire ignition system. the only way some one could really
steal one is to hook to it and drag it away. i used to have a
91 RS with a v6 3.1 liter, whats yours got in it. I had to get rid
of mine, the Vats system would kick in while driving down
the road, shutting the hole car down, came close to totaling
her out twice. gm dealer wanted 1600 to replace the system.
i just traded her in on a 90 z28 with a 5.0 liter and a 5 speed.
very fast, it is in imaculate condition also has wide tires on it.
traded the 91 and give 1,000 to boot. i wouldnt take 20,000
for it.

[89IROC&RS]

the vats system is very good, you really have to know what your doing, and almost have a wiring schematic of the car to figure it out, and then have all the propor resistors, its a pain. but for added security, instead of unbolting the battery everytime you want to park it, install a hidden kill switch somewhere in the car, that will cut power to the ignition switch. so even if they do know how to wire it so they can bypass the vats, there wont be any power to send to the starter. very simple, very cheap, AND lowers your insurance if your carrier knows about it. As far as breaking into one, there is a very simple way of doing it, breaking the glass, but thats all cars. to get into a camaro with T0tops is a breeze, to get into a camaro with a solid roof is harder, but still not that hard, theres honestly no real way to keep someone from breaking into your car if they REALLY want to, only ways to keep the car in one spot. as far as fighting fire with fire, here were i live, i would have no problem keeping a loaded 12ga by my bed, and when the alarm goes off, unloading at em. but sounds like with the kind of guys your dealing with its a bad idea. cuz they will likely go after you and people you care about just to spite you. so unless your prepaired to kill them all over this, leave the guns where they are. rather, install the devices you already have, aka the club and whatnot, install the kill switch, and set up the camera like someone else said. so that they wont be able to steal the car, just vandalize it, and steal stuff. which you will have a tape of. and can use to prosecute them. also something to concider, is a locking car cover. if your car is hooked up, rims, paint, tinted windows, visable sound system, its a big fucking lure that draws every shady character to it. put a dull, boring car cover over it, and run the metal cable throught the loops on the bottom, and lock it with a pad lock. yeah takes a bit more time, but what they cant see, wont intice them. plus its the added pain in the ass that they would have to deal with, and those guys dont like spending unnessesary time trying to get at stuff they are after.

[4onFloor]

actually VATS isn't too hard to bypass. i had to do this because i transplanted the wiring harness, motor, and everything else from a 90 RS into a 71 just recently, and i had to learn how VATS worked. there's 15 different resister values for keys, and the resister values are listed on websites. all it would take to steal a car is to break the plastic off the steering column and plug in resisters into the connecter with purple and white wires and move the slide switch until it fires up. i've been told that the wrong resister value will lock the ECM for 10 minutes but i dont think there's any truth to that. there's also another method which involves making an
"anti theft, theft device" which is what i did. it's a timer circuit that puts out a square wave at 50hz. cost's about $5 to build and parts are available at radio shack. and it connects to the dark blue wire going out of the pass-key module to the ECM. probly too much info but well. I know it's a pain in the ass, but i'd recommend unplugging the ecm, or pulling the ecm fuse. might only just slow em down, but it's something that most car theif's dont think about.

[1992RS]

Well I'm an electronics technician and I would wire the car alarm to the chasis and body so when it's armed all of the battery voltage and current is running through the chassis and body and when someone touches it they get a really good shock. Might need a second battery too.