It takes half a second to cut a slit with a knife, utility knife or razor
blade behind the driver's side window at which point you just reach in and
unlock/open the door. Everyone that I know that ownes a convertible and
locks the doors has either had the window smashed, top cut, or door handle
broken. The window smashed was to steal a stuffed toy crab that was on the
dash another for a $20 clarion radio. When the radio was stolen the
passenger door was not locked but used to be real hard to open. The button
would stick in the handle when you pushed it in and not open the door. It
was obvious by the jammed button that the thief had tried to open the door
and assumed that it was locked at which time he put a brick through the
window. The door handle was on a Alfa spider (cheap handles which they tried
to force open) which had a bunch of fast food wrappers on the floor that
someone thought might contain some value and the same person locked it again
(against my advice) with some crappy old nonfunctional auto speakers sitting
on the rear deck which someone cut his new top to steal.
Every once in a while I notice that someone has been in my car. Once, some
idiot completely disassembled my glove box key assy. trying to get into it
until by accident, he appartently noticed that it was unlocked and just had
to push the button to open it where he found nothing and left. I'm thinking
of putting opening instructions on the glove box so that I don't have to
spend 20 minutes putting the lock assy. back togather everytime some idiot
wants to look in there
Just don't leave anything in the car. Make it easy and quick for them to
find that there is nothing in the car of value and they will move on. Lock a
door and you're telling them that there is something inside that you are
trying to protect. As far as vandals go, I've never heard of a vandal
breaking into a car to destroy the dash. If I were a vandal, I would cut
your top, slash your tires, or scratch your paint. None of which would be
prevented by a locked door. But, noticing that you locked the door I might
stick around to see what's inside since I know how easy it is to get inside
your locked convertible.
Chris Reichle
----------
From: mgs-owner
To: Dwgwater1
Cc: mgs
Subject: Re: Pardon the blasphemy
Date: Wednesday, October 22, 1997 11:59AM
At 11:36 AM 10/22/97 EDT, you wrote:
>Let's not forget the "market" either. Someone cut my Midget's top even
though
>it was unlocked and they could have just unsnapped it. Someone broke the
>window to get into an unlocked 86 Cavalier I got rid of recently. (A
friend
>said they probavbly drove it around the block and brought it back.) There
is
>a reason people go into the "breaking into cars" line of work and it's not
>that brain surgery is too crowded a field.
>
I think that if you can lock the car do it. If a theif is after your car he
will get in. Chances are that if it is locked he will get in through the
top. This takes time and calls attention. As far as those little kids (shit
heads) that ride bikes and scrape your car just for fun, they too will rip
the top but may not be able to get in and trash your dash. So if you can
lock it lock it. Enrique
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