So I go outside this afternoon and notice the hatch glass was up on my car.

The punks snapped off the trim on the passenger door, pulled the window out of the track, and gained entry to the car.

They took:
Stereo faceplate
2 packs of cigarettes (one pack had 3 left in it, the other was full of butts; SCORE!)
an old box with cleaning supplies (most of them were almost empty)
a pair of cheap-ass jumper cables
a $10 tool kit from Auto Zone


They overlooked:
cool removable steering wheel
wheel lug nut tool along with my wheels (which they left on the floor, it was inside the faceplate case)
all of my CDs (2 cases with approximately 120 CDs between the two)
a serpentine belt tension arm tool (still in the box)
a brand-new Liquid Clay-Bar kit (unopened)
a clear plastic case with new seat covers
4 quart bottles of Castrol Synthetic 20/50 w/new filter
Haynes manual
all of my insurance information, registration, handicapped parking tag, and pretty much everything else in the glove box, including my hands-free ear-piece and iPod interface
garage door remote

I know they were some punk kids because they immediately went for the stereo and gave up on it when they couldn't get it out - so they took the faceplate. They were too stupid to open my garage and take the MTX Thunderbox I just scored for the Ram and all of the other goodies I have in there. They didn't even lay a finger on the Ram parked right next to it.

I'm really only pissed about the faceplate and damage to the passenger door, because now I need to buy a new stereo and repair the damage.. Fortunately, that's the only damage I have except for a very small gouge out of the window tint at the top edge - and even though the tabs on the plastic are broken, but I can probably stick it back on with Permatex and it'll be fine.

But, I guess I'll install an alarm now (mostly for the flashing LED effect), along with pull the wheel and my 'important' stuff whenever I leave the car from now on. I guess I also need to install that motion sensor light I've had in the garage for the past 7 years now as well.



But on the upside, I found a towel that had gotten wet from the rain a few weeks back that was causing the 'wet socks' smell.

Anybody have any cool theft deterrent ideas, outside of an alarm?

A holograph of yourself comming out the door -- That would scare the shiite out of anyone

Eric...

Just sit on your front porch for a night or two cleaning a shotgun or rifle... while drinking beer of course!! And then as people walk down the street aim at them and say bang!

motion sensor lights should do it i would think

damn man sorry to hear they got your stuff

Yeah sorry to hear it but good thing is they didn't take the car. That would've been a lot worse.

Actually, I found the tool kit sitting in the back seat of the Ram. So they basically got a bunch of almost empty car cleaning products, my stereo faceplate, and 3 cigarettes.

They even left the $4.00 in change in the ashtray. Idiots.

BTW - my driveway is in the rear of the house with an alley - which I'm still not entirely sure I like: nobody sees a thing.

I got a motion sensor light at Lowe's this evening. And priced alarm systems at Best Buy - however, I have a slight problem paying $300+ (including installation) for a Viper alarm to protect an $800 car... especially when I can't even use more than half of the features (manual tranny with clutch lock-out - so no remote start, no power locks - so no keyless entry, no power windows, etc...)

I just need a basic system that has a flashing LED, a loud siren, can detect when the doors are open, and has a remote arm/disarm. Whatever happened to those cheap Audiovox systems you could get for like $99?

Don't use BestBuy. They will anal rape you. Find an independent installer. BestBuy only carries the "high end" products like Viper. If you can find a independent car stereo shop around you, then you will get a much better deal.

One thing you have to keep in mind though, that will raise the price of the alarm significantly is if your car key is 'chipped'. For instance, my "commuter/beater" Dodge Neon has a chipped key. I wanted to put an remote start in that car. It would have cost me like $300 for it.

Sorry to hear about that. Usually a cheap fix is a flashing red LED.

They also sell some nice looking led ones...that flash diffrently. Seeing that they might think that there is a nice alarm system in the car.

I know of a guy that did this and explained to me...you know some peeps know how to disable these systems....He said I wonder how long they will scratch thiers heads wondering were the system is before they figure out there isnt one...

Here's a link to a cheap car alarm at Beach Audio (link) - around $45 + shipping.

Here's a $100 car alarm kit at Crutchfield.com (link)

I found a link to a fake alarm (link) - only $8 + shiipping.

Even Radio Shack has some cheap alarms (link)

Sorry to hear this happened. I know it sucks.

Damn E, that sucks ass. Just get a big dog to sit in the car at night. Cheap and kicks ass.

Thanks terabyte! I hadn't gotten around to shopping for a system yet. Under $100 would be best - I just need a basic system. Those links should be helpful since I'm looking to do my own installation - I did car audio WAY before I ever started building computers, and I've installed a couple of alarms before as well... I should be OK

My car's too old to have a chipped key, or maybe too cheaply made, or whatever. No - I don't have a chipped key.