Cars are like just about anything else. If a thief wants one badly enough, he’ll get it.
But there’s a mind-boggling array of gear to slow him down.
So you know all about Lo-Jack, the transmitter system that lets authorities pinpoint a stolen car.
Instead of getting a signal from the car, a variation on that theme lets authorities send one to it–sounding the alarm and making the headlights flash. So much for the thief’s quiet getaway.
Sick of losing your remote control key fob? You can wear a device like a piece of jewelry that arms the system when you walk away from the car and disarms it when you walk back.
Worried you won’t have a clue if your car’s being tampered with while you’re in the shopping mall? The latest alarms page you.
Twenty-five years ago, most cars were stolen by joyriders who abandoned the cars at the roadside when they were finished with them.
Today, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, not only are more cars stolen, it’s for a different reason: Money. Vehicles are stripped for parts that are often sold through elaborate networks.
The result? Car thieves are more expert and motivated than ever. And as their ability to defeat simple anti-theft measures such as door locks and the key ignition has improved, so has the arsenal of devices to beat them back.
Automakers are producing innovative anti-theft and anti-vandalism systems on many of their cars, and add-on theft deterrent equipment is a thriving category of the automotive aftermarket.
The gadgets can be expensive.
Basic remote alarm systems start around $200 and can reach $1,000 with all the bells and whistles.
There are cheaper ways to go. The Club and similar devices, such as Cop In Your Car, which attach to a steering wheel so the car can’t be turned, go for as little as $40.
But some thieves already have figured out how to get around them. They hacksaw through the steering wheel and slip the lock off.
Another cheap deterrent is a kill switch, which typically costs $50, installed. It’s hidden and has to be flipped for the car to turn on.
A similarly priced variation, known as a mystery switch, requires that some button, such as the electric window lock or the cruise control button, be pressed while the ignition key is turned.
A reformed car thief said on NBC’s “Dateline” that he thinks a kill switch is the best measure of prevention–and it’s what he uses.
An even cheaper option: common sense. The National Insurance Crime Bureau reminds drivers to close their windows, lock the doors and take the keys.
Other tips include parking with the front wheels turned sharply toward the curb and applying the emergency brake, to discourage towing; putting all packages and personal items out of sight; and locking your vehicle and the garage when you’re home.
If you want some back-up for your common sense, however, you might need the gadgets described here:
The basics: A basic alarm from a specialist or a discount store will run from $150 to $250.
Similar systems are available on many new cars, factory installed or as add-ons.
Brand names include Ungo, Autopage, Python, Audiovox’s Prestige, Clifford, Code Alarm, Excalibur, Novacomm, Alpine, Avital, Harrison, Sherwood and Whistler.
The basic system is likely to include a siren that yelps at 118 to 125 decibels; two remote-control transmitters; an LED light on the dash; a valet switch so you can disarm the system while someone else parks the car; a panic feature so you can set the alarm off immediately in case of emergency; parking lights that flash when car is armed or disarmed; impact sensors tell whether the body of car has been bumped; a starter kill switch to prevent unauthorized starting of the vehicle; a memory feature so you know what set off the alarm while you were gone; and a choice of manual or automatic arming.
The extras: Just about everything on the car can be protected or automated–for a price. Here are some safety items that can be added once you’ve bought a standard alarm system:
– Remote door locks. This gives you the option of opening just the driver’s door or all doors. About $100.
Some systems also automatically lock the doors when the car is turned on or put in motion and unlock them when the ignition is turned off. (The guys in the alarm shops will tell you it’s no good for everything to unlock when the car is put in park.)
– Remote power window rollup. This is in case you forget and don’t want to bother getting back in the car and turning the key on. $100.
– Remote interior lights. So you can see the bad guys before you get in the car. $25.
– Remote trunk release. $20.
– Remote panic control. You can sound the alarm from a distance to scare the bad guy.
– Pager. When the alarm sounds, your pager goes off. $150 to $200.
– Remote shutoff. Whistler offers a system that allows you to set off the alarm after the thief drives away–so long as he’s still within 300 to 700 feet.
– Motion detector. Helps in case of a tow-away theft and, in convertibles, can discourage someone from reaching in. A variation is perimeter detection–if someone gets too close to the car it chirps.
– Current sensor. Even if someone manages to get into the car without setting the alarm off, anything he does that draws power, such as the interior light being activated, sounds the alarm.
– Automatic 60-second shutdown and rearm. Meets noise abatement laws.
– Synthesized voice. Instead of a chirp, a computer says “System armed” or “Protected by (your brand name here).” $80.
– Range extender. Doubles the standard remote control’s 75-foot range.
– Dual vehicle capable–so you can use one key ring transmitter to operate systems on two cars.
Basics and then some: Many manufacturers are adding small resistors to their keys that let the car know it’s OK to start the engine. General Motors calls it a pass key; if you try to use a bogus key, it triggers a four-minute shutdown of the lock system. Volvo calls the same thing an “engine immobilizer,” and Ford’s designation is PATS, for passive anti-theft system.
With Audiovox’s The Posse, if your car’s stolen, you dial an 800 number which activates the alarm by satellite. And once the ignition is turned off, the car can’t be restarted. The system also can be used to unlock power door locks if you leave your keys in your car.
There are some variations on the kill switch. Jacobs has a device called Stop Action, a small black box that wires into the ignition system. The thief can start the car, but when he attempts to drive off, it sputters and loses power. The idea is to fool him into thinking it’s a mechanical problem so he’ll abandon the car.
Electronic Cop, which runs about $70, also cuts the power to the car engine and includes a siren. The difference is it can be removed from one vehicle and placed in another. Sales are mostly at mass merchants, such as Target, in the Midwest.
There’s one problem with any anti-theft tack you take. “A lot of people out there know about security systems,” says William Barstow, retail sales manager for Auto Sound in Seekonk, R.I.
So any system can be defeated. But Barstow offers one important piece of advice: Don’t put a sticker on your window that identifies your fancy new alarm system.
“One of the biggest mistakes people make is the sticker,” Barstow says. “The thief knows right off the bat what he’s got to do.”
