Girlfriend's car broken into!

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
03/26/2018 at 18:46 • Filed to: None

My girlfriend’s car was broken into over the weekend at some point which is rather disconcerting. This happened in our apartment garage which makes me quite worried about our safety walking through there if people are prowling around to steal shit. It was especially odd to me that her car was broken into considering the amount of $100k+ cars that I can find around the garage. I have seen a few BMW 7 series and Maseratis around, among other stuff. I suppose it is a case of “easy target” since it is an ‘05 Civic that is probably easy to just unlock. The only thing in the car was a pair of expensive sunglasses but she could have easily left her laptop or something like that in there. It still just sucks that I am out of town when she found out so I am helpless to do anything about it. I am just mad at whoever the asshole was that decided to rifle through her stuff and make her have a bad day.

My Miata is always parked with the top down and I doubt my Subaru is much more secure of a vehicle anyways. But I never leave anything in the cars other than tools so I am not really concerned there. I suppose my drivers seat in the miata could look of value and easy to take. But I am much more concerned about the state of mind this puts my girlfriend in, to be concerned that we arent safe at home in suburban Woodland Hills. Meanwhile she never had trouble in Hollywood, where there are shootings and all sorts of real problems.

Not sure what I can do to further security there but the apartment had said they have never seen this before. Just our luck I guess!

DISCUSSION (14)

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
03/26/2018 at 19:17

Since this is in a parking garage you won’t be able to install your own security cameras, so I would get just dash cameras and then wire them up to an external battery pack, which itself can be fed by a hardwired car charger. That’s what I’m doing in both the e-Golf’s.

Do that and put a sign that there are cameras and maybe that will deter someone in the future?

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > His Stigness
03/26/2018 at 19:19

You know, that is not a bad idea. There is plenty value in having a dash cam, might as well just get her one with interior view and motion detection. Assuming the camera itself doesn’t just get stolen of course.

MarquetteLa > His Stigness
03/26/2018 at 19:24

Couldn’t a thief just take the dash cams/memory cards while taking other stuff?

Nick Has an Exocet > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
03/26/2018 at 19:35

I had the same thing happen a few years ago but the issue comes down to whether the dash cam makes the car a more valuable target. My answer would be yes.

I actually had someone smash my window while street parked (stole a pair of $5 gloves). Then I moved the car into the “secure” parking, went up to call the glass people, came back down, and in the 45 minutes upstairs someone had gone through the car a second time - this time breaking the armrest storage hinge in the process.

Moral of the story? Never live in Oakland.

Stapleface > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
03/26/2018 at 19:45

You know, being that it was an ‘05 Civic, maybe it was the target all along, particularly if it’s an SI.

Ad it makes sense to me that it would be a target simply because an expensive car is more likely to have theft deterrent systems.

As to what you can do about it? Can you lean on the apartment complex to make it a little more difficult for this kind of thing to happen?

DipodomysDeserti > His Stigness
03/26/2018 at 19:45

Unless the cameras are wirelessly uploading the data, you won’t have anything to look at after the guy who breaks into your car to steals your cameras.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Stapleface
03/26/2018 at 21:32

It’s just an EX sedan, totally stock aside from rear tints. So it’s not like the car itself seemed to be at risk there. The building is already relatively secure. There’s no way into the garage without someone opening a door for you, although people are always bad at that everywhere. Her spot is kind of out of the way, I’m suggesting it’s at least moved to somewhere else in the garage. Preferably near the elevator since there’s lots of foot traffic there.

wafflesnfalafel > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
03/26/2018 at 21:35

It’s the new normal... I’ve been broken into at least 20 times. Every single place of work and every place I’ve lived when I’ve owned vehicles. I don’t leave anything in sight and really have never driven nice cars. I just don’t lock any of our cars now and don’t put anything in them I am not ok with some criminal having. Ask my how many sets of cheap jumper cables I have purchased but have been stolen before I’ve ever used them. Welcome to modern America.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Nick Has an Exocet
03/26/2018 at 21:37

Oakland, yeah hell no.

His Stigness > DipodomysDeserti
03/26/2018 at 23:05

Yeah, I didn’t think about that.

You could always lie and say they’re wireless cameras.

His Stigness > MarquetteLa
03/26/2018 at 23:05

Yeah, I didn’t think of that.

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
03/26/2018 at 23:07

Yeah, others pointed out that someone would just steal the camera.

But I still like having dash cameras in the cars ever since someone backed into my Mercedes and then their insurance denied it because people don’t usually do that.

DipodomysDeserti > His Stigness
03/27/2018 at 00:09

The stickers will still prevent the random asshole from smashing your window. The pros will still go for it if they see a payaday inside.

nerd_racing > Nick Has an Exocet
03/27/2018 at 07:46

I went for a walk earlier this month around the Oakland airport area. Holy hell I was never that uncomfortable in my life. I had a beggar follow me for a block on my way back. The next morning I awoke to the sound of someone vomiting their guts out in the hotel room next door at 5 am. I went to the airport 4 hours early that day.