When your stuff is too crappy to be stolen

[kgtest]

Reminds me of the times I traveled on my Suzuki 800cc cruiser motorcycle. I would always park it next to or very close to a Harley Davidson. Never had a problem. Never expected to.



Cheers!

Whoa. Drove a Marauder 800 until my ole man wrecked it. Fun little bike.

 

[stepford]

I have a 25 year old mountain bike. Chipped paint, a few rust spots - it wouldn't sell for $50. I call it my theft proof bike. Really handy for local grocery shopping since I never bother to lock it. It's never been touched (and I probably wouldn't cry too hard if it was). Anyone stealing it is probably desperate enough that they need it more than I.

 

[H2ODude]

I had a 4 year old car parked in my apartment complex, came out one day to find the door ajar. Cheap car stereo gone. I'll bet they got about $20 for it, and caused $800 in damage to the car. I guess I should've left the door unlocked.

I never lock my Miata. It's garaged at home, but when I'm out and about I'd rather they just open the door than tear the ragtop to get in. The catch to that is when I'm running I often leave my phone and wallet in the car, but I've got a couple of good hiding spots. I'm hoping they won't dig around too long looking for stuff that they don't know is even in there.

Smart. I had our Miata top slashed ($1,500) so they could get DW's sunglasses ($20) and a couple of CD's. In spite of that DW always said we should lock the car! One of my pet peeves is how most cars (at least ones I've had) will allow the programmable garage door operator to operate without the key; an invitation to break a car window to access a garage. Latest vehicle requires not only to be unlocked but ignition on. It's taking some getting used to but I'm OK with that.

 

[jfn111]

My 2013 Honda doesn't have Apple Play so I still use an old Garmin. I've been wanting to get a new one that has traffic updates but I can't get anyone to steal the old one.
I leave the doors unlocked and the windows rolled down, in summer, but there it sits.

 

[Ducati52]

I parked the old van on the street last night. This morning, I go out to find the drivers door unlocked and the hood agar. " Oh Crap, they got my battery " was going through my mind.

Open the hood fully, one battery connector loose, battery still there. Then i notice the date sticker " 09/2011" . I guess the theves can read. not worth stealing

PS this is a deep cycle battery, 9 years old and recently testsed good at the auto part store.

They steal the batteries for the $4-$5 they will get at the recycler. They usually use a set of bolt cutters to cut the cables and any battery hold-down hardware. Maybe your thieves were new and were hoping to use the money from your battery to buy a set of bolt cutters?

Catalytic converter thieves are the worst. Not only is the cat itself $500 to $1,500, but they use a Sawzall to cut the pipes ahead and behind the cat, so you end up replacing most if not all of your complete exhaust system, which can easily run another $500 to $1,000 or more. All for a used catalytic converter that will bring $25 at the scrapyard.