auto theft

[MK7]

I hate to disagree on the Club, but it is ineffective. Steering wheels are designed to be weak and collapse so if a person is in a wreck, the steering wheel will collapse and absorb some of the energy of the driver smashing into it. It takes a hacksaw about 3 seconds to saw through a steering wheel to remove The Club. Then the vehicle is still easily steerable.

This is assuming that average car thieves carry around hacksaws and other thieving tools. It's highly risky for them as tool bags can raise suspicion from cops to detain & question them. Most car thieves are less likely to go after junky, conversion vans anyway, unless it's a cargo van that may have valuable tools inside. They would probably move on if they find out it's full of personal and household items that are not easily sold, like tools.

And I used to own insurance agencies and can tell you that the Club helps a lot. The Club Brake lock is much better than the steering wheel one. No hacksaw is going trough that very fast. They tried to steal another car from me, but these two Clubs saved it. They ransacked the car looking for the keys to them. And the steering wheel was not cut.

Pro thieves wouldn't even bother. But crackheads would take anything they can carry.

 

[66788]

If the thieves knew about The Club and how little of a deterrent it was, they might actually turn to the van with The Club because the owner of the van probably felt it was safe and secure and didn't bother to use additional security measures that were real security measures that actually worked.

If I were a thief and saw the scenario you described, The Club wouldn't sway me at all because it offers no protection. If I were ignorant and thought The Club provided protection, then of course I would find another target. The Club provides a false sense of security.

Most any other method of protecting your vehicle from theft will be a better use of money, time, and resources.

I'll bet you've never personally hacked through a steering wheel to take a Club off. Please post your video so we can time your 3 seconds start to finish.

As the previous poster stated, it's a visual deterrent and encourages the thief to move on to another vehicle.

I'm continuing to use mine, as it works.

 

[Canine]

66788, I've sawn through a steering wheel using a hand held hacksaw to facilitate extrication of a victim of a car wreck. 3 seconds is pushing it, but have done it in that amount of time. It takes a fresh, quality blade with a squirt of WD40. 8 seconds on the outside with a standard blade without any lubrication. I'm not going to post a video, though, as there are many videos out there showing exactly that. Tin Snips might work even better, but interestingly, that was never brought up in any classes I've taken for working on an ambulance service.

It is not a visual deterrent; it is a visual attractant. It encourages the thief to take the car as the Club is extraordinarily easy to defeat.

It makes me think of the joke of the two hikers that stumble across an angry, charging Grizzly Bear. One hiker takes off his hiking boots then starts lacing on his running shoes. The other hiker is watching this wondering why he is putting on running shoes and asks why he is doing that. That hiker responds, "I don't have to outrun the bear- I only have to outrun you!"

One of the major deciding factors for thieves is how easy is it to steal. As long as my van is less attractive to a thief than the van next to me, I have my "running shoes" on.

I know that isn't a nice thing to say, but theft is an important issue and how thieves respond to the Club and other ineffective devices is important to know. Misinformation could cost someone a lot of heartache. These are people's homes we are talking about.

One option that might be cool is using a steering wheel quick release. I don't know if they are safe or legal, but it is an idea.

 

[Matt71]

What about one of these?
http://amzn.com/B004HNT4WQ

or one of these?
http://amzn.com/B000L9T7AY

They both seem pretty hacksaw resistant

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

What about one of these?
http://amzn.com/B004HNT4WQ

or one of these?
http://amzn.com/B000L9T7AY

They both seem pretty hacksaw resistant

Did you read the one star reviews?

Regards
John

 

[Matt71]

Just did. Point taken.
I guess I'll just lock my doors, hide my valuables, and take my chances.

 

[gypsychic]

How 'hot' is the market for cargo vans, converted conversion vans, etc? I'm wondering how many instances have been reported on here or that any member has a direct experience with? Of course I want to keep my home safe and with me so I don't want it stolen. OTOH, I only have a little disposable monthly income to spend on my itemized priorities and I am wondering how high on my list should theft deterrents go? I have a 1995 Dodge conversion van. TIA

GypsyChic

 

[Canine]

How 'hot' is the market for cargo vans, converted conversion vans, etc? I'm wondering how many instances have been reported on here or that any member has a direct experience with? Of course I want to keep my home safe and with me so I don't want it stolen. OTOH, I only have a little disposable monthly income to spend on my itemized priorities and I am wondering how high on my list should theft deterrents go? I have a 1995 Dodge conversion van. TIA

GypsyChic

I doubt the vans themselves are worth much to a car thief, but I know of a couple of people who've had externally mounted propane tanks and batteries stolen. Visible solar panels might be quite an attractant. I, too, am curious who in here has been the victim of theft or attempted theft. Not their car necessarily, but other belongings. Perhaps you should start a new thread if one doesn't already exist.

 

[LeeRevell]

Do a search - solar panel security has been discussed.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

I lived in Oak Park, Il, next to Chicago in about 1998. In Oak Park, you have to have a parking permit to park anywhere in Oak Park overnight. They told me where to park, about 3 blocks from my apartment, next to the "L" train where no one could see it. Of course my car got stolen 2 days later. I got my car back 3 weeks later, and had to keep parking in the same place. I wrapped my steering wheel and brake pedal with logging chain, and used a bike lock to lock down the hood, and had the battery disconnected. They tried to steal it again, but my efforts paid off. The logging chain was more for looks, it said look, I've taken some time and trouble to secure this vehicle.

---

With my '78 Ford, I've been thinking a lot about that. They are super easy to steal.

The easiest way to steal an older vehicle is to find the vehicle you want to steak, and buy a replacement ignition key switch. Then just pull out the connector behind the switch and plug in your own, start the car. Later you can change the switch.

 

[MK7]

It is not a visual deterrent; it is a visual attractant. It encourages the thief to take the car as the Club is extraordinarily easy to defeat.

Sorry, but I think you just made this up. I used to own Allstate Insurance Agencies and have had my personal cars stolen at the same exact locations by those targeting my highly modified cars for its parts. After the 1st got stolen, and then the 2nd was ransacked but saved by The Club, I started talking to our Claims Dept., which is a multi-million dollar operation of a Fortune 50 company that's been in existence for decades. They told me that The Club does work as deterrent, especially The Club Brake Lock.

Most car thefts are for cars with hard to find parts that thieves knows they can get a good payday from car parts dealers.....like certain years cars that were produced less than 4 years but had drastic changes right after or cars that lasts over 10 years to even 20 years, like a 1990 Honda Accord and certain parts are hard to find. Something like a Vandweller's rig is NOT something sought after by car thieves. American work vans, hardly ever change and there are tons of them around.

Now the tools of tradesman are coveted by thieves, but once they find out it's not a van full of tools, but rather full of personal, household items of a Vandweller, they would probably move on or just steal the laptop and batteries. Unless they're Crackheads, then they'll steal anything they can.

---

Did you read the one star reviews?

Regards
John

See this 1-Star review:
"i brought this about a month ago. it was nicely built.
but unfortunately, it didn't work.
my car, a honda accord ex 1996, got stolen.
when the police recovered the car, the club was no where to be seen.
someone said that they might have stripped the locking part off of the club. i guess what they say is true for the older cars, they are easy to get into and if they want your car, they will get it, club or no club."

The Club Brake Lock is by no means a guarantee, but a lot better than nothing. And certainly good as an addition to anything else, like an alarm system. I'm not sure what people want for $30, like something magic powers or something?

This dummy, giving it a 1-star, is driving one of the most sought after cars by PRO Car Thieves. 1996 was a dog-year (meaning ugly + wasn't popular when released) for Accords and I think they only produced this model in 1995-1996......usually they go for 3-4 years before changing the style up a bit. But 10-20 years later, these 1995-1996 Accords are still running strong like most Accords but the parts are hard to find. I owned this exact 1995 Accord and it got STOLEN, STRIPPED and left in a neighborhood. We got it back, and insurance paid $3000+ to have all the parts replaced (value was around $4500). We drove it for another 5 years, then put an ad out for $2500 on Craigslist and got a MEGATON's worth of inquiries from Dealers. Sold it to a dealer for $2200 and it was in SAD shape, but still ran great.

He got hit by a Pro Car Thief who wanted it. Nothing much you can do about that. But if your home is your van and everything that you own is in it and some kid with a screwdriver stole it at a truck stop.....because you didn't have a mere $30 Club on it, it would really suck.

 

[Canine]

The easiest way to steal an older vehicle is to find the vehicle you want to steak, and buy a replacement ignition key switch. Then just pull out the connector behind the switch and plug in your own, start the car. Later you can change the switch.

I learned that as I've had to change the switch and only then realized how easy is it was, but didn't want to advertise that! Lol. It is good info, though, and am going to apply some anti-theft-edness to my old rig.

 

[Matt71]

I've considered getting an alarm for my eventual van dwelling, but I don't want to be hiking and have someone bump into it and set the alarm off in the middle of a national forest when I'm 2 miles away on a trail.

I think the club, combined with internal security like lock boxes and such, would be a good enough way to protect your stuff.

Anything really valuable inside the van I intend to have in a lock box or otherwise secured, so stealing it will either require heavy tools or enough time that the their would draw attention to themselves. I think someone leaving a van with a 27" iMac and pair of bolt cutters under each arm might draw some attention.

If someone really wants my stuff, I may not be able to stop them, but they're gonna have to work for it.

,Matt

 

[Seeker]

I do not know how many models of the club are current and for sale now. If you have this one even a kid can pick it in a few seconds as in this video.

Even the harder one can be picked fairly quickly as in this video by wizwazzle but wiz can pick most locks.

I get bored easy so it's one of my hobbies (only legally!) and I am not very good unless its a masterlock and the kids pick them easily also.
A SEEKER

 

[Canine]

This is what I meant by visual attractant.

http://freakonomics.com/2010/06/08/what-car-thieves-think-of-the-club/

For the sake of argument, let's say The Club overall is an effective deterrent. It deters the thief to the next car without it. If both cars are with Allstate, then the insurance company would still need to pay for a theft. Why would insurance company support it if they still have to pay for thefts that are still occurring?

If Allstate had The Club installed in everyone of their insured vehicles, then the thieves would go to the other cars insured by other companies and drive up the cost there. The problem isn't solved, it is just shifted to the next guy. The theft still continues largely unabated. Society as a whole would still be paying the cost. I'm not knocking personal responsibility and initiative to protect your own belongings- it's a good idea-, but I'm not seeing an insurance company being financially motivated to support The Club or any device that puts the problem off onto another person, yet allowing the problem to continue while still having to make the same amount of payouts.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that approximately 20% of all thefts occur from keys being left in the ignition. Or maybe simply left in the car, I can't specifically remember. That's an easy way to put the odds in your favor and to shift the thief to keep looking for cars with keys in them. Another was keeping belongings out of sight, which has already been mentioned.

Joyriders are usually looking for a quick, easy time, so things like The Club would then be effective. Youth joyriders steal more cars than thieves who steal cars for extended periods of time, or thieves who steal cars for parts or resale. So overall, is The Club effective? I couldn't find any place to cite this, but if I had to make an educated (ha ha) decision, it probably has more effect than not if you have a vehicle that isn't worth stealing like most of the vehicles owned by the members of this forum- myself included.

I'm still not a fan of The Club when balancing the pros and cons then comparing that with other similarly priced anti-theft methods, but I must admit it seems to have value as long as the vehicle isn't a Camaro or other valued vehicle. I really wish there was some actuarial information or some type of authoritative demographic that specifically addressed The Club or similar anti-theft device.

A big concern of mine would be a smash and grab kind of thing. It wouldn't take long to smash a window, climb in, and take the laptop or anything withing easy reach. I suppose there comes a point that you simply accept your level of security and accept that stuff happens and that is the cost of having stuff.

Risk management is a very hard concept for humans to understand. We all have our own ideas. I'm cool with whatever works for you.