Date:         Mon, 2 May 2011 21:34:18 -0230
Reply-To:     Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joy Hecht <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU>
Subject:      break-ins was Re: Alarm choices: was Today somebody got into my
              van
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I'm curious about the need for alarms.  I mean, how many of us have ever
actually had our vanagons broken into, in how many years of traveling in
them?

Bernie said that his blue light, security signs, etc. had "worked for him" -
same for the person with the snake signs.  But maybe in fact none of that
made any difference, and the probability of break-in is simply low.

So, have you had a break-in?  In how many years of having vans?  More or
less than in other vehicles, if you have several?

And I'll start by replying myself.  My van was broken into over Thanksgiving
weekend when parked in front of a friend's house in Boulder, CO.  The thief
was quite clever - he completely removed my vent window (is that what it's
called? - the triangular window in front of the front window on the
passenger side), then unlocked the van and took his time in figuring out
what to steal (a bag containing all of my jewelry, unfortunately).  I was
overseas for a month at the time.  (Fortunately I had with me the jewelry
that I actually wore / cared about.)  My friend didn't even notice it had
happened until a few days later when he took the van for a drive and
wondered why it was so windy.  And because the thief carefully removed the
entire bag, my friend saw no sign that anything had been stolen - he thought
the burglar must have gotten spooked and took off without anything.

Another car on the block was also broken into in the exact same way the same
week.  Pretty clever thief.

So one break-in in seven years.  My van probably looked like a good target,
since it obviously contained lots of stuff.

FWIW, my honda civic (previous vehicle) was broken into twice, both by
thieves who caused minor damage and stole nothing of value - then the civic
itself was stolen for parts - apparently civics are major targets of theft
for parts.  That in 12 years of owning it.  The subsequent Prius was never
broken into.

How many other actual break-ins out there?  Are vans more vulnerable than
other vehicles?



Joy



On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 5:41 PM, Zeitgeist <gruengeist@gmail.com> wrote:

> These kits can be upgraded to include the alarm and other goodies.  I
> simply
> wanted the remote locks and actuators, so I opted not to add the horn, but
> I
> did install the flashing blue light on the dash whenever its activated.  I
> suspect that's sufficient, though the chances of a break-in around here are
> already slim to none.
>
> [pimp mode]
> *http://tinyurl.com/3zvde74*
> [/pimp mode]
>
> On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 11:42 AM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
>
> >  I really would like to know what the best mechanical devices for
> > protecting my vehicle are.
> >
> > mcneely
> >
> >
> --
> Casey
>