One reason I wrote the previous post is because I thought it was about time to put something new here. Then I realized I had other news to post. The day before yesterday my truck got stolen. I got off the bus and at the park and ride and my truck wasn’t there. So now it’s an extra 20 min. each way to ride the local bus, 1 mile, to the express bus stop.
It was just a little over a year ago when it was stolen the last time. Hopefully I get it back this time too. At least I have a second vehicle now. People kept leaving notes on it that they want to buy it, so if I get it back maybe I’ll sell it and let it get stolen from someone else.
I’m sorry to hear about your truck. Maybe you should look into one of those GPS tracking devices they make for cars now. You can have it installed on your car then when you find it missing they activate it and the police can track it down.
The one I have heard the most about is called LoJack. There is a dealer in Tempe that can install the systems. I looked it up for you.
LoJack
When it got stolen the last time I mentioned it to my Dr. (I had a Dr. appt. in between the time it was stolen and recovered.) He said he had two cars stolen. (One from out of his garage.) He was a big proponent of LoJack.
A few years ago there was a news story about a chop-shop on the west side of town. They were caught because a LoJack equipped car was found in a garage full of other stolen cars.
I guess one of the things car thieves do now is drive the car a (relatively) short distance and park it. Then if no one comes by to pick it up in a few days they can assume it does not have a LoJack installed.
I guess that’s pretty smart for the thieves. It also shows how effective the system is. If they don’t even try to find and disable it, they just hide it for a few days. I don’t know how much it costs, but it has to be cheaper than replacing a vehicle. Personally I would want the LoJack system in conjunction with a good alarm system. That should take care of it for you.
I need to replace the keyless entry key fob for my Saturn. I’ve been considering having an alarm installed instead. The new keyless entry will cost $100. Having an alarm installed that comes with its own key fob is just $150. I can get one of the cool new alarms that have alert the key fob up to 1500 feet away if the alarm goes off for somewhere around $400. I may or may not go for that, but no matter what option I go with it will be a while.
My truck had an alarm but I presume in both cases it was not set. I tried to be very diligent about setting it but sometimes forgot. Other times I am positive I had set it but for some reason it had become unset. Perhaps I had bumped the remote set/unset button by accident without noticing. Shane had a toolbox stolen out of his truck because of that. Someone walking by noticed it was unlocked.
I recommend an alarm that automatically sets itself 30 seconds after you leave the vehicle. (Actually after you open and close a door.) My previous alarm had that. It can be annoying until you get used to it because it goes off if you forget and just open the door to get in. It also traps other people in the vehicle if they wait in the car while you run into the store for something for example. That has its own amusement facter though of course.
I was thinking about getting a LoJack instead of an alarm. They serve different purposes though. A LoJack will do nothing about people who attempt to steal the radio while you’r at the movie, or in class at school. It also would not do anything for a smash and grab. Both of these have also happed to us.
Remote alert notification is also good. I don’t know about everywhere, but in big cities like here blaring alarms are mostly ignored. I some places, New York city for example, addable car alarms are illegal. No one would do anything if they heard it, so it just increases the noise pollution without any usable benefit.
I like the remote alert notification. I have a friend who has one. He also has remote start. That is cool, but I can’t get that with a stick shift. They require an automatic transmission.
Someday, but for now I’ll just look for a decent alarm that sets itself and gives me the keyless entry.
[...] I’ve got an update on the truck. [...]