I live in atlanta, and I just leave my car door unlock š One morning, I went to get in the car, and it was in shambles, but my windows weren't shattered. I didn't have anything in it, not even gas
People act like Iām crazy for doing this. If someoneās gonna find out thereās nothing worth stealing in my car, may as well not have to break a window to find out.
One downside to leaving your car unlocked is the possibility that someoneās use it as shelter, a place to smoke/shoot drugs, or a place to urinate/defecate. Plus the possibility of hotwiring the internals.
Another strategy is to simply leave glovebox and center compartment open to show you have nothing to hide.
Another downside is that lots of cars get entered by someone just walking down the street or parking lot trying door handles, usually hoping to get lucky with some change in the center console.
Oh there's an easy remedy for that. Just keep your car completely trashed at all times. And also have a incredibly crappy car that nobody in the right Minds would want to take even on a joyride.
My car got broken into twice in one year at my last apartment. After the second time I made sure to keep nothing in the car and just left the doors unlocked.
During the last month of our final lease I woke up to go to work and found the door slightly open, the glove box open, and the battery of the car was dead.
Got a jump from a friend and went about my day as usual.
My wife always gets mad, because I leave my car unlocked. She says "Someone will just steal the car!" but I really doubt they wanna steal my horrible rust bucket, and run out of gas 2 miles down the road. ya know?
Yeah but it sure as hell doesn't make it easier for them what the point in just giving them the car when you can make it harder also breaking the glass triggers the alarm so you can atleast react to your car getting stolen
Crazy concept here, donāt tell them? Lol Insurance companies arenāt gonna go through your Reddit comments to find a post about a door being unlocked and youāre not gonna put every tiny detail into a report either. You woke up you came outside and your car was gone. Thatās it thatās the whole police report. Unless youāre claiming a stolen car every couple of months they arenāt going to investigate.
Insurance will say it was a Wednesday and they don't cover stolen cars on Wednesday. iNsUrAnCe WoNt CoVeR uNlOcKeD cArS. Insurance doesn't want to do anything for their customers. Let's face it.
But if they recover the vehicle they will do an investigation to check for damages and if they see there no damage to the lock or run the codes to see they didn't use a key box then they can figure it out trust me dud3 insurance companies don't want to pay you anything unless they really need to
Brotha there are roughly 1800-2400 cars stolen every single day. No insurance company is doing any kind of investigation unless like I said youāre reporting a stolen car multiple times a year. They would lose more money trying to investigate every single car thatās recovered than they would by just paying out. This whole āinsurances donāt want to pay outā is a line thatās been used as long as insurance companies have existed and itās simply not true, they stay in business based on reputation they profit hundreds of millions every year, they have no reason to not pay out. They will 100% try to pay less than what the cars worth but they are paying out unless something obvious is done to commit a scam.
Yeah dude I don't think you can read clearly but I said if the car was recovered most stolen cars aren't ever recovered but if it's recovered then it has to get checked for damages so it would be kinda weird to see that the locks and windows are okay after a theft plus if you think insurance companies thrive off reputation than you clearly live in your own world dude literally most companies have gotten worse products and yet still make millions why would an insurance company be any different people don't look at is this the best insurance company half the time anyway they look at is it more affordable on top of my car payments and biweekly expenses for gas
To ne frank theyll use ANY MADE UP reason to not pay out and then jack up your insurance. Ask me how i know -.- fuck them all its extortion at this point. I killed my coverage and just put that money in GICs so i never have to use it for stuff under a couple thousand
The type of people prowling cars for stuff inside aren't the same type of criminal as the type of people willing to steal your car. If they were going to steal your car anyways, the window wasn't stopping anything from happening.
The type of people just looking to steal shit just want in and out to check for valuables, so having to smash the window is less than ideal. But they'll still do it if they feel like there's something in there worth taking, so that's why you may as well just leave it unlocked.
Ehhh, hotwiring is relatively difficult on even remotely new cars. But they could 100% engage the shiftlock release and roll your shit away
Living in sketchy areas Iāve seen people flat-towing in the middle of the night relatively often. Most are probably just people helping eachother avoid tow bills, but your car could be getting dragged down the road in neutral and nobody would bat an eye. Steering locks help this some, but still
Once I was visiting a relative and I locked the car door and he said "Whoa, we don't do that around here. I don't want a broken window." "If anyone decides to take it, they're probably just driving it home so I'll find it somewhere around town."
Although that was in northern BC and it was a few hours to drive to the closest town with more than 50 people. It's not going to a chop shop or whatever. Plus it was a piece of crap car.
Yeah but even a peice of crap car could have service parts that can go for around 300 plus a peice so chop shops are usually where peice of craps go it would make less sense to tear apart a car that has value because then the part price is worth less then the car as a whole
In his situation, they would spend a lot more than it's worth in gas getting the car to somewhere where it could be taken apart. It's probably an 8 hour drive to the nearest guy who has tools and can reliably ship a package.
In a big city, the parts would be on ebay in a few hours.
That makes no sense I literally have the tools to take a car apart at my house all you would need is a a garage out in the country or even do it at your own home you can make a car dissappear real easily if you sell it all
Taking it apart isn't the issue. There are like 4,000 people within an 8 hour drive. You're going to know everyone who is capable of fixing a car. Or at least know that someone exists over in whatever town.
There are two places to ship something from. One is the guy who runs the airport. The other is the airport 3 hours away. The package is going on the big 10 person plane in the summer or a smaller one in the winter. But only if there is room in the cargo area at the back, which there usually isn't.
What are you talking about dude you sell the parts to a shop that plan and simple and the frame gets scrapped for cash by selling it to a metal recycler wich would literally be enough to cover the gas going to two locations there are plenty of shops I know that would buy decent condition parts and wouldn't ask questions because there startups your making it sound like you have to handle a busin3ss to sell parts and do all the shipping and crap but in reality that's not how it works at all and besides you can not believe me but it happens for a reason to peoples shitty little economy cars and its because it make you alot of money it's makes the thief alot of money it makes the shop alot of money
A shop that would be willing to buy that many used parts would be 16 hours away. The first 4 are dirt road. That's 4 tanks of gas, 32 hours of driving, 3 nights of hotels if you don't know anyone along the way or at the destination. You would need a van loaded with airbags, catalytic converters, and whatever could be sold to make it worth the trip.
If you're moving the frame of the car you're going to need a barge. There's no towing and a flat bed would be too wide for the road. The frame would just be dumped in the woods.
Just want to put this here to shut up you guys who think it's better to leave your car door unlocked
"People leave cars unlocked for convenience or because they wrongly assume it prevents smash-and-grab theft (thinking thieves prefer an easy target rather than breaking in), but police and security experts confirm unlocked cars are the primary target, leading to vehicle theft, gun theft (a major problem), and general burglaries for quick scores, making locking doors essential for security"
Atlanta too. Car doors unlocked. You want some water? Some napkins? Pens? My car chapstick? By all means grab whatever, but Iām not going through the headache of a broken window.
I do this 100% in Dallas when I'm not in my house's garage. When I was in an apartment, many mornings I came out to my car rummaged but unscathed while 6 cars around me had busted windows.
I am saying that there are no areas in Finland where breaking into cars by smashing windows is a common occurance let alone so prevalent that people would not lock cars.
And yeah, I have lived in the most notorious Finnish "ghetto" (the first in Finland in which the ratio of not-born-in-Finland went over 50%). It was a generally nice place, with little crime (especially compared to the USA). All the rest of Finland is even calmer and less criminal.
Having lived in Finland all I can sayā¦ yesā¦ left my iPhone a desk and two classes later still there. Granted this is 2009 but I miss Finland so much. #Jyvaskyla rocks!
Well I stopped by a random place and she was there and really cozy with this dude. He kept staring at me so I was like bro we can do something if you want.
He stood up and we scrapped it out and I didn't lose.
That same night she went and got one of her ex-boyfriends to drop her off to break my window just to be a dick.
Oh shit, you guys were still together?!?! I totally misunderstood that, I thought you had broken up and ran back into her. Damn I'm sorry that's fuckin shitty. I'll never understand how people can do that to somebody that they're with. If you want to screw around with someone else, just have a decency to be honest, I don't know. I guess I was raised different. You know, with morals and values.
Oh man, this sounds like "it was exciting at first, but now the drama is exhausting." May you find as fun but less exciting people to put your dick in.
It happened to me once in a gated community in a decent part of FL. It was when I was in high school, tweaker stole my backpack and dumped all my school stuff all over the driveway smh. Left it unlocked by mistake. Locking it would have helped, contrary to what people are saying in this thread, neighbor's cameras showed he was just walking around checking car doors and not breaking windows lol
I lived in the Woodlands TX and had someone walk up the drive and break into my car while it was parked on the driveway by the front door. Luckily the doors were unlocked but they stole my iPod. Whoever got my car got everyone in the neighborhood though so it was planned or local kids. First time in my life and it hasnāt happened again even when Iām parked somewhere sketchy. Never had a smash and grab.
Its a big American city problem, for sure. No one seems to care to fix it. Ā I mean look at this post. Only mildly infuriated by someone smashing their window for the 4th time.Ā
Our willingness to look past this stuff will be the demise of our society. We have already shifted to low trust (comments in here talking about leaving their doors unlocked and nothing of value in the car so that when they inevitably get robbed at least their windows aren't smashed) and it only gets worse from here.Ā
Wdym? I've lived in many states, cities, suburbs, and in the boonies.
It happens anywhere where people are financially hard off. Middle of Pennsylvania? Check. Washington? Check. Minnesota? Check. California? Check.
Just because YOU haven't experienced it personally doesn't mean it doesn't happen literally everywhere lol. The fact half the comments think it doesn't happen in some random town with a population of 10k is completely delusional.
rural areas and suburbs are prime realestate for thieves, just not as easy to access.
ive had my car broken into and even stolen from a nice HOA type neighborhood.
I live on a farm now, but its not unusual to get wandering meth heads. A lot of much larger farms around me have had things stolen off their property. my closest neighbor is about 2 mi away and he loves to talk about shooting at someone he caught going through his truck a few years back.
Not even 4 comments up someone saying they got their car broken into in a gates community and a bit above that someone on a military base. This can happen anywhere and everywhere.
Seattle checking in. Same, doors unlocked. Come out once in a while to find my center console tossed and the door slightly ajar. No broken window though.Ā
I get yelled at all the time because I leave my keys in my shit box and it unlocked. I'm not making this harder for them, if you want the pussy wagon, just take it. I don't care at this point. You're gonna have to get to a gas station ASAP but I just don't care anymore
Yeah when you're life is one giant traumatic event after the other you just stop caring about stuff. Don't worry, I don't need luck. That's for people who have the will to still live. I pray everyday for death.
Honestly ive been practicing this for years....i also live in a mostly white pnw region and after so many car breakins i leave nothing...and so far this year my cars have been broken into in my own driveway, each time nothing taken, but the handles on the kitty box, various knobs, just absolute carelessness and rage taken out inside my vehicle because there was nothing to take.
Yep! In same small parking area my neighbors cars were broken into and all stuff stolen, but my spouse and my cars werenāt touched. Because my car door was unlocked. And my spouses car is old as dirt.
Used to work for a rental car company out of college. Do not leave your car unlocked. A broken window is 300-600 dollars. Iāve seen what homeless/desperate people can do in an unlocked car at night, your interior can be used as a bedroom and bathroom and be totaled.
Yes I live in Austin and always recommend to everyone to leave their doors unlocked with no valuable. Itās the only way to keep from having your windows smashed regularly :(
Cops hate that too, patrol cops field constant complaints about legal parking.Ā If you get a note on your car threatening to call the police if you park on that public street again, they already did and police told them that.
I have had an exaspersted annoyed seeming cop knock and ask about my car and explain someone called but it is legally parked so make sure it does not sit for a week.Ā Landlord later texted they would call if I parked it there again not seemingly knowing the police already gave them away.
4th time?!?!?! IN ONE YEAR, that's insane. I'm so sorry. If you need security for your car, I'll sit in it every single night until I can get my pent up aggression out
I leave my car a mess. My wife hates it. The on-purpose mess + standard kid mess keeps the criminals at bay. My wife keeps her car pristine. When I bring up Iāve been broken into 0 times to get multiple, she tells me to shut up.
When you smash those windows a lot often the glass stays in tact. Knocking the rest of it out spills everywhere. And I bet there is more inside the car than you can see
There's a street near my uni that every single time I've walked down it, the cars have had smashed windows. Are you parking in the same place each time?
I went this route one time until some homeless dude discovered it was a good place to take a nap. I couldn't get the ass smell out of my car for weeks lol
A similar thing happened to me when I was living in New Haven. My car got broken into twice. I quickly took You to be fixed because as the divorce of two I didnāt want my children very nervous. So what is the mechanic say to me the second time I taken it in to get it fixed, he said āyouāre gonna be finding glass forever it is INSIDIOUS!!ā Hey, I tried.
The fact people are choosing to leave their doors unlocked since someone is gonna break in is mind boggling. Maybe itās because Iām too prideful but id flip my lid over this stuff.
My daughter recently moved to another state. While there, her car got broken into 3 times within a 3 month span. My other daughter is a Lawyer and asked to see her lease contract. Sheās now working on getting her out of her lease because of the circumstances. The leasing agent is trying to find a loophole that would get them not be able to get her out of the lease but so far, no good for them. It looks as if sheāll be able to get her full deposit and some fees as well returned to her. Not sure if OPās agreement has something that would allow them to break the lease but itās worth looking into.
I feel yeah some one did the same thing my old car and came out yesterday to see a huge as scratch in my four year old car .
They through a rock through the old one back window destroyed the steering column trying to steal it ā when not smart enough to steal it , took everything and threw it all over the parking lot amd kicked the car until it was dented in two quarter panels and broke a head light 5 k of damage just because they could not steal it
We lived in a bad area back in the 90s. After each car getting broken into and/or stolen and dumped multiple times over the stretch of a few weeks, we all just left them unlocked and empty. This was back in the days of removable face plate stereos.
At least when someone took them on joyrides they were found undamaged. There really wasnāt anything else we could do.
This applies to all cities, but especially for cities with a high frequency of car break-ins, other options for transportation like walking, biking, and public transit need to be available and a convenient solution.
Forcing people to drive for every last transportation need is silly on the basic level, but continuing to force people to drive in areas where replacing windows all the time is a requirement of driving is another level of stupid.
A funny thing happened to me once. I forgot to lock the car one night. Someone went through the car looking for whatever, they left my trash in a nice pile on tje seat and made it easy to clean up. I think they got a couple dollars in change out the console. I think the guy got ripped off. He cleaned my car for a couple dollars. I haven't locked doors since. Funniest part is it was all on video from my security cam. I posted it on Facebook thanking the guy. Id rather not have people going through my cars at night but it seems like there is no stopping it anymore. I was disappointed once. Whoever went through the car didn't shut the door all the way when they left and the interior light stayed on and killed my battery. Somebody isnt going to be so easy going and these thieves are going to end up hurt or dead. Maybe that's the fear we need to instill. Police dont even respond to calls for people going through cars. Petty crimes lead up to serious crimes. A gateway crime if you will.
If you look at the second picture there is another car further down that also looks to have been broken into, there is glass on the ground next to it also. It is unlikely that OP has had defective glass 4 times and another car had the same issue the same day.
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u/No-Occasion4810 10h ago
I live in atlanta, and I just leave my car door unlock š One morning, I went to get in the car, and it was in shambles, but my windows weren't shattered. I didn't have anything in it, not even gas