Expert: Rob Painter, ASE, CFL, CFEI - 10/8/2011

Question
Hello. Recently there has been a series of break-ins in my area. The burglars managed to break into a few cars at the same time by breaking the cars' windows without setting off the alarm. These includes really expensive cars (eg BMW). I was wondering what would set off a standard car alarm , and if it would usually detect a broken window. Are there any ways that I can prevent my car from being a victim as well? I own a Micra K12, which does have an alarm but I'm not sure if it'll be effective in case of a break-in.

Thank you

Answer
Hello,

First, if factory alarm, most don't have an impact sensor and will not detect glass breakage. Factory alarms are problematic, impossible to repair and get parts for. Most work off of current sensing which requires the door to be opened and the dome light to come on before alarm will trigger. It is just another big dollar rip off from the manufacturer.

Then there is the transponder anti-theft systems which do not stop theft, but do stop the owner from driving the car if the keys are lost and they are very expensive to duplicate and program keys.

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to protect from glass breakage. You can have an after market system that has to be properly installed (very rare) with a double guard impact sensor. If a light hit is done to the glass, there will be a warning, but once the window is broken or the door lock is ripped out, the alarm will be triggered.
some goof might tell you to go with a perimeter sensor, so if anyone is near the car, the alarm will sound. Your neighbors will want to kill you to because of all the needless false alarms.

Look, I obviously have no dog in the hunt and am not trying to sell you product. You cannot successfully stop your car from being broken into. No matter what you do, a vehicle is not secure.
With over 30 years of dealing with theft and vandalism and 17 years exclusively devoted to the repair, there is no one that can question my experience in these matters. In most cases, I can stop the car from being driven off, but I cannot, nor can anyone else prevent a break in.
Our advice went against the know everything cops and the insurance companies, but who cares! If you have an after market alarm properly installed, the alarm will trigger once the door is opened. In such cases, we would tell people not to lock their cars and save the damage of a break in.
This is 2011, and I said this in my book in 1998. Thieves are not concerned about alarms and don't count on anyone to call the cops because they don't pay attention to them or in other cases don't want to get involved.
I live in Texas. Unlike Wisconsin where I am from, you can protect property here. I have a concealed carry and I am severely disabled. If I were to catch someone attempting to steal my truck, all I can say is that I will confront them. I do not have a siren that will blare, but I do have a pager that notifies me and I will reach out and touch someone. when my Navigator was attempted to be stolen when I lived in the big city, I was out there immediately and I just missed them. I came out not with the .45 hand gun I carry, but the AR-15 assault rifle and I was ready to rock! I just could not run to catch them. It was their lucky night! This is truly the wild west!
Now, I mentioned a pager. I recommend you Google "Crime Stopper." Harold is the owner and he has made a very good product for close to 30 years. You can install with limited mechanical competence. They have some really neat units that will even tell you the zone that triggered on the pager and much more. Check them out!
If you do have a pager, you have to be willing to confront them.
The other real problem is police agencies and their funding. Cities are down sizing their police forces. There is no money. Auto theft and auto burglaries are a very low priority like loud music. Cops are usually too busy baby sitting on domestic violence and other crimes.
In th large cities in California, if the car is stolen, the cops do not come out. Instead you have to go to the police station to fill out a report!
In Oakland after they laid off 200+ cops, I think it was early this year, the police chief said, if you come home to a break in and you think someone is still in the house, don't call the police because they won't be there!
Its really a bad situation and to top it all off, they early released 6,000 prisoners and in California, you can have open carry of a gun, but it has to be unloaded. I guess a Texan like me would not fit in well there-lol
You did not state where you are from, but I was just giving a comparison between states.
Never carry anything valuable in your car and if you do, keep it concealed in the trunk.
If you have a stereo system, don't blast it anywhere near where you are going to park. This is an advertisement for the system like "steal me!"

Some have left their dog in the car thinking that would deter a thief at a shopping mall. I personally know of such a story in which the idiot friend of mine left his Rot in the car to protect the car. They stole the car and the dog!

It is commonly said by the cops to park in a well-lit area. Some of the goofs I oppose criticize my comments on this issue and took my comments out of context. They claim to be experts on theft and yet they have never once repaired stolen cars, spoken with victims, interviewed thieves. Nothing! Their "forensic" reports for insurance companies will get your auto theft claim denied though. http://www.forensicauto.net
Here is the truth about this being involved in the direct repair of more than 10,000 theft recoveries and vandalism's. 80% of the vehicles we repaired from theft and vandalism taken or broken into at night were under well lit conditions! The thief had light to work by!

The caveat though is in a dark condition, you are taking a chance on personal safety. being in a well lit area assumes you will see a bad guy or someone will call the police if something happens.
Here is a little story on that: Ex wife and I were looking at new cars on a Sunday evening in the summer about 8 pm on a very busy street. All of a sudden a guy appeared from behind. Had his arm around my neck and put a gun to the back of my head. That was when I was stupid and followed the law. My gun was in my truck 200' away. Had I had it, it would have been him or me, but I didn't He got my wallet and said he was going to kill her if she didn't hand over the purse. She ended up disregarding my life and chased the SOB. The police ordeal lasted 3 hours and we were treated as the criminals. After that, I will admit, I took the chance of a misdemeanor and carried everywhere.
As I said, this was in plain view to all the traffic on the street!
I know you asked me about protection from your car being broken into, but I thought I would give you examples of other reasons why you can only count on yourself to protect your property and the problems with counting on law enforcement.
If you have a pager, you will know if someone opens the door and tries to break into the trunk if you install an impact sensor. If you leave it unlocked, you won't have a broken door glass or a punched door lock causing you to shell out the deductible out of your pocket and having a claim against you at least for the glass. Cops who think they know everything will tell you the car has to be locked. There are so many ways to open locked vehicles that locking them just gives the owner a false sense of security. Think about it. It takes the thief a couple seconds longer to break the glass to get in. Did you stop him with a locked door? Of course not! He was not even slowed down! Here is another fact you may not know. The door glass has a very weak point and thieves no this. If one puts a screw driver to the top or side edge in between the rubber channel, it will shatter and you know what? The noise is not even heard when shattered.

Consider my suggestion with the pager and impact sensor and leaving the doors unlocked. You will be one step ahead of the thief, because he does not even know that you are aware of the unauthorized entry.
I am not advocating any violence, however if he lunges at you with a screw driver, you do have to protect yourself.


I hope all this was not too long, but information is power and you need to make informed decisions.

Good luck!

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