Our son bought his first car yesterday, a 1991 Integra LS. Wife and I were lukewarm about it: where to park it, work on it, so on. Also, he's inexperienced, and I don't get around well enough to help him out. Looks nice, 146k miles, but it doesn't accelerate when kyou hit the gas. Seems to sound OK other wise. I haven't ridden in it, so I don't know if it bogs down or what. But the car was only $1k, one of those "it's so cheap!" knee-jerk purchases, which he is prone to fall for.

Now we find out it's highly sought after by car thieves, so I'm thinking: steering wheel lock, Air Tags, etc. Any other ideas? Also can the beep on the ATs be turned off?

TIA

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I'd go with an airtag. GPS devices tend to have monthly fees - do you want to pay $10/month to track a $1,000 item? Maybe you do, I'm not sure I would.

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AirTags give a warning to the thief after a certain time.

I realized that AirPods could be used for tracking and I don't think they give a warning. But that is a much more expensive solution.
I am not sure what is actually being tracked; the ear buds or the case? if it's the case, maybe someone lost their ear buds and sell the empty case for cheap on eBay. Then you could use that to track, just charge it once in a while, or find a way to plug it into 12V with a USB adapter and hide it.

Do you live in a high theft area?

Just locking the car defeats a lot of theft if it's parked in a well lit area.

Kill switch on the fuel pump.

Viper car alarm

AirTags do NOT prevent theft!!! They will only let you know where your car is AFTER it's been stolen. Which may or may not do you any good. If they went for a joy ride and left it somewhere easily accessible, sure, you'll get it back. If they stole it for parts and it's in a chop shop or a container to be shipped overseas, well, you'll know where it is, but you'd have to rely on the cops to actually get it back (so, it depends on how cooperative your local PD is).

The "beep" cannot be turned off. You can remove the speaker pretty easily, with varying levels of success depending on the method chosen and your care/skill. Search YouTube for different methods. I prefer the drill method but it requires buying a specialized drill bit. I tried on of the knife methods and broke the case, so at some point I have to glue it back together (I just keep it closed with tape at the moment since it's hidden in the care).

Note that the thief will still receive a notification on their phone that an AirTag is tracking them after a certain amount of time. Removing the speaker just makes it harder to locate. Although I'd actually recommend a 3rd party AirTag for vehicle tracking, because those don't have the UW chip that allows for precise finding (which will be useless for actually finding a vehicles "out in the wild"). Depending on the vehicle and where the AirTag is, sometimes it's pretty easy to locate with precise finding (and sometimes it's totally useless...). With a 3rd party AirTag (and the speaker removed, but probably harder to figure out how to remove the speaker in a 3rd party AirTag), you'll know there's an AirTag in the car, but have no effective method for finding it, other than searching the entire car.

Something visible like a steering wheel lock is probably best as the first line of defense. Hopefully it would prevent them from even breaking in. A hidden kill switch on the fuel pump (or pulling the fuse) might be more useful in preventing an actual theft, but if they broke the window to find out they can't start the car, you're still out a window repair.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2024 05:03PM by Gareth.

What kind of moron is looking to steal a 33 year old glorified Honda? Maybe a ‘97 Type R but not a ‘91.

AirTags do NOT prevent theft!!!

Nobody said or implied they did.



What kind of moron is looking to steal a 33 year old glorified Honda? Maybe a ‘97 Type R but not a ‘91.


There are a lot of them running around in my area, tricked out and in excellent condition.

Owners are getting the parts somewhere and profiling the cars and drivers, I'm not confident they're buying them from the dealer.

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I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

I like pulling the fuse idea. And maybe leave the can unlocked, if they're gonna break it, a locked car does not stop them, but leaving it unlocked saves you a broken window.

My friend had a jeep with soft cover and he told me he leaves it unlocked, rather than risk having someone cut through the cover.

Quote
Microman
Kill switch on the fuel pump.

This! It will have to become a habit to turn it off EVERY time he parks, but once he does, the car will always be within blocks of where it should be.

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San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

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"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

This! It will have to become a habit to turn it off EVERY time he parks, but once he does, the car will always be within blocks of where it should be.


He will forget on occasion., it is written.

He may be lucky and a lapse doesn't cost him.

A latching relay that disengages power to the fuel pump when the ignition is shut off would preclude forgetfulness.

To start the car, turn on the ignition, push a hidden pushbutton switch, the relay latches powering the fuel pump, start the car.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Yeah that relay idea is the best, as they'll think there's something wrong or the battery is dead. You can also get a battery kill switch but this is more common so they may be hip to that.

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High on a threshold yearning to sing
Down with the dancers having one last fling

Or... You could also find the value of the car and if it's truly a basket case, you know, leave it to fate on the street.

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High on a threshold yearning to sing
Down with the dancers having one last fling

Club on the steering wheel looks clunky, but it advertises you are alert and aware of its appeal. They can cut the steering wheel if they really want it. They could drag it away or strip it on the street even with a kill switch for that matter. After a certain point, you just gotta go with it. Pay for comprehensive insurance, and trade up with the settlement if it's stolen. Maybe a nice Hyundai...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2024 10:08AM by Acer.

Thanks, all!

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Obviously just about any theft deterrent can be overcome.

If they really want it blah blah blah...

Nobody is offering guarantees.

A 'club' alone is next to useless compared to the relay and hidden switch.

It's more of a challenge than a deterrant.

However, if one is wants to use it, there's a metal shield that covers some of the steering wheel and makes a 'club' a lot more effective.

Originally there were shields that covered the entire steering wheel but were a bit unwieldy.

I don't know if something like that is still available.

The point is taking reasonable efforts to make theft less than desirable.

Passive efforts could be far more effective than active efforts that may not always get applied.

A bright motion activated light could help.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Loved my Integra from that era. They still look like hot cars. They go for more than what he paid for it. As long as it doesn't become a money pit, it's all good. The 2001 Acura RSX (Integra) are some seriously coveted vehicles.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2024 02:01AM by vision63.

Quote
lost in space
Now we find out it's highly sought after by car thieves,

I'm not sure that's correct. Perhaps you are confused by much higher desirability of the later RSX versions.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

Before Kias were invented to be stolen, Civics were VERY common. My co worker had his crappy, 150k Civic taken. They did find it a couple of weeks later.

PS An Acura Integra is just a fancy Civic.

Here is an article on a guy saving his Civic with a hidden switch. And a second one 6 months later:


[www.thetruthaboutcars.com]

[www.thetruthaboutcars.com]

Not sure if Civics are in demand any more, but maybe.

Quote
special
I realized that AirPods could be used for tracking and I don't think they give a warning. But that is a much more expensive solution.

I was wondering if AirPods auto-update their location like AirTags, or just report their last known location as seen by the owner's iPhone, but looks like they will auto-update:

"Stolen Ferrari worth $575,000 was found by tracking the owner’s AirPods"
[9to5mac.com]

One could keep the AirPods case plugged in to a USB outlet to keep it charged up... for those fancy enough to use AirPods as trackers!