Do you leave your car locked or unlocked?

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

Noticed this idea starting on the gear thread. I always leave mine unlocked with no items of value anywhere apart from the trunk occassionally. I figure why lock when they can slash the roof to get any items out.

And if someone wants the car enough to steal it then they would probably break the window or slash the roof to get in but that wouldn't matter seen as I won't be seeing it again.

But I feel it's more likely someone will try and take something from the inside rather than the car itself. So in efforts of roof preservation I leave it unlocked.

Although, I bet if I had central locking I would lock it alot more, it's just a pain in the *** leaning over locking from the inside :lol:

[redjeff]

I always leave mine unlocked. Several years ago a friend of mine changed out his top on a MGB. Two days later he came out from a high school basketball practice to fine a couple of the neighbor"hood"s juvenile delinquents inside. They had cut the top with a pocketknife and were rifling through his glove box......

Locks only keep the Honest people out.

[RotorNutFD3S]

I lock mine. But then again, it's usually only parked at my house, someone else's house, or at work, which now, is a Federal Trade Zone, and is heavily guarded. lol
And when it's raining or cold out, the hardtop is on anyway.

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

Yeah I can imagine locking mine alot more if I had a hard top on it.

[RotorNutFD3S]

It's a very wise investment. Just save some money and wait for a deal to come around. They do. You just have to be ready to pounce the second you find one. lol

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

:lol: me have that kind of money laying around long enough??

[RotorNutFD3S]

:lol: I feel the same way, but I got mine for $350, and I know that's rare.

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

:jawdrop: jammy bagga

[RotorNutFD3S]

However, I had to drive to Biloxi, Mississippi to get it. And I had a clutch line failure while driving on the coastline, it was a Sunday, so no one was open except Advance. I fabbed up a temporary hardline and got on the way home a few hours and a suntan later. Was not a fun trip, but overall, it was worth it.

[jesseealexander]

unlocked, all the time. sometimes i dont even put the top up. i dont leave ANYTHING worth taking in it. if they wanna take something, they can take it either way, and if they wanna steal it, its not gonna matter either way.



However, I had to drive to Biloxi, Mississippi to get it. And I had a clutch line failure while driving on the coastline, it was a Sunday, so no one was open except Advance. I fabbed up a temporary hardline and got on the way home a few hours and a suntan later. Was not a fun trip, but overall, it was worth it.



my slave cylinder went out in panama city on spring break 2 weeks after i got the motor in. that sucked lol.

[Doppelgänger]

I used to leave my 96 and 99 unlocked all the time. Nothing in the car was worth more than the top itself. My 02 has remote and an alarm... most of the time I lock it. My only thing is that i'd be afriad of someone trying to get i nthe car, setting off the alarm and getting pissed and cutting the top just because :(. I really lock the car just to set the shock sensor so i can gear if someone bumps into my car.

[MeFryRice]

I always lock my car, even if I have nothing of value inside.

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

You have remote locking don't you? I think that seems to be the deciding factor for alot of people.

[Grantri]

Never locked. Unless its pouring rain the top is down anyway . I've done the interior trunk release mod on both cars so there is a bit of semi secure storage.My XM unit comes with me and the wife's faceplate comes off her radio leaving nothing of value to steal.They sleep in a locked garage at night and both of them are fairly safe during the work day

[Doppelgänger]

Yeah, Jenn's car and my car both sleep in garages when we are at home and we both have nice covered parking decks at work.

[Doppelgänger]

You have remote locking don't you? I think that seems to be the deciding factor for alot of people.


I'd say so.... because it's so easy.

[MeFryRice]

You have remote locking don't you? I think that seems to be the deciding factor for alot of people.


Yup! :D

[RotorNutFD3S]

I can't wait until I have remote start and an alarm system again. Remote controlling is so much nicer!

[Doppelgänger]

I don't get the point of remote start :wtf:

[RotorNutFD3S]

It's a convenience thing. Nice in the winter to have the car warm when you get in it too.
It's also good on turbo cars because the car is that much closer to operating temps so you can get on it when you leave. lol And then some have a rundown timer too, just like a turbo timer.

[Doppelgänger]

ahhhh.

turbo timer? what's that? I don't have one.....hehehe

[RotorNutFD3S]

:) I never used the rundown timer because all the turbos I've ever used are BB and water-cooled. Plus I'm not boosting down my driveway or anything. lol

[JennB]

I used to leave my 96 and 99 unlocked all the time. Nothing in the car was worth more than the top itself. My 02 has remote and an alarm... most of the time I lock it. My only thing is that i'd be afriad of someone trying to get i nthe car, setting off the alarm and getting pissed and cutting the top just because :(. I really lock the car just to set the shock sensor so i can gear if someone bumps into my car.


And then you'd just get a brand new top because we have really good insurance.

My car is always locked. We have a two car garage at home and they are all safe and sound in there and at work, I can literally see my car from where I sit, plus we have a lot of security. There is nothing in my car to steal, I am not one to keep things in there. I would rather not make it too easy for someone to just open up my car and mess with it.

[Doppelgänger]

:) I never used the rundown timer because all the turbos I've ever used are BB and water-cooled. Plus I'm not boosting down my driveway or anything. lol

Exactly. I always drive nice and slow through my neighborhood which makes for ample time to cool down.

[MeFryRice]

ahhhh.

turbo timer? what's that? I don't have one.....hehehe


Reminds me of a time when I had the MR2T and got out of the car to run into Home Depot when someone came up to me in the store and said "sir, I just wanted to let you know that you walked off with the car still on but I noticed there were no keys in the ignition. Is something wrong with your car?" I just laughed and explained it to him. He thought it was "nifty". :P

[Sawyer]

I don't understand leaving your top down all the time.
I get the whole "if they want it, they will find a way to get it" but having your top down makes you an easy target. I'd bet that if the top was up they probably would have just walked past your car. With the top down, it's too easy to just pry open the glovebox or hot wire the car. To me, it's just screaming "Steal me!"

Just my two cents..

[JennB]

Or "throw your trash in my car". I NEVER leave my top down.

[Sawyer]

Or "throw your trash in my car". I NEVER leave my top down.


The very first car meet I took the MSM to, I only had the car for about a week and I left the top down.. Came back and found cigarette butts in my footwell.
Oh I was PISSED!

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

That's just downright disrespectful to happen at a meet. I tend to just pull the top up but not lock it when I'm parked for a bit, to keep the sun and trash out.

[metalman]

I dont lock my car. There's nothing in it either.

[RotorNutFD3S]

Or "throw your trash in my car". I NEVER leave my top down.


The very first car meet I took the MSM to, I only had the car for about a week and I left the top down.. Came back and found cigarette butts in my footwell.
Oh I was PISSED!

I had that happen at one of the Varsity gatherings. Well, it was trash, so not quite as bad as cigarette butts, but people are telling me to chill out because it's not a big deal. Sorry, respect is a big deal to me.

[MeFryRice]

I agree. I would have went off if someone told me to just relax. That makes me more angry then I would already be...

[Doppelgänger]

Pray for the person i catch throwing something in my car....

[jesseealexander]

I don't understand leaving your top down all the time.
I get the whole "if they want it, they will find a way to get it" but having your top down makes you an easy target. I'd bet that if the top was up they probably would have just walked past your car. With the top down, it's too easy to just pry open the glovebox or hot wire the car. To me, it's just screaming "Steal me!"

Just my two cents..


miatas arent a choice car to steal. plus my car is kinda ugly as far as paint goes, so im not that worried about it. on top of the fact that i try not to park out of sight in any unfamiliar places, and theres not many places i go where car theft is a big enough problem to worry about (discover mills is a no-go for me :naughty:). and its not that i leave it down so if they wanna steal my **** they can do it without cutting the top, its because theres nothing in my car worth stealing when im not in it, so theres no point.

[Roadster]

Ahem...mine stays unlocked. ;)

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/NismoSER/DSC_05441.jpg

[HaveSand]

Always unlocked, usually top up (to keep the sun off), windows down, back window unzipped, one latch fastened. Then I can get the top back down (where it belongs) quickly, when I'm ready to roll.

[Jack-MX5ATLanta.com]

That's what I like to hear.

Tommy, I almost feel like bringing my torque wrench to pop off that steering wheel next time :lol: Then we'll see how cocky you are about theft prevention!

[Roadster]

That's what I like to hear.

Tommy, I almost feel like bringing my torque wrench to pop off that steering wheel next time :lol: Then we'll see how cocky you are about theft prevention!


Very soon it'll have a quick release so I can take the wheel off and either keep it with me or lock it in the trunk. ;)

[redrumracer]

I dont have door handles so im not sure on how to answer this question.

[silver280zx]

I keep mine unlocked usually, but i dont keep anything valuable in it. Now the Z stays locked. Ya and to those guys talking about throwing trash in their cars, i wouldnt take that. People do crap to my Z all the time, and i dont understand why you would want to mess up a clean classic car.