Do you leave your car unlocked?

[red-beard]

I live in a very nice gated community in Houston. We do have "armed" security, but mostly we have limited access. Only 2 gates, of which one is for residents only (RFID to open the gate). These are higher end home, average price at least triple the median home price, if not more.

Recently, many cars were "entered" and valuables were stolen. In all of the cases, the cars were unlocked. The thefts occur on the weekend nights (Friday and Saturday), usually 3-5AM. Surveillance cameras have caught a group of "kids" on bicycles, roving the neighborhood tugging on door handles.

People have lost:

A work Mac notebook
A wallet with credit cards and driver's license
iPhone and iPad
Several where the console and glove box were ransacked for small change, minor items (pocket knives, etc).

Even in a gated community, would you leave valuables in an unlocked car? I had higher hopes for the kids in the neighborhood, but humanity has a range.

[Tervuren]

I lock the Jaguar as it causes it to shut down electronics in a faster process and conserve the battery.

Same for the Corvette.

The Porsches I don't lock.

I generally am not a "collector of expensive things to leave around that people tend to steal".

No smartphone do I own, no laptop do I own, etc...

I tend to keep water bottles, some long lasting snack food, and extra clothes in my cars, aside from these they are empty.

If some one needs the jacket, the water, or the food then God bless them.

[stomachmonkey]

Never.

I lock the car if I'm just doing a pit stop at home and intend on leaving again a few minutes later.

It's about maintaining the habit so you don't forget.

And the problems in your hood lately, nearly always those events involve your neighbors kids.

The gates don't do much if the criminals are already inside.

[Tobra]

I never lock the car or leave any valuables in it.

[drkshdw]

I always lock my cars. And set the alarms. Even when I park them in the garage. But I also don't leave anything inside of them. If you have the nerve to break into my garage and then into my car, you deserve to get absolutely nothing. Not even a loose penny.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

And the problems in your hood lately, nearly always those events involve your neighbors kids.

The gates don't do much if the criminals are already inside.

Yeah, the time of the day, the only open gate has a guard. Even residents have to use the guarded gate after 11PM. No doubt, it is neighborhood kids. We have a lot of 1-2 year rentals from overseas oil companies. I expect it is some of those kids.

[flatbutt]

Not anymore. AMW

[stevej37]

I leave the keys in the ignition all the time when the cars are at home in the garage or out.
No crime in my area.
The laws are such that if someone stole one..they could face 20 or more years in prison.

[Hugh R]

When we embarked on our two month RV journey we parked my dd where I normally pay to park the RV a few miles away. I cant put two cars in the garage, and one trick is to smash a car window and use the built-in remote to open the garage door. If I’d had to leave it at the house, I’d have de-programmed the car remote.

[LWJ]

I started never locking back when I had a rag-top MGB. I didn't want to buy a new top so I left it unlocked.

Mostly still do the same. Windows cost more than the stuff inside my car.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by drkshdw

I always lock my cars. And set the alarms. Even when I park them in the garage. But I also don't leave anything inside of them. If you have the nerve to break into my garage and then into my car, you deserve to get absolutely nothing. Not even a loose penny.

Same here. Out of habit, I lock the truck when parked in the garage.

[RKDinOKC]

Left a car outside unlocked with nothing in it, crappy factory stereo, etc. Idiot kids broke the window and got nothing.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I live in a very nice gated community in Houston...
Recently, many cars were "entered" and valuables were stolen. .. I had higher hopes for the kids in the neighborhood, ..

An incident from my yoot: Adjacent to my neighborhood, a crime wave began that lasted a few weeks, it got so out of hand that it made the newspaper. Cars were getting jockey-boxed late at night, anything valuable stolen. IIRC, it was more than 100 cars hit. Some were left unlocked, a situational advantage, some were ransacked with the old smash and grab. They finally caught the perp.

Turned out to be one of the rich kids in the neighborhood. I knew him, he was a really nice kid, everyone liked him. Good parents. Good life. He confessed to the whole thing, said he was bored. He was probably 15 years old.

This was in the 1970's. I'm not sure why you might think the kids where you live adhere to a higher standard of morals, especially in 2018. But I don't have kids, so I'm probably speaking out of turn....

[RKDinOKC]

When I had a 914 I left it parked all the time with the targa roof in the trunk. They could easily break a window and steal the roof. Happened to several 914s around town at the time. Also took the face plate trim from around the radio, took off the knobs, and added some dummy wires so it looked broken. Worked great, never had anything stolen and that's when car stereos disappeared frequently. Even had the stereos stolen from cars on either side of the 914 in a parking lot at night, but not the broken looking 914 stereo. And it was a more expensive stereo than in either of the other cars.

[Mark Henry]

Lock 'em in town, used to when I lived in the city, but last 20 years never lock my cars at home.
I/we never leave anything of value in cars.

Only teenagers around are my own, their friends all live 5+ miles away and are all good kids. Someone's always home and the dog will bark if anything is on the property.

[Khal]

I don't lock my truck or my Porsche. My wife thinks I'm crazy not doing this when inside a 711 a few yards from the vehicle. I figure if they are that crazy to jack my car infront of me I'm out of bubblegum and going to default on some kicking ass. Plus the odds of that aren't likely going to happen.

I do lock them if they sit outside the garage because I know somebody will come looking. But when I lived in LA I learned not to lock any car anywhere because they'll smash your window in even if the vehicle is unlocked. So the best option is leave nothing in it and don't lock your window it will get smashed. Same thing on HI by locals.

[pete3799]

Every vehicle i own (5) is sitting right now unlocked , keys in the ignition. Even the Porsche although it's in a locked garage.

[jcommin]

Never. I don't leave valuables in it either.

[masraum]

I lock all cars all of the time.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

....

Turned out to be one of the rich kids in the neighborhood. I knew him, he was a really nice kid, everyone liked him. Good parents. Good life. He confessed to the whole thing, said he was bored. He was probably 15 years old.

This was in the 1970's. I'm not sure why you might think the kids where you live adhere to a higher standard of morals, especially in 2018. But I don't have kids, so I'm probably speaking out of turn....

Yep....similar story....from shoplfting, dine & dashing, vandalism, to breaking & entering...rich kids....the country club type. Don't know if it was boredom, but I knew more than a handful back in the day....

Me...all cars, all the time too...but I've never locked a motorcycle or my hs Jeep CJ5....no top usually.

If I had a convertable, I would probably leave it unlocked...