The reason I ask, today at work my coworkers brand new Evo was broken into and the stereo stolen. My wagon was parked right next to it, I guess they didn't want the 1965 Buick AM/FM radio. It really pisses you off to see how they hack up everything for a stupid stereo. My Dad and I have been talking about looking into LOJACK® the past couple of years for all our older cars. Kill swiches and clubs can only do so much. My wife's new Trailblazer has OnStar®, it also has a theft recovery mode like LOJACK®. It's just nice to know that's it's there in case you need it. There seems to be more and more older cars that are being reported stolen here on the HAMB and other boards. I am just curious if any HAMBers have had it installed or thought about LOJACK® or any other devices or services for their older cars. Thanks, Sean Let's get this out of the way now, I do not work for or install or endorse any LOJACK® products. I play with die cast cars all day and read the HAMB.
This is one I would like to see a better, non-smart assed comment to. Face it kids, Hotrods are becoming alot more popular with the current crop of TV shows and that means people other than hotrodders are going to want your car. Theft has been a reality for a while, I used to do underdash and theft recovery work to get enough money to start my business. I can tell you your club will not stop a 15 year old kid with a hacksaw blade. All it will do is give him a weapon to destroy more of your car with. My brother had every know device to stop a thief on his 65 Malibu SS. We build a killer car for him, best of everything. It had a Clifford alarm, paging system, back up battery, kill switch (hidden under the seat that grounded out the ignition system) and the ever present CLUB with the fancy pants aluminum cap over the steering wheel. Someone with a flat bed rig snatched it up without a trace six years ago and has never been seen since. Same weekend someone ripped off my best friends 70 F100 we hotrodded with a Volare', 460 and such. No alarm stuff but gone never to be seen again. My brother now is a Glendale AZ police officer. They use Lojack and OnStar to find cars. It works, so long as the battery is connected. I hear the OnStar can be defeated with a pull of one easy to access fuse, rumor maybe. Hopefully the thieves take your car somewhere where the cops are willing to go and retrieve your car. Around here if you don't notice your car missing in an hour or two the car will be in Mexico before you get a chance to use the fancy new theft recovery gear!
This is an area I know a lot about. Onstar used to be disabled by simply unscrewing the antenna. If the battery is disconnected onstar is useless too. As far as lojack goes The unit does have a small battery pack attached to it. However this setup is easy to detect. It transmits radio signal that can be scanned for. Sometimes it is only activated after you report your vehicle stolen and by then your car is dismantled or in a garage or trailer where the signal can't get out. The thief will find the transmitter in time and disable it or if it happens to broadcast while he is driving away with your vehicle he may simply choose to dump your car or truck in a lake and move on to the next car. Best protection you can get is a simple kill switch. You also don't want to be tracked by your lojack or onstar if you decide to do a crime yourself or have a fight with the wife and she reports your car stolen or what have you. These devices let the thief get away. Modern alarms can be defeated with code scanners as well. I'm not a thief just happen to see a lot of things having a shop in NYC most of my life.
Thanks ELpolacko for your comments. All those anti-theft devices and your brothers Chevelle was no match for a flatbed truck, that sucks! Aedan, sorry if I just assumed that everyone knows what LOJACK is. It's a hidden recovery system that the police use to help locate your vehicle, it's generally offered on new cars as an option. Some insurance companies even give discounts if your vehicle is LOJACK equiped. Here is the link to their site http://www.lojack.com/ We all spend a lot of time and money on our vehicles. I want to enjoy and drive them and have some peace of mind that if it does get stolen I still have a chance to get it back. I know nothing is fool proof and there's got to be a way around LOJACK.
Does anyone else have anything to add to this? Here's their site: http://www.lojack.com/ Dave http://www.roadsters.com/
i know about the gas mileage in most hotrods and customs isn't that great do what i do keep the tank just below 1/4 full they can't go far with it then walk two blocks and stop at the gas station on your way to your car
LoJack is a theft recovery system, there's a transmitter hidden in your vehicle, so that the police can track and recover your car. Lojack is great and works well and most vehicles are recovered quickly especially in a metro area. Here in Houston there are alot of police cars and few helicopters with the recievers in them and they use them, because it usually leads to more than just one car being found. As soon as you file a report they enter it as stolen and the transmitter kicks on automatically. If you have alot of time invested in your car; you will like it. Onstar is OK, but if it is stolen Lojack is the way to go. They really work.--I don't work for them either
I went to the lojack web site, and entered my zip code into their dealer locator. This is what it said: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=350 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>We are sorry, but there are no results in your area.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> That's the problem with a lot of these "systems" in that there is no coverage outside major cities. <SCRIPT type=text/javascript>BT_TrackEvent('DealerLocator','Channel=dlr&Zip=73145');</SCRIPT>
That's the lojack's major shortcoming. Socal is pretty well covered but we midwesterners aren't so lucky. The lojack works by transmitting a signal, but you also need a lojack receiver equipped cruiser to pass within a certain distance and follow the signal to the car. The distance is not very impressive by rural standards, so don't be counting on it to recover your car stolen from an out of state event.
professionals will already know your car has it..they have a device to tell them its there..(thats why they are called "professionals") within minuets of that lojacked car being stolen the transmitter is cut, and or removed. you need your own device, that you can track, and only you know about it..(keep your mouth shut) than if you feel you need to do the legal thing call the cops on your cell phone as you follow the vehicle in a friends car. or do what ever.....(you know)
after reading a few of these threads it appears that disabling the car is the only option but the method is difficult do to the fact the thieves are more on the ball than we as owners are , my daughters car was broken into at wally world and her car alarm was screaming at maximum output but it didnt slow the thief down one little bit and the sad part of the whole shitty situation was on the survelance tape people were just walking right by the car as if not a thing in the world was going on! im just glad she was in the store and not in or around her car .. anyhow other than putting a kill switch in our rides or lojack or whatever theres just doesnt appear to be a whole lot we can do other than keeping an eye out for each other , i will admit its not a perfect plan but it looks like its all we got... now im gonna paint my trailer titty pink and put mary kays logo on it .. it will probablly get boosted by a gang of MILFs with cosmetic issues!!
trust me..no matter how the lojack unit is activated..professionals know if its there or not.. again thats how they get away with cars that have the lojack system..or lojack would be able to boast 100% recovery..and they dont and cant. some saturday night thief..well he will get his ass handed to him..also you have the law enforcement end of this..they have the equipment to track the lojack..if they move on it agressively..and quickly. lojack has out of service areas that make this equipment not as reliable as one would think. professionals also know where these "areas" are..and use them to their advantage. Im not saying dont use the lojack system..hey its a good tool, and it might improve your chances..but if a pro is after your baby.. the only thing thats going to stop him is you..being at your ride when they come for it.
I know a Lojack....he's a mean ass German shepard that lives in a buddies garage. (sorry...I thought that was the best name for a guard dog ever.) This has been an issue since the dawn of hot rodding. We gotta build a better mouse trap. until that happens...looks like I'm sleeping in the truck. (when on the road.) as far as being on the home front, there has got to be a better way...it's just hard as hell to deter a flatbed. I guess the general idea is to make it such a pain in the ass to get to the car that no thief really wants to go to the trouble of possibly getting caught.
Not to sidetrack this too far, but ever see that "to catch a thief" show? Point being, the show's burglar not only stole some guy's project truck out of his shop, but the guard dog happily jumped in the passenger seat and rode away. Bet there's a lot of those guard dogs out there.
yep..yer right.. ever sit in the "front" seat of one of those specially eqipped police cars . and have the cop show you what the screen shows them when the unit was found by the thief? a big nothing.. also..what shows up on the screen when there is "no service in the area".. hey lojack is a start..no doubt about it..personally if i had a sweet ass ride like the ones that have been getting pinched lately..i would opt. for the GPS and my own tracking device. plus i would not leave something like that out waiting to see if it would be my turn next on this board reporting my hard earned time and money stolen. I would be watching it like a Hawk! we need to band togeather to slow this down..Eyes and watching Bodies Stop this kind of theft Dead in its tracks!
I posted this in 2006. Did not pursue it but still feel it's a good option. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128630&highlight=stolen
www.anytrack.com someone posted this website a while ago and I ended up getting one. I like that its in your hands. I have tested it in a locked metal glovebox and it worked. It gives the street address and a map of where its at. I also like that you can move it from car to car or your wifes purse and finally catch that cheatin' whore! (just joking) Its works by cell phone or gps or both and has a recharchable battery that lasts about a week. I use it and a silent alarm that pages me if someone opens the door of the car. If im really in a weird area Ill even pull the coil fuse. In my A its a bitch to get too.
that anytrack-100 looks like it would fit the bill..and it isnt that expensive when you conciter how much blood, sweat, tears and money that go into cars like the ones that have gotten lifted lately
well.. heres the problem fellas.. with 2 seconds of searching on the tarnet.. Location: /Jammers & Blockers High Power GPS Blocker/Jammer with AC Adapter and Car Charger Product Information - Rechargeable (by included AC adapter and Car charger) - Blocks GPS reception and prohibits all GPS-enabled device from tracking your current location - Large high gain removeable jammer antenna - Super compact design ALL SALES FINAL! Price: $119.99
you also have to hope them cops think its "sport" to track down your Lojack car signal, In LA they are too busy to take a report ! do you think they are going to hunt for your car
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