How to keep my car safe parked outdoors?

December 15, 2015 1:42 PM

I am going to be moving to a new city and for the first time will be keeping my car parked on the street 24/7. This is unavoidable. Are there any suggestions y'all have for keeping my car safe beyond the usual (park under streetlight, keep valuables out)? Perhaps some way of making it so it can't be started if broken into?
posted by holmesian to Travel & Transportation (21 answers total)

Best answer: I've lived in cities with a lot of car theft, and this is what I've learned:

First rule of city street (or driveway) parking is to not leave ANYTHING in your car - even if it has no value. Even some non-valuable crap in your car signals to a thief that there may be something of value in there. Don't have a GPS holster, iPhone cords, a sunglass case, or even like the manual laying out. If you leave something of value in there, then you're just sort of asking for it.
Second rule/recommendation in my Seattle neighborhood is SOME people leave their doors unlocked because the robbery is better than replacing a broken window. I wouldn't do that right away, but get the vibe of your neighborhood via Nextdoor. I personally don't do this, but I would.
Third rule is that often if your car is stolen, someone just needed to get somewhere, and your car is likely to be found in a few weeks a few miles away, maybe smelling like smoke. This has happened 90% of the time that someone I know had their car stolen. Older Subarus seem to be very popular for this.
Fourth rule is to think about getting a Nest (or similar) cam and point it at your car so at least you have the video of your car being broken into.
posted by k8t at 1:48 PM on December 15, 2015 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Nothing left in the car ever. No charging cords, no clothing, no bags that look like they have something inside, no AUX cords, no accessories, no knick-knacks, nothing at all, not even a single coin. Most car-related crime is smash and grab and not stealing the car itself unless you have a make/model that's famous for being stolen (older Hondas and Toyotas are usually on that list).

Don't leave your doors unlocked. Depending on your area, that can invite people to use your car to sleep in or use as a toilet.

Make sure your insurance coverage is up-to-date and covers things that you may not have anticipated living where you are now.
posted by quince at 1:52 PM on December 15, 2015 [5 favorites]

Best answer: I am one of those people k8t talks about who leaves their car unlocked all the time. Replacement windows are more expensive than anything in my car. It's what works for me. I learned this "lesson" after somebody broke my window to try (unsuccessfully) to steal the cd player.

If you live someplace that experiences winter, prepare yourself now for heavy freezes, ice, and road salt (especially if a plow comes by and lumps an entire street worth of bullshit on top of you) to just trash the thing aesthetically.

If you live someplace that experiences summer, prepare yourself now for sunlight and heat to just trash the thing aesthetically.

On the plus side, after several years of living on the streets of Chicago, my car is in no way even remotely appealing to potential thieves!
posted by phunniemee at 1:55 PM on December 15, 2015 [6 favorites]

Careful that leaving your car unlocked doesn't void your coverage. I expect most policies will have terms requiring the insured to take reasonable steps to secure the vehicle. I looked into this because I had 2 instances in 6 months of the window smashed, though nothing of real value taken. Now I keep all items, valuable or not, completely out of sight. My car is dirty and worth very little, and since I have hid everything no more breakins.
posted by HoteDoge at 1:58 PM on December 15, 2015

I totally agree about leaving nothing to steal in there (including anything electronic and/or their holders), but disagree about leaving your car unlocked; I go the opposite direction, and had an ignition kill switch (sometimes called an ignition interlock) installed --- someone might someday break my window but the ignition kill switch will prevent them from stealing the car.

Basically, the goal is to make your vehicle less appealing to thieves..... you know that old joke about how in a zombie invasion you don't have to be the fastest person running from the zombies, but you don't want to be the slowest? Crooks are the zombies here, and you want other peoples' cars to be the slower runners.
posted by easily confused at 2:17 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Start scouring the neighborhood to find a covered parking space in a garage. It's worth the $100 or so per month. I ain't even lying. You would be surprised at the places that would rent you a parking space. You'll save a lot of money on parking tickets too. It's so much more convenient.

I lived in Oakland and San Francisco and I've had my car broken into. It totally sucks. For sure leave ZERO in the car. Even change in the ashtray is a target.

No CDs, no maps, no gym clothes. Nada. My girlfriend's kid had her backpack stolen out of the car. Left the school books behind and took the backpack.

Don't bet that your hooptie is too rachet to steal, the parts on a 2004 Civic are surprisingly valuable.

You could install kill switches. My sister did this when she parked her classic Mustang on the street. She left it totally unlocked because replacing anything on a classic car is costly and a headache.

The idea is to make your car less desirable than other cars on the street. Why fuss with your car when that Jetta has a computer bag in the back seat?
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:22 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

On preview, pretty much exactly what easily confused said.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:22 PM on December 15, 2015

Best answer: I park on Brooklyn streets every day and I have done so for more than a decade in multiple neighborhoods. I don't take any of these precautions - all of my cars have always been filled with all sorts of stuff - including old electronics that are waiting to go to recycling. In that time I've only had my car broken into twice and both times it was in the considerably safest neighborhood in which I've parked it.

The first time they stole a broken GPS and a bag of quarters. Both were hidden in internal compartments - so I guess I was just going to get hit. I actually suspect that I may have forgotten to lock the doors that day. They were gentlemen both times and didn't break any windows - for this I am very grateful. I've considered keeping another broken electronic hidden in the console in the hopes that if it happens again they'll find it and figure they got something good and leave the rest of my stuff alone.

The second time they stole the battery. Not sure how you can defend against this - no one I've talked to has been able to tell me what to do to avoid another battery theft or how they do it.

The one thing I actively do other than locking the doors and turning in the side mirror is to turn my wheels into the curb. A co-workers family member who lives in my neighborhood had their car stolen and it was apparently parked at the end of a street where the thieves could just load it onto a flatbed or tow truck. I was told turning the wheels in is the best defense - so I do that.

And get to know your neighbors - they'll watch out for your car after they get to recognize it.
posted by rdnnyc at 2:45 PM on December 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Realize that while vandalism and theft is covered under comprehensive insurance, someone hitting your car and driving away is covered under collision insurance, if you have different deductibles for those two things.
posted by hwyengr at 2:46 PM on December 15, 2015

In addition to people, the warmth of the engine also attracts wildlife, especially in the winter. Most people I know who park outside have ended up needing a mechanic to repair damage from animals (mice chewing through tubes and wiring, animals moving into the engine and nesting, etc.)

So; two birds with one stone:

Placing a fabric bag of mothballs under the hood each night should prevent wildlife from moving into the engine compartment.

And if the baggie under the hood is placed near the cabin intake filter, the car will be all but undriveable - the moment it starts moving, air starts coming in and the thief will immediately need to wind down the windows and stick their head out. I suspect they'll probably find it easier to abandon the vehicle and find one they can breath in.

(Remove the baggie in the morning, put it in an airtight container to leave in the trunk until next evening, then drive away for the day.)

Also, be aware of the information contained in any license/documents in the car / glove compartment, etc. Break-ins can also result in identity theft.
posted by anonymisc at 3:25 PM on December 15, 2015

As someone who had her car broken into a few times when living in a dodgy neighbourhood my biggest problem was people stealing the gas/petrol. The remote entry covers are easy to pop open with a screwdriver, buy a locking petrol/gas cap. It's a pain, but so is having to fill up your car again.

Nthing the leave nothing in the car ever. My Dad had his car broken into & they too 2 audio tapes & a few bucks in change, leaving the hundreds of dollars of tools sitting on the backseat, so be aware, thieves are not smart & they will steal any old crap.

Also the one time someone tried to steal my car instead of just the stuff in the car, was luckily the one night I'd bought the battery in to recharge as I was too broke to buy another at the time, so they moved on & took my neighbors car instead. OK this last bit is of no help to you, but man it made me happy at the time.
posted by wwax at 3:35 PM on December 15, 2015

nthing leaving nothing in the car. Ours was stolen for the street directory.
posted by kitten magic at 4:42 PM on December 15, 2015

Kill switch, locking lug nuts*, club on the steering wheel, nothing in the car.

*thieves in my neighborhood often steal sets of wheels.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:55 PM on December 15, 2015

Don't go too far into any solutions or approaches until you have a feel for your neighborhood. It could be as safe as anywhere. Meaning, you don't always have to take special precautions in every city.
posted by bluedaisy at 7:48 PM on December 15, 2015

You don't need a kill switch on most newer cars since most cars have a chip key, which is Part of a built in interlock system. This also makes it safer to leave the car unlocked, since it is pretty difficult to steal a car with a chip key unless you tow it.
posted by rockindata at 8:22 PM on December 15, 2015

> Don't go too far into any solutions or approaches until you have a feel for your neighborhood. It could be as safe as anywhere. Meaning, you don't always have to take special precautions in every city.

Seconded. Not only does it depend on the city, it depends on your neighborhood specifically. I don't leave anything valuable in the car, certainly, and I don't leave anything out and visible...except that I don't generally bother stowing the cord for the aux jack. I'm not nearly as vigilant as many of the posters above. On the other hand, I park on rowhouse blocks and there are a lot of eyes on the street much of the time. If I had to regularly park a few blocks over where there are more commercial or industrial buildings -- not continuously occupied, walls without windows on the street -- I'd need to be more vigilant.
posted by desuetude at 11:20 PM on December 15, 2015

We've been parking on the street in cities for over 10 years now. The only thing that has happened has been rifling for change. We did get a window smashed in DC once. This stuff is inconvenient when it happens, but long term, to me, it's definitely not worth the price and annoyance of paying to park somewhere else.
posted by hydropsyche at 4:08 AM on December 16, 2015

It really depends on the neighborhood. I park on the street every night, and I leave all sorts of crap in my car. The stereo face is attached, an iPhone charger is visible, there a bunch of books and tupperware in the backseat, etc. But then, I live in an pretty nice neighborhood a block away from the city limits, and on the other side of the border is the nicest suburb in the entire state. It's not the kind of neighborhood where you run into a lot of problems. So get a feel for the place first. No reason to be paranoid if it's a low-crime place.

If your car does get broken into, look around the neighborhood afterward. One summer when I was in college, my car was broken into at my mom's house, and they stole my bookbag. There's a wooded area at the end of the street, and the thieves dumped the bag, all of the books and notebooks in it, and whatever other miscellany I had. I had a pair of Oakley sunglasses in it at the time, and they took those, but nothing else had value for them. I get the sense that this is fairly common - they take what's there and sort it out later.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:55 AM on December 16, 2015

Best answer: There's only one thing I would add to the good lists above: when you're parking, look up.

For years, I avoided parking under a large old tree, despite the convenience of the spots there. Sure enough, we eventually had one wind storm too many, and a rotten branch broke, fell and crushed the roof of one car parked beneath and clipped another.

On the other hand, parking under a (sturdier) tree can protect your car from hail damage.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 8:15 AM on December 16, 2015

In addition to neighborhood safety, consider whether or not you are parked on a desolate block. The only time my car has been broken into, in over six years of parking on Brooklyn streets, I was parked on a desolate block with very little foot or car traffic, and few lights. The thief actually smashed in the window of every car parked on the block.

And I guess s/he was looking for something I didn't have - they went through everything in my glove box and center console but didn't take a thing. There was even a dollar bill in the glove box (for some weird reason), and they didn't take that! Really, if they don't steal anything important or mess with your stereo or something, getting your car broken into is not that big of a deal. I carry comprehensive insurance, so I didn't have to pay out of pocket for the window, but even if I did the new one cost 250 bucks, I think.

Just don't leave anything out in plain sight, and don't worry too much about it.
posted by breakin' the law at 9:53 AM on December 17, 2015

You should at least own a club (steering wheel lock), even if you end up not using it--you can keep it in the trunk and use it if you ever do have to park somewhere sketchy. It's a big, visible sign that your car won't be easy to just drive away by someone who's looking for the easiest target.
posted by anaelith at 9:22 AM on December 19, 2015