I wish to improve the secuity on my ancient '88 Jetta 16v. All the car has at present is a set of armoured door plates, a set of looking wheel nuts, and a Jetta GL badge on the back. A friend has commented that he doesnt think i will see an insurance premium reduction from fitting a CAT2 immobiliser, so i have considered an autolock total enclosure steering cover, and a cheap alarm which i will fit myself- suggesions on which alarm are welcome. Does anyone have any better ideas, and where is the cheapest place to get all these bits?
Ben
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flashing LED on the dash and some window stickers will deter a thief as much as an alarm.
The alarms only useful to scare them away once they break in (since nobody actually listens to them).
You can get alarms etc of ebay internet auction, or 2nd hand from classifieds.
Just do all the simple free things like dont leave stuff in view etc.
HTH
Mark.
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This topic occurred quite recently - use the search facility and enter 'Disklok', which is the preferred option. You will also find reference to a £1.50 flashing LED from Maplin Electronics. What area are you in?
KB
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South London and Newcastle. I know a bit of electronics so fitting a flashing LED will not be a problem. However, i dont think this will solve the problem. I'm worried if someone wants to knick the thing to joy ride. Immobilisers dont appear to deter the determined thief. I imagined it would take quite a while to cut through a proper steering lock, but the only one i have seen that looked any good was £70.
Friends have cheap car alarms bought in the US. These things cost aorund £65 but as the are not fitted by an "expert" they do not qualify as thatcham aproved. I think this is stupid why cant someone fit an alarm and then have it checked by an expert. Did you know a Bora V5 can be more expensive to insure than a golf because Thatcham insist it has a different alarm to a golf. Volkswagen of course dont agree.
I think i will get an LED, a sticker, and a steering lock. where is the cheapest place to get a disklok then?
Ben
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Surely it must look like a tasty Jetta or people wouldn't bother? Do you have some nice alloys on it? High end ICE? I would have thought if it really looked like a £300 quid Jetta GL you wouldn't have much of a problem?
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I doubt it is even worth £200 at auction, but to m and in bits to sell to Golf enthusiasts its worth a fair amount. It has no body styling other than the standard 16v spoiler and wheel arches. It does have some decent wheels though, 15" Corrado BBS wheels with Potenza So-2 tyres. But i take the centre caps of so they are not stolen, and the wheels look very ordinary without them. The twin exit exhaust gives it away a bit- although its a standard VAG item. My main concern is if someone sees or hears me out in it, and fancies a go themselves.
Ben
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I had a very simple but effective immobiliser fitted a few years ago. Cost about £40. It works by disconnecting the ignition circuits, overridden by touching two contact points when starting the car. I've been using it for about five years now, no problems. It's called the 'Enterprise Interceptor', marketed by (at the time) Enterprise Europe (0208 771 2935). You don't get an audible alarm, which as pointed out are pretty useless, but it will fox the vast majority of low life. P.S. No business interest in this, I hasten to add.
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Ben,
Unless you need an approved for insurance alarm get two switches and a reel of cable. The fit your own secret cut out to say the starter circuit and ign or fuel pump supply.
Be very very crafty with the choice of switch logo and positioning, OE are best, and you'll slow the boys down. I advise finding the switches in the breakers from a similar car so they match and possibly fit in existing blanks.
That'll do all a £150 immob will so you've just saved £145 for beer vouchers!
David
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I fitted several of these interceptor units a few years ago, blindingly simple and you could interrupt as many circuits as you wanted simply by adding 35a Relays. Best news was that a 16v Astra was targetted 3 times by joyriders and in each case the system beat them. Only the owner and myself knew the secret touch points and you could be sooooo devious where you put them. If anyone was watching when you entered the car they would not see you plug in a key or swipe a fob etc so would not know where to start. Another bonus was that they were passive so that when you turned off the ignition it reset. I fitted two into cars driven by female cosmetic reps but only disabled the ignition and fuel pump feeds. One of the ladies had unfortunately been involved in a hijack in city traffic, driven into a quiet back street and robbed and fortunately only lost her handbag, phone etc. By just immobilising these circuits if it should ever happen again all she would do was "stall" the engine, switch off the ignition, resetting the immobiliser, then crank the engine without it starting hopefully causing the hijacker to panic.
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There was a device here a few years ago, which gave you about 25 seconds to disconnect the alarm/immobiliser after getting in - used some clever technology where you had to turn on the lights, then wipers, then dab the brakes, so the lights came on - or something similar.
The idea was that three or four different power-uses, in a sequence, would turn everything off.
Just working out, the amount of switches on the average dash - fan, a/c, glovebox lamp, etc etc meant that the different combinations were virtually endless.
No need for plippers or fob swipes.
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Ben, Costco apparently do the Disklok cheap. They're normally £80 in the High St. The cheapest I've seen is from a Wholesaler I have access to at £60, but I'm in N. E. London.
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Good plan with the home made immobiliser David - sounds like a good idea. Surely only those 'in the know' realise the performance of a Jetta 16v? Have you been burnt by joyriders in the past Ben?
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Yeah immobiliser sounds like a good idea. I made a crude one with a friend for his metro. Not sure where i am going to put the switches and wires on the Jetta though.
A few boy racers know jetta 16v's arent as slow as they look, but i agree, there are very few people interested in Jettas. Mine is a bit quicker than a good standard car.
Luckily i have not had anything stolen. But a friend of mine has had several of his cars stolen and broken into relatively near by, despite his expensive alarms. The worry, particualrly with a car like mine, is that if it is stolen i will get virtually nothing back from the insurance company due to its book price of bugger all.
Ben
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Hello Ben,
To put in my tuppenceworth:-
I use the total enclosure steering wheel cover on Toad (as well as the security system) because he comes out only now and then, in favourable, non-salt, conditions. It would be so much hassle if one were using the car all the time that I think one would fall into the habit of not bothering for a short period, and then perhaps just a little longer......
The Halford's yellow device which covers just the better part of the wheel is a little less secure, but convenient enough that I have trained myself to put it on Prudence (Proton) all the time.
My philosophy, probably faulty, is that something awkward in plain sight will deter the technically minded thieves, wlile the uproar from the security system may frighten off the hacksaw brigade.
So, I suggest the Halford's thingy aforementioned and the alarm.
Good luck, Tomo
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The sad thing is that if BadGuy wants your car he is going to have it and Crime Stats show he is moving towards the older car, presumably less hassle.
In addition to the sense of D.W. above, highly visible deterents in the form of crook and autolocks (pick them up at car boots for a tenner) may deter but they are not infallible if he is really keen. Noise alarms are useless as no one these days take any notice.
Keep nothing of value in the car when parked - some time ago he always went for the glove box as you were advised to lock valuables away.
When you leave your vehicle in a vunerable place, make sure your rear view mirror has been wiped clean and then using the surround knock it out of line and askew. BG in haste will drive off and then realise no rear view, grab the mirror and in his haste may kindly leave his dabs behind on the glass.
Doesn't stop them taking the car but may help a Plod who knows his job get his man.(No comments please).
DVD
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A chap that used to be a member of the Ford Cortina 1600E O/C (&may still be) had a device that I thought was exceptional. He made it himself, it was an in line, key switched valve, let into the braking system. If I remember rightly the switch was in the floor under the drivers seat operating the valve which was in the main brake line. When he parked the car he just turned the switch, removed the key and pressed the brake pedal, effectively locking the brakes on. Don't know if it would work on a modern braking system.
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I seem to remember a group of car thieves once being asked what would deter them most from stealing a car and the answer they came back with was a childseat in the back. I can't guarantee it works though.
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