CONSUMERS : Car Stereo Theft: Sound the Alarm
How do you prevent thieves from stealing your car stereo? Keep it under lock and key in the trunk? Bolt it to the dashboard? Lug it with you whenever you leave the car?
Or buy one of the more expensive beeping stereo alarms or a unit with a “secret code” so only you can operate it?
Whatever precautions you take with your stereo/tape deck or CD player, remember this: If a car burglar wants your expensive electronic gear--and stereo/tape equipment can run into the thousands of dollars--he’ll probably figure out a way to get it, and/or your car, too, because stealing from cars is a large and lucrative profession.
National law enforcement statistics show that auto theft, including theft of contents and accessories, is a $6-billion-a-year business in the United States. In 1987, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports list 2,849,944 reported thefts from cars--1,267,475 of car accessories, which include stereos, CDs, hub caps, etc. and 1,582,469 of auto contents, classified as golf clubs, purses and other valuables.
Last year in Los Angeles alone there were 56,448 burglaries from locked vehicles reported to LAPD. Another 13,868 thefts from “unsecured” autos brings the total to 70,316.
“Stealing radios is big business,” said Victor Obregon, manager of Graf automobile radio and alarm specialists in Hollywood. “And these guys make more money than we do in our jobs. They sell a $500 radio for $25. But it’s the same way they sell drugs--they can turn it over in minutes, so they just made $25-$30 on that radio in three minutes.
“Who buys them? People on street corners, at swap meets,” Obregon contends. “Somebody will buy it for $25. Even honest people.”
Suppliers Fight Back
In the meantime, though, electronic equipment manufacturers and automobile companies are doing their best to try to secure your equipment, and your car, from thieves.
There are stereo covers that disguise an expensive radio to look like a cheap one--but most car burglars, according to police, know the fake covers from real radios.
There also are cheap-looking grille covers for expensive speakers, small “safes” bolted to the inside of the car trunk that hold much of the CD equipment; stereo alarms that are rigged so that if a thief cuts the wires to the radio, the car horn begins to beep.
And due out on the market in late May is a new Swedish-designed cassette alarm (estimated price: $29.95) being imported by Anes Electronics in Marina del Rey.
This device locks into a cassette player with a key and has a flashing red light. If someone tries to remove your stereo/cassette a high-decibel alarm goes off and can’t be deactivated without the key. If a burglar tries to pry the alarm device off anyway, he doesn’t get anything worth selling because the cassette mechanism will be destroyed.
You also can get special steel brackets that bolt your stereo into the dashboard, but many alarm installation specialists don’t recommend them because if the burglar trys prying the brackets from the plastic dashboard, chances are your dashboard will crack.
Since most dashboards are now constructed of plastic and made in one piece, you’ll be out the radio, plus the dashboard, which costs about $400, and another $350 in labor to install it.
Anti-Theft Units
Among the newest and most effective protection for your stereo/cassette combinations are the “anti-theft” units that are coded by the manufacturers and require you to punch in a multi-digit security code in order to make it work. Thieves don’t know the code, so the radio doesn’t work after they lift it from your car. But the crook may not know it is that kind of sophisticated stereo and steal it anyway.
Nevertheless, many electronic companies are now offering the “secret code” device (price range: $250 to $700) and since 1987, many auto manufacturers are equiping their higher-priced models with the “anti-theft stereos.” Most come with window stickers warning the thief that the stereo will not work without the proper coding.
But you run the risk that the car burglar might not be able to read English or might believe the sticker is a fake and break into your car anyway.
If the crook gets your coded radio, it is virtually useless to him. There are ways to bypass the code and reprogram the unit, according to Graf’s Obregon, but that process costs about $200, far too expensive for most car burglars.
Peugeot is among several auto manufacturers now fitting its cars with the “anti-theft radios.”
“They can’t call Peugeot and get the code number,” said Morrie Karpoff, general manager of Peugeot Dealer of North Hollywood. “They keep those codes locked in files at Peugeot and no one can get the code unless he’s the owner of the car.”
Retractable Radios
Quite popular with consumers interested in theft-deterrent devices are the retractable radios with handles (prices start at $230) that can be slipped in and out of the dashboard. You can either lock this unit in your trunk when you leave the car or take it with you.
If you leave a removable radio in your car, though, and a burglar steals it, you may not get reimbursed by your insurance company because the unit was not an installed one considered to be part of the car. Check with your insurer to see if your policy covers a retractable stereo.
One drawback to the retractables, according to industry sources, is that car burglars often presume the stereo is stored in the car, either under the seat or in the trunk. So, they break your window or pry the trunk open with a crowbar.
Lt. Greg Vasquez of LAPD’s BAD squad--that stands for Burglary Auto Theft Division--suggests drivers who have retractable stereos simply use a little common sense when storing them in the trunk.
“If you’re going to get out of your car and put the radio in the trunk, do it somewhere other than where you’re going to park,” he advised. “You don’t want the burglar to be standing there watching you put your radio in the trunk.”
Vasquez pointed out that you don’t have to own an expensive automobile--a Mercedes, BMW or Porsche--to have the car or the stereo stolen.
“The most frequently stolen vehicle in Los Angeles now is the Hyundai,” he said. “They have very good Panasonic radios in them, and the crooks know that.”
Vasquez feels that any anti-theft devices are merely deterrents to car burglars, but that the best thing to do is have a good audio alarm--that will safeguard your stereo as well as your car--and a car cover.
Car Alarm Price Range
Car alarms can range in price from $200 to $1,000 and up, depending on how sophisticated they are. But you should be able to get a good audio alarm with a “kill” switch for the ignition for $225 to $300 installed so the car can’t be hot-wired by the thief.
If you’re thinking of getting an alarm for your car, call your insurance agent and ask if the company gives a discount.
According to the Western Insurance Information Service in Tustin, some insurance companies will give a discount to drivers with car alarms, and if they offer a discount at all, it will be about 15%.
“Audio alarms can keep them from stealing the car or its contents and warn anybody in the vicinity,” Vasquez explained.
“The biggest and best deterrent of all is a car cover,” said Andy Cohen, president of Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories. “You can get a custom fit-all cotton one with a locking cable for $110-$150. You lock it on and they can’t see in the car.”
Last year for $400, Cohen offered his customers an elaborate device that made a stereo recede into the dashboard behind a plain flap that locked, but he quit selling it “because it was too expensive and complicated to install.”
