Celica Forums General Discussion General Best anti-theft device combination?

Hey all,

I'll be picking up my brand-spanking-new 2004 Action Package Celica GT (despite assurances that I wouldn't be able to get one ) this Saturday and now it's time to think about the car's security. After a bit of searching, I found something called PowerLock [powerlock.com]. Looks damn good, if you ask me. I've done some homework (Google Groups, a few automotive websites) and there seems to be nothing but praise for these devices. Does anyone here have experience with them?

So car theft is covered. What type of a device(s) should I install to prevent the casual car thieves from breaking into the car and messing it up? Hmm, prevent is probably not the right word here - more like, deter. Cause we all know that prevention in this case is impossible. So, what do I need - a club, some sort of an alarm, something else?

I guess my question boils down to the following - what do you think is the best car security combination to go along with PowerLock?

Get yourself a good alarm with a proximity detector, BACK UP BATTERY and a KILL SWITCH.

Also, get that club thing for the pedals.

Always watch where you park.

Remember, the thief can always put your car on a flat bed truck and tow it away. No alarm or club can stop that from happening.

Good luck and Congratulations!

congrats on the car... one word for ya lojack [lojack.com]

i original was going for an avantguard 4. top of the line in automotive security from what i've heard. but then my friend talked me into a matrix rs 3.5. car electronics are his life. it comes with shock sensor, remote start, and 2 way paging system with a remote that has a screen on it. it tells you your car's status (off, on, armed, in panic mode, that stuff...) we added on a proximity, motion, tilt sensor, and automatic windows. basically everything the avantguard has except with the car pager.

By the time I figure out that the car has been stolen (either when I wake up or after work - I have to walk a good distance since there's no company parking), several hours will have passed and the car would have been gutted and remains thrown out somewhere remote by now. I don't see Lowjack as a theft solution, especially the PowerLock covering that base quite well.

how much did that set you back

$350, huge discount cuase it part of my friends b-day gift to me. he told if i went to wear he works it would've cost $800-$900

I've never put a ton of stock into "theft prevention" items.

I just have 0 deductible for comprehensive insurance through a reputable company (State Farm), and am sure that I've documented everything I've added to the car (mostly my stereo) with both pictures and receipts. I park in well-lit places and lock my doors, but thats about it. I never worry about stuff being stolen, because I know I wont be the one paying for it. Also I try to keep my stereo looking as stock as possible by keeping the factory grills on the interior speakers and keeping the rear deck on to cover my subs and amp.

90% of all car break-ins are to take things FROM the vehicle, not the vehicle itself. Nothing is really going to prevent that, because a smash and grab job is easy even with a great alarm. If you are worried about your whole car up-and-leaving, Id just install a kill switch in a very inconspicuous place. Perhaps in your glove box or in your dashboard compartment.

Oh yeah| and congrats on the new Celi! Im glad you did find what you wanted| I just wasnt entirely sure it would be possible. You shall not be disappointed, I am sure.

definately lo jack

NICE sig

Haha thanks... I was waiting for you to say something.

in addition to the items/ideas listed above, here's something to look into: ravelco anti-theft device [northeastravelco.com] it claims to NEVER have had a car stolen that was equipped with this device, so its worth checking out and putting some consideration into.

and something else that's very simple: tint. it works wonders

autolock (the brake pedal club) doesn't work for our cars... if you can get it to fit at all, it's not very tight... i bought one when i first got my car and spent a good 30 min. trying to get it in nice and snug... barely managed to get it to get into a 'locked' position and even then it was very loose and moved around quite a bit... =p , returned it for a regular 'club'

I have a club, the toyota alarm with LoJack, and a autolock on my clutch pedal.

I don't know why people have so much trouble with the autolock on the clutch, mine fits, is it straight up and down, no, but it tight and is not coming of for nothin. I will admit is not as easy a fit as the brake on the auto celica but it does work.

The solution I talk about in the main post is *not* AutoLock. It's called PowerLock and it integrates itself into the car's starter. Anywho, supposedly makes the car impossible to hotwire - the only car theft solutions are to tow the car away or to replace the starter entirely - not a viable solution for about 99.9999999% of the thieves. They also have a pretty good guarantee - they say if the car is indeed hotwired, they'll pay your entire insurance deductible, no matter how high. Sounds good to me.

Yep...doesnt fit for manual...but i think it fits auto

where do you park? if you park in a garage (home), then thats safer. if an apartment parking, i would suggest you block ur car with another car, or the car parked by you will have a sensitive alarm also, so when urs buzz, the other buzzes too and will be loud enough so you can hear it or notice it. if outside, park with other cars, meaning blend in. the problem with blending in is that when people park behind/front of you might hit ur car. dont make ur car look eyecatching, dont let noone know where you live, so they dont know where to find u. put a club, nice alarm. reason to park close to ppl is to not let ppl towjack it. i remember when i gave this guy mbz ML keys and the adress to pick the car from, he brought a firckin s430 or whatever that is. then he took it back and brought the car back. if the owner found out about it, the tower and the company was fucked! congrats

Kinda hard to blend in with an action package Celica

I'm a bit wary of an alarm as well. I live in an apartment building, so I won't hear the alarm if it goes off in the garage downstairs. Also, the company I work at has very limited parking (3 spots for 30+ people), so I have to part outside on a street. It's not a big street thankfully, mostly just residential houses on it, however it's far enough that I won't be able to hear the alarm - it would take me 5-10 minutes just to walk to the car.

If I can't hear the alarm, how can I stop it?? Is there still a point to getting one, maybe to prevent your casual thief? How much would an average alarm system cost?

you don't have to hear an alarm for it to be effective. OTHER people will hear it, including the would be thief, and he'll prompty back off your car.

also, your alarm will turn off automatically after about a minute and reset itself, even if you don't turn it off yourself. so being away from your car won't drive your neighbors who could hear the alarm nuts because it won't go off all night long.

for an alarm to be good, it has to convince the thief that the alarm grabs some sort of attention if not urs then others. better urs. but if they believe the alarm is loud enough theyll just escape. hopefully the car is at a quiet area which makes the alarm more earcatching. dude just tint ur windows and i prefer parking ur car at meter parkings or something. they would be way more scared to go there. btw you work at night? if you work at afternoon, i wouldnt think a thief will steal ur car. meaning a smart thief will be able to steal ur car or steal something very costy. but for inexperienced thieves, who cares. you gotta put protection against the big ones. i know this guys honda got hardcore stolen with alarm on according to him. everything from airbags to euro lights...

you want the absolute best way to ensure your car doesn't get driven away by a thief?

fuel pump cut off switch. Hide it way in the dash, and one under the hood. In conjunction with an alarm your car is unstealable...

In most cases, its impossible to keep a car from being stolen, talk to any police officer, they'll say to layer multiple security features one on top of another. My buddy has this setup for his Celi:

- Toyota Alarm
- Aftermarket Engine Immobalizer
- The Club
- VIN Etching
- Boomerang (similar to Lojack)
- Shaved door handles (just pisses off thieves)

If the thief wants your stereo, then its smash-and-grab and not much you can do about it.

true that. i duno why, but talkin of this subject reminds me of "the score". ur car is that place and deniro is the thief. nomather what he gotta steal it.

alarms/clubs/cutoffs are the best way to prevent your car from being stolen.

tint is the best way to protect things IN your car from being stolen.

around here, people have shot a car with a bb gun (virtually from 'out of site'), let the alarm fly. because some alarms take a few seconds to reset after going off..they use those few seconds to smash in your window so everything appears (to the alarm) be normal when its back on...depending what they are trying to take out..it's as easy as disconnecting your battery (if your going for a sound system) or just plain swiping it from there (wallet, for example)

Very nice alarm, even with a carbon fiber remote! Also has a lifetime warrenty! you can get it at best buy installed for 399.99 with a lifetime warrenty through DEI and BestBuys installation.

I also reccomend adding 1 or 2 Peizo sirens to the interior of the car because it could add almost 180dbs of sound.
Back up battery is essential because if theif pops your hood and unattatches the batt cables the alarm will shut off, with a back up batt the alarm is fully functional! and with the matrix 3.5 you can add so many options, you can even make it power on your neons if you wanted!

you can always remove the starter fuse too