Took off the head and hid it under the seat. Like 90% of the people did in the late 90s early 00s. Lol.
Surely it’s basically exactly the same now still? Take the radio faceplate so it can’t be nicked, lock the wheel, make sure the windows are rolled up and if you live somewhere hot, use a reflector to help keep the heat away.
I haven’t seen a car with an aftermarket stereo in a decade but I’m probably speaking from a place of privilege. I do think they’re far less prevelant now though
Probably, but there was a time when you could easily make your old car feel new just by adding an aftermarket stereo with bluetooth (and mic compatibility) and a USB port and an aux-in port.
My car’s 6-cd changer (which could play MP3 CD’s) broke so I replaced it with one of a new one with all those features and it almost felt brand new. I could connect my phone to it, take calls via bluetooth, change all sorts of settings including balance and equalization, it was actually a revelation.
It was so good that I had my sister get the same thing, because while her radio worked, her CD player did not, and it was also very useful for her as well.
I actually got the idea because of all the features that my mother’s (then new) 2013 Kia Soul had with its bluetooth and mic equipped stereo. Nowadays I think most new cars have a pretty decent entertainment setup with an integrated back up camera, so it’s no longer necessary to get something aftermarket.
That said, there was a time where aftermarket was remarkably better than factory stock.
Backup cameras became required by law in 2016, so that is probably one of the reasons we don’t see a lot of aftermarket stuff now. Plus, there just isn’t a quality gap anymore. Want premium sound, pay $1,000 off top for Harmon Kardon.
I remember installing my alpine cd player and infinity 6x9’s in my 96 lumina. Man what a quality difference!
They’re less prevalent because it’s more expensive to do really well now, at least with modern cars. You’ll really only see it in dedicated communities. I can’t say if they rely on faceplate removal as a security measure though. Security measures have gotten much better since then.
Every car in the USA made since 2018 is required to have backup camera from the factory.
So since every car has to have a screen for the camera, auto makers figured they may as well use for the stereo system.
I might be a bit dumb here, but I never got the detachable radio idea/need?
The radio interfaces were not exchangeable between different brands, right? Or was there an universal interface that I am unaware of?
Wouldn’t a bad actor need to dismantle the entire radio head as well, for the interface part to be of any good use?
Thieves would also steal the entire stereo head unit – so many had an additional anti-theft feature.
If you wanted to remove the head unit you had to enter a code using the front plate buttons before you uninstalled it. If you didn’t it would “brick” itself to discourage theft.
Amateur, my ignition lock didn’t work and I’d disconnect my battery to shut the car off. I was the only one that knew the magic tricks to crank it back up. I dunno, my key got stuck in the ignition, so I just left it there. Like, who thinks to jam a flat screwdriver into the steering column tilt hinge to crank a car up?
Nobody could steal that car even if they wanted to, unless they knew the internal mechanical structure of the steering column. When I used the screwdriver method, the screwdriver did not go into the ignition or any other intuitive location you might be thinking of.
The key that was stuck in the ignition wouldn’t turn to the start position, nor would it turn back to the off position to remove it. So it was a combination of connecting the battery then using the screwdriver as a lever in just the right spot in the steering column tilt hinge gap area to start it, and disconnecting the battery to shut it down.
I had never let anyone see exactly how I used the screwdriver on that car. Besides, it was such a rusted out beater, I could have parked it in a back alley in the Bronx and most likely nobody would have wanted to touch it, except maybe to steal the gas out of it LOL!
Northern California is exactly like this. I saw someone with the wheel jack thing just the other day and was like what the hell is that.
They tell visitors here in CA to leave cars unlocked and take your belongings so at least the windows don’t get broken into when the burglars break into your rental vehicle.
Yeah it is. There was a guy trying to break into the cars when my mother in law came out to visit and we took her out for pasta - cop car literally casing the lot where we were, then her and my family went to SF for a visit and she had to call the police because there was a guy actively casing cars.
Got our bikes stolen after leaving them out in silicon valley too inside of a very upscale walled off apartment complex. Took me by surprise because we live in a nice area.
I’ve had a lot of different first hand experiences that have made me extremely weary.
