Stereo systems in new cars

StarSong

StarSong

Awkward is my Superpower
Location
Los Angeles Suburbs
It dawned on me that I haven't heard about thieves stealing stereo systems or computer guts from new cars.

Am I correct that they're generally more focused on stuff that people leave in their cars - money, phones, computers, backpacks, etc.? Smash and grabs...
 

StarSong said:
It dawned on me that I haven't heard about thieves stealing stereo systems or computer guts from new cars.

Am I correct that they're generally more focused on stuff that people leave in their cars - money, phones, computers, backpacks, etc.? Smash and grabs...
Click to expand...
I haven't even thought of that and now that you mention it, I haven't heard of much of it either. In fact none of it. Odd.

Maybe these thefts are not considered newsworthy anymore or the radios and computers are now too difficult to remove these days? I don't even hear about smash & grabs anymore, but I've no doubt they occur. Hmmmm
 
With newer cars, stereo systems are harder to remove, but that's not the main reason.
They are designed to stop working when they're removed; so they're useless to thieves. There used to be a permanent window sticker on the driver's side that said "The sound system is permanently deactivated if removed" (or something to that effect).
 

What we get in our neighborhood are crimes of opportunity. People leave their cars in the driveway, unlocked, with stuff inside. The thief checks all the cars, and lifts items of value. No need to smash anything or sound an alarm. We have a neighborhood website and one person complained because her daughter had her purse stolen. She lid it under the seat of the car, but left the car unlocked overnight. Well, DUH!
 
CarolfromTX said:
What we get in our neighborhood are crimes of opportunity. People leave their cars in the driveway, unlocked, with stuff inside. The thief checks all the cars, and lifts items of value. No need to smash anything or sound an alarm. We have a neighborhood website and one person complained because her daughter had her purse stolen. She lid it under the seat of the car, but left the car unlocked overnight. Well, DUH!
Click to expand...

Yes, "DUH" sounds about right in this case, Carol.
 
A Jacksonville, FL Officer told me this, "if a thief sees a blinking light on the dash, it has an alarm and it is set. Most likely they will move on to a vehicle that doesn't have the light blinking". Our alarm blinking light is red. We had a neighbor lady, in the same building we lived in, that forgot to lock her vehicle and it didn't have an alarm on it. Someone got in and went thru her middle storage area……...twice. This JSO Officer told me this crime is called "a crime of opportunity", because the vehicle was unlocked.

No matter where we are, we always, always set the alarm on our Durango. One button pushed and the vehicle is locked and alarm set.
 
CarolfromTX said:
What we get in our neighborhood are crimes of opportunity. People leave their cars in the driveway, unlocked, with stuff inside. The thief checks all the cars, and lifts items of value. No need to smash anything or sound an alarm. We have a neighborhood website and one person complained because her daughter had her purse stolen. She lid it under the seat of the car, but left the car unlocked overnight. Well, DUH!
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I've known several people like that. When I suggest locking their car or house up, they'll brush it off with something like, "I'm not paranoid....no one's going to steal anything." They want to believe people are basically good & if they lock things, they think they are showing that they don't trust people. I think they're living in a world of their own making.
 
i wouldnt have a car without a cd system.......my new car 3 yrs ago , had everything but....so i made sure my new 2019 had one....
so im happy playing my beach boys CD....🎼🎼
 
win231 said:
I've known several people like that. When I suggest locking their car or house up, they'll brush it off with something like, "I'm not paranoid....no one's going to steal anything." They want to believe people are basically good & if they lock things, they think they are showing that they don't trust people. I think they're living in a world of their own making.
Click to expand...

Around here, you've got to be nuts not to lock up house and car. Thieves will steal anything that isn't nailed down.
 
squatting dog said:
I now use one of these players. 🙂 compact and versatile, and I have over 650 of my favorite songs on a thumb drive and it plays right through any car stereo allowing me to take it with me in any vehicle. (y)

https://www.amazon.com/Handsfree-Bl...p3+player+to+car+stereo&qid=1581271681&sr=8-3
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Wow! Please tell me about this, SD. You plug it into a cigarette lighter? Does it work with an older model vehicle? Reason I'm asking is the the CD player doesn't work in the 2005 truck we use to haul our 5th wheel. We find ourselves in a lot of areas with no radio stations - or none that we care to listen to. Would love to be able to bring an iPod or thumb drive with music!

The truck doesn't have bluetooth or usb ports, but does have a good AM FM radio.
 
It will work on any vehicle that has an fm radio. All you need to do is dial the radio to a channel that has no traffic. I put mine on 87.7 and simply plug the unit into the cigarette lighter socket. The player has controls on it that allow you to change the channels if you are pulling in a station. Can't be beat. no more worrying about scratched cd's. 🙂
 
squatting dog said:
It will work on any vehicle that has an fm radio. All you need to do is dial the radio to a channel that has no traffic. I put mine on 87.7 and simply plug the unit into the cigarette lighter socket. The player has controls on it that allow you to change the channels if you are pulling in a station. Can't be beat. no more worrying about scratched cd's. 🙂
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Thanks for the tip! I'm going to order one!!!
 
Many of the car dashboard stereos are considered "entertainment systems," and would be both difficult to remove without damage, and functionally useless in anything other than the make and model car that they are carried in. From what I understand, catalytic converters are an item that thieves are more interested in separating you from if they have opportunity and adequate time...
 
Butterfly said:
Around here, you've got to be nuts not to lock up house and car. Thieves will steal anything that isn't nailed down.
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They are quite sophisticated now. They don't steal stuff they don't have a market for.
If you have an old cassette player in your vehicle it will remain untouched.
The CD player I have in my car is an old one and it had a faceplate that could be removed.
They don't bother with those.
 
charry said:
i wouldnt have a car without a cd system.......my new car 3 yrs ago , had everything but....so i made sure my new 2019 had one....
so im happy playing my beach boys CD....🎼🎼
Click to expand...
Well, enjoy it while you can. CD players have been phased out on new cars. I was really concerned about that, but I learned that's really good, because I recorded over 300 CD on a flash drive from my computer & they all play perfectly in my car's USB port. I can hear over 2,500 songs at random, alphabetically, by each CD separately, or by music style, or by composer - without changing a CD. And a 32 GB flash drive that costs around $8.00 won't even be 1/4 full with 300 CD's.
 
win231 said:
Well, enjoy it while you can. CD players have been phased out on new cars. I was really concerned about that, but I learned that's really good, because I recorded over 300 CD on a flash drive from my computer & they all play perfectly in my car's USB port. I can hear over 2,500 songs at random, alphabetically, by each CD separately, or by music style, or by composer - without changing a CD. And a 32 GB flash drive that costs around $8.00 won't even be 1/4 full with 300 CD's.
Click to expand...


mines a new car Win.....and i have a CD....
 
charry said:
i wouldnt have a car without a cd system.......my new car 3 yrs ago , had everything but....so i made sure my new 2019 had one....
so im happy playing my beach boys CD....🎼🎼
Click to expand...
We have just bought a brand new car 🚗 I was surprised to see a CD player in it @charry
I stand to be corrected about radio in new cars 🚙 I don’t think they would work if removed from
modern car without some sort of code reentered that matches the cars computer system
 
charry said:
how long does it take to record from computer onto a flash drive ...?
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If the CD has about 1 hour of music on it, it takes around 3-5 minutes.
Stick the flash drive into the USP port on your computer & play a CD. You can set your computer to automatically record as soon as you close the CD door & it will open when after each CD is recorded. And the record feature is called "Rip."
 
win231 said:
If the CD has about 1 hour of music on it, it takes around 3-5 minutes.
Stick the flash drive into the USP port on your computer & play a CD. You can set your computer to automatically record as soon as you close the CD door & it will open when after each CD is recorded. And the record feature is called "Rip."
Click to expand...



ok , thanks ...
 
StarSong said:
It dawned on me that I haven't heard about thieves stealing stereo systems or computer guts from new cars.

Am I correct that they're generally more focused on stuff that people leave in their cars - money, phones, computers, backpacks, etc.? Smash and grabs...
Click to expand...
I think it's because the thieves already have a car with a new stereo system. LOL! They want what you leave in the car. When I first moved here someone told me to never leave my purse in the car because they wouldn't hesitate to smash the window to get to it. The small town I come from, you left your purse locked in the car & had no need to worry about it.
 
MarciKS said:
I think it's because the thieves already have a car with a new stereo system. LOL! They want what you leave in the car. When I first moved here someone told me to never leave my purse in the car because they wouldn't hesitate to smash the window to get to it. The small town I come from, you left your purse locked in the car & had no need to worry about it.
Click to expand...
Those days are gone forever. Nowadays people steal stuff instead of paying for it.
 

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