SC theft???
07-06-02, 03:32 PM
#3
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I do not think that Hondas are easier to steal than any other car.
The problem is this...
Guy buys Honda, spends $25k, drive off the lot.
Guy sees 40 identical cars to his on the way home, he thinks, "bummer".
Guy goes to Costco to get groceries and sees a stack of 20 civics on Eisle 7. He thinks....thats odd. Walks out to parking lot and cannot figure out which Honda is his.
Guy goes to Aftermarket shop...drops $25k making HIS Honda into a race car faster than a stock Honda by .2 secs in the 1/4. He thinks he is racing now....WHAM!!! he crashes.
Guy thinks to himself, ahhh damn, I spent $50k on this hunk of metal and all I got was a noisy, bumpy, ugly, car that barely keeps pace with a basic 6cyl Mustang. hmmmm
So now he needs parts, and GUESS WHAT... He is BROKE. So he goes to a chop shop and gets all new Honda parts for 1/2price. Thus supporting a profitable greymarket for stolen Honda parts.
This greymarket creates a 'training scenario" that teaches every apprentice THIEF to steal a Honda for a fast buck.
2 years later... Consumer Reports catches on in between testing Maytags and says, "Honda is the most stolen car of the decade."
To answer your question, no, Lexus SC's are not easy to steal and do not have a greymarket parts underworld!
The problem is this...
Guy buys Honda, spends $25k, drive off the lot.
Guy sees 40 identical cars to his on the way home, he thinks, "bummer".
Guy goes to Costco to get groceries and sees a stack of 20 civics on Eisle 7. He thinks....thats odd. Walks out to parking lot and cannot figure out which Honda is his.
Guy goes to Aftermarket shop...drops $25k making HIS Honda into a race car faster than a stock Honda by .2 secs in the 1/4. He thinks he is racing now....WHAM!!! he crashes.
Guy thinks to himself, ahhh damn, I spent $50k on this hunk of metal and all I got was a noisy, bumpy, ugly, car that barely keeps pace with a basic 6cyl Mustang. hmmmm
So now he needs parts, and GUESS WHAT... He is BROKE. So he goes to a chop shop and gets all new Honda parts for 1/2price. Thus supporting a profitable greymarket for stolen Honda parts.
This greymarket creates a 'training scenario" that teaches every apprentice THIEF to steal a Honda for a fast buck.
2 years later... Consumer Reports catches on in between testing Maytags and says, "Honda is the most stolen car of the decade."
To answer your question, no, Lexus SC's are not easy to steal and do not have a greymarket parts underworld!
07-06-02, 07:01 PM
#7
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yes and the fact that your everday car theif looking for a spare part or stereo system is discouraged from stealing a more expensive high quality car because in most cases more expensive cars have better security systems than a go cart.
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07-06-02, 07:04 PM
#8
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Not positive about the Lexus laser cut key, but on my BMW the keys are laser cut and as a result cannot be cut at any local hardware store (which obviously is good in case someone steals your key and wants to go get a copy made), but instead if I wanted key copies I had to pay $35 friggin at a dealer and could only get one cut if I could produce the title for the car too. I think locksmiths might also have copies too, but not positive. Regardless, I think the laser cut key is definately a theft deterrent.
07-06-02, 08:10 PM
#9
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Laser Cut
I didn't think my key was laser cut? I thought it was just cut inside out and just extremely hard to duplicate? Please correct me if I am wrong. Mines out of a 93' Maybe they have changed.
07-06-02, 10:05 PM
#10
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Laser-cut doesn't mean ****. There's a locksmith in my town, private business run out of his house, that will cut any Lexus, Mercedes, BMW key you want. Laser-cut is just for luxo car keys that are cut in a composite method as regular house keys and such (middle of the key is bored out instead of the outer edge). Now if you have a newer Lexus with a chip built into the key, that is a strong deterrent in starting up the car to steal it, but you can still get into with a chipless duplicate. Also our SCs have no cross-bar running along the window panes so it's very easy to pick the lock and open the door from the outside. There are online sites that sell these contorted slim jims for cheap too. The key to theft prevention is a painfully loud alarm siren, code-protected decks, ignition kill, immobilizers, and GPS tracking beacons. But the cold hard truth is no car in the world is immune to theft. If someone really really really wanted your SC, they'd pull it into a 18-wheeler, drive it off to the docks and ship it to another port city in a carton where it'd be dismantled and parted off. Heck, you can pry out the quarter panel glass with a flat-head screwdriver and a little effort.
Last edited by lex400sc; 07-06-02 at 10:09 PM.
07-06-02, 10:08 PM
#11
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Who needs a key? Do you guys think a thief makes a key to steal your CAR?!!!!
Man, if they were that smart or smooth, they wouldn't be thieves.
The factor that decides what car to steal is not 'ease of entry' or 'ease of flight' but what kinda money can the guy get in return for the risk, how easy the car is to find in a crowd, and lastly, WHY? All of this points at Honda's, Acura's, and other hot-rod honda clones.
Man, if they were that smart or smooth, they wouldn't be thieves.
The factor that decides what car to steal is not 'ease of entry' or 'ease of flight' but what kinda money can the guy get in return for the risk, how easy the car is to find in a crowd, and lastly, WHY? All of this points at Honda's, Acura's, and other hot-rod honda clones.
07-07-02, 01:40 AM
#13
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I think we need to distinguish between breaking into cars, and stealing them. Anybody can break into a car, but stealing is a different story. I have a '92 and in the manual it says it has igniton kill, which i'm assuming, makes your car unstartable. My mom's mercedes doesn't even have a metal "key." Just like on gone in 60 seconds, you have to get keys from germany to steal one of those. 
07-07-02, 09:15 AM
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lexlikenother,
That is true, if you wanted to keep the car untouched, you would need the original key. However, my 92 has auto-carstart from the alarm and therefore does not need a key to go. So if the alarm can do it with just 3 iginition wires tied to 12v b+ then any one can do that.
Sure if you didnt want to touch the dash, you would need a key, but the point we were making here was, "If someone wants your car, they will take it"
That is true, if you wanted to keep the car untouched, you would need the original key. However, my 92 has auto-carstart from the alarm and therefore does not need a key to go. So if the alarm can do it with just 3 iginition wires tied to 12v b+ then any one can do that.
Sure if you didnt want to touch the dash, you would need a key, but the point we were making here was, "If someone wants your car, they will take it"