<p>I got into the habit of leaving them unlocked when a bunch of people had their windows broken in a parking lot at work even though they had nothing to steal and nothing was stolen, but glove boxes, etc. were left open and had been rummaged through. Lost the use of their vehicle while they had the window replaced, had to get a ride home, etc. And it happened more than once. So, I just started leaving it unlocked. YMMV</p>
<p>And I have owned some cars I wished someone would have stolen - lol I remember coming back from a trip to long term parking just hoping the car wasn’t there.</p>
<p>As previously mentioned, our local police very strongly urge us to lock your car when it is in front of your house or in your driveway, as most thefts are crimes of opportunity.</p>
<p>Our police say that the bad guys will literally just try the door on your car - if it is locked they move on to the car next door, if it is unlocked they will go through everything.</p>
<p>That is what usually happened in my parents neighborhood, dadinator. Every car on the street that was left unlocked will have been gone through, the locked cars were left alone. The thieves there were, at that time, not bold enough to actually break a window. Usually dumb kids. Once someone broke into our garage and went into my mom’s unlocked car and stole a my sister’s book of CDs, which had every CD, movie, and computer game she owned in it. I was a HS student and I vented about it on myspace because I was really upset for her, and whoever did it actually broke back into the garage the next day to put them back. I’ve always suspected my neighbor’s little brother or one of his little friends.</p>
<p>My dad never liked to lock his car and got really mad when his sunglasses case with his prescription clip on sunglasses were taken. Completely useless to anybody else and no street value, but expensive to replace.</p>
<p>My fiance has a radar detector in his car (I know, don’t say it) and I am always trying to convince him to at least put it in his glove box out of sight. It is expensive, and looks it, and even if they don’t know what it is it can easily be mistaken for a GPS. But he won’t. “I have insurance,” he says. I almost hope someone does break his window someday just to prove my point. But if it happens when he is driving my car he will NEVER hear the end of it!</p>
<p>I put safety doors on my houses. I like being able to open the door and still feel secure. (and love being able to feel still safe with the breeze coming through) That said, it almost always PO’s me when someone rings because of the bra factor and I like to nap. </p>
<p>I have had some very tenacious “sales people” that make me vow to never again answer (the kind that vans bring around and distribute these young people to peddle magazines or whatever…I have an old friend who got caught up in this sort of masquerading as high schoolers trying to get travel money by selling knifes (???) as a youngster and now am old-lady suspiciuos.)</p>
<p>This last summer I did answer the door to a young man from a local HS who offered to mow my lawn for a pittance as he was raising money for football season fees AND he had brought his own equipment…HIRED for mulitple sessions! I surprised myself with that one. </p>
<p>I have a dog (chow). One of his good traits is he isn’t a barker. One of his bad traits is he isn’t a barker. I like the holding a phone idea.</p>
<p>Our neighborhood is within walking distance from the high school, and there were various break in last year, that could be attributed to bored kids.
I don’t generally leave anything of value in my suv but neither do I want it to be stolen.
The cars they steal, aren’t the ones you’d think.
I surprised someone trying to steal my plymouth voyager, when I was at school.
( it was a kid, & I was surprised at how angry I was!)</p>
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<p>I don’t get the defeatist attitude behind not locking things.
And are you serious or kidding about having a car full of trash?</p>
<p>Tends to be worse in the winter, but there are usually some empty beverage cups or water bottles on the floor of the back seat of my car.</p>
<p><em>shudders</em> My car is full of trash at the moment…</p>
<p>Senior year was the worst regarding water bottles. My mom once counted them (while throwing them out in the driveway…), 11 bottles. </p>
<p>@Tempe Ahh, Vector. The non scam scam.</p>
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<p>If the alternative is that someone will break a window to find out that there’s nothing valuable in the car I totally get it.</p>
<p>PG, just because someone does something differently than you- with a different reasoning- does NOT make it defeatist. yeesh.</p>
<p>I think not keeping valuables in your car is a best practice regardless of whether you choose to lock it or not. </p>
<p>One of my coworkers recently got back late from a trip on Sunday night and left his business bag with his company laptop and iPad in the trunk. His locked car was stolen overnight and the thief got his electronics as a bonus. </p>
<p>When I worked in Houston my company had a strict rule prohibiting leaving your laptop in the car, ever. If you went to the store on your way home you were expected got take your laptop with you as you would a purse because so many thieves would target people in business wear in parking lots.</p>
<p>We never locked our car doors either when they were parked in our backyard/driveway until someone started going around to all the neighborhood cars and stealing stuff. We have three cars and my mom’s car was the only one parked (she had left her purse in there [not wise, I know]). The other two cars were broken in to but the person only took my dad’s huge collection of coins he keeps in his work truck for tolls and such. He had left his wallet in there (I know…) with all credit cards and no cash but the person didn’t take it. </p>
<p>I was actually awake when the person broke in to the cars. (Is it still called ‘breaking in’ if there is no effort of breaking in, on their part?) We have a porch light that turns on there is movement around it. I was watching TV in the living room around midnight when it turned on that night and I heard a car door close. I figured it was our upstairs neighbors pulling up into the driveway, which they aren’t really allowed to do and thought it was nothing. </p>
<p>Needless to say, now my parents lock their car doors. And don’t leave purses or wallets in there.</p>
<p>I suppose the door-answering thing is really a matter of culture where you live. I was quite shocked at first by how many wouldn’t answer… The neighborhood I lived in all through grade school was very tight-knit, especially our immediate block, so there was a very good chance any particular doorbell was a neighbor. My sister and I were both very close friends with neighbors growing up, and my parents were good friends with their parents as well. I suppose there was a bit of an etiquette regarding back vs. front doors. Most neighbor-neighbor interactions happened through back doors facing the yards on the private lane between the houses, and you could tell which bell was rung pretty easily.</p>
<p>Heres a new device that allows you to answer your door or not even if the guest doesnt ring the doorbell. It also has a silent mode so you can enjoy your uninterrupted meditation.
[SkyBell</a> Wi-Fi Doorbell with Motion Sensor - Amazon.com](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/SkyBell-Wi-Fi-Doorbell-Motion-Sensor/dp/B00G3DDBVI/ref=pd_rhf_sc_p_d_6]SkyBell”>http://www.amazon.com/SkyBell-Wi-Fi-Doorbell-Motion-Sensor/dp/B00G3DDBVI/ref=pd_rhf_sc_p_d_6)</p>
<p>I might actually get one of those, Krlilies.</p>
<p>Seriously looking at some of these products mentioned for the house.</p>