GPS Units Stolen

To bad but that's what happens when you leave that kind of equiptment out in the open.

I remove my GPS after every use from the car, I don't want this to happen to me. I remember back when I was a kid in the 70's, people would leave cars unlocked and nothing would happen. Times have changed.

I had to search to find which "Springfield" this was. I went to college in Springfield, MA and I know of Springfield, NJ, Springfield, IL and Springfield, VT.

Otherwise, I always take my 765T out of my car. It is very easy to remove from the cradle unlike my old C550 that had to be unsnapped from the ball mount.

Springfield, OH

RT

I hide or remove it.

think by now we all would have enough sense to remove the little buggers from view? Like John Wayne said: You just can't fix stupid"

BTW, Springfield IL is a great little town! I visited there in July, and was very impressed with how nice the locals were. One problem though, it rained 4 3/4 inches in less that one hour...coming from San Diego, WHEW!! That is half of our total annual rainfall, in less than an hour!! Still a nice friendly town.

I keep my gps with me and the mount and cables in the glove box. I also clean off the circle left by the mount.

It is also what happens when one leaves it "safely hidden" in the console or under the seat. Particularly when one "hides" it after driving and parking in a public place. Of course, I feel a little more sorry for this guy who just never gave it a thought than I do for those who demonstrate that they know GPSs are frequently stolen by hiding theirs inside the car.

I put mine in a small padded pouch and take it with me when I leave the car. So I guess reading about a GPS stolen from a "locked" car is about as close as I'm going to get to the smug feeling that "Garmin Lock" users get when their locked GPS is taken.

I guess some of us aren't as smart as you are and do everything right. all I was saying is it is out of sight it is usually out of mind. If someone wants something they will find a way to get it but we don't need to make it easy for them. They could even steal it from you while you are walking from the car to the store. Not meaning for and arguement here.

I'm just paranoid all the time. I hide anything valuable in the glove compartment when I leave my car.

I guess Frovingslosh never heard the word "mugged". Bad things can happen anywhere. Even if you are paranoid and carry your gps with you when you leave your vehicle.

When I need to leave the car after a GPS enabled trip, I take the hoopty, and put the unit away blocks before I park the car. No one sees me putting things away when I park. A bit of forethought saves your hide every time. besides, not many people would look twice for goodies in a 1998 Honda Civic that's spent it's entire life in the NYC metro area when there are all these brandy new blinging vehicles all around it.

I pulled up on my motorcycle and a lady came over to me because she seen my GPS. She said she had her GPS being stolen out of her open window and someone in the parking lot stopped the thief. She was warning me. I told her I never leave mine on my bike because I paid 5 times what she paid. It was nice to hear that someone stepped up to stop the thief.

Now if I would just take that advice on the GPS in my truck....

Would anyone here park there car and leave two or three Benjamins sitting on the dash in plain view?

I have left my two TomTom units in plain sight hoping a thief would steal them. Sadly the thieves passed on them...

Leaving anything of value in view in your vehicle is a like giving a someone an invitation to break into your vehicle.

These days it doesn't take much to intice a thief.

Yep. I would tell the police that is what my 1490 is worth.

This morning, I stopped by Lowe's to get some stuff and the car parked next to me had the GPS mounted on top the dash in plain view. Not only was the GPS clearly visible, but both the driver and passenger windows were open. It would have taken less than 10 seconds to grab that GPS and be gone.... What are they thinking?

What aisle is common sense on?

When in a questionable neighborhood it might also be good to clean the inside of the windshield, if you mount your GPS there with a suction cup. It's a dead giveaway.

Fred

I'm sure there is plenty on the shelves, probably expired by now

I do this regardless of where I am, even the "safe" neighborhoods. It is annoying, but better than finding a place to repair the window after it is broken.

A year or so ago this woman at work had her car broken into, and her navigation stolen. She left it mounted on the windshield. I just walked past her car a few days ago, and she is still leaving the gps mounted on the windshield.

For $850 it must be a nice GPS I've never had a GPS stolen, but I have had someone break the window of my car, but left the stereo and cell phone, and everything else alone. I got lucky, except my insurance didn't cover it.

I was with the wife at Hobby Lobby and parked next to me was a small suv with a nice gps stuck to the windshield, power cord running down the dash and plugged in. Oh Well some people never learn except the hard way then they want to blame everyone but themselfs.

These sorts of stories are always unfortunate. I don't leave my GPS in obviously plain sight, but I toss it in the little storage area below the stereo console. Older GPS in a beater car probably doesn't attract much attention. Part of why I am still using an older GPS is to help prevent theft in case I leave it out.

I once had my car broken into. They smashed the window and took the charging cord. Luckily, I had already removed the GPS. Strangely, nothing else was taken.

It's more frustrating to me to replace the window and clean the broken glass.

Thank you for pointing out that I'm so stupid that I've never heard of muggings, I seem to always be able to count on you for such feedback.

However, in this case I had heard of muggings. But I don't remember seeing any posts here of the nature of "I got mugged and the crook took my GPS". And, quite frankly, if I got mugged I might have bigger things to worry about. But I do see plenty of lame posts here by people who were surprised that their $300 window was smashed to steal their $99 GPS. Sometimes it was left in plain view, but more often (at least for the reports I see here) it is "cleverly hidden" in the console or under the seat.

So I'm still inclined to consider just not that anything can happen but also the likely-hood of it happening. I'll keep taking my GPS with me when I leave the car. And while I'll never have the smug satisfaction of knowing that my GPS was taken but that I had "protected" it with a 3 digit secret code, I still laugh to myself when I see others who know that GPSs are frequently stolen from cars but are amazed when their own GPS is.

I hope that you can forgive me for trying to caution others about this.

I doubt very much if the thief can tell the age of the GPS from outside the car. And if it is really old enough that someone might spot the difference, then it is likely bigger and thicker and might make the average thief think that it is something "special".

If you're going to continue to do thuis, at least park with your windows wound down so they are protected inside the door. That way you are not left to replace an expensive window as well as an old GPS.