concerns about theft

Almost never leave my GPS in the car in fact bought an ICON camera case that fit it perfectly. The thieves must have seen me with it because the car was parked 25 ft. off the street where they could not have seen the mount. (Which I used to leave up before reading this thread.) They stole the c220 and the case (which were in separate locations, but did not touch the mount, charging cable $15 in cash or anything else. A friend who is a detective, told me 'touristy' locations are the worst for having things like GPS's stolen from the cars because people assume the areas are safe and the criminals are usually teenagers trying to make a quick buck while on vacation with mommy and daddy. Now I NEVER leave my gps in the car and the mount/cables gets thrown in the center console. Thanks for the great topic. Another thing I have started doing is only loading the gps memory card with the state(s)I will be in. If someone gets my gps now, it'll only afford them limited use.

yeah, just got off vacation and everywhere we went, I did the same, took my gpsr and put the mount in the console.

I seldom use the mount (only when it's low on power). The 350 is so small. I just lean it against the corner of the instrument panel. When I'm done I just put in back in the armrest. No one will ever see me struggle to get the suction mount off the windshield in the parking lot.

Here in the Bay area we never leave anything insite.
My c330 goes in a neat camera bag from Target$14.00,not to big not too small.My mp3 player fits in bag too.
Ron

it sounds like a good idea putting it there, but doesn't it fall off when you brake or take off or even go around a sharp corner?

Sounded good for my nuvi also... then I remembered that the mount and power cord are required for the traffic receiver.

- Keith

good point, most or all states have a law regarding mounting anything onto your windshield. Some are more strict than others. Some states comepletely ban the idea... Virginia

I use a bean bag - California Law forbids mounting in the windshield - and remove EVERYTHING when I get out of the car. This includes when I park in my own drive way. Neighbor had his car broken into just the other night; I'm not taking any chances.

I live in VA and have had no problems with LEOs and my GPSr on the windsheild. Or is that what you meant? And yes, ALL states have some sort of "obstruction of view" law.

Anything that belongs to someone else and has monetary value is at risk of being stolen.

One can 'advertise' the items, i.e. leaving it on the dash and/or front seat or taking the time to put it into the trunk or taking it with you. That is not to say that a theft still cannot occur. Even in-dash GPS units are being taken more frequently, no different than any auto stereo system, cell phone, radar detectors and of course a laptop as well.

Out of sight, out of mind.

joemac,
I hope the hat trick works for you. Here in Brooklyn,NY i had an old Mets cap on the rear deck of my car and they broke my rear window and stole the baseball cap.

Was having trouble getting the black electric tape to hold because of the heat. Any tricks to it?

Well,

My wife convinced me to take the suction cup off the windshield because of all the reported thefts in the DC metro area.

I placed a glass, upside down, in the cup holder to attach the suction cup to.

I looked at the bean bag mount for the nuvi. It is quite big. I don't think there is enough real estate on the dash to keep it from interfering with the SRS airbag, and I don't like that it doesn't come with the nuvi clip. I'd have to remove it from my suction cup mount.

I guess I'll stick with the cupholder mount for now.

Well I am leaving my mount up. This will be the first night since I had it up. I also have a PDA windshield holder that has always been up and I never had a problem. But maybe I should put electric tape where it says garmin (if it does say it, forgot).

Mine was stolen last week in my driveway. I forgot to lock it. The gps was on floor in back seat....they also got my cell phone...my best advise is always put it in trunk. Mounting hardware is up to you...it can go in trunk as well...(this is while traveling) the rest of the time keep in house. Cam

When I called to get my 2008 upgrade maps..I was talking to the Tech, He said it was great that I had registered my unit with Mygarmin.com Because it was registered if someone did steal it, they would never be able to load software or update it in anyway without Garmin knowing. He said that has helped them recover a few stolen units..

Well, like I said before, if they have it and I don't. I don't care if they can use it or not, I am not able to use it. If I was the one who stole it, I wouldn't care if it was updated or not, better then nothing and it was free.

My first c340 was stolen from my car in the parking lot of my work place. My replacement c340 was gvien to my college kid who has to do some job training. Now I don't have any. I continue to download the POIs for ????

As you can see on a pictures i have modified Garmin's mounting for Nuvi 750 and i believe it could be done for any GPS, Thinkpad etc.
By removing whole mounting from car power connector you avoid any signs of GPS:

http://picasaweb.google.com/pbereg9/MYGPS

If you leave no evidence stuck to the windshield when you park then you won't have any issues. If you can see the mount or the 12v plug, it will only be a matter of time before you get broken into. It's no big deal to put the entire works in the glove box. As long as there's no evidence of the gps you will be fine.

I take mine off the windshield and also rub the circles off.

What a world we live in. I take the GPS with me, but leave the mount behind. Of course I also drive a 96 Dakota so maybe thief's who look at cars think that I can't afford an expensive GPS, so they don't give it a second look? As far as smashing the driver side window I can replace that for about $50. (Nice to live in a city with a million junk yards and to have some mechanical experience) I guess it would take someone breaking the window to make me change my mind. I usually just hang a little sign that says "GPS with owner" Don't know whether that does any good, but I guess it is better than nothing.

Reminds me of some years ago where in, I think, New York, people were posting signs in their car to the effect of "Nothing in Trunk" in an attempt to stop thieves from popping the locks on trunks, which I guess at the time was a big problem. Anyway, one news cast I saw (probably on CNN Headline News) about it talked about one owner who left such a note only to come back and find the trunk lock popped and a note left saying "Just checking".

PT

I think several theves use a spring-loaded center punch which will break the window with very little effort and would make less noise then a brick or rock. These are also handy to keep in your car in case you need to break a window to escape in an emergency.

I agree with asianfire. I leave the mount and cable attached to the windshield (unless I'm parking at the airport or somewhere that is questionable) and take the GPS with me. Although it would be helpful to remove it and rub the "circle" off the window I don't think a thief is going to walk around and look for a "circle" on the window.

I don't really worry about theft because I take it with me if I'm in a busy area, but I'm more concerned with someone breaking into my car because they see the mount. I'm too lazy to take it down every time I park so I like to think that I live in a nice enough area that I don't have to worry too much.

This has been mentioned a few times in this thread, but I'll repeat it:
In some areas, those who are looking for GPS units and won't hesitate to smash and grab are looking for the circles that the suction cup leaves on the window, regardless of whether they see a mount, or a GPS in sight. They'll chance a break-in in the off chance that the GPS is stowed in the glove box, like it often is.
This is apparently common in some parts of Europe.
Windex sells pocket wipes that are for travel. Keep a pack in your glove box & wipe down the ring periodically.
A little prevention may prevent the cost and aggravation of a broken window - even if they don't get your GPS.

I recently had my van broken into because I had the my GPS mounted to the windshield. I had hidden the GPS but it was found in the van. The thief also stole my radio and DVD player mounted in the ceiling. So now I remove the GPS and anything portable from my van. It is no fun going through the headache of repairing your car after someone has broken into. Please take your mounts off your windshield, clean the circle that it leave and take your Portable devices with you. Take a couple extra minute so secure your property.

I have it nounted in the Navmat bean bag thingy. When approaching any area that I think someone might be tempted to steal it, I remove it and place it either on the seat, or the floor. I always have my coat, or sometning to throw over the unit and power cable. Sortof make it look natural so it doesnt look like I am hiding something. If nothing to cover it with, I put in im my trunk. Just depends on the situation. The idea is to give the impression that I don not have any valuables in my car no matter what it is.

I recently purchased a friction dash mount from Amazon. It works better than I had hoped and I just slide it under the seat as I arrive.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/free-sat-nav-police-komedi...