Theft of GPS's

Take it with you or don't bring it along to begin with.

Those are really the only options.

It's a sad world we live in, but it is what it is.

... or this way:
http://picasaweb.google.com/pbereg9/MYGPS
gives you option to hide completely both GPS and mounting in the car.

If you use wind shield suction cup mount, clean the marking of the suction cup ring off the wind shield.

I agree with moto momma. take the unit with you. Be sure to clean off any suction cup mark or you may lose a window if not the gps unit. Get the friction mount bean bag to minimize detection from window markings. Yes a sad testament to our times!

gusb

and one more thing...don't remove it where you park. pull over a block beofre to clean your windshield. otherwise you are advertising you are going to hide a gps.\

Just like nver put a computer case in the trunk and thne go in a restaurant. You will find your trunk broken open. hide everything before hand.

Use the beanbag and remove it from dash just before you reach your destination. Don't draw attention to yourself by removing it once you've parked. If you don't have a carrying case, remove the receiver from the mount and take it with you if at all possible.

pbereg

I assume that you made that cool mount. Where did you get the lighter plug and the bracket used to attach the standard suction cup mount?

Thanks,
Michael

Here' a similar thread about Stolen GPS:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/7781

For anyone thinking of buying a new GPS and concerned about theft, the Nuvi 350 is compact enough to slip in a shirt pocket. Leaving it in the car is not an option.

See link:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/9494
Thanks,

Leonid

For $10 (the Walmart piece) it may be worth it for me to try it out.

My hometown paper, The Columbus Dispatch, ran an article Sunday on GPS thefts on the rise:

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/01/...

I take mine with me every time I park my car. it fits in my coat pocket. there is no way I am leaving it behind. I do leave the mount up but the only place I leave my car outside is at work and I can see it from my office window.

Just once I`d like to catch one of those worthless punks. I`ve done some hard hard work in my life and absalutely am discusted by someone whom wants to take ANYTHING earned from my blood and sweat, or from my family. ANYTHING. I know I`d regret it later, but I don`t think I could help it-it would be worth the jail time to give that kind of scum what they have coming.

... and don't forget to leave an unfolded map in plain sight ...

I would recommend removing all cables showing that you have some type of electronic devices, clean the windshield to remove the O ring that it leaves behind and put them in the trunk or place them on the floor board with a blanket covering them.

Pack a "bait" unit with white phosphorus rigged to ignite after say a 3 minute delay unless a secret code or switch disabled it.

Leave the unit in plain site in your locked vehicle and when the scumbag snatches it, 3 minutes later he will get a hot surprise.

Just checked into a motel near an off ramp. As I was getting out of my car and shoving my C340 into my pocket (had been running on battery with no mount), a guy pulled in next to me with a newer GPS mounted. He got out and left the whole thing on the windshield.

I went down later and it was still there. So now I have the solution to getting my car broken into. Find somebody like that and park next to them. That way the perps will take the bait and hit the other car. Since they like to smash, grab, and go, they are unlikely to then waste time hitting a car with nothing showing.

I learned this lesson the hard way almost 30 years ago. I used to leave a lot of stuff in my car when I was in HS. My car was broke into more than once. Later, in my 20s I had an old pull out type cassette head unit. The one time I left it in my truck, the window was smashed and the stereo was stolen, and the dash was broken up.

Since then, I leave nothing, literally nothing visible. No blankets on the floor (thats a sign that something might be hidden), nothing on the seats, not even a news paper, and when I've had a removable face for the stereo, it comes out. I haven't had a car broken into in 25 years.

George, I love that idea, parking next to someone with their toys visible!

The legal name for something like that is "Man trap". It is against the law and would probably get YOU a longer sentence than the thief. NOT a good idea.

I just got my Nuvi 360 and this is my biggest concern about buying a portable unit.

I like the Nuvi 3XX for the small size, this way I can "take it with me." I will have to come up with a way to hide my power and mount. I do not use the suction mount since I live in CA.

Keep your hands on your expensive toys.

I was a Police Officer for 30 years and this same thing is constant no matter where you are in the city. If you leave a tell tale sign of anything of value in the car the thief will break in. It its out of site they will go on to a vehicle that has something to steal that is in plain view. I never remove my Garmin from my vehicle but I ALWAYS remove it from sight just prior to arriving at my final parking location. I also wipe the ring on the windshield... another tell tale sign. You just have to be smarter than the bad guys.

The legal name for something like that is "Man trap". It is against the law and would probably get YOU a longer sentence than the thief. NOT a good idea.

Somebody broke into my car last week and grabbed my Nuvi cord and my radar detector. I don't know if I left the RD in the window by mistake, or if they were casing the cars and saw the power cord for the Nuvi plugged in. Nuvi was in my pocket, but even if they had gotten it Garmin lock is on so they would not have been using it. Too cold out to sleep in the car, but one of these days I'll be in the back seat with a baseball bat.

My mother took her 2 week old Nuvi 350 out of the car, put it in her jacket pocket and someone stole it out of her jacket pocket WHILE IN COURT.

- jeremy

I live by the nw side of chicago.....this sucks because i am forced to carry my gps with me all the time. Better safe than sorry though!

Leave an unfolded map... Most of the time I have one of those anyway.

Well considering that court rooms are not often filled with the most honest people in the world, maybe not suprising. If you said it was stolen out of her pocket at church, then that would be different.

PT

It sucks that someone stole it from her pocket like that, but she should be more careful next time. Just because it is in her possession does not mean it is completely safe. Especially if she was sitting near many people.

I have heard that they are even breaking into cars when they see the mark left on the windshield from the suction cup. I have taken to removing the mount from the window and wiping the glass with my glove.