Hi everyone,

I am anxiously waiting for my 2013 Countryman S All4 to reach port, but once it arrives to NY how will I keep it safe? My neighborhood is safe and I have a garage, but when driving to other places how do you guys stop yourselves from checking if the car is fine every 5 minutes? (I.e. shady gyms, malls, etc).

 

I take it you did not order the factory "alarm"? Even if no, with today's technology stealing a car is not all that easy. No matter how much security to add to your car, if someone wants it bad enough...they'll take it. Don't loose sleep over it, and make sure your insurance is always paid up!

 

Oh sorry, thought this was another thread.

 

I got the alarm and wheels locks, but since its my first new car I'm just worrying too much. You are right though, the insurance should be my peace of mind. Tks!

 

Exactly!

 

I served on a grand jury 5 years ago, and sat through about 500 different felony cases over a four month period, ranging from aggravated DWI to 1st degree murder.

Anyway, about 20-25 of those cases involved stolen cars, and without exception all of them were either old cars (say 1995 or older) or the thief had a key. I think they're a little bit harder to steal now.

 

Insurance. You're much more likely to have your car broken INTO than outright stolen. Don't leave anything valuable visible in your car (wallet, GPS, iPod, loose change, cigarettes... ANYTHING.) and you'll be fine.

I keep my car completely empty, aside from a slime kit and a few tools in the boot, and my insurance papers in the glovebox. Clean and tidy at all times, and no one will be smashing the windows to steal the change out of the ashtray. Don't underestimate how shi**y junkies are... they have no qualms about smashing a $200 window to steal $0.75 out of your center console.

 

ill second that, had someone break into my dads jeep and all they stole was some change, CDs and the canvas beach top.

 

Your anxiety is understandable since it will be your first new car. Your peace of mind should be that MINI is not a desirable target for theft. A thief doesn't want to attract attention with a car that looks somewhat unique, and MINI is not a good choice for a chop shop (the market for MINI parts is just too small compared to other brands).

 

Any car has a potential to be stolen. That being said it seems the target vehicles are either older cars with high demand for replacement parts or new high end vehicles. The former go to chop shops, the latter get shipped and resold in Russia or equivalent (such as the Automobile magazine long term Audi A7.)
I would not worry about it too much cuz the CM does not fall in either category.

Hope you enjoy your new car!

 

Even windshield suction cup GPS or GoPro holders and the marks they leave on the glass which indicates that there IS something in there worth stealing.

 

I had the same concerns when I bought my first car eons ago. Went as far as installing a state of the art after-market alarm with a pager system. Ultimately the alarm was worth more than the car .

The primary concern is to find a nice wide parking spot where no one can ding the door and not worry if it will be stolen.