I've heard some people mention that they leave their cabrio doors unlocked. If someone wants to steal something of value from your car, they can just cut through the soft top. So instead, they leave the doors unlocked so a would be thief won't steal their baby's car seat and hand them a $500 bill for a new top.

What are your thoughts? With iPods, cellphones, and other small items, the solution is simple. Just take them with you. Or lock in the glove box. But what about larger items like the baby seat, the golf clubs, etc.?

I think that locking the doors is still the way to go, just because cutting into the top of the car is one more criminal act that some people won't take. Opening a door and grabbing a nine iron is one thing, but cutting through a top is another. Anyway, thoughts?

 

I think the key to safety is to first not have ANYTHING in site. Wether you lock the car dorrs or not , try to keep the temptation to a minimum. Whe ni had a rag top I went back and forth on the lock or no lock plan and to be honest never decided fully either way. Seeing a car go by with a strip of duct tape on the top always sent a chill down my spine.

 

Months ago this question was posted and there were people on all sides of the issue.

Then a policeman/MINI owner posted and said something contrary to what we 'think'.....

He said it's not true about the ragtop getting the knife. He said a crook's first instinct is to break the window. He's seen it over and over.

I totally ditto what you all said....about having NOTHING in sight. I don't leave anything in my car...not so much that it will be stolen...but that's my motivation to keep a clean car!! WOOHOO!!!

 

This topic has come up before on another thread. If someone wants something in your car, they are going to get it. Whether you have a hardtop or convertible, they are going to get in if they really want to.

I was a police officer for 13 years, and in that time saw one incident of a convertible top being cut, and it wasn't to steal something, but just to do damage(the same night we had numerous broken windows). However, in that same period, I cannot begin to tell you how many broken windows I saw-one night alone we had a rash of 25-30. Most cases of broken windows over the years were just vandalism, but some involved theft of items in the car. (And just in the interest of being fair-I saw several cars that had a broken sunroof.)

It is a LOT easier and a LOT faster to break the side window and reach in than to cut the top and reach in from above. Breaking the side windows is something that is extremely fast and easy to do, with not as much noise as you would think. Stand next to your car with the windows up and try to reach over the window and get something out of the interior of your car and you will see it isn't very easy to do.

Thieves want to do the fast and easy theft, not something that is difficult and time consuming.

(AggieMini types faster than I do... )

 

Leave nothing of value in sight. (is anyone really going to steal a car seat?)

In my years of miata owning, I've never locked a door. Have several friends who do, and have heard of MANY tops being cut, both from people I know and people on various forums.
Then again, as said above, I know people who've left the door unlocked, and had a window broken.

 

I drive my MR2 spyder on a regular basis.

...

Parking at the coffee shop - roof down, windows in whatever position they where when I stopped. Doors locked - habit.

Parking at the store - Roof down, windows up, doors locked.

Parking at the office - Roof up, windows up, doors locked.

I never leave anything important in the glove box.

Anything of value is in the locked storage behind the seats, but again it is incredibly rare that I have anything of value left with the car.

I would rather a thief break the window than cut the roof, but either way I am going to be into insurance claims anyway, so I would rather deter the casual thief and actualy make them work for whatever they steal - hence locked doors, windows up, locked storage lockers etc.....

 

I never locked my 2 previous 'verts, a '68 bug and a '73 olds 88, but i do lock my MINI. I think the reason I do is because I've become less paranoid, I have power locks on the doors, and I don't frequent the same areas I once did .

 

Thieves are not always the brightest people. One of the guys I work with has a Jeep. On a day he had the soft top on someone bent the upper part of the door and stole his cd's. Even a quick glance shows that there were no door locks on the Jeep soft top.....

 

people get beat up here for expressing opinions that may not appeal to others, therefore, I'll just present some data and you can draw your own conclusions.

I've had a ragtop in the stable (one car or another) consistently since 1980. I also had one from 73 to 74 but let us not digress. The experience has been in various parts of the country.....

The only time my top was cut was in the middle 80's in Miami. The car sat outside of my condo (no garage) and was cut 3 times in 3 months. Seems someone kept interupting some other one's desire to steal my radio from a VW rabbit convert....at the time they had Blaubkt' radios and they had a good rep (or easy sell plan). Eventually I replaced the radio with a bottom line Alpine but painted out all ID marks and never had another problem.

4 years in the 90's with a Miata in Miami where I locked doors...no problems {miata's had wierd sized radios then....would not fit in anything else}

2 years with same Miata in San Fran where I locked doors ... no prob' {ditto size comment}

Still have that rag top and even 'occasionally' park it with the top down now (only when I can see it) .... bigger problem I see is birds

I never NEVER leave anything the remotely interesting to ANYONE in sight in the car.

 

To me if somebody wants something out of your car they will get it by breaking a window or cutting a top. Life's too short to spend all you time worrying though

 

The only reason I lock the car when the top is down is to keep the trunk locked.

 

I never really worry about locking it. But then, it does have 1965 door technology! I don't leave stuff out, the only locking space is the trunk, and I've gotten a hidden kill switch for the fuel pump (it's got fuel injection now) so you can't drive it away, as it is of a vintage that you can start the motor with a paperclip via the starter solenoid on the fender.....

But I've had ragtops since before 1990, and I've almost never locked.

Matt

 

Same here - I even lock the doors when I park with the top down, just to lock the trunk. The iPod and GPS go into the glovebox, which I lock. I realize that the glovebox lock isn't particulary robust, but it discourages the quick "reach in just to check" idea.

 

I really don't worry about someone trying to get in through the top. There are so many supports and wires it would be darn hard to make any progress. I do have a funny picture in my head of some stupid crook stuck head first through the top of my cabrio with his legs flailing about. It would certainly be much easier to get in through a window! I definitely don't leave anything of value in the car though, no need to tempt anyone!

 

Keep the Cabrio clean and the doors locked, if someone want to cut up your ragtop let them do it ... that's why we all need to buy insurance .... it's for those kind of unforeseeable situations.

 

It's a crap shoot. I've done both locked and unlocked. Had the top cut on the Miata. Started leaving the doors unlocked and disabled the cable lock to the trunk.

 

On my Plymouth I started leaving the doors unlocked in my driveway (the only place anyone ever tried to break into my car.) Since my liability insurance didn't cover the $300 side window. A detachable face CD player and taking the faceplate and anything else of value in with me at night was good enough. I did come out a few mornings to fing the glove-box and console open and stuff obviously having been gone through but nothing of value was taken. A determined enough thief will break a window or cut a top if they think there's something worth taking, leave nothing of value to attract them and getting an alarm are teh only two ways to really deter them.

 

I had a Mustang convertible and always locked it. I almost never left anything of value in the car and the rare occasion I did, it was hidden. Growing up in a city, I have seen how fast a theif can be in and out of a car (the duration of a red light). If they really want something, they will get it, that is what insurance is for.
BTW, does anyone know the insurance company's position on a recovered theft that was determined to have the doors unlocked (no signs of forced entry).

 

My own story takes place in 1989
The place New York ...
I was one of those people who said leave the door unlocked if they want something they can open the door and steal it

So there it sat my first new car a 1988 Pontiac LeMans..
Ya i know a dorky car but i was 18 and it was new, so anyways my 4 door pontiac was parked in the street OVER NIGHT while i was visiting a friend ...all 4 doors left unlocked.

well i woke to find my car door left open my radio stolen.
oh yah and my widow smashed in with a rock
did i forget to mention ALL 4 DOORS WERE UNLOCKED
i was more pissed they smashed the window then the fact they took my radio.

 

I lock the doors....probably a waste of energy but I do it anyway out of habit.

 

I HATE THIEVES!!!!!
My girls MCSC had the top cut open last night in our driveway just to get her Sirius radio sitting in the cup holder. I know she shouldn't have left it visible but the stupid asses didn't even take her GPS sitting in the center storage spot. They can't even use the radio, what is wrong with ppl!?!
Her insurance was saying they wanted her to use their body shop and might not cover the whole cost if the dealership does it. Would you recommend just having the dealership put a new stock top on?

 

I don't think anyone makes convertible tops for the MINI except MINI, so I think you'll be getting a "stock" top regardless. The question is whether she trusts the insurance-recommended body shop to do the installation correctly, or if it's worth fighting with the insurance company to let the dealership do it.

Just out of curiosity, can you tell how they got the radio out of the cup holder after cutting the top? I'm a tall, monkey-armed dude, and I can't think of any part of the top I could cut that would allow me to stick my arm in and either reach the cup holder or the door-lock handle, unless I climbed on top of the roof, cut a hole as far forward on the top as I could (remembering that the front six inches or so of the top has a solid panel underneath the fabric), and then stretched my arm/shoulder through the hole to get to the door latch.

I guess if the thieves had a hook on a pole, they could cut a small hole in the top, stick the pole through, and pull the opposite-side door handle to get it to open.

(All things considered, if I had to get something out of a locked ragtop MINI in a big hurry, I'd just smash a window - same as a hardtop).

 

I've been driving a Miata for 11 years and never locked the doors. Never left anything of value inside and never had a problem.

 

I lock if for no other reason than to secure the boot.

Plus, some insurance companies may not cover theft of items (even radios) left in an unlocked car -- so lock it and be covered if the worst happens.

 

Owned a sebring for 8 years, had the MINI cabrio for 16 months. Always lock. No obvious goodies in view. Never had a problem. Had a window busted out of a honda on an urban street for a leather jacket in the back seat about 15 years ago...