how hard or how easy is it to get rx8 stolen?

say that all doors are locked and alarm is on

I think it would be hard to steal an 8 ,but yet mine hasn't ever been stolen :dunno:

Pretty easy, I am going to steal one in Lake Jackson Texas later today I will post pics.

:)

Why do you want to know?

I steal mine all the time...
Or rather drive it like it is stolen :rock:

If someone wants a vehicle, they'll find a way to get it.

However, consider supply and demand. Your average everyday thief/car chopper is going to go after something that they can part out and sell. I don't see rotaries that high on the list.

its easy if you have access to the right tools.

no one wants to steal a car they are going to have to keep putting gas in every few blocks...lol

Well the car has an imobilizer, a factory honk/light alarm to get attention, and a chip key to start it.

I would says its not the hardest to steal, but not the easyest, maby 8 out of 10.

And mine's a manual and a bunch of people can't drive manuals. :D

Remember that story a few weeks back about the car jacker who tried to car jack someone with a manual transmission and then gave up? Hehe. And maybe the engine will flood on them and they'll be SOL.

They're VERY hard to steal. Imagine you wanted to steal an RX-8. You pull out the checklist of things you have to do, and the very first thing on the list is extremely daunting:

1) Find an RX-8...

he'll realize how slow the car is and abandone it... =(

the pros just flatbed them, takes 30 seconds... it's pretty hard to break in and hotwire one unless your dealer is dirty.

the pros just flatbed them, takes 30 seconds... it's pretty hard to break in and hotwire one unless your dealer is dirty.

yup...with the right tools its easy.

http://www.speedyrecoveryinc.com/images/photos/FlatBed.jpg

About a month after I got my RX8 there was a report that an (identical to mine) RX8 was stolen by a couple of guys and a huge manhunt went down. I thought I was going to get pulled over a million times but I think they were caught pretty quickly. No idea how they got past all the crap on that car, but I guess if you really want something...

I wonder how many people try and then flood it.

:)

By the time they figure out how to open my doors (they are vertical) and turn on the E-Manage (it acts as an ignition inhibitor if you wire it off), they will be wearing internal lead jewelery.

Flatbed is the only practical way and it requires balls.

[QUOTE=MazdaManiac]By the time they figure out how to open my doors (they are vertical)...QUOTE]

never thought of a door mod being anti-theft, nice! :rock:

By the time they figure out how to open my doors (they are vertical)

They're thieves. They'll just yank and bend the crap out of your door and post. If they can't get in they walk away leaving you the mess.

They're thieves. They'll just yank and bend the crap out of your door and post. If they can't get in they walk away leaving you the mess.
True.

my last car got stolen so I added lojack early warning to try and help mine from getting jacked

They're VERY hard to steal. Imagine you wanted to steal an RX-8. You pull out the checklist of things you have to do, and the very first thing on the list is extremely daunting:

1) Find an RX-8...

lol

After they get in the car and start her up, they still can't do a fast get-away. They're going to have to wait a couple of minutes for the 8 to warm up first!

My car was broken into right in my driveway....

Since there was no damage around the locks, nor scratches on paint or windows, I would have to assume that it must be fairly easy to jimmy the locks and get into the car, maybe with a slim-jim. This is a good thing. You don't want a car that is so difficult to get into that they damage the car getting in. Let's face it, it a thief wants in, he/she will get in.

Hard to tell if they tried to start it. I have to assume that the ignition cutoff did it's job. But more likely, they probably didn't try.

However, they did take my owner's manual. My immediate thought was that they were probably trying to locate the keycodes to obtain a new set of keys and come back for the car at a later date.

I phone Mazda, and they informed me that in order to obtain a new key from Mazda, you need to have the keycode AND car registration before they issue a key. The only way for non-authorized key duplication is if the Mazda dealer did not follow established protocol.

Lesson 1: Never leave your car registration in the car.
Lesson 2: Keep the key tag with the key code at home in a safe place.
Lesson 3: Don't every leave anything valuable in your car (obvious).
Lesson 4: Don't even leave your insurance papers in the car (it has your home address and serial number, etc).
Lesson 5: I don't fill in the owner information in the owner's manual nor in the warranty booklet (same reason as lesson 4).
Lesson 6: Hide the locknut key. Don't just leave it lying around in the trunk.
Lesson 7: I don't lock the glovebox. I figure best to let them look through it, find nothing, rather than them forcing it open and damaging the interior.
Lesson 8: The back armrest/ storage is very inconspicuous. I had left some electronic gizmos there and they missed it.

Basically, there was no physical damage to the car. But in jimmy-ing the locks, it messed up the remote door locking/alarm arming mechanism. It would only work sporadically after that. The dealer fixed it up nicely.

The only thing missing of value were my driving gloves (damn, they were nice too).

But here's the funny part. A couple of days later, I find the owner's manual placed neatly on the windshield of the car (a concientious thief?).

Door lock repair : $0
Driving gloves: $70
Lessons learned: Priceless

#1 - Required by law
#2 - It won't help you there if you need a new key
#4 - Required by law

I phone Mazda, and they informed me that in order to obtain a new key from Mazda, you need to have the keycode AND car registration before they issue a key. The only way for non-authorized key duplication is if the Mazda dealer did not follow established protocol.

There was a news story awhile back where the reporters tried to obtain keys from various dealerships without the required proof. They were successful in many instances, by using various sob-stories. This is called 'social engineering'. Policies can be well thought out but aren't worth diddly if they're not followed. IIRC, however, Mazda was the only company where the reporters consistently struck out with their schemes.

my roommate needed a key to his F-150, we went to the local ford dealer and all they asked for was the VIN and ten minutes later we were out the door w/a new key, kinda freaked me out.

#1 - Required by law
#2 - It won't help you there if you need a new key
#4 - Required by law

1 and 4 remedied by keeping in wallet....

No one has ever successfully broken into my car, but..

I was at the movies with a few friends like a month ago (one is a marine and 2 were in the airforce...harcore military guys) and my car paged me saying someone was breaking in (the car alarm paged me, not my actual 8 lol)...so we run outside and sure enough there were 4 guys around my car...

they were unsuccessful though, didnt leave any damage, got their asses kicked, and then got arrested...im sure it was a great night for them lol

Moral of the story: invest in a good alarm system

couple of years ago, people where going in the RX-7 forum and getting VIN# from the VIN# check area. They would obtain the number and get a key. Couple of people lost their FD's because of that.

1 and 4 remedied by keeping in wallet....
That is fine - if you are the only one who drives your car.

1 and 4 remedied by keeping in wallet....

Not if your wife or kids or friends drive the car. Granted - you might follow this practice for your RX-8 if you really cherish and protect it, but you can't be following it on every car, especially in families with many cars/drivers.

I would say you should stack up the deterrents as warrented by your location.

I live out in the country on a small farm. During deer season (which isn't long enough) you can hear shotgun blasts from all directions. I, like most of my neighbors sight in guns and practice on my property. I can stand in my yard and point and tell you different calibers and types of weapons have heard from the surrounding properties. Bottom line - almost no break-ins (never heard of one), almost no mischief (can't think of when I heard of one), absolutely no repeat offenders (quite a deterrent). Sometimes I don't even lock my car at home.

In town I just lock it. In the city I park it where I can see it or where others can see it.

If I lived in town or in the city I'd start adding deterents -
- upgraded alarm system (with window sticker)
- steering wheel club
- pedal club
- car cover with lock
...and best of all - lock it inside a garage at night.

An ill-gotten dealer-key will not overcome those last 4. Granted, none of these are guarantees, but you're not guaranteed to not hit a deer (for instance) or be hit by a drunk driver either. Each of those deterrents makes it more conspicuous for someone to mess with the car and that's all you need. If I saw someone cutting a car-cover off a high-end sports and backing up a flatbed truck I'd discretely call 911 on my cell phone.

It's the same principle you shoud use for your home - make the thief want to mess with someone else's that's easier pickings. After that you have to make your peace with the risk you face and not drive yourself crazy worrying about it all.

That is fine - if you are the only one who drives your car.

There are people who let somebody ELSE drive their 8?!?!? :shocking:

(oof, this reminds me yet again of how much I hate valet parking!)

(oof, this reminds me yet again of how much I hate valet parking!)

Yeah, what do you do there? You can't count on the valet to properly set the alarm or apply a club. Hmmm, unless maybe if you apply the club to the valet.....

In the past 10 years or so, here in the UK, there has been a huge clamp down on car theft with more and more effective vehicle security systems being fitted by the manufacturer. As a result, it is nearly impossible to steal a vehicle without the keys. As you know this is the case for the RX-8 too.

However, sadly, this has lead to a rise in violent vehicle related crime as criminals now target the owners themselves in an effort to get the keys. This means they are breaking into homes at night, and if the keys cannot be found lying around somewhere, they then go confront the owner. And the law and interpretation of "reasonable force" over here sucks big time, so you can't even properly defend your own property.

The generally accepted view is to leave your keys out of view of the windows of your house, but somewhere where they can be found. Better they steal your car than have cause to confront you.

However, while this does happen, it isn't a common occurence, so don't have nightmares.

And the law and interpretation of "reasonable force" over here sucks big time, so you can't even properly defend your own property.

That's too bad. As I understand the interpretation here in the USA if they're in your house deadly force can easily be considered reasonable. Having a wife and kids in the house to protect only makes it easier. However, shooting them on your lawn or in your car is clearly out of bounds (and no fair dragging them into the house afterwards).

Personally I find the thought of 'leaving the keys out for the burgler' disgusting, but I understand you don't have many other choices and I'd prefer that to being shot myself.

And the law and interpretation of "reasonable force" over here sucks big time, so you can't even properly defend your own property.


That sucks. You need a cowboy for a leader. (I'm being super sarcastic :) )

My last car (a WRX) got stolen off my driveway - current car (a silver 8) has got a tracker fitted, well at least the cops should find it if it happens again.

[QUOTE=Cool-Blue-Dad]However, shooting them on your lawn or in your car is clearly out of bounds (and no fair dragging them into the house afterwards).QUOTE]

Not in FL.

I liike having a car that no chop shop gives a crap about. I've had TWO Honda Accords stolen from me - one at an airport, one from my closed and locked garage! They broke in and stole it while we were on vacation no less - the police said that they must have used a rolling code garage transmitter to get it open as there were no signs of forced entry. That and we must have been "cased" well in advance.

In both cases the cars were less than 6 months old with fewer than 5000 miles on them too. I got brand new cars from the insurance co. each time. Gotta love Gap insurance.

almost nothing worse than having your car stolen
what a crappy feeling