PARKING LOT THIEVES
 

HEY,

WILL BE ARRIVING IN MAUI ON THE 25TH OF JULY. I HAVE BEEN READING
ALOT ABOUT THE BREAK-INS AT THE
PARKING LOTS AND ON THE ROADSIDE
ON THE TRIP TO HANA. ANY ADVISE ON HOW TO AVOID BEING RIPPED OFF. OTHER THAN NOT LEAVING YOUR GEAR IN YOUR CAR

THANKS

The same rules apply there as most elsewhere in Hawaii.. NEVER leave valuables in your car, glove box or trunk, and always, ALWAYS leave your car doors *unlocked*.

More info. :S-relevant to your question at the end of this previous link:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34507284

Check with your car rental agency before assuming any information you receive here is correct. We're told by our agency year after year to leave the car doors unlocked at all times.

OK I will bite on this. Why in the world would you leave your vehicle unlocked? Must be something different about Hawaii...I have never heard of such a thing. Enlighten me please...

Yes, do tell. And could you please leave your CaPs unlocked, bifs5?

For two very logical reasons. First of all, car theft is virtually non-existent in Hawaii, at least on the outer islands -- there's nowhere car thieves can escape to if they steal a car. And second, since the major problem there isn't car theft, it's car break-ins, the harder thieves have to work to get inside a car, the more damage they do -- broken windows, windshields, slashed convertible roofs etc.

Okay, then, if there are two cars available to break into, one locked and one unlocked, which would you choose?

I still don't get it.

So, the "don't lock your doors" advice is strictly to save money and aggravation for the rental companies?

That's sort of how I had it figured -- that they'd just as soon have a thief get into the car easily and steal your stuff than have to fix the locks, windows, etc.

The poster asked how to protect yourself "other than not leaving your gear in the car." Simple answer: Lock your car, and get a car with a security system. Ain't perfect, but it's the best option.

Jocelyn: In Hawaii, the answer would be the locked car. A locked car in Hawaii means, "C'mon in, there's something of value inside."

I've always locked by car in Hawaii and have never been advised by a rental agency not to lock my car.

Funny lead story on Oahu TV the last time I was there...someone stole a bulldozer from a construction site. I didn't realize why the locals found that so amusing until the newscaster pointed out that there they can't get it off the island and it will be too big to hide for long. Sure enough, they found it within a few days.

After our car was broken into at atrailhead, I learned.

In Hawaii, I leave the car unlocked and the window down( even halfway).

What this does is signal to the thieves that there is nothing of value in the car.

I became more conscious of my surroundings after the break-in. I noticed that at several beach parking lot, there were kids sitting high up in the trees watching as people parked and left their cars.

If you must leave valuables in a locked car...NEVER..NEVER open your trunk in the parking lot.

hey,

correct me if i am wrong but the beaches where we live in NY the whole family can go swimming and leave your gear on the beach. would it be wrong of me to assume that if we took that approch in HI would our gear be gone when we came back?

thanks

Sorry Dick - but never, ever leave valuables locked in your trunk either. When I lived on Maui, I had the lock on my trunk pushed in 4 times by people assuming there must be something in there to steal (I had a Budget rent a car as a leased vehicle for my company car). They can get into your trunk faster WITHOUT a key than you can WITH a key.

So, nothing in your trunk, and never, NEVER put your expensive camera (etc)under the front seat of the car thinking that no one will look for it there...duh...

Dick: We learned our lesson at South Point on the Big Island. Apparently others have, too:

http://www.tropicdiver.com/hawaii33.htm

http://www.goonan.com/greensand.html

http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/53022/508/6/

etc.

We had our rental car stolen in Honolulu (Waikiki, actually) after parking it overnight on a street recommended by the rental car company. We weren't advised one way or other whether to leave it unlocked. The car was locked, but we had not left anything at all in it. Maybe the would-be thieves were annoyed at the lack of anything at all to steal, and therefore decided to steal the car itself!? We did suffer some aggravation--we had to get another car, and later fought with the car rental company over costs associated with the theft--but we did laugh about it: the thieves were stuck on an island, after all.

A rep whose territory included Harlem years ago told me about the time his car was stolen. He always special ordered a stripped down car so there was nothing to steal. The car only had an AM/FM radio and that frustrated the thieves so much they tore off the buttons for the radio!

My son's car was stolen on the way to Hana, Maui when he and his wife took a walk to a waterfalls. they were gone for about 1 hour. They had nothing in a car as they were advised to leave their car unlocked. well, there was no damage, except a scratch on a bumper, to a car and police found a group of kids who took a car for a joy ride. If his car was locked kids probably would take another car that was unlocked. Should you lock you car or just leave it unlocked, it is up to you. By the way he never got to Hana as it took him about four hours before they took care of their stolen car and got another one from Hertz.

Shouldn't it be pretty easy to catch stolen car thiefs in HI? I mean, they're pretty small islands, not that many roads, and you need a boat or plane to get the car/parts off the island?

Unfortunately this isn't just a problem in Hawaii. When we go to any trailhead we totally empty the car and take the registration with us. Identity theft is related to these breakins as well.