Well, I finally brought the little car home over the weekend and parked it out the back of the flats I live in. It's been there for all of 36 hours and already i found a beer bottle in the back of it.
Is this what i should expect owning a softtop? Are people just going to be hanging out in the back of it all the time?
Comon peoples - how can i "deter" this kind of behaviour?
I was thinking that if i kept it filthy then people would be less inclined to touch it as they would then get mud all over their clothes etc...
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Joys of a Softtop?
Joys of a Softtop?
DMA Founding Member #1 - Now Retired
I think that was Fel's, she is still coming to terms with the new setup and alcohol is the only way to deal with it 
Get used to it. My tray used to get used as a handy rubbish bin all the time in Sth Melb. But I fixed that get a defect notice and put it in the garage and no one can see it or put rubbish in it. Well other than me as the tray has had the panels removed so they are in it plus all the screws and some light bulbs from the taillights and the torn flares and the bolts for them and some new flares plus my battery charger and the jumper leads and some zip ties plus some empty boxes and a jerrycan and the drill.
I should've left it parked on the street it would've been cleaner
Get used to it. My tray used to get used as a handy rubbish bin all the time in Sth Melb. But I fixed that get a defect notice and put it in the garage and no one can see it or put rubbish in it. Well other than me as the tray has had the panels removed so they are in it plus all the screws and some light bulbs from the taillights and the torn flares and the bolts for them and some new flares plus my battery charger and the jumper leads and some zip ties plus some empty boxes and a jerrycan and the drill.
I should've left it parked on the street it would've been cleaner
Ransom note = demand + collage
if you have an alarm fitted to it then go down to jaycar and pick up some of there little ultrasonic movement detectors. They have saved my at least 5 times now with someone unzipping my back window and trying to hop in. They are pretty cheap and well worth it. other than that just think a new plastic window is prob cheaper than a smashed glass window.
"If it ain't broken, smash it harder, then make it stronger!"
redrocket wrote:if you have an alarm fitted to it then go down to jaycar and pick up some of there little ultrasonic movement detectors. They have saved my at least 5 times now with someone unzipping my back window and trying to hop in. They are pretty cheap and well worth it. other than that just think a new plastic window is prob cheaper than a smashed glass window.
Fair plan - but the car only has a bikini top on it (there's no back window etc) - and i actually plan on running it with no top at all, and no doors either.
I don't mind people looking at it - i guess that's just part and parcel of having a car that doesn't look "normal" - i'm just a bit peeved that it became someone's bin (or possibly someone's bed i guess?) for the night...
Maybe i just need to find somewhere better to park it (i.e. a garage).
DMA Founding Member #1 - Now Retired
Hey Greg,
Yeah I was stressing about that too when I got the GV... so I got an alarm.
Typically, the Ultrasonic detectors will do very little when the tops down. You want some microwave sensors instead. They don't work with sound or with barometric pressure like most other alarms and are suited for soft-tops, even when you have parked it with the top down.
I can't remember the price of mine, (I can check if you really want to know) but it included central locking, immobiliser and some microwave sensors (2 I think) etc, and it seems to work well. Alarm doesn't go off when I park it with the top down, but if I stick my hand in it, it will
(as it should)
In Portugal I had a Cobra alarm system which was great! ... over here I've got a "Ming" (Ming is the company... the actual alarm brand I think is different but I don't recall). If you want to contact them just to get the facts, it's:
Ming Of Australia Pty Ltd
275 Canterbury Rd.
Canterbury 3126
Tel: 9888 67 89
Other alternative is to electrify it
Hmmm not a bad idea...
Fancy me suggesting something illegal! hehehehe some neon lights require some 600volts or so (but with very low ampage... or did I dream this? hmmm anyway it's not very dangerous, just uncomfortable) that should do it no? Just don't use very thick paint
Cheers mate,
Luis
Yeah I was stressing about that too when I got the GV... so I got an alarm.
Typically, the Ultrasonic detectors will do very little when the tops down. You want some microwave sensors instead. They don't work with sound or with barometric pressure like most other alarms and are suited for soft-tops, even when you have parked it with the top down.
I can't remember the price of mine, (I can check if you really want to know) but it included central locking, immobiliser and some microwave sensors (2 I think) etc, and it seems to work well. Alarm doesn't go off when I park it with the top down, but if I stick my hand in it, it will
(as it should)
In Portugal I had a Cobra alarm system which was great! ... over here I've got a "Ming" (Ming is the company... the actual alarm brand I think is different but I don't recall). If you want to contact them just to get the facts, it's:
Ming Of Australia Pty Ltd
275 Canterbury Rd.
Canterbury 3126
Tel: 9888 67 89
Other alternative is to electrify it
Hmmm not a bad idea...
Fancy me suggesting something illegal!
hehehehe some neon lights require some 600volts or so (but with very low ampage... or did I dream this? hmmm anyway it's not very dangerous, just uncomfortable) that should do it no? Just don't use very thick paint
Cheers mate,
Luis
redrocket wrote:oh ok i didn't realise it was only a bikini top. Not sure what you could do. Maybe just a troneau type cover over the back part like a little ute just to deter them from throwing shit in or getting in.
I think i might end up getting one of those "car cover" type things that you throw over the entire car and then use a padlock to lock it all together underneith the car - at least then someone has to be keen to get in to it - rather than just having a "looksee" and deciding to get in it and have a play...
DMA Founding Member #1 - Now Retired
I only had the back window missing in mine and after three days of driving to work and parking on Church St I had two large Big M cartons and a coke can in mine .. now I have a "softtop" snap in back window will see how it goes ..
" If governments are involved in the covering up the knowledge of aliens, Then they are doing a much better job of it than they do of everything else "
Re: Joys of a Softtop?
greg wrote:Well, I finally brought the little car home over the weekend and parked it out the back of the flats I live in. It's been there for all of 36 hours and already i found a beer bottle in the back of it.
Is this what i should expect owning a softtop? Are people just going to be hanging out in the back of it all the time?
Comon peoples - how can i "deter" this kind of behaviour?
I was thinking that if i kept it filthy then people would be less inclined to touch it as they would then get mud all over their clothes etc...
A shotgun or a softtop roof helps - take your pick
Posts: 3825
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 8:42 pm
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2002 8:42 pm
Location: in the sky , its a bird , its a plane ! No its super MOOSE !!!
My 94 Vitara's softtop has done well up til recently. Some dirty thief cut into it to get at the silver in the coin tray, I fixed that with some ski-saver (like tough contact, they don't make it anymore unfortunately). Now bits of it are coming apart, so on with the duct tape. Had a look at after-market soft tops in Sydney, and they seem to run at about $600 or so?
An easy cure to the soft top problem is to buy a Feroza! Just put the fibreglass roof back on when you want security.
On a more serious note, the microwave detectors are the go. I've got one fitted in my Feroza and hooked into the alarm system. They cost around $60 for a dual zone one- meaning you can have the alarm beep to warn people who are getting too close. If they reach in the second zone will trigger the alarm fully. Each zone is independently adjustable and they work through glass, soft tops, etc, but not through metal.
The are a self contained unit about the size of a cigarette packet and can be mounted under plastic trim (eg under a centre console or carpet) out of sight.
Ultrasonics are prone to false triggering and can't be used with the soft top off like a microwave can.
http://www.advanceae.com.au/car/prod223.htm
http://www.dynamco.com.au/Sales/sensors/Index.html -the one I've got.
On a more serious note, the microwave detectors are the go. I've got one fitted in my Feroza and hooked into the alarm system. They cost around $60 for a dual zone one- meaning you can have the alarm beep to warn people who are getting too close. If they reach in the second zone will trigger the alarm fully. Each zone is independently adjustable and they work through glass, soft tops, etc, but not through metal.
The are a self contained unit about the size of a cigarette packet and can be mounted under plastic trim (eg under a centre console or carpet) out of sight.
Ultrasonics are prone to false triggering and can't be used with the soft top off like a microwave can.
http://www.advanceae.com.au/car/prod223.htm
http://www.dynamco.com.au/Sales/sensors/Index.html -the one I've got.
David
I had a microwave alarm, we set it up with the top off, and set the parameters for where the sides would be, so if someone stuck their arm in even with the top off, it'd go off. Conventional alarms didn't work in Vitey, if the wind blew the canopy a bit, the alarm would go off.
However, the bloody thing drained my battery. Also I left my lights on once in the Guthega carpark, and while trying to jump start it in a blizzard (cruiser owner couldn't stop laughing at my tiny little battery) the imobilizer kept activating. So it took ages to co-ordinate pressing the alarm button to turn it off while cranking the starter and get the car actually going.
I decided the alarm was more trouble than it was worth and de-activated it. It's still sitting in there under the carpet.
However, the bloody thing drained my battery. Also I left my lights on once in the Guthega carpark, and while trying to jump start it in a blizzard (cruiser owner couldn't stop laughing at my tiny little battery) the imobilizer kept activating. So it took ages to co-ordinate pressing the alarm button to turn it off while cranking the starter and get the car actually going.
I decided the alarm was more trouble than it was worth and de-activated it. It's still sitting in there under the carpet.
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