<center><img src="http://sync-sys.com/b/MVC-460X.JPG"></center><p>This Sunday I have locked steering will with the club and lost the key. First thing - I went to police precinct (on W20 st. in Manhattan) and asked for help. They told me, that it would be their pleasure to cut my steering wheel. Otherwise they could not suggest any help. So I recalled this TV show, where some car thief uses metal pipe to bent the club. I went to the nearest construction site and found 4' long 1/2" pipe. It took me 5 minutes to take the club off!!! I never did it before and if I would have 2' pipe, I think, I can do it in under 1 minute! So the lessons are:
1. Clubs are useless. People can say, there are good brand. I would answer - there is always a bigger pipe and stronger thief. The only alternative, I could come up with is the hand grenade, duck taped to steering wheel. (If somebody knows better thing - let me know).
2. I have bent my club on the middle of the street in the daylight one block from police precinct. And it was nice part of the city. I looked as I am stealing the car. Nobody asked my, what am I doing. Nobody called police! When I looked at person, who passed by, he looked away, like he did not notice, what I am doing in the car with 4' long pipe!

Picture attached.

PS. If you want to put instructions, how to take off the club to the FAQ, let me know. I will post step by step instructions.

 

At least now that you know they suck, you won't waste any more money on a new one

 

Any car can be broken into, or stolen if a thief wants your car badly enough... Worst case scenario, they can just tow it away with the alarm system going off with all the bells and whistles.. The purpose of the club is discourage thieves into having them move on to another car thats easier to break into..

If two A6's were parked in one block and a thief wanted an Audi, one car had the club and the other one didnt.. Which car do you think the thief will break into??

 

I don't have to make my A6 an unpenetrable fortress, I only have to make it harder to steal than yours. Unfortunately, that's the way it goes, and I too live and park in NYC (granted, I live in Staten Island, and I do sometimes park in Brooklyn and Manhattan, but that still is NYC)
I added my aftermarket alarm and club to make my car too much effort to steal. Hopefully it works. It may be overkill, especially since I usually don't park on the streets, but better safe than sorry.

 

Unpenetrable Fortress isn't the answer either... Will only increase the # of Car jackings...

 

The best deterant ? Get a car nobody wants ! ( of course you won't either;-)

 

All Club is supposed to do is to provide a visual deterrent. Yes, I can saw this off, put freon on it or use other tools to bend it. However, at the least at takes anywhere from 1 to 2 minute; thus, the additional "stealing time" goes up.

So, they either move on to the next nice car or comeback with a bigger tool. The point is, you've provided them with a deterrant. In fact, I don't even lock mine just to avoid a problems like what you are having. Think about it. If they broke into the car thinking that they have the tool to break or bend the club, why lack it in the first place?

 

that you didn't already know this. The Club and its variants have been around long enough that many many organizations have tested them and done "exposes" on how easy they are to break (Freon, anyone?). Even Consumer Reports dinged these guys a few years ago.

You really have to get into the mindset where you like your car and all, but if someone really wants to take it they're going to and it's only a material good so get over it. It's kinda liberating when you can do this, but it's also sad and frustrating that we have to.

Interesting article in the Sunday LA Times about kids in Fresno who steal cars because it's hot and they're bored. They sometimes steal one car to drive across town, dump it and steal another to drive back! There was no indication that they had any trouble boosting the cars. And the points about carjacking being the result of fortified cars is a good one.

 

then again, I don't really know either. I am not sure there is any real data to support or refute, but I believe car-jackings are an act of violence, anger, drug-seeking ($) and anti-social behaviour much more often than a normal car theft which is often mischief and "making a living", also for drug money at times.
Either way, I just lock my car and hope it'll be there when I get back, but if it is not, that is why I have insurance, even though I know it will still cost me quite a bit to get it replaced. There are better things for me to worry about than whether my car will get stolen, although my car is rarely in "high-crime" or high-risk places, other people may have it differently and therefore, use more deterrants. I would just hate to carry that big damn club around with me.

 

Ditto - the whole reson to use any of these is to stop the amature, not the pro