Is it safe to leave my TomTom in the windshield during the night?

[ryanpa]

Is it safe to leave my TomTom in the windshield in the car during the night?? I don't feel like to remove it every day?? Is anyone here do leave it in the windshield every day?? or will it attract thief easily?? please advice!!

Thanks!!

 

[geocacher]

I would not leave it my car. To many thieves out there. Anytime I leave my car I take it with me. TT is to valuable to me.

 

[jwiv]

Is it safe to leave my TomTom in the windshield in the car during the night?? I don't feel like to remove it every day?? Is anyone here do leave it in the windshield every day?? or will it attract thief easily?? please advice!!

Thanks!!

I used to take my tomtom inside and leave my mount in the car. This worked well for about 7 months. Then I woke up one morning and discovered that my car window was smashed and my glove compartment searched through.

Now I take everything in with me. On the upside, they left the mount.

 

[46jimbo]

The stealing of GPS units is now one of the biggest reasons for breaking into cars. They even look for the ring the suction cup leaves on the glass!

Since there is little theft of car radios anymore, as they are mostly integrated, the scum have their eyes on new booty.

 

[geocacher]

So basically take it all out of the car with you.

 

[sparky672]

Is it safe to leave my TomTom in the windshield in the car during the night?? I don't feel like to remove it every day?? Is anyone here do leave it in the windshield every day?? or will it attract thief easily?? please advice!!

You would know your neighborhood more than anyone here. Let me ask you this... is it safe to leave a couple/few hundred dollars in cash in the windshield of your car during the night? You've just answered your own question.

So basically take it all out of the car with you.

There are also other reasons.

Skip to the last few posts on the second page for TomTom's answer...

https://www.tomtomforums.com/showthread.php?t=4623

 

[shed]

will you also post me your address and bank details as i am unknown to you and completely trustworthy, also if you are married what is your wifes first name.
oh and dont forget the pin numbers for the credit cards.....



and if you think that would be stupid, well you started it

 

[radiationman]

I do leave it on my windshield - sometimes...

At night, yes but only because my car is parked in my garage.

I also leave it on the windshield when I'm at work because security is quite good - no unknown folks here.

When I park anyplace else, the TT is either hidden or comes with me.

 

[shed]

actually radiationman there was another guy on this site who like you left his in his car at work and it got stolen, and another whose fell off the mount and got broken, though i believe tt repaired it, i remove mine every time i leave the vehicle, pain sometimes espeacially in the summer,but scum bags dont care what the weather is like

 

[zerimar]

That's the beauty of living in Switzerland. I. as most owners of PNA's always leave my unit mounted unless I need to check for updates. There were even a few times that I forgot to lock my car in the middle of the city in an open parking and nothing got lost.

Once the Swiss even tried a "candid camera" thing by glueing a CHF5.00 coin to the pavement and no one even bothered to try to pick it up.

 

[sparky672]

That's the beauty of living in Switzerland. I. as most owners of PNA's always leave my unit mounted unless I need to check for updates. There were even a few times that I forgot to lock my car in the middle of the city in an open parking and nothing got lost.

Once the Swiss even tried a "candid camera" thing by glueing a CHF5.00 coin to the pavement and no one even bothered to try to pick it up.

I live in rural Illinois just outside Chicago and leaving your car unlocked with the keys inside is not uncommon. Pickup trucks with expensive tools in the bed, etc. I'd not take chances myself but it's relatively safe.

 

[zerimar]

I guess that really depends on the surroundings.

 

[radiationman]

actually radiationman there was another guy on this site who like you left his in his car at work and it got stolen, and another whose fell off the mount and got broken, though i believe tt repaired it, i remove mine every time i leave the vehicle, pain sometimes espeacially in the summer,but scum bags dont care what the weather is like

It depends on where you work - where I work we have armed guards controlling entry and patroling the grounds - small campus and nobody gets in unless they need to be there.

If there weren't serious access controls on the lot where I park, there would be no way I'd leave any electronics out in the open in the car....

 

[SABOTEUR]

Noooooooooooooo!!!!!!!

The reason I'm on this forum today is because I purchased the TomTom 3rd Edition to replace the Cobra GPS that was stolen.

Smart guy that I am. I knew enough NOT to leave my GPS unit mounted overnight. I was quite certain, though, that it was ok to leave the bracket mounted to the windshield. Simply remove the GPS, and store it out of sight.

Went to start my car last month and found myself gazing blankly at the space my car was previously parked. Retrieved the car from the city impound lot 3 weeks later.

$5000 worth of damage. Cobra GPS and my Sirius satellite radio was still in the car. Guess they must have left in a hurry.

Anyway, save yourself some grief. LEAVE NO VISIBLE SIGN YOU HAVE ANYTHING VALUABLE IN YOUR VEHICLE.

 

[sparky672]

The reason I'm on this forum today is because I purchased the TomTom 3rd Edition to replace the Cobra GPS that was stolen.

Smart guy that I am. I knew enough NOT to leave my GPS unit mounted overnight. I was quite certain, though, that it was ok to leave the bracket mounted to the windshield. Simply remove the GPS, and store it out of sight.

Went to start my car last month and found myself gazing blankly at the space my car was previously parked. Retrieved the car from the city impound lot 3 weeks later.

$5000 worth of damage. Cobra GPS and my Sirius satellite radio was still in the car. Guess they must have left in a hurry.

Anyway, save yourself some grief. LEAVE NO VISIBLE SIGN YOU HAVE ANYTHING VALUABLE IN YOUR VEHICLE.

Ouch, that really sucks.

Not to get too far off track but you're not saying your car was stolen because you left the suction cup mount in the window, are you?

You said they did not steal your GPS or your radio. Sounds like a joy ride or something, so I don't follow the logic here.

 

[SABOTEUR]

Ouch, that really sucks.

Not to get too far off track but you're not saying your car was stolen because you left the suction cup mount in the window, are you?

That's exactly what I'm saying. My wife said some kids my daughter knows mentioned to her that they'd "seen me driving" or something like that. Makes me wonder whether they were targeting the car to be broken into. Leaving the suction cup and cigarette lighter cables visible probably encouraged them (or someone they knew) to steal the car.

You said they did not steal your GPS or your radio. Sounds like a joy ride or something, so I don't follow the logic here.

We're puzzled too. We didn't find the electronic equipment until after we picked up the car from the repair shop. When we looked in the car at the impound lot, we observed where they attempted to removed the (antenna) wiring to the satellite radio. We too were surprised to discover the stuff still in the car. I can only guess that they made a hasty retreat because of the accident they were in. Or, like you said, they just wanted to joyride. Whatever the case, I have 2 GPS units now and BOTH come into the house with me when not in use...along with the suction cup brackets.

 

[sparky672]

Again... I'm not trying to be difficult here but stealing cars and busting windows to steal electronics are usually two different things.

Without the visible suction cup and cables, your car wouldn't have been stolen?

Either way, I agree "don't leave your valuables in your car", but in this case I find it had to believe the suction cup had anything to do with anything.... just my opinion of course. If it did, your GPS would have been the first thing they found and pocketed.

 

[SABOTEUR]

Again... I'm not trying to be difficult here but stealing cars and busting windows to steal electronics are usually two different things.

Without the visible suction cup and cables, your car wouldn't have been stolen?

Either way, I agree "don't leave your valuables in your car", but in this case I find it had to believe the suction cup had anything to do with anything.... just my opinion of course. If it did, your GPS would have been the first thing they found and pocketed.

You're not being difficult. You just don't think like a thief.

Look at it this way...if given a choice of which car to break into or steal, you're most likely to choose a vehicle that provides (1) quick or easy access and/or (2) is likely to have something valuable in it.

I drive a 2000 Dodge Caravan. My street is filled with newer vehicles one would think a thief would find more desirable; however my car displayed signs there might be something valuable inside so...

As for why the GPS and the satellite radio was left....well...your guess is as good as mine. Someone suggested they may not have known how to operate them. The loose wires clearly shows signs they intended to steal the items. The vehicle had been in some type of collision after it was stolen so the most logical conclusion is they ran immediately after the accident and simply left the electronic gear.

I might add that my wife had a bad habit of leaving her checkbook in the car. The checkbook was gone, so perhaps the thieves thought they could make better use of that. As I said, your guess is as good as mine.