TheSamba.com :: View topic - Using a ghia as a DD/ Probablity of getting stolen

Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:26 pm

Hello all, new to the forum. I come from a an e30 background and happen to not know much about these cars. My father had a '69 that was supposed to be my graduation present instead I got the '87 325 (e30). I love my e30 but for some reason I really want to get into these cars. I've spoken to him about purchasing one as he is very knowledgeable on the car. I am not one to be afraid on driving a daily beater or getting my hands dirty but I have come into a bit of a problem.

My father states the cars are extremely easy to steal, people love taking ghias and bugs and then just stealing the parts. He says you can hack through the bottom, behind the engine and the list goes on. I understand this is an old car but are these cars extremely prone to assholes stealing them? Are they extremely easy to steal and what security measures can people take to prevent this.

He told me about kill switches, and a bar that goes between the shifter and e-brake that holds them together.

Thanks for the info. :wink:

Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:52 pm

My '68 coupe was my daily driver for six years running, right up until last year. Never had a single problem. Everyone loved it and surrounded it whenever I parked, but nobody ever tried to take it or even break into it, and both would have been very easy to accomplish.

Anti-theft devices abound. Radical solutions range from removing the distributor cap to pulling the steering wheel and carrying it in a tennis racket bag, and everything in between.

Around here, we don't even take the keys out of the ignition, let alone lock the cars. I always figured that, even if they could get it to start with the twin choke-less Kadrons, they'd never get it idle cold and would probably abandon the effort within a few hundred feet of where it was parked.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:06 pm

TC/TeamEvil wrote: My '68 coupe was my daily driver for six years running, right up until last year. Never had a single problem. Everyone loved it and surrounded it whenever I parked, but nobody ever tried to take it or even break into it, and both would have been very easy to accomplish.

Anti-theft devices abound. Radical solutions range from removing the distributor cap to pulling the steering wheel and carrying it in a tennis racket bag, and everything in between.

Sounds reassuring I supposed. I do have a 2-way that has yet to be installed but I supposed that would be an easy work around.

"but nobody ever tried to take it or even break into it, and both would have been very easy to accomplish."

That statement kind of bothers me as I live in heavily populated miami but it seems here that hondas and acuras get stolen more often that older cars.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:29 pm

My Ghia was my fathers daily driver for years (81-95). Drove it from Glendora to Hollywood everyday (for all you southern californians). Someone tried to break in once. Messed the quarter window up. Other then that no problems. Keep in mind, the Hollywood of the 80s was a dirty nasty coke ridden place. You should be good.

That being said, whenever my car isn't in the garage I worry to death about it. Mostly because it's been a part of my life for so long. If it were just -a- Ghia I'd worry, but this to me is -the- Ghia. This car is why like vws. It's where it all started.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:33 pm

TC/TeamEvil wrote: My '68 coupe was my daily driver for six years running, right up until last year. Never had a single problem. Everyone loved it and surrounded it whenever I parked, but nobody ever tried to take it or even break into it, and both would have been very easy to accomplish.

Anti-theft devices abound. Radical solutions range from removing the distributor cap to pulling the steering wheel and carrying it in a tennis racket bag, and everything in between.

Around here, we don't even take the keys out of the ignition, let alone lock the cars. I always figured that, even if they could get it to start with the twin choke-less Kadrons, they'd never get it idle cold and would probably abandon the effort within a few hundred feet of where it was parked.

that's funny. I always say they'd never find reverse.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:36 pm

swhitcomb wrote: My Ghia was my fathers daily driver for years (81-95). Drove it from Glendora to Hollywood everyday (for all you southern californians). Someone tried to break in once. Messed the quarter window up. Other then that no problems. Keep in mind, the Hollywood of the 80s was a dirty nasty coke ridden place. You should be good.

That being said, whenever my car isn't in the garage I worry to death about it. Mostly because it's been a part of my life for so long. If it were just -a- Ghia I'd worry, but this to me is -the- Ghia. This car is why like vws. It's where it all started.

That is pretty much why I want the ghia. When my parents separated my father would be pick me up every other week. That was his daily so I would always spend around 3-4 hours every other weekend in the car making the trip to Orlando and back to Miami. I always asked him when I would get the car and he stated when I began college. A year or two before I graduated he needed to get rid of the car and sold it. I know where the car is know but it pretty much in pieces now.

I want now just to daily drive and get used to how they work and how to asses situations so that when I move up to Melbourne or Orlando I can get back my fathers old ghia and know what I am doing.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:42 pm

Last weekend I was polishing the Ghia when my mother in law was over. I was talking to her and it occured to me that I had been polishing that car since jr high. Made me smile. I also have lots of good memories of spending time with my dad in the car just like you. He always promised it to me, and after I'd owned two of my own an almost 30 years and 3000 miles of moving he gave it to me.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 5:47 pm

swhitcomb wrote: Last weekend I was polishing the Ghia when my mother in law was over. I was talking to her and it occured to me that I had been polishing that car since jr high. Made me smile. I also have lots of good memories of spending time with my dad in the car just like you. He always promised it to me, and after I'd owned two of my own an almost 30 years and 3000 miles of moving he gave it to me.

Ha ha, I can just imagine how excited you got

Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:01 pm

Post a pic, and we'll tell you if anyone would steal it.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:15 pm

Takes about 15 seconds to remove the rotor from the distributor and disable the car. Thats what I do when parking in unfamiliar areas. Also heard of some people putting a toggle switch in line with the wire on the ignition going to the coil to turn it off dead, so if they break the column it still wont start. I drive mine to work every day. Cheaper on gas than my SUV. Check on full coverage insurance, mines real cheap, and I have it insured for double what I paid for it. :P If it ever get stole, I may buy two for replacement.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:25 pm

It really depends on the year too. I can steal a 66 and down with a paper clip. 67 and up is a little harder. Don't believe me? Take a paper clip and touch the 1st fuse and the last fuse in the box. Bend it so it stays. Your ignition lights should go on. In a nonocking steering wheel car you pop the trunk, there are 3 connections to the ignition switch. On hot, one to the starter and one to the Ignition. Touch the right ones and you can start it up and drive away in it.

Of course there are all kinds of ways to fix this. Pull the rotor as others have said, an alarm, removable steering wheel, locking gear shift, optional steering wheel locks, etc etc. As the years go on people know less and less about our cars. As I said in the other post, most people couldn't find reverse to steal it anyway.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:30 pm

swhitcomb wrote: most people couldn't find reverse to steal it anyway.

SOOOOO True! :lol:

Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:06 pm

Pulling the rotor is good, hidden switches are good, fuel cut offs are a bit better, and alarms are most often ignored. I make it easy for the thief to disable my siren. What he doesn't know is I have 2 tracking transmitters hidden in the car, one is low power and it is on 24/7. One is high power and it is activated with the alarm or if towed. Each is powered by the car battery and a decent sized back up battery if the car battery is removed/disconnected. I can track the low power from the air for several miles. The high power can be received many miles distant. Everything is well hidden including the antennas. A real pain to install, but it gives me a little peace of mind.

Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:50 pm

ghia4mea wrote: Pulling the rotor is good, hidden switches are good, fuel cut offs are a bit better, and alarms are most often ignored. I make it easy for the thief to disable my siren. What he doesn't know is I have 2 tracking transmitters hidden in the car, one is low power and it is on 24/7. One is high power and it is activated with the alarm or if towed. Each is powered by the car battery and a decent sized back up battery if the car battery is removed/disconnected. I can track the low power from the air for several miles. The high power can be received many miles distant. Everything is well hidden including the antennas. A real pain to install, but it gives me a little peace of mind.

Ha ha, thats a great idea. Someone from FL, awesome!

Thanks for all the info, sounds reasonable to me. These motors should be easier to work on than a bmw L6 right? I honestly can't wait til I get one, been wanting once since I was a little kid (only 20 now though).

Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:38 am

Soviet1942 wrote: I want now just to daily drive and get used to how they work and how to asses situations so that when I move up to Melbourne or Orlando I can get back my fathers old ghia and know what I am doing.

Move to Melbourne...we all know a guy here who can keep your Ghia in good shape for you. :wink:

Thu Oct 08, 2009 6:54 am

Should you decide on going with a noise an alarm or siren, put it INSIDE the car rather than outside. You know how most folks just walk past a car with the alarm going, they figure that the car was just bumped by another and it's no big dealio.

Put it INSIDE the car, and whomever is trying to steal it will bail immediately ! ! ! !

Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:31 am

I guess it depends on where you live and work. I dont know anything about south Florida car theft statistics. Here in the Los Angeles area, most car thieves cant even drive a stick. Older Japanese sedans are the #1 target, along with cat converters off of them, due to the need to pass our emissions tests.

Ghias dont seem to be the ACVW of choice here anyway, Bugs and split window busses are "in" right now. So, parts theft for them may be an issue.

Thu Oct 08, 2009 7:37 am

Ive been driving my 71 Ghia everyday for about a year now, and I have had no problems. I lock my car everywhere I go, the 71 has the locks by the handle so its harder to break into when locked. If you are driving it everyday I would say just do the important VW maintenance like adjusting the valves, new gaskets, changing the oil (duh).

Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:28 am

Dude, you live in Miami. I'm from there, which explains my name. I lived there for 14 years in three different houses in different areas. All three houses were burglarized, one three times. Here is the list of cars we had stolen: mercedes benz diesel, Renault something or other, pontiac bonneville, and we had another benz which we purchased that was confiscated because we had purchased a stolen car.

So unless you have a fenced yard and a big nasty dog (we eventually bought a dogo, which is a banned breed now), you might want to consider moving or not getting to attached to anything.

That being said I come from a spacy family that is known for locking thenselves out of vehicles and houses. I've learned to pick house locks, and I've used a slim jim many times. The slim jim is the favorite way for a criminal to gain entry to a vehicle. It will not work on a ghia. Oh it'll get you into an '09 Sebring, but not a ghia. In fact, this is the most difficult old car I've ever broken into. Honestly, if you were not an expert in VW's, which your modern criminal probably isn't, this is a real tough nut to crack. I'd have damaged it if not for advice from thesamba.

Also you have to look at it from a criminal's perspective. A ghia is a very easy car to spot, especially considering that it is probably not worth $10k. So do the math, if I was going to attempt to drive an extremely recognizable stolen car through a dense metropolis like miami, I'd make sure it was worth more than a ghia. I'd say that you're more likely to have parts, or the engine, stolen. But even that is a stretch of the odds.

I don't even lock mine. There is nothing that I keep in the car that will cost as much to replace as a broken window. I do have a kill switch, but disconnecting the battery is almost as good.

Thu Oct 08, 2009 9:52 am

Soviet1942 wrote:
My father states the cars are extremely easy to steal, people love taking ghias and bugs and then just stealing the parts. He says you can hack through the bottom, behind the engine and the list goes on. I understand this is an old car but are these cars extremely prone to assholes stealing them? Are they extremely easy to steal and what security measures can people take to prevent this.

That is the funniest and most ridiculous thing I have read in this forum in a long time.