Ah, I see what you mean Ruprecht.

As for Geico, they turned me down outright, as well as Allstate. The only other companies that would have taken me are "The General" and Progressive. Keep in mind, insurance payouts have exceeded what I pay in yearly premiums in total over the last 5 years. Nobody wants to touch me - I live in the downtown downtown area of Atlanta - I could literally walk down a street or two and buy crack and ghetto prostitutes if I wanted.

 

No argument because I do believe that can happen. Of the few, many,most thieves I also believe that this phenom is limited to the few and to believe otherwise, is to believe that most thieves are also physco's who would be just as apt to vandalize your body and attempt to do great bodily harm upon you.
Most of them aren't. Most of them are just as rational as you and I and cannot be eyeballed and pegged as thieves.
I have seat locks and I intend to keep them.

 

I reckon the best path to take depends upon statistical behaviors of the thieves.

That's why I was curious about the locks.

It would be interesting to compare the damages found for folks that have locks (where the seat was a specific target) vs. those that did not have the locks (and again, the seat was a specific target).

The tale is in the tape. Without the data, we just take our best guess on the appropriate defensive stature and cross our fingers.

 

JackS understands your point very well, he just disagrees with you. As do I.

No seat locks:
- Top slashed.
- Seats stolen.
- Car useless until new seats are obtained.
- Insurance may not cover cost of replacing entire OEM seats.

Seat locks:
- Top slashed anyway.
- Seats NOT stolen, and maybe vandalized.
- Vandalized or not, my car still has seats. Thus, I have the satisfaction that the thief did not get what he was after, but more importantly... I can still drive my car.
- Insurance will more likely shell out enough dough to replace the seat covers and cushions necessary to repair the seats, and I would fully expect insurance to cover any other damage.

The key part to my decision to use seat locks is this:
Vandalized or not, my car most likely still have seats. Thus, I have the satisfaction that the thief did not get what he was after, but more importantly... I can still drive my car. Considering that most of the time that my car is vulnerable to seat theft is when I'm traveling, I prefer to peace of mind that my car will be drivable, even if damaged.

I'm not trying to convince you to buy/use seat locks. Quite frankly I don't care what you do. I'm not suggesting that others may come to a different conclusion than you and have very valid reasons for doing so.

 

I totally agree. Allstate has pretty much been good to me other than the ass-rape pricing for their coverage. My first agent was really awesome, my second agent though, wasn't that great. Wawanesa has been good with me so far even though I've been with them for barely 3 months. Though it took a while for an agent to contact me...

I think it mainly depends on the agent/claim representative.

 

Look, they've already slashed your top and are either taking the seats or slashing them. There really isn't much left of value in the car interior. Those are the biggest ticket items by far.

I have seat locks and have for years. I'd rather have a cut seat after a break-in than NO seat and a useless car while fighting insurance claims. At least I'd be able to throw on a seat cover and continue to use the car.

The slashed top on the other hand would make it a little messy with the rain we are getting at the moment......

-Hockey

 

[QUOTE=00CivicSi,Nov 30 2007, 10:02 AM] Vandalized or not, my car still has seats.

 

[QUOTE=Ruprecht,Nov 30 2007, 01:12 PM] It could be drivable...depends upon the extent of inspired vandalism.

Tires, wire harness, etc. are all options.

 

Damn.. I wonder how USAA would handle something like thing. I have a $500 deductable on collison and $0 on comphrehensive as I see it far more likely to come out and see my car keyed/top slashed/cracked windshield/etc over T-boning someone. I need to call them.

 

Of course -- that's why you need to look at overall satisfaction ratings. A single data point is pretty useless no matter what you're looking at.

If you qualify for USAA definitely sign up with them. They only use OEM parts on cars a year old or less as well but they do stand up for you better than any other company I've ever used. Good luck finding an insurance co that will use OEM regardless of the age of the car. USAA's rates are lower (why I have a 0 deductible on comprehensive and 50 for collision) and we still get dividend checks at the end of the year. If you go with one of their preferred shops (I don't) they'll back the work for the lifetime of the car.