Hi All,

I've had my AP2 for about four and a half years now and loved every minute of it! I recently moved to a new city and within a month had my red and black seats stolen and soft top slashed. I'm still waiting to hear from the insurance whether or not they're going to total the car out because of it, but in the meantime I'm doing research on seat locks and other theft deterrents for the future, so it doesn't happen again right after I get the car back. I see a lot of recommendations here for the Kodokan seat locks, but none of the links I've seen work. A lot of the theft prevention threads are a a several years old as well - what I've seen recommended so far for prevention is:

a) Seat locks - are the Kodokan locks still available anywhere? I see a lot of links to wheel locks for sale that all look like the same pattern - do thieves not just carry around common wheel-lock keys with them wherever they go? Or is every set 'unique' (or at least enough different ones exist to make it hard for them)?
b) Wheel locks (Which I already have, and which I'm pretty sure are the only reason the wheels are still on the car).
c) Stickers indicating seat locks and a security system (Are there specific stickers that are recommended for this to not give too info much away to potential thieves?
d) What other deterrents should I invest in to prevent this from happening in the future? I realize that there's no 100% way to prevent it?

 

Another thought: If seat locks are installed, is there value in leaving the car unlocked (glove compartment locked) so nobody ruins the soft top if they decide to make an attempt, or is does that just increase risk either way?

 

Kodakan are still available, the guy does this as a favor for S owners so it may take a month or two. Be patient. I often leave the top down in my local town as there is nothing else to steal in the car. Other places I do put the top up. My car is garaged at home but even then I am rural. I have these decals just in case a would be seat thief can read.

I may change wheel locks to the newer variety that "spin" to avoid the easy utube way to loosen the old ones.

Some other alarms will text you. Have not gone down that road (yet).

 

^ I think the seat lock decals are even more important than the locks themselves.

I have a set of home made seat locks on mine, a combination of different bolts, nuts, sealants, and even a double nut on the bottom of the passenger side under-vehicle region.

 

I have the Kodokan seat locks and more importantly the decal in bright red. May make the thieves question whether they can pull off the theft within a short enough time. You may have to wait like others said but I'd highly recommend both.