Anti-theft device options not necessary on Leaf?

[jlsoaz]

At the sit-down for signing papers for the lease, they tried to sell me this and that extra and for the most part I considered it and then turned it down. This included the anti-theft device or plan. The theory was that this vehicle would be less likely to steal since it would get less far. Maybe also it is easier for the manufacturer to track it? Is this a known advantage of owning a leaf or is it more steable than I realize? If I carry the portable charge equipment in it, would this heighten the risk of theft? I haven't really been as mindful of theft issues with the vehicle, and haven't invested yet in a brake lock such as I use with the ICV I retained.

 

[TinMachine]

Considering I live about 65 miles outside of NYC and the incidents of car theft are relatively low out here in the sticks, I was kind of shocked when the dealer I leased my Leaf from insisted that the car have a LoJack installed (at their expense).
My thinking is that most car thievess would 1) know know how to operate the Leaf (at least not yet) 2) not be able to get very far 3) not be able to get far fast.

Personally I would be more concerned about parts theft and breaking into the car to get to whatever is inside that they can grab, the EVSE being on of those items. But of course they would have to know what it is and there would have to be a market for them. Which at this point I don't really see a big market for L1 Nissan branded EVSE.

The head lights would be the object of biggest concern I'd think. Just my 2 cents .

 

[TomT]

A wise choice. There is little need for it.

At the sit-down for signing papers for the lease, they tried to sell me this and that extra and for the most part I considered it and then turned it down.

 

[DeaneG]

I always say no to all additional sales "suggestions" at contract-signing time. It's a chance for the dealer to extract some more profit from you while you are vulnerable. Trust me, if you change your mind a week or a month later, they'll still be happy to sell it to you, whatever it was.

 

[TomT]

And you can almost always get it elsewhere for a lot less...

I always say no to all additional sales "suggestions" at contract-signing time. It's a chance for the dealer to extract some more profit from you while you are vulnerable. Trust me, if you change your mind a week or a month later, they'll still be happy to sell it to you, whatever it was.

 

[adric22]

Every single thing the finance person tries to sell you to bundle into your loan is a scam. Including:

• Window etching
• Underbody coating
• Lo-jack
• extended warranties
• tire warranties
• maintenance plans
• paint protection
• stain protection

Maybe scam was too harsh.. How about "rip off" at best.. scam at worst. In many cases they've already added things like window etching when the car came in. But then try to sell it to people. If you don't buy it, you still wind up getting it anyway. The lo-jack is pretty useless in my opinion. The only reason you would need that on any car would be if they stole the whole car. Stealing a Leaf is pretty darned unlikely unless they pull it up onto a flatbed trailer. I don't think they are going to be able to hot wire it. As others have mentioned the main issue with crime will be breaking into the car to steal the contents, in which case lo-jack will be of no help.

Being that 90% of the population is still unaware that electric vehicles exist, you can bet the lowly car thieves probably don't know about them yet. In fact, I have to wonder if any gas thieves have tried to siphon gas from a Leaf only to never find the gas tank.

 

[smkettner]

I have yet to read a post of a single stolen LEAF.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

LEAFs are all still under warranty so there is no market for the parts when the car is chopped. Even at that there just isn't enough of a population of them out there. The reason cars like Accords and Camrys get stolen so much has nothing to do with them being the most desirable cars, it's because there is a huge market for the parts - and because they are generally good quality cars they are worth fixing for many years to come.

 

[jlsoaz]

Thanks for the replies. In addition or alongside the points that have been made, I think I am focused on:

- the difficulty of moving it far away in a short period after the theft.
- the very strong car-manufacturer communications network. i.e.: if I called Nissan and said "my leaf has been stolen, please locate it", would it not be a snap for them to do so, regardless of the wishes of the thieves?

Given the combination of these two things, what I've been mulling over is the question of whether they (particularly the second part) render moot, or partially moot, past approaches to car theft concerns.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Thanks for the replies. In addition or alongside the points that have been made, I think I am focused on:

- the difficulty of moving it far away in a short period after the theft.
- the very strong car-manufacturer communications network. i.e.: if I called Nissan and said "my leaf has been stolen, please locate it", would it not be a snap for them to do so, regardless of the wishes of the thieves?

Given the combination of these two things, what I've been mulling over is the question of whether they (particularly the second part) render moot, or partially moot, past approaches to car theft concerns.

I think it's pretty rare for a car to be stolen and then fenced as a complete car. If you think about it nobody in their right mind wants a stolen car as their own. Better to chop the car and sell the parts. The exception is sometimes whole cars get shipped out to foreign countries, luxury cars and SUVs. But those are acquired by unsavory characters who aren't interested in making any statement about the environment or what-not. Seriously, picture a Columbian drug lord pulling up in a LEAF because he's all worried about peak oil or carbon footprint. He wouldn't be drug lord for long.

 

[jlsoaz]

I think it's pretty rare for a car to be stolen and then fenced as a complete car. If you think about it nobody in their right mind wants a stolen car as their own. Better to chop the car and sell the parts. The exception is sometimes whole cars get shipped out to foreign countries, luxury cars and SUVs. But those are acquired by unsavory characters who aren't interested in making any statement about the environment or what-not. Seriously, picture a Columbian drug lord pulling up in a LEAF because he's all worried about peak oil or carbon footprint. He wouldn't be drug lord for long.

I live pretty close to the Mexican border, so car ownership involves a certain amount of thinking that cars might be stolen for use in various nefarious enterprises, or for taking across the border and who-knows-where. To be honest, I don't know how often this happens, and it hasn't happened to me or any of my friends, so it's just a vague concern on my part.

My main thought in starting this thread is to wonder if the combination of:

- extremely invasive communications technology (CarWings) and
- short range
- the other factors mentioned here (parts not that valuable yet as such)

to some extent renders moot concerns about car theft.

On the matter of post-sale add-ons, I don't know that much about car-buying. While many or all may be scams, I'll continue to give them slight consideration, but didn't buy any this time around.

I wish they had offered me a deal on window tinting, I would have bought it in an instant, even at a premium. Now I will have to inconvenience myself this week to the tune of half a day of screwing around during the work week just to get it done.

 

[JPWhite]

With devices such as iPad's and iPhones it is possible to turn on "Find my Phone" and simply find out where your device is using Apple's iCloud website or another device. The devices themselves have the the equivalent of LoJack built in. The Apple devices can be remote wiped.

The LEAF should have this capability as well. I believe the FFE does. Why can't I locate the position of my LEAF using a website or a phone app? Clearly Nissan have chosen not implement this feature. The fact the car has on board GPS and telematics we know it could be done. How great would it be if your car is stolen you can first verify you didn't forget where you parked it, and then be able to tell the police where to find it?

In addition to finding the cars location one should be able to remote lock/unlock and/or disable the car. All very doable. GM cars can be remote locked/unlocked through OnStar, one of the first telematics services.

 

[adric22]

The LEAF should have this capability as well. I believe the FFE does. Why can't I locate the position of my LEAF using a website or a phone app? Clearly Nissan have chosen not implement this feature. The fact the car has on board GPS and telematics we know it could be done. How great would it be if your car is stolen you can first verify you didn't forget where you parked it, and then be able to tell the police where to find it?

I wonder if there would be any liability on Nissan's behalf if they tell you where your stolen car is, and you show up with 5 friends carrying assault rifles, body armor, and tear gas and end up wiping out a crew of car thieves? While overall a win for society, I'm sure somebody is going to pay the price legally.

 

[stevempotter]

What is the latest on tracking a stolen Leaf (however unlikely that may be)? My insurance offers a discount if this is possible, and I would need to supply them some sort of proof. Have any of you done this? The discussions I found on this forum about such things were over a year old.

Thanks,
Steve

With devices such as iPad's and iPhones it is possible to turn on "Find my Phone" and simply find out where your device is using Apple's iCloud website or another device. The devices themselves have the the equivalent of LoJack built in. The Apple devices can be remote wiped.

The LEAF should have this capability as well. I believe the FFE does. Why can't I locate the position of my LEAF using a website or a phone app? Clearly Nissan have chosen not implement this feature. The fact the car has on board GPS and telematics we know it could be done. How great would it be if your car is stolen you can first verify you didn't forget where you parked it, and then be able to tell the police where to find it?

In addition to finding the cars location one should be able to remote lock/unlock and/or disable the car. All very doable. GM cars can be remote locked/unlocked through OnStar, one of the first telematics services.

 

[GIBBER]

PTVS (Porsche Vehicle Tracking System) is available now in the Panamera PHEV and will soon be available in all models. Gives real time tracking on your phone with all the other benefits of Lojack and goes beyond with features like the ability to create Geo-fences, so your alerted if your teenager takes the car somewhere they shouldn't (or takes it out of the garage for that matter). It includes notification if the car is being moved with engine off (towing is a easy way for a thief to steal a car) up to remote engine disable. All of these could be incorporated into the LEAF with little trouble. Let's all hope Nissan keeps pushing ahead with the improvements to Carwings we all would like to see.

 

[beachfitrob]

I dunno, I don't think the Nissan extended warranty is a ripoff...lots of electronics and electric stuff to break after 36K. I bought mine though, not leased.

I got it before 3/36K used, but you can still get the warranty up to that point so I was good to go as third owner. Another reason to roll the dice. It was originally titled as a rental too, and probably is why my battery is degraded. Also was a FL, then TX car.

 

[JPWhite]

I dunno, I don't think the Nissan extended warranty is a ripoff...lots of electronics and electric stuff to break after 36K. I bought mine though, not leased.

I got it before 3/36K used, but you can still get the warranty up to that point so I was good to go as third owner. Another reason to roll the dice. It was originally titled as a rental too, and probably is why my battery is degraded. Also was a FL, then TX car.

See in your sig you added LED running lights and lic plate light. Where did you get those?

JP

 

[rslatkin]

I wish Car Wings would show us in the smartphone app where the car is on a map. It has the GPS information and a data connection, it wouldn't be hard.

 

[charge]

The Leaf does have a theft deterrent. Just turn on climate control and have the police look for a stranded car on the side of the road

 

[Nubo]

I dunno, I don't think the Nissan extended warranty is a ripoff...lots of electronics and electric stuff to break after 36K. I bought mine though, not leased.

I got it before 3/36K used, but you can still get the warranty up to that point so I was good to go as third owner. Another reason to roll the dice. It was originally titled as a rental too, and probably is why my battery is degraded. Also was a FL, then TX car.

My view of extended warranties is, they wouldn't offer them unless they made money from them. So, it's like a casino. You might win but the house wins more often than not. Casinos probably give better odds

In this aspect it's like all insurance policies. You should only pay to insure those things you can't afford to lose. For most of us that probably rules out things like extended warranties for household appliances, smartphones and computers, and probably extended car warranties. A new car, I insure against damage and theft. For a 10-year-old car I just carry liability insurance.