<VV> thoughts on protecting your car from theft

[BobHelt at aol.com]

Hi everybody,
I have received two conflicting ideas on keeping your car from being stolen. 
See below. Does anybody have any additional comments or experiences to share?
Regards,
Bob Helt

IDEA NUMBER 1

The "I" in the following idea is not me, I am just repeating what was sent to 
me.
> 
> > Seems that car thieves have found yet another way to steal your car or 
> truck without any effort at all. The car thieves peer through the windshield of 
> your car or truck, write down the VIN # from the label on the dash, go to the 
> local car dealership and request a duplicate key based on the VIN #. 
> 
> I didn't believe this e-mail, so I called a friend at Chrysler Dodge and 
> pretended I had lost my keys. They told me to just bring in the VIN #, and they 
> would cut me one on the spot, and I could order the keyless device if I 
> wanted. 
> 
> The Car Dealer's Parts Department will make a duplicate key from the VIN #, 
> and collect payment from the thief who will return to your car. He doesn't 
> have to break in, do any damage to the vehicle, or draw attention to himself. 
> All he has to do is walk up to your car, insert the key and off he goes to a 
> local Chop Shop with your vehicle. 
> 
> You don't believe it?   It IS that easy. 
> 
> To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some tape (electrical tape, 
> duct tape or medical tape) across the VIN Metal Label located on the dash 
> board. By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you can cover it so it can't be 
> viewed through the windshield by a car thief. 
> 
> I urge you to forward this to your friends before some other car thief 
> steals another car or truck. 
> 
> I slipped a 3 x 5 card over the VIN # . 
> 




IDEA NUMBER 2

About a year ago, the City of Scottsdale (Az) Police did a free antitheft 
program on my car.  This is an ongoing service.  They chemically etched the VIN 
on all of the windows!  This is supposed to make it more difficult to chop, 
since the glass can't be reclaimed.  I'm not sure how this works compared to the 
above case of obtaining the keys at the dealership, but I thought it might be 
interesting to you.  I hope my dealership at least would ask for 
identification, but maybe not.