Stolen Battery-New one on Me

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My two "toy' cars-the MG and the Marina-are in a car port that's shared with other residents of the condo where I live. I've had tools and things stolen from there before, so am very particular about keeping things locked up(I don't lock the MG doors-I don't want someone cutting the top and instead just don't store anything valuable outside of the trunk) and even inside if possible.

Back in November, I knew I probably wouldn't be messing with the Marina much, so sort of winterized it by draining the coolant(it was around 80% water and I need to change the hoses when the weather gets warmer) plus disconnecting the battery. Apparently in all of that, I didn't actually manage to get the hood latched.

I went out today to check on it, and found the battery completely gone out of it. Asking around, it's apparently not an unheard of thing here.

Previously, I'd had a dead/cracked case battery stolen from the ground next to the MG. I'd swapped it, and hadn't had a chance to take the core back yet.

Has anyone seen this before? Fortunately it was a cheap battery, but it's an inconvenience and the principle also upsets me.
 
Aunt had one stolen from her 77 Volvo. Not sure if the car had an internal hood release-- older cars didn't so you could just walk up and start grabbing stuff.
 
I don't keep batteries in any of the 20+ cars I have stored outdoors and fully fenced, not that most of them would be good anyway. Be glad it's not new enough to have a cat.
 
I was friends guy in high school who went to our rival school. We knew each other from golf matches. He wasn't wound real tight. We went to the same university. He was arrested for stealing a battery out of a parked car on campus. 1981. No idea what he was going to do with a car battery or whatever happened to him. Guess the freedom of college life was more than he could handle. I think car batteries getting stolen was a lot more prevalent back then.
 
I had one stolen out of my '78 F-100 (no inside hood release) at my old house in the 'hood when I was working on the night shift-wife wouldn't let our 115 pound half-insane male German Shepherd out to go after the thief-I was disappointed she didn't! I would have handled the lawsuit!
 
People who steal batteries are the same ones who would take your rims and leave your car on blocks.....
 
Back in the day when you could open the hood (in Brit-speak, this would be the bonnet, of course while the hood is what we would call the top of a convertible)
without gaining access to the interior of the car, battery theft did happen.
WRT your MGB, gaining interior access would be as easy as lifting the back edges of the hood (top) off a few lift-a-dots. No need to cut the top, or hood as the manual of my MGB had it.
 
Originally Posted by Vern_in_IL
People who steal batteries are the same ones who would take your rims and leave your car on blocks.....


Speaking of which, someone did that to me but didn't use blocks. There was a black glove trapped under the brake drum on the ground. I had the pleasure of checking it for a finger. Dang, no finger.
 
And once they steal the one that was in there... they'll come back a few weeks/months later and try to steal the new battery.

They know exactly where to find a brand new battery later on.
 
Originally Posted by fdcg27

WRT your MGB, gaining interior access would be as easy as lifting the back edges of the hood (top) off a few lift-a-dots. No need to cut the top, or hood as the manual of my MGB had it.


I could get into a locked MG with the top(hood) up without leaving any evidence-but I wouldn't trust the average low-life thief to know that. Hence my fears about cutting the top!

At least the battery on it isn't easy to find unless you know exactly where to look for it.

The Marina that I had one stolen off of, however, is a different story as it's right where you'd expect it to be. The one thing it DOES have going for it is that-as long as you make sure the hood(bonnet) is latched, the release isn't easy to find. It's on the passenger side, right below the glove box-a consequence of BL exporting a mass-marked UK car to the US in small numbers.

Still, though, once I replace it I'm guessing it will be time to bring it inside at night when I'm not driving.

I was talking to one of my neighbors, who said that the HOA has gotten estimates on a couple of small security improvements(fix the exterior lighting, non-working cameras, and most importantly fix the gate so that you can't slip through it without opening) but that will have to wait for warmer weather.
 
Talk about petty theft. That's pathetic.
smirk2.gif
 
Originally Posted by Onetor
There are no consequences for property crimes. It's a trend around our Country.


God Bless Texas...in that state you can defend your car and other property with deadly force, unfortunately those are the only consequences that many thieves will ever understand, and I fully support paying the ultimate price for stealing cars, TVs, ect... The only sympathy I have is if a poor person steals a loaf of bread and some cold cuts.
 
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i have put a couple of old lawn mowers by the side of my house that faces the street. put an ad in CL for someone to pick them up. i sent my address to a couple of people that responded. someone came and took them away. they also walked around the other side of the house and took a old battery i had there .

battery was deader than dead , so i am just irritated they went around my house. they probably took it to the battery place and got $5 for it .

Never leave anything outside if you are wanting to keep it
 
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Originally Posted by mrsilv04
And once they steal the one that was in there... they'll come back a few weeks/months later and steal the new battery.

They know exactly where to find a brand new battery later on.


^This. You're pretty much screwed from now on if you park there. Had both brand name 1 1/2 year old batteries stolen from my diesel truck in storage. Now I just leave the hood ajar to show, no batteries.
 
Lots of thieving scum with no morals whatsoever. They'll steal form you, stores, wherever, and somehow justify it in their mind. Lock-up anything you want to have a chance of keeping.
 
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Originally Posted by bunnspecial
The Marina that I had one stolen off of, however, is a different story as it's right where you'd expect it to be. The one thing it DOES have going for it is that-as long as you make sure the hood(bonnet) is latched, the release isn't easy to find. It's on the passenger side, right below the glove box-a consequence of BL exporting a mass-marked UK car to the US in small numbers.

The 1st-gen Mini Coopers had it over there. Annoying. The Goat's is on the driver's side where it belongs.
 
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