Do you lock the doors on your rag top?

[deltashad]

I often leave the rag top near the airport and never lock it.
I keep all the valuables locked and out of sight. I worry about the roof getting slashed so figure if someone wants to get in then its better leave it open.

[Prof Beard]

deltashad said:

I often leave the rag top near the airport and never lock it.
I keep all the valuables locked and out of sight. I worry about the roof getting slashed so figure if someone wants to get in then its better leave it open.

Doesn't that rather depend on what they do when they get in? (Rip out dash, slash seats, take a crap?)

[Vitorio]

Dont have a ragtop, but i have to wonder, how many crooks would check the doors before sinking a knife into the cloth anyway?

[E38Ross]

deltashad said:

I often leave the rag top near the airport and never lock it.
I keep all the valuables locked and out of sight. I worry about the roof getting slashed so figure if someone wants to get in then its better leave it open.

you're car won't be insured for theft if it's unlocked.

of course you should lock it!!!!

[otolith]

Always feels a bit odd winding up the windows and locking the doors if I park it with the roof off, but it makes it harder for someone to reach in and grab something or for some cheeky sod to let their kids sit in it.

[farrendahl]

deltashad said:

I often leave the rag top near the airport and never lock it.
I keep all the valuables locked and out of sight. I worry about the roof getting slashed so figure if someone wants to get in then its better leave it open.

Congratulations, by not adequately securing your vehicle you have now invalidated your insurance.

Seriously if a theft where to happen and the car is unlocked your insurer will not pay out

Edited by farrendahl on Tuesday 29th May 13:34

[browna]

im not sure your insurance company would be too happy with that but i do lock mine, even with the roof down, just makes it (very slightly) harder/more time consuming/noisy for an oportunist to get into and try to nick or pop the glove box lock, and they may move on the next one, which isnt even locked! lol.

[ambuletz]

Think thats bad. In japan many people seem to leave their keys in the ignition, even leaving the car running while popping inside to a shop to leave the heating on, or the air con. such is the low crime rate there.

[Major Fallout]

Its a bit like driving a bmw and thinking, I might as well leave the engine running for them.

[Fartgalen]

I do - because then the doors cant be opened without a key. Can't be unlocked with the handle inside.

[browna]

i always like leaving my engine running with the doors open and a glass of milk and cookies in the centre console, just in case a thief gets peckish, it can be a long night when out nicking cars.

[Alx323]

I didn't lock the doors when loads of cars were getting broken into on my street, but the alarm is stupidly sensitive, if a bus drives past it the (pathetic) horn will start going crazy. Especially if the roof is down, sensors inside sound the alarm if someone reaches in. Never any valuables left in it mind.

[ewenm]

Lock the doors? How does that work then?

[Digger]

I take you are still insured if you leave the roof down when unattended?

[farrendahl]

Alx323 said:

I didn't lock the doors when loads of cars were getting broken into on my street, but the alarm is stupidly sensitive, if a bus drives past it the (pathetic) horn will start going crazy. Especially if the roof is down, sensors inside sound the alarm if someone reaches in. Never any valuables left in it mind.

That'll be rover volumetrics for you, I used to have exactly the same issue on the MGF

[farrendahl]

Digger said:

I take you are still insured if you leave the roof down when unattended?

Thats actually something of a sticking point. Some insures will honour if the car is alarmed and the alarm activated etc etc, others though would again class leaving the roof down unattended as a failure to properly secure your vehicle.

[kambites]

I lock it because that's the easiest way to activate the alarm.

[Snowboy]

farrendahl said:

Digger said:

I take you are still insured if you leave the roof down when unattended?

Thats actually something of a sticking point. Some insures will honour if the car is alarmed and the alarm activated etc etc, others though would again class leaving the roof down unattended as a failure to properly secure your vehicle.

It probably depends on the type of the claim.

If the whole car is stolen then roof up/roof down probably won’t make any difference.
But if something is stolen from the glovebox or you’re claiming for vandalism where someone threw coke/paint into the car then it might be relevant.


I used to leave my non-soft top cavalier unlocked when I left it in the carpark overnight.
If someone wanted to break in then they’d just smash a quarterlight window, so by leaving it unlocked I was saving myself £20 and a trip to the scrap yard.

[alfa pint]

deltashad said:

I often leave the rag top near the airport and never lock it.
I keep all the valuables locked and out of sight. I worry about the roof getting slashed so figure if someone wants to get in then its better leave it open.

Depends on which soft top. The Alfa has a remote key which also immobilises it, so I tend to lock it each and every time. The MG B, however, I do tend to leave open for the same reasons as yours. In 15 years of this practice, I've come out to the car in the morning to find a bottle of milk in it and the passenger seat fully reclined, so I suspect a local drunk chose to have a sleep in it. My previous B was also nicked from a pub car park, suspect stolen to order, but the door locks aren't exactly complicated and you could easily just unlock them by reaching around the hood anyway.

[Chris71]

I understand the predicament, but I still say lock it. Petty criminals aren't usually the sharpest tools in the box, so as long as you don't have great big bits of hood flapping in the breeze it probably does provide some level of deterent.