KobeCow

i've posted this b4, but here's an update...

My HID's were stolen about 1 month ago from a NJ mall (Garden State Plaza) This was absolutely a clean & professional job, they cut the mountings with a sharp knife and somehow pryed it out without any damage to the car.

When i called my 2 local dealers, they told me that they had about 15-20 sets of HID's stolen from cars parked in their lots! that's from each dealer, so assume about 40 were stolen. Some were stolen together with the wiring harnesses, & they will cost around $1,100 to replace!!!!!! they headlights alone cost a minumium $1,000/set

i urge you ppl not to buy this item on E-bay, cause chances are they are STOLEN. The next victim might be you!

i have since traded-in my "nightmare" Maxima for an '02 A4.

ONCE AGAIN THESE HID'S ARE EXTREMELY EASY TO STEAL.
please becareful out there.


also, i now have a set of clear corners forsale. e-mail for details.

BioMaxDDS

iTrader: (1)

doesn't A4 have HIDs too?

KobeCow

i just read that ppl are selling the security bolts for the HID's.
in my case they would NOT have helped, since the tabs that hold the headlights in place were cut, i was left with the ends of the mountings with the bolts intact. They plastic mountings are too soft.

also, i purchased a replacement set of HIDs from Courtesy parts in Texas ( absolutely great help, execellent pricing & customer service)
they were shipped in a huge Nissan Box and the headlights themselves were inside an original Nissan box (2) with Japanese words on them. From this you can tell they are OEM equipment from Japan.

BEWARE OF THE EBAY STUFF.

KobeCow

that the HID's from my old '02 Maxima could be stolen soooo easily. You won't believe it unless you saw it yourself. i should've took some pics.

& for the '02 A4's i'm pretty confident the german mfg's don't do a crappy job like their Japanese counterparts. There is also a market created by the '00 & '01 non-Xenon Maximas, theives see an opportunity to make a buck.


i've also been on the Bimmer board for 2-3 yrs & have never heard one of those guys loose a set of Xenons.

TimW

iTrader: (6)

My bolts are not the complete solution, ESPECIALLY in NY/NJ. you need to protect the hood release.

I no one else does, I will do a shield for the tabs in a few weeks.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Ok, for the LAST TIME, maybe not , this is the same guy I've been FLAMING(READ MY SIG) in the For Sale forum.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=145957

AND

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=149008


The sad truth is that people here are willing to buy them anyways. I've about *****ed and moaned my last, but it's still cracks me up people act like this is so rare yet thiefs are selling them RIGHT HERE.

nvision

hmm,

regarding ebay, how about going in there and give bad feedback to whomever selling HIDs? just create a temp profile and dump warning notes into their very own profiles.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

I like how you think!

K Pazzo 6

iTrader: (6)

I know this auction ended awhile ago but is this the same hid kit of '02+ Maximas????

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

YES, that is a 2K2 Nissan HID with some 6000K D2S burners added. It's even got the running lamp. The D2S bulbs will produce glare if NOT used in a projector housing. The Maximas come with D2R.

THIS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WHY SO MANY 2K2 MAXIMAS ARE A TARGET. They steal the HID components throw in a set of 6000K burners and waaala, they've got themselves a KILLER HID kit for the cost of a pair of 6000K burners.

Y2KevSE

iTrader: (13)

I will buy them all and sell them here. I need to increase my mod money somehow, right?

AIX

a shield for the tab tim? sweet! keep me updated!!

Colonel

Yes no doubt...I will be watchin

pjonkheer

Why not just install an alarm to be triggered when the hood is released? That can be installed for $200 or less right? Plus your insurance company will give you a break on rates if you install an aftermarket alarm.

Playero

iTrader: (2)

Originally posted by KobeCow

also, i now have a set of clear corners forsale. e-mail for details.


are the clear corners you are selling stolen???????

Kojiro_FtT

Your stock alarm already has a hood release trigger. It's where everyone wires the shock sensor because it's so easy to get at.

MetaOrbit

iTrader: (19)

I can tell you another reason why 2k2+ Max headlights are a target.

With BMW's for the longest time, HIDs have been optional, and barely distinguishable from their halogen projector counterparts (from the outside). It would not be worth it to steal headlights if they *might be HIDs (at least what I think). Audi's also have had optional HID for a while, but the downside for them is that they also have projector units (much more transplantable into other headlight housings). If you read about HIDs getting stolen, you'll find that CL/TL's headlights get stolen pretty frequently and you'll also notice that those have standard HID - just like 2k2+ Max's.

Also - the 2k2 HID headlights are very recognizable from the outside (compared to the 2k/2k1 headlights).

John

Stang Guy

check out the A4 and S4 forums at www.audiworld.com and you'll see that HID thefts have been a big problem in NJ for over a year. S4's in particular have had big problems with HID's in NJ. Guess there's some kind of crew geting their kicks (and $$) by ripping us off.

Triple8Sol

iTrader: (29)

I doubt anyone else will do it, but hopefully you can! Once that's available, I'm sure many more people will get that with the bolts together...

grey2002_ny

Garden State Plaza is a theives paradise. It's such a busy place, you can get away with anything. I've even head stories of people that take the bus to the mall from the Port Authority, pick a car in the parking lot to take, and then drive it home. I doubt there's anything that could be done to protect the lights, hell they'll just take the whole car. Sad but true...

Tom

pjonkheer

Then, can't the shock sensor be moved?

PrinzII

iTrader: (2)

Tim, let me know about what to do about the hood release cable. I am highly interested.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

That's easy.

Just do whatever it takes to BLOCK access to the hood latch. The cable is not the vulnerable part, it's the latch. Block access to the latch by 1)blocking access through the bumper valence and 2)shield around the latch so they can't fiddle it with a screw driver.

How complex of a method you use is up to you. Heck a HUGE wad of duct-tape with a chicken wire valence would do the trick.

Tim is trying to solve the hurdle of preventing theft by prying through the front AND/OR cutting the mounting tabs. The shields will help with the cutting, but only a steel cable EPOXIED around the headlamp housing and secured to the frame will increase the difficulty of prying out the front.

Anuj

we should put like some sort of 1000 volt electric wire so when they get their hands in there, we can MARK 'em.