HID's take two
 

Sadly to say, my headlights were taken again. But this time, I actually saw it in action. Took less than 2-3 min. I noticed a jeep pulling up next to my car. I thought they were waiting for a spot. But when I looked again, I saw a head pop up from my car. I jetted across the blvd and chased them away. By the time I got there, one light was on teh floor and the other one was hanging by a piece of plastic. It's only been less than 6 monhts. I have the lights but the housing has been damaged. Don't know if I can still reuse them.

I found the anti theft kit they have. Personally it does nothing. It prevents the thieves from popping the hood. And it prevents them from taking out the bolts. Whoever designed it doesnt' know jack about anything. The theives just rip it off. The dude used a slim crowbar and popped it right out. Cracked the housing and everything.

Question I have is whether or not I should get rid of the car? I'm tired of worrying about the car everywhere I go. I love the car but unfortunately I can't enjoy it. I'm thinking about selling it or trading it in, but I know I'll lose a chunk of change. Can I bring it back to the dealership? Is there something that says that they have to take it back withing a certain time frame and just deduct the miliage or something? Just reaching here guys. What do you guys think about me getting rid of it? Or upgrading to the new model. I only have 3500 miles on the car.

Re: HID's take two
 

If this has gotten so serious with you that you would consider selling the whole car, why not do what others have done and simply install non-HID Anniversary Edition headlights?

Lemon Law doesn't protect against vandalism, so the "4 strikes and you get a new car" deal won't work in your situation. It really sucks that you had this happen twice. Did you get a license plate number? Faces? Anything to identify the bastards would help. Not to hijack your thread, but I was told by an old friend (old, but not close) that he was walking with people that he chose not to name next to where I parked my car one night, and that they were going to rip off my spoiler (OEM) but he said that it's my car (apparently they know who I am) so they didn't do it. It sucks that cars like ours draw so much attention to themselves. :(

Sorry to hear about your experience(s). Well, I don't think there is anything you can do to protect your car. Did your insurance cover the theft the first time? If you havent already I would report it to the police and hopefully they can catch the guys that tried to steal them, maybe its the people that did it the first time. If they aren't caught they'll probably be back to visit you again.

I don't know that the dealer will take the car back and deduct the milage, if they do I haven't heard of it. They'll gladly take it for a trade though. You'll get more selling it than trading it, if thats what you choose to do.

I haven't had mine stolen or attempted to be stolen, so I can't tell you what to do. I'd say keep the car, but honestly if I only had 3,500 miles I'd definately be considering getting rid of it with that luck. You live in a bad neighborhood?

If its not a big deal to you, you could consider putting the non HID lights in your car. Good luck!

Re: Re: HID's take two
 

I didn't know they made non-HID for the 2k3 maximas. I called the dealer and he said that no other lights fit in there. You got info on the non-HID lights for the 2k3 maximas?

I live in NY (Queens). My car has never been hit up in Queens b4, but I have seen plenty of max's with no headlights. The first time I got hit was in the city. And this past weekend it was in Crooklyn. I knew it was a bad neighborhood. That's why I parked in front and kept my eye on it. It surprised me that it took them like 2-3 min to get the job done.

Re: Re: Re: HID's take two
 

Of course the dealer is going to say that they won't fit, they want your $1400 again to replace them. The lights that fit are the 2001 Maxima headlights, get the anniversary edition.. those have a nice class to them with a black trim... then replace the stock light bulbs with some brighter aftermarket ones... and you should be set...

This HID situation is pathetic :rolleyes:

I'd also go with replacing them with non-hid lights. Less to worry about.

2000, 2001, and 2001 anniversery edition's headlight will all fit in there
if you live in a "dangerous" area.. highly suggest you change it.

Does that mean the regular lights for 2000 and 2001 don't fit?

They do... there's 2 styles and 2 years to chose from, the 2000 and 2001 are both of a silver trim, the 2001 anniversary edition is the same style, but has black trim, a lot of people like that because it gives it more a sport look...

http://maxima.cardomain.com/member_p...issan%20Maxima

The pictures in that cardomain site show the 2001 regular silver style headlights...

The anniversary edition looks exactly like that but where you see chrome, they are painted black...

Is that a better explanation? :)

They are NOT painted black. It is a 'bronzed' effect in the housing itself.

http://maxima.cardomain.com/id/larrio312

(Thanks Larry!!)

Sorry to hear that!
 

However, I'd do the 2K-2K1 headlamp swap AFTER insurance has coughed up the money for the repairs. Keep the HID's for when you go to sell.

Honestly, if you can afford to upgrade, I'd jump to a G35.

Is the 03 Max especially vulnerable to hid theft? If not,why do thieves want the Max's headlights over others?

Cause there is a demand in the streets for them- 2000-2001
owners replece their so they look like a newer 2002-2003-
And cause the cost bout- $1300+- Anyway like they say (orI say):
" they can't take the hood out of me, But I can take my AZZ and
my MAX out the hood!!" I just moved to a better town, better county
I now have a garage- If they gonaa take anything-its gonna be my wife's fokking VW Beetle- what a piece :D they can have it

Wow.. that's sucks to here. I'm in Queens too. What part of Crooklyn were you in?

:laugh:

What about the lights for the 2003 GXE. Are they HID's too? Would it fit?

Does the 2003 GXE model come with HIDs? If it doesn't will those lights fit the 2003 SE model? And if I do replace them with the 2000-2001 lights, can the theives tell the diff?

yes..all 2k2-2k3 maximas have HIDs, including GXE's which is stupid cuz it got HIDs but no fogs.. :confused: :gotme:

Had to go to Brookdale Hospital. My old neighborhood is Canarsie

If someone's stealing HID's off your car, is it legal to shoot them in the leg or take a baseball bat and beat the $hit outta them? If it ever happens to me and if I am able to catch them, I don't think they'll be going home.

All 2002 and 2003 come with HID standard.
and yes, most thefts can tell the difference
because they look different from the outside
all the lights from 2000-2003 will fit, but
only the 2000 and 2001 are NOT HID

I asked about that. If they don't attack you, you cna't hit them. They can bring you up on charges of assault. Don't know if any jury will convict you, but it comes down to a he said she said game.

I think I could've caught up to them, but why bother. My dad was in the hospital and the dude had a crowbar. I didn't know who else was in the jeep and what they had in there. Why risk getting hurt? I mean it ****es me off...but it's just materialistic... No one got hurt. Although i would've loved to hurt them....

Do what everyone else suggested....I had my HIDs stolen in Whitestone, since then I am extremely wary of where I park.

Personally, I would seriuosly doing the halogen headlamp conversion...

But how will the theives know that it's not HID lights? I think I'm gonna put a sign up ...."NOT HID LIGHTS". you can tell from teh outside if it's HID or not right?

Does anyone know where to buy these lights cheap? I'm interested in buying them for my 03.

Thanks

Not entirely true. The housings themselves aren't worth too much compared to the HID ballasts and bulbs. After reading many of the threads on HID theft, it is my understanding that a majority of the time the ballasts/blubs are the target and are used to be retrofitted into other cars.

I'm thinkin about driving to Newark hidding in the corner
and waiting for a MOFO to get get close to 'em- Just
to RATATATTTTT!!! with my paintball gun- take that fokkers!!:mad:

NonHID:
http://images.andale.com/f2/121/116/...PLP1590828.jpg

HID:
http://www.partypad.net/~bobcat/hid.jpg

If you live in NY or NJ, your options are (1) get rid of the car or (2) put on non-HID lights. There is a way, it is just a small conversion (and is cheaper than replacing the HIDs... for your insurance purposes).

I live in the Bronx and aftr my HIDs were stolen on my 1 night old 2k3, I decided to replace them with the older halogen lights. That was in January. I've since seen both, Acuras, and Maximas up and down my street get hit. I toyed with the idea of putting a sign in saying NO HIDs but it's really not necessary. They are very visibly different.

If you're in the NYC area, and want peace of mind, I highly recommend swapping them out. While I toyed with the idea of just selling the car, I didn't think it was worth getting rid of a great car just because I couldn't keep HIDs in them.

Where did you buy yours lights at? I'm thinking about doing the same thing. Also...just out of curiosity. On the 03 Maximas, is the VIN number imprinted on the fendor? I'm afraid that my mechanic switched the fendors on me.

If they're already out there looking for the HIDs, they'll know them when they see them.
Aside from that, anyone can tell the diff - the halogens are "all one piece" headlight, while the Xenon have separate circles for low & high, plus little circles for turn (amber) and parking (clear).

Dumb question...how the heck are they getting them out so quickly with the hood closed?

:mad: <---me if anybody d!cks with my lights

:bawling: <---them if I catch them

The lights are mounted by platic. The housing is plastic...so it just snaps. They use a slim crowbar to pry it out a little and then crack the plastic and just rip it out. They don't care about the housing. They just want the system and the bulb.

I got mine taken twice, after that i decided to go with the 2k1 AE headlights, now I can park it outside and no problems at all, definitely worth doing, I have the HID's at home though since the car is a lease and I will not be keeping it.

Any respectable body shop should do this for you, don't pay attention to what Nissan dealers say.

A friend of mine with a 2k2 swapped out his HID's also for 2k headlights after getting his stolen twice and he never had any problems anymore.

I'm from Newark by the way.

I got my lights stolen by the hospital too. Happened on Wednesday. That's a bad neighborhood. Messed up the whole front.

Im not sure if this actually works but thought I would
tell everyone about it anyways. PIAA has a headlight
theft kit that wires into your existing alarm system.
http://www.piaa.com/accessories.html

Anyone wanna sell some HID's? I live in KY and not much chance of theft here. Plus I have a garage. Im thinking of buying a theft recovery 2003, but have to locate some HID's.
Email or PM if you are looking to ditch some

I noticed a Maxima coming up behind me last night. I thought it was funny that the fog lights were on, but the headlights were off. I thought that it was a fog rewire mod. Then I realized that the HIDs were ripped off. I seen plenty stolen where i live in Queens, but this was on Long Island. I think that anywhere you have low live thieves, your at always at risk.

Although I have non Hids, between easy headlight rip offs, and lousy paint, I don't think that Im ever getting another Nissan.