I have a '98 SE and love it but a friend of mine informed me that the headlights for the 2k4 were very expensive to replace and are stolen quite often. She told me it was around $250/light and that thieves were taking them and selling them on EBAY. I just wanted to find out if there was some validity to this. Does anyone know off hand? Thanks!

 

I imagine that they are expensive, but I haven't heard anything about them being stolen. There are currently 0 of them for sale on Ebay, so I am guessing that your friend is hitting the pipe a bit hard

The lights aren't the easiest thing to steal.

 

I read an article not too long ago that talked about the new Altima HID's being "easy" to steal from cars on the street and that it was a real problem. Maybe she's mistaken?

 

it's the 2k2 and 2k3 Max lights that are being stolen.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but im 99.7% sure that the Altima does not have a HID option. The female mentioned in the first post is most likely confusing the 6th gen with the 2k2-3.. I have yet to hear of any 6th gen getting their headlights stolen. The cost of replacement on the 5th gen HID is closer to 1500$ with everything said and done.

 

I think they are mistaken too. The Altima does have a HID option, but I don't know if you can just pop their lights out from the outside like ours.

 

and the Altima HIDs aren't theft targets because you CANNOT remove them without first removing the bumper...the lights are secured behind the bumper as well as from the top.

you're lookin at a good hour plus job

 

It't not worth the effort to try to steal Altima HIDs. There's almost no way to determine whether the lights are HID or not since not all models are equipped with them. They'd rather target a car that they can be 100% about.

 

Acura 3.3TL's were having a huge theft Problem. Many Acuras are sitting in Dealers with $1,000's damage 'cause theives just tear up the bumbper/fenders/hoods to get to the lights.

The REAL cause of the theft temptation, was that they EXACTLY fit the Accord. And we all know how many Accords there are on the road.

I believe Honda/Acura changed that fit to make the Acura unique.

If all Maxima's had HID's, then the temptation would theoretically be lower.

 

my friend had a 2k3 max in brooklyn and he parked it on the streets. he had his pair of headlights stolen TWICE in 6 months!! so he got sick and tired of it.. he put in 2000 headlights instead..