!Zar!

Why is everyone so paranoid about their plates being up online.

I posted one of my cars for sale and I've gotten a few people telling me to, "block out my plates".

For what?

Fear of someone finding where I live and coming to steal it?

Psch.

If the car is on the streets people can see it.

Why should I give a damn about people online seeing it?

To me it seems like overprotective bs that is more hype than it is reality.

How many of you all have had personal experience with having a car stolen just based on them having your plates?

Shit, I enjoy when I see cars for sale on craigs without the plates blocked out.

It allows me to run the smog history on it.

What are `yall thoughts on this?

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BustedS13

i block out my plates for fear of police putting pieces together and someday using my internet posts as evidence in some sort of street racing court debacle.

i don't know what exactly they'd find but i like the freedom of saying inane bullshit online without worrying about it being used against me in the future

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mRclARK1

It's REALLY unlikely anything would happen I agree. But it takes how long to do it in photoshop??? About 1.5 seconds...

I've done it anytime I've posted on a public forum in the past even thought I wasn't really worried. *shrug

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lflkajfj12123

if your car is heavily modified then thiefs can see where to steal your shit from

it could be while its at your house or they can follow you and steal it in a parking lot

kyles1988

as a photographer, I do it because clients get pissed when I don't. It's something that probably stemmed from all the myths of car theft. You go to meets and see all the honda/type R guys taking their plates off.

Phlip

Sure, it is HIGHLY unlikely, but is wholly possible... The ease with which it can be blocked makes it too easy to NOT do on the chance that someone MIGHT try some dumb shit.
Besides, where I live, nothing about the status of the car found through the tags would apply to you once I sell you the car anyway. Stays with the owner, not the car.

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allntrlundrgrnd

I dont do it anymore. If someone jacks my car it wont be because they found my info on the internet. It will be because they use their eyeballs to see my car obviously has strange things done to it.

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!Zar!

Funny thing is, I've seen a couple cars that were up for sale with the plates blocked out still end up stolen.

So I mean any advertisement of you car online is bad advertisement in a way.

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keistyle

just keep your car unregistered

ronmcdon

I think if you're selling a car, the plates would be necessary to help run a carfaqs record.
(not saying carfaqs in itself is comprehensive enough to check the car, but its a good first step that weeds some options out.)

Otherwise, it just a matter of compromising 'security vs. convenience', as with all things is at the discretion of the owner.
The plate thing does seem kinda paranoid to me.
Guess that's the price of owning some cars like the ITR.
If it has to come to that point, then Id rather sell the car than deal with the hassle.
I've never done it (more out of laziness than deliberation), and most likely never will.

ronmcdon

That's one way of looking at it.
By selling your car, you are increasing the possibility of it being exposed to thieves.

Think that just goes to show the seller wasn't being cautious in other respects.
Disclosing plates are an additional security measure.
It's not a 'fix all' for everything.

If I were to sell a given car,
I'd garage the thing while it was being sold.
I'd also meet up with the seller couple of miles outside my residence at the very least.

BustedS13

every car i have ever sold has sat on the end of the driveway, or in a nearby parking lot, unattended, with a for sale sign in the window. i have never had a car stolen or broken into. except that one time. but that was different.

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1ZlowZ

Have you read that story with that guy that got killed selling is evo or sti? I never leave my house if I'm selling something. I may not be old enough to have any kind of weapon but I have sharpened things everywhere, ha ha.

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BustedS13

where do you guys live where guns are being pulled in broad daylight? maybe you should move

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!Zar!

/fail

But if I gave you my plates, what would you REALLY be able to do with them?

I mean maybe if you have a hook with someone who works for the gov you could find info out.

I've never heard a case where a car was stolen just because someone ran the plates.

You can be jumped at your house. Not to mention there isn't much you can do with a gun in your face, even if you're strapped.

As biggie said, "Never sell no crack where you rest at. I don't car if they want a ounce, tell em bounce".

I NEVER sell anything at/from my house.

Fuck that noise.

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BustedS13

seriously what is this wild west fantasy land you all live in? you guys sure get guns in the face a lot.

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1ZlowZ

California...

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-Victor S.

1on1

i agree with you lol

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ronmcdon

yeah i recall reading about that too.
also read said thief got caught in the end.
said thief was pretty desperate, sloppy, and not in his right mind.

Seller was more or less screwed either way.
I don't think meeting the buyer at home would have made a difference.
psycho could have shot him anywhere, including during the test drive.

probably only way the EVo/STi owner could have been safe was would to have a friend with him, pointing a loaded gun at said customer.
if you have to go to such extremes, good luck at finding a customer.
I know I'm not going to buy a car with a gun pointed at me.

fortunately, it 'seems' to have been only an isolated incident.
but still, it's terrible either way, & theoretically it could happen to anyone despite the low probability.
kinda like the dude who got stabbed & eaten on the canadian bus or other fluke irrational crimes.
not too sure incidences like that justify change in procedure when selling a car.

if you're that worried, you might as well never leave your house.

ronmcdon

think you pretty much answered your own concern.
ppl who are worried that their plates becoming theft liability, are those who think that the said theif has a hook-up in the said dmw.

I did mention that I agreed with you.
its anal, and ridiculous for me (and maybe you).
its not an implausible concern for the ultra-paranoid and regular ITR owners.

Another way to look at it is just irrational fear of the unknown.
you don't know the extent of consequences of how ppl can track you based on your plates,
so you just play it safe and obscure it completely.
I'm not saying it's rational, and just trying to consider the pov of a paranoid (if not also delusional) car owner.
"They're out to get me!!!"

brndck

lol what about every car that is featured in a magazine and shows plates.


thats hundreds of thousands of copies of that plate being distributed to the public.

i think ppl are being overly paranoid about wanting their plates blocked.

invest in a good alarm and a tracking system and also a "bitch-be-good" stick.

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ronmcdon

that, and just don't go to shopping malls period.

what's laughable are people who dwell on anal measures like obscuring the lic plate,
but cannot be damned to invest in an alarm and park their car at the mall, knowing full well its more likely to get stolen there than anywhere else.

!Zar!

There have been people stuck up here and robbed during car sales.

So it seems people want to live in this fantasy land you are talking about.

With economy the way it is, people are doing some pretty drastic things to get a hold of cash.



Well, that's what I thought.

But I was wondering if there was anything, "more".

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PRADOgy

It takes almost no energy to be that much safer. Its all it is, no need to make it anything more

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しょうがない

mrflip69

Dude, what do you expect? A full out investigation when a car is recovered? "Hey guys, my car got stolen because my plates weren't blocked out online." How do you even prove something like that? You'd have to get a confession or something from the thief.

And if the car isn't recovered... well, how would you figure if the plates made a difference either way?

Just because you haven't heard of a case, doesn't mean it hasn't happened. I'm sure a shit ton of interesting things have happened and haven't been posted online

Yeah it's paranoid, but whatever helps you sleep at night, right? hahaha

Future240

I never got it either. If they stole mine, they would probably be doing be a favor.

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