In Toronto they sure do!!!

 

If all your car alarm does is make noise or flash some lights, don't bother.

Noisemakers won't stop thieves. They won't scare them away, and they won't even draw enough attention that bystanders will scare them away or call the police for you.

Thieves, unlike most alarm owners, know that nobody pays attention to car alarms.

How often to you hear alarms going off? Now, of those times, how often have you done one of the following:
1. Gone to see what was going on
2. Checked to make sure that the person next to the car (if any) was really the owner.
3. Thought to yourself "Oh my god! Someone's stealing that car!"
4. Called the police for someone whose alarm was going off?

Noisemakers are dependent on either the thief running away on his own or innocent bystanders calling the police for you. Which rarely happens. This is one of the main reasons why cars with alarms still get stolen.

There are basically four levels of theft deterrent:

1. Trying to convince the thief to not bother (stickers, dash lights)
2. Trying to scare the thief away once he's decided to bother (alarms, flashing exterior lights)
3. Trying to prevent the thief from getting away with your vehicle (immobilizers, clubs, cutoffs)
4. Trying to track the car (and theif) and retrieve it

Stickers and dash warning lights aren't bad unless they look cheap and tacky. Don't buy something from the 'bling' aisle of the local parts store and double-sided-tape it to your dash and expect it to scare anyone away. A quality alarm system will have a quality warning light with OEM-level fit and finish. Anything less is an invitation.

Noisemakers just turn your neighbors against you. They'd rather your car get stolen than have to continuously live with it making noise all the time.

Immobilisers give the thief a hard time and unprepared thieves may give up in the middle of the attempt if they didn't bring the right tools along. These measures 'separate the men from the boys'.

Trackers give you the best chance of getting your car back and possibly nailing the guy who stole it. especially the newest trackers that can notify you via cellphone, email, or text message if your car moves and your keychain transponder isn't inside it. That way, you know right as the car's being stolen to call the police, rather than several hours later when you get out of the movie, mall, store, restaurant, whatever.

If you have to depend on just one level of protection, make it a tracker and not a noisemaker.

In fact, even if you want to go for maximum protection, leave the noisemaker out of the equation.

 

It does seem like there is a very limited market for the S2000. It's probably not often on a thief's radar.

That said, the convt. top makes it an easy target. I don't know if this is significant information, but my insurance carrier, MetLife, lists the S2000 as a high-theft vehicle. Really, though, just about every car is on there. In some areas, you'll get an insurance break for putting in an alarm or location device -- that could make it worth it.

Y'know, a quick call or drive over to the neighborhood police station might help you find out if the areas that you park the car are risky for either theft or vandalism. I think most cities in the US are pretty bad risks for a convertible. 'Burbs can definitely vary.

The stock immobilizer will not stop someone who can flatbed your car away. It does stop the casual joy rider, who more likely than not will vandalize your car if he can't fire it up.

 

IMHO alarms are a waste of money. You have insurance right? If so, rely on that. If someone wants something bad enough they'll find a way to get it. Seat locks are only going to frustrate a thief and will likely result in other damage.

This reminds me of when I reverse threaded the tank bolts on my '00 yamaha R6 (motorcycle) with a stage 1 turbo. An apparent thief must've been frustrated after stripping the tank bolts (by turning them the wrong way) that he proceeded to smash the windscreen, slash the tires, break the mirrors, and rip off the rear seat cowl.

 

Like most of us who do not have an alarm, leave the radio door open which allows the little red security flasher to be visable.
Not that this would prevent a dedicated thief from entering your car but it might deter someone less sophisticated from attempting a theft.
The door closed really does not hide the radio. Anyone and everyone knows that the radio is behind this cover so no point attemting to hide it.

 

I hear the Hard Tops are more likely to get stolen.