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The vast majority of vehicles are stolen by professional car thieves. They are organized, work in teams, and they are familiar with how various security systems work and know how to disable them quickly. The Ravelco Antitheft Device is the only security system with millions of installations that has never been defeated.
How do other products compare?

1. CAR ALARMS - Who hasn't heard and ignored a car alarm? People have become desensitized to them due to so many false alarms. A recent national survey by the Progressive Insurance Company found that fewer than 1% of people would call the police if they heard a car alarm going off. Numerous vehicles equipped with car alarm systems are stolen every day. Most can be easily bypassed right under the dash in a matter of seconds. The fact that car alarm manufacturers tend to color code the alarm wires according to their function makes it even easier for a thief familiar with the system to quickly defeat it. Some car thieves use a code grabber or scanner that can disarm remote control alarm systems from up to several hundred feet away. Even some alarm systems that claim to have anti-scan or anti-code grabbing technology can still be disarmed, as demonstrated on CBS’s The Early Show and 48 Hours. A massive study undertaken by the nonprofit Highway Loss Data Institute, which examined over 73 million insurance claims, concluded that cars with alarms “show no overall reduction in theft losses” compared to cars without alarms. The lack of statistical evidence that car alarms stop theft has motivated the efforts of several nonprofit groups to have them banned, citing that car alarms are ‘alarmingly useless’.

2. TRACKING SYSTEMS - Tracking systems come into play only after the vehicle has been stolen, doing nothing to prevent the actual theft. The problem with this is that by the time the victim reports his or her vehicle stolen, it may have already been stripped and dumped. Thieves use sophisticated debugging equipment to locate and dispose of hidden tracking devices, drive the stolen cars out of range, or block the tracking signals by parking stolen vehicles in certain covered areas. Cars that are recovered without being completely stripped still typically have significant damages. Recovered vehicles usually require around $1000 worth of repair work. Significant effort can also be required in cleaning and odor removal once the car has been returned. In some unfortunate cases, owners have gotten their vehicles back only to discover hypodermic drug syringes in the floorboard, or to find that the thieves urinated or defecated in the vehicle. Sad, but true. Further, these systems are not available in all areas, and they are very expensive ($695 and up). Even in the best-case scenario for a tracking system of a car being stolen and recovered with little damage, the car was still stolen, and that information is made publicly available on vehicle history reports such as CarFax. People are reluctant to buy a car that has been stolen, and vehicle owners can lose hundreds or thousands of dollars in the resale value of their cars after a theft. Wouldn't you prefer to prevent your vehicle from being stolen in the first place?

3. FACTORY SECURITY SYSTEMS - Essentially every new foreign or domestic vehicle manufactured today comes with a factory-installed security system that requires the ‘real’ ignition key for the car to start. These factory immobilizers have made it more difficult to steal cars than it once was, but these systems are not sufficient protection to prevent a car from being stolen. For example, the Cadillac Escalade continues to rank highest in overall theft losses of all vehicles on the road. According to the editors at MSN Auto: "The Escalade's theft losses have been the highest in recent years even though this vehicle is equipped with a standard anti-theft ignition immobilizer which is designed to prevent the vehicle from being started without the proper key." There are a number of different ways thieves can bypass factory-installed security systems to steal a vehicle. Common techniques include computer swapping and overriding the factory security system with a laptop computer. Some thieves simply acquire the key to the car they plan to steal by copying the VIN from the car’s dash in advance and then going to a dealership and pretending to be a needy customer who’s lost his car key. Earlier versions of the current factory immobilizer systems can be wired around right under the dash. A national automotive magazine even published information on how to bypass these systems. It can be done in about 20 seconds. Please do not believe any car salesman who claims that your car cannot be stolen because of its factory-installed security system, because this is simply not true.

4. THE CLUB and the AUTOLOCK - Widely advertised, The Club is probably the best-known antitheft product on the market today. But as demonstrated on CBS's American Journal, a car thief using a hacksaw can cut through the vehicle's steering wheel and remove The Club in just 22 seconds! The program also demonstrated how a thief can spray freon into the locking mechanism of The Club, hit the now frozen lock with a hammer, and shatter it like glass, enabling him to remove The Club. In addition, there is a device called the Club Buster, which will break The Club and AutoLock devices in 60 seconds. The Club Buster is intended for locksmiths, tow truck operators, and auto repossession professionals, but any thief can buy it over the internet right now for $90.

5. REMOTE STARTER KILLS - Many car dealers sell and promote this type of device because it is very easy to install and the dealer can charge up to $499 for it. The customers will never know the difference and will think that they are getting top security for their dollar. This device comes with a remote control and a special re-worked starter relay that replaces the factory starter relay in the vehicle's power distribution box. The power distribution box is very easy to access directly under the hood of the vehicle. All the thief has to do is to lift the cover of the box, pull out the relay, replace it with any factory relay (cost $2) and drive the vehicle off. The remote control on this device can be scanned and bypassed with a scanner box very easily in seconds.

6. RF TAG SECURITY (SMART KEY) - This system works with a RF Frequency transmitter that automatically sends a signal to a relay (starter, fuel pump, etc.) that replaces a factory relay in the power distribution box or fuse relay box in the engine compartment of the vehicle enabling it to work. The key or transmitter can be in the form of a key or a small round plastic cylinder that attaches to the vehicle owner's key chain. When the driver is in the range of a vehicle fitted with this system the circuits will operate. Thieves know about this device and easily replace the special relay with a $2 factory one to defeat this system.

7. IMMOBILIZER TYPE DEVICES – The Immobilizer name is used by many different antitheft device companies around the world. This system consists of a resistor or tiny radio transmitter imbedded in the ignition key and sends a signal to a receiver in the steering column, somewhat similar to the factory systems described above. A variation of this system involves the use of a plug, rather than an imbedded chip in the ignition key, but all are connected under the dash and all are very easy to locate and bypass. The wires used for these systems do not have any armored cable or security covering to protect or conceal them, making it easy for a thief to locate the wires, reconnect them, and steal the vehicle in a matter of seconds. Some of these systems claim to interrupt as many as 4 different circuits, but it does not matter how many circuits you interrupt . . . if you can easily reconnect them under the dash. Many vehicles have been stolen that were equipped with this device.

8. TOUCH SENSORS - These devices hook up to the starter wire under the dash. An existing part of the vehicle, such as the cruise control button, the high beam lever, the wiper switch, or even a radio knob becomes the trigger for this device. The driver has to touch this "secret switch" in order to start the vehicle. These devices all work in conjunction with relays that continuously burn up due to the high amperage from the starter wire to which they are connected. Most of them even have a toggle switch which allows a person to override the system. Car thieves are not at all deterred by these devices.

9. FLAT PLUG DEVICES - These devices are all mounted below the dash. The connections are very simple to make and only go to each end of the starter wire beneath the dash. The more sophisticated models include a red flashing light . . . which has nothing at all to do with the device's ability to deter theft. It is merely a red light that either blinks or burns continuously. Car thieves can overcome these devices in seconds by using a jumper wire or even with an "old fashioned" hat pin, simply by sticking it through one wire and into the other. They typically only have a maximum of six different combinations. Most of the dozens of companies that have manufactured flat plug devices have gone out of business.

10. KEYPAD SYSTEMS - These systems connect to the starter wire under the dash. They can be defeated in seconds by locating the "brain box" of the keypad (which usually is wire-tied or taped to the steering column under the dash) and then touching the two contacts with a jumper wire.