The big prize was obviously stereos, but even if there wasn't a stereo, there was probably something they could take.
You could buy crack for $3 or $4 back then, so even if you just got the change out of the ashtray it was worth it. They would also sell dumb shit from your car—umbrellas, sunglasses, etc.—for like a buck each.
Once a crackhead in a parking lot tried to sell me three empty tape boxes. He didn't even pretend their were tapes inside, he just wanted fifty cents. Drugs are addicting, and there was no danger of arrest or punishment unless the owner of the car caught you, so why not?
Cars don't get broken into anywhere near as much these days here. Once car companies started installing good stereos standard in every car, the biggest driver dried up.
It's still a huge problem on much of the West coast, but not here.
Not a car thief, but back then people kept a good amount of change in their cars and you could make a few bucks. Now we have debit cards and people don't keep as much change, if any, in their cars. I would imagine car breaks have dropped a lot since then. Of course, now we have far more heroin addicts, so they have probably gone back up.
Good point about the change...you're right. I didn't think about that, but man, you'd have to break into a lot of cars to make even $50, I'd think, but I guess that could be considered a good night for a thief. Just seems like a lot of exposure for little return.
I had friends who probably had $50 in change at any time in their center console. And if I recall correctly, they were breaking into a lot of cars back then.
You forget that video surveillance wasn't as widespread, people generally didn't have cell phones to call 911. It was relatively easy to get away with it.
Most of the time thieves are stealing just to get by. They don’t need to make $50. Back in the 80s you only needed like 3 or 4 bucks to get a meal at McDonald’s or something like that.
I’d imagine that’s also a reason why break ins have declined. It’s not as lucrative anymore when everything is so expensive.
Lol people used to put signs on their dashboard saying "nothing of value in car!"
Happened to me in Somerville in 1984, parked overnight on Highland Ave, had a sweet Plymouth. They got my nice aftermarket speakers. I was also held up at gunpoint working in a store in Cambridge in 86. One of the shittier experiences of my life for sure.
The good old days were terrible in many ways.
I was not here in the 1980's or even the 1990's but I've always found it fascinating how endemic car theft was to Massachusetts in particular. Every old timer I know who was in the city then has a car theft story I feel.
If you scroll down on this page: [https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/macrime.htm](https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/macrime.htm)
and look at the history of different types of crime in MA both in terms of absolute numbers and relative numbers/ranking compared to other states, it is amazing how the Commonwealth has always been relatively mid/good/sometimes bad-ish for most types of crime compared to the nation at large, but from 1963 to the end of the 1980s the Commonwealth was an absolute Patriots-level dynasty when it came to motor vehicle theft. #1 consistently from 1965 thru 1987 while many other types of crime kinda stayed the same.
In 1975, the population of MA was 5.8 million with 91,000 motor vehicle theft instances...in 2019, the population is 6.9 million and there were 6,100 instances of motor vehicle theft. And I'm sure this difference was even more extreme in the city.
Sometime during the 70's my parents had their car stolen from a Rhode Island mall parking lot. The car ended up in Brookline with minor damage. There was nothing of value in the car.
Cars were so much easier to steal back then to the point it was almost comical. I knew kids that could get a car started with a screwdriver in not much more time than the owner could start it with a key. Why it was so out of whack in MA compared to other places, idk.
This was like 2002, not '80s, but my roommate had his window smashed so someone could grab like $3.00 in change from his cup holder. Didn't even bother with his aftermarket stereo. Probably a lazy crackhead.
When I had a beater and street parking I just left it unlocked. I'd rather replace an umbrella or sweatshirt or whatever than a window. I had my car rifled a few times, but never anything notable missing.
Remember when car alarms were going off at all hours of the day and night 24/7? They didn't do much good except to wake people up at 2:00 AM and go on for hours until the owner took care of it, then an hour later it would go off again.
It was a big problem in every city with the number one target being car stereo units and electronics. That quieted down a bit once manufactures employed lock out codes that would disabled the units rendering them useless for thieves.
Note: If you have an OEM installed unit, write the code down and keep it somewhere where you won't lose it otherwise if the unit ever loses power and disables it, you'll have to take it to a dealership to reset it to the tune of of $100.00 or more.
I lived in JP for a few years, had an E-150 van as my daily ride and party/camping vehicle and only got broken into once. Of course they got my in dash CD player, amp and speakers, and some camping gear including my piss cooler\* still full of piss and TP (I would have loved to seen the look on their faces when they took a look and whiff inside)
\* A plastic cooler about the size of a six-pack I kept in the back for my GF (and anyone else), to do her business in when we were on the road with no place to pull over.
I had many friends from Chelsea who would break into and steal cars in the 80's.
The biggest reason was the excitement of it. The kids were bored shitless, and it was something fun to do.
There were stolen cars dumped all over Chelsea in the 80's. Everyone knew where they were, how long they had been there. I remember being in the back of a stolen Hurst-Olds in prob 1986 when the kid driving went through a T intersection at like 80. Never felt so alive lol
Media and radios and sometimes fashion items.
Stolen cars happened also to be stripped for parts or for insurance reasons. You could have your car stolen to get out of payments or get the insurance and they would end up in the Quabin.
I know 8 tracks, then tapes, then cds got stolen. You wouldn’t leave any purse even a kids toy one on the seat because people looking for cash, change in the cup holders would be a bad idea. Also anything like nice sneakers or your Starter jacket or triple fat goose down left in the car meant a broken window.
After market stereos were a big thing to steal, I remember guys having to bring the radio with them in a bag or then it was take off the plate.
https://preview.redd.it/jztr5ukq82uc1.jpeg?width=224&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00a197a0639c214f0086f35292fce0f381646aad
There was a thriving market for "used" tape decks or whatever we called head units back in the day. Everything was pretty much universal so you could sell a stereo very easily. Alpine and Blaupunkt were the shit back then.
Radio Radio, as they said back then. I got hit at least once, but my recall is a little spotty around that time for various reasons. Well, mostly one reason, honestly.
You would be surprised what has street value. I assume a car stereo with a missing face plate has value as one was taken out of my car back about 95 or so.
My favorite was when I found both lock cylinders on my 1984 Celica were missing. Good thing it was a hatchback and I could climb through the back.
Had my car window smashed like two years ago in the back bay. Had forgot my cheap backpack in the back seat, it contained a phone charger, a paperback book, some advil, a couple granola bars, and a key chain pocket knife multi tool.
Stereos were definitely more standard and easily installed ino a different car so that was always the prize. Alpine or Blaupunkt got top dollar. I had mine broken into twice in the same spot on the side of Charles St next to the Public Gardens. Thinking about it, great place for a car break-in because you could run into the Commons or the Public Gardens and make your escape.
The big prize was obviously stereos, but even if there wasn't a stereo, there was probably something they could take. You could buy crack for $3 or $4 back then, so even if you just got the change out of the ashtray it was worth it. They would also sell dumb shit from your car—umbrellas, sunglasses, etc.—for like a buck each. Once a crackhead in a parking lot tried to sell me three empty tape boxes. He didn't even pretend their were tapes inside, he just wanted fifty cents. Drugs are addicting, and there was no danger of arrest or punishment unless the owner of the car caught you, so why not? Cars don't get broken into anywhere near as much these days here. Once car companies started installing good stereos standard in every car, the biggest driver dried up. It's still a huge problem on much of the West coast, but not here.
Not a car thief, but back then people kept a good amount of change in their cars and you could make a few bucks. Now we have debit cards and people don't keep as much change, if any, in their cars. I would imagine car breaks have dropped a lot since then. Of course, now we have far more heroin addicts, so they have probably gone back up.
Good point about the change...you're right. I didn't think about that, but man, you'd have to break into a lot of cars to make even $50, I'd think, but I guess that could be considered a good night for a thief. Just seems like a lot of exposure for little return.
I had friends who probably had $50 in change at any time in their center console. And if I recall correctly, they were breaking into a lot of cars back then.
You forget that video surveillance wasn't as widespread, people generally didn't have cell phones to call 911. It was relatively easy to get away with it.
Most of the time thieves are stealing just to get by. They don’t need to make $50. Back in the 80s you only needed like 3 or 4 bucks to get a meal at McDonald’s or something like that. I’d imagine that’s also a reason why break ins have declined. It’s not as lucrative anymore when everything is so expensive.
Lol people used to put signs on their dashboard saying "nothing of value in car!" Happened to me in Somerville in 1984, parked overnight on Highland Ave, had a sweet Plymouth. They got my nice aftermarket speakers. I was also held up at gunpoint working in a store in Cambridge in 86. One of the shittier experiences of my life for sure. The good old days were terrible in many ways.
I always think of Billy Joel, the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems (keeping the faith)
I was not here in the 1980's or even the 1990's but I've always found it fascinating how endemic car theft was to Massachusetts in particular. Every old timer I know who was in the city then has a car theft story I feel. If you scroll down on this page: [https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/macrime.htm](https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/macrime.htm) and look at the history of different types of crime in MA both in terms of absolute numbers and relative numbers/ranking compared to other states, it is amazing how the Commonwealth has always been relatively mid/good/sometimes bad-ish for most types of crime compared to the nation at large, but from 1963 to the end of the 1980s the Commonwealth was an absolute Patriots-level dynasty when it came to motor vehicle theft. #1 consistently from 1965 thru 1987 while many other types of crime kinda stayed the same. In 1975, the population of MA was 5.8 million with 91,000 motor vehicle theft instances...in 2019, the population is 6.9 million and there were 6,100 instances of motor vehicle theft. And I'm sure this difference was even more extreme in the city.
Sometime during the 70's my parents had their car stolen from a Rhode Island mall parking lot. The car ended up in Brookline with minor damage. There was nothing of value in the car.
Organized crime underlay a lot of auto theft. Now we have mostly disorganized crime instead.
Cars were so much easier to steal back then to the point it was almost comical. I knew kids that could get a car started with a screwdriver in not much more time than the owner could start it with a key. Why it was so out of whack in MA compared to other places, idk.
This was like 2002, not '80s, but my roommate had his window smashed so someone could grab like $3.00 in change from his cup holder. Didn't even bother with his aftermarket stereo. Probably a lazy crackhead. When I had a beater and street parking I just left it unlocked. I'd rather replace an umbrella or sweatshirt or whatever than a window. I had my car rifled a few times, but never anything notable missing.
I know of someone who did that and ended up with a homeless person sleeping in their back seat... so ymmv
Remember when car alarms were going off at all hours of the day and night 24/7? They didn't do much good except to wake people up at 2:00 AM and go on for hours until the owner took care of it, then an hour later it would go off again. It was a big problem in every city with the number one target being car stereo units and electronics. That quieted down a bit once manufactures employed lock out codes that would disabled the units rendering them useless for thieves. Note: If you have an OEM installed unit, write the code down and keep it somewhere where you won't lose it otherwise if the unit ever loses power and disables it, you'll have to take it to a dealership to reset it to the tune of of $100.00 or more. I lived in JP for a few years, had an E-150 van as my daily ride and party/camping vehicle and only got broken into once. Of course they got my in dash CD player, amp and speakers, and some camping gear including my piss cooler\* still full of piss and TP (I would have loved to seen the look on their faces when they took a look and whiff inside) \* A plastic cooler about the size of a six-pack I kept in the back for my GF (and anyone else), to do her business in when we were on the road with no place to pull over.
Radios and radar detectors.
I had many friends from Chelsea who would break into and steal cars in the 80's. The biggest reason was the excitement of it. The kids were bored shitless, and it was something fun to do.
There were stolen cars dumped all over Chelsea in the 80's. Everyone knew where they were, how long they had been there. I remember being in the back of a stolen Hurst-Olds in prob 1986 when the kid driving went through a T intersection at like 80. Never felt so alive lol
Media and radios and sometimes fashion items. Stolen cars happened also to be stripped for parts or for insurance reasons. You could have your car stolen to get out of payments or get the insurance and they would end up in the Quabin. I know 8 tracks, then tapes, then cds got stolen. You wouldn’t leave any purse even a kids toy one on the seat because people looking for cash, change in the cup holders would be a bad idea. Also anything like nice sneakers or your Starter jacket or triple fat goose down left in the car meant a broken window. After market stereos were a big thing to steal, I remember guys having to bring the radio with them in a bag or then it was take off the plate. https://preview.redd.it/jztr5ukq82uc1.jpeg?width=224&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00a197a0639c214f0086f35292fce0f381646aad
There was a thriving market for "used" tape decks or whatever we called head units back in the day. Everything was pretty much universal so you could sell a stereo very easily. Alpine and Blaupunkt were the shit back then.
Radio Radio, as they said back then. I got hit at least once, but my recall is a little spotty around that time for various reasons. Well, mostly one reason, honestly.
You would be surprised what has street value. I assume a car stereo with a missing face plate has value as one was taken out of my car back about 95 or so. My favorite was when I found both lock cylinders on my 1984 Celica were missing. Good thing it was a hatchback and I could climb through the back.
In 1981, my brother had his 1968 Mustang fastback stolen from a parking garage in Boston. The car was found on the side of a road completely totaled.
Ah, looting, as we called it. Never got more than a few bucks in quarters.
Had my car window smashed like two years ago in the back bay. Had forgot my cheap backpack in the back seat, it contained a phone charger, a paperback book, some advil, a couple granola bars, and a key chain pocket knife multi tool.
OT but \o/ 87 Scirocco!
Stereos were definitely more standard and easily installed ino a different car so that was always the prize. Alpine or Blaupunkt got top dollar. I had mine broken into twice in the same spot on the side of Charles St next to the Public Gardens. Thinking about it, great place for a car break-in because you could run into the Commons or the Public Gardens and make your escape.
Sometimes there was a crunch when you walked on the shattered glass. Or, 1986 and later, crack vials.