Dear fellow Civic owners,

This is my most difficult post yet. The past few weeks, I'm more and more sure that someone whom I know and previously trusted got access to a copy of my car key. This person lives in close proximity to me.

I believe this person is doing things to my car behind my back, like taking things I leave in the car, destroying my electronic gadgets I place in the glove compartment, and, more recently, squirting water into the floor area of the front passenger seat. Two days this week, the hood of the car was left ajar. On other days, a door would be unlocked. Talking to this person would be useless, since all I’ll hear are denials. Thankfully, I don’t think they drive my car off.

What I'd like to do is to place a covert (inconspiicuous) video camera inside the cabin/interior. My Civic is a 1995 model. I’ve seen some “bait car” pictures and video cilps. If I could get that same view of the interior and see what happens in the front seats (driver’s area and “shotgun”/front_passenger area), this would give me the objective irrefutable evidence.

I believe the deeds happen during the evening, when I get back to the house to the time I drive off the next day or 2 days later.

I’ve set my Civic’s cabin light to turn on when a door is ajar.

Is it helpful to somehow connect the surveillance system to the car’s battery? How can you get power into the cabin?

Can I somehow place a tiny camera into the AC vent? (Is this it’s done with bait cars?)

Preferably, the surveillance will only record when it detects motion or light or sound. I believe this will save on power. But I’m willing to have the camera record from the time I press “Record” in the evening to the time I get to my car the next morning.

I don’t think it’s necessary to record for audio. Video by itself should be fine.

Attached is a picture of how my dash/front looks like.
Also attached is a picture of this thing I saw in the front passenger area. Could we use this perhaps as a power source?

 

Kill switch, install one immediately if you think someone has a copy of your key. ex g/f? I don't think I have ever given someone my keys long enough to make a copy.

if they have a key, why not just install an alarm system? They wouldn't have the fob to stop it, or know where the switch is to unarm it (this is used in case the battery in the fob dies)

Can you see the car from a window in your home? If so, just buy a cheap camera system to rig up. If not, do you have the ability to stay up to wait for them?

 

Right now, I don't want an alarm system because I want to acquire proof of their actions.


Yes, I can see the car from the home-office window of the house. I am considering getting some camera system to rig up from the home office.

 

Get yourself an inexpensive game camera at Walmart. Used for taking pictures of animals in the wild. Set it up nearby, hidden in a garden, bush, or tree. Then you'll be able to see who is doing the dirty deeds and you'll have photographic proof with the time and date stamp.
Duane

 

Thanks, Duane! I'll look into game cameras. I just hope that they don't see the camera, lest they destroy it or temporarily behave themselves.

 

A good idea would be too put something in there that you know a typical "thief" would want to take and put it somewhere kind of obvious and see if it disappears, if it does, id move forward to the video surveillance step. People can be real ********, especially "friends" , sorry for ur troubles hope I can help !!

 

Ricebooxx, thanks for your input. No need to "see if it disappears", because I'm certain my property is being violated. Happy new year!