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Guide to Car Shopping + Bonus Garage Shopping

Basics of car shopping:

In case you didn’t know car shopping is the act of sneaking around, usually at night, and going into peoples cars (usually unlocked ones) in hopes of finding valuables.

Let’s start about talking what to wear. You may be thinking “at night, ninja gear, all black” WRONG. No quicker way for people (including the police) to notice you, then sneaking around at night wearing all black (you aren’t a fucking ninja). wear some normal clothes, jeans, t-shirt, or even better a polo shirt, or button up. In a neutral color. Cargo pants are good for storage. Darker Khaki color is good. Trust me, you’ll blend in better and be less noticed, especially sitting in someone’s car digging through shit, if you aren’t in ninja gear. Also if it’s cold, wear some gloves, but NOT if it’s warm. The majority of cars you’ll hit will likely just have some cash in the ashtray, maybe a pack of smokes, and some CDs. Most people wont notice for a bit, and the majority won’t call the police over a few CDs and a bit of cash, but if it’s warm and you can’t wear gloves, and you are worried about prints, smear super glue on the pads of your finger, and do not touch anything with any other part of your hand. When you get arrested they print the side (karate chops), the whole palm, and the whole fingers. Keep that in mind.

(I’m sure someone will say “well you can just wipe the prints off”, ok you stay around and wipe off everything YOU CAN REMEMBER that you touched, I’ll be 5 minutes down the road, and $100 richer.)

Also keep in mind where you are shopping. If it’s a college parking lot, dress like a college student. If a suburb, dress like someone out for a jog. You can get clothes at a thrift store, for what you can shop from a single car.

And remember, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Walk normal, talk normal.
If someone says “hi” say hi back.

Now lets discuss where and when to shop:
You can pretty much jump on any target of opportunity when you are out and about going about your normal business, but when you are out on a car shopping mission, some of the best places are:

College campuses and dorms. Best times to shop are while class is in, sometimes the middle of the night. Students don’t always take their laptops and stuff to class. This area you are looking mainly for laptops, and iPods, and the like. Sometimes a binder with school papers are good too. A lot of different assignments and papers that have a decent price to the right people. Also CDs. Best times to shop at night is the beginning of the week, mid semester. When the students are tired and stuff and don’t feel like bringing in everything like their laptops, and stuff. Work won’t be due till the end of the week so they won’t need to use it.

Suburbs: lots of cars parked along the street, makes it almost to easy. Go sometime between 12 and 4am, this is the time 99% of the people are asleep, on weekday nights. Here you are looking for money, and other assorted things of value. Unlike colleges, the people usually keep a few bucks in their cars. 90% of the time, if they aren’t a smoker it will be in the ash tray. Gas money, anywhere from a handful of change to a $20, only once found more than a $20 in there and it was a $100. Look for wallets, since these type of people for whatever reason I don’t know, leave their wallets in the car more often than you’d think.

Store parking lots: (walmart, kmart etc.) Main thing to remember here is to be quick. People who leave their car unlocked in a store parking lot are usually just running in for a couple things, but they also have the best shit. You do need to keep and eye out for cameras though,and don’t shop at places that have them. Best way to pull this off is to wait out front of the store and just watch people pull in and get out of their cars. Then hit it.

How to shop:

Technique may vary, but the basic principle is the same. Walk around large parking lots and look for cars with the locks up. Checking every door in a parking lot draws too much attention. Walk between the rows of cars (not in the roadway area) so you can cover as many as possible quickly. As far as suburbs go walk down the sidewalk and stealthily check the handles, locked cars handles pull up really easy. If you find one unlocked I REALLY recommend going around to the street side, opposite the house and going in. Or if you get ballsy and are checking cars in driveways (which seem to be unlocked more than ones on the street) go to the side away from the front door or bedroom windows.

Now that you are in the car be quick. Check the glove box, ashtray, middle glove box between the seats, back seat, and under the front seats. If you have time and are feeling ok about it, pop the trunk and take a look. Make it quick, and move on. Don’t bother closing the doors all the way. Learn how to turn off a dome light right when you jump in.

Grab anything that is easily carried and has value. College campuses are good because it doesn’t look weird to carry a backpack. CDs even if you don’t like the music you can pawn them for $.50 to $2.50 each.

Final thing to mention is BE CAREFUL. If you can enter a car on the passenger side, or the side away from a house, anyway that makes it harder for someone to confront you, and makes it easier for you to get away if seen. 99% of people won’t confront you, but will call the police, if they look out their window and see someone in their car. So don’t spend too much time in one area. If you come up on a laptop or something, don’t get greedy grab it and get the fuck out of the area. Also always keep and eye out.

Personal story: When I was 19 I picked the wrong house to carshop from, and wasn’t paying attention, turned out to be some gang members house and the tl/dr version is I ended up getting stabbed. Always pay attention so you can get away if someone sees you.

If you have done everything right you should be able to get at least $20-50, pack of smokes, and at least one valuable electronic device in a couple hour period.

Have fun, BE SAFE, and don’t forget to send me my cut.

PART 2: Garage shopping.

Guide to Garage Shopping.

Garage shopping is the act of driving around at night, looking for houses where the garage has been left open, and going in and stealing shit.

Since most of the stuff outlined in the car shopping guide, applies to garage shopping, I will do my best to not repeat myself.

The method and execution of this, is generally the same as car shopping. Just the target, and your own transportation are different.

Set up:
While car shopping is best done solo, garage shopping requires a friend. The driver should be licensed and insured, the registration on the vehicle should be current. You should also choose a vehicle that is easy to load things into and out of. Like a pick up truck or mini-van. A quiet engine is always nice too.

Clothing should be slightly darker than for car shopping, since you will be in a car mostly, and dark clothing wont draw as much attention.

Cruising:
You’ll want to do this on a weekday, usually after midnight, so your chance of most people being asleep is better. The only place this is really profitable is in the suburbs, where there are a lot of houses with good stuff in them, relatively close together.

Now all you have to do is start driving around. With your lights on and at a normal speed. Lights off and driving slow attracts attention. You are looking for any house with the garage door open, and the inside house lights off. When you see one, keep driving, pull over around the corner and get prepared. Now turn your lights off and cruise back over to the house. DO NOT pull into their driveway, too easy for someone to pull up behind you and block you in.
Leave the motor running.

Picking: [how to shop] Either one or both of you can get out and into the garage, it’s good to leave one person near the car as a lookout, but not that important.
Do not bother with flashlights, as your night vision should be good enough, and they attract attention.
People usually leave some high dollar items in their garage. You are looking for things like:

tools
sports equipment
motorcycles
bicycles
and about a million other random things of value people usually store in their garage.
Also a lot of people have a stand up freezer in their garage, you might check it for some steaks or whatnot.

This is where a friend comes in really handy, especially if you find a motorcycle or something. You’ll need help loading it. Pretty much be quiet, quickly grab what you can, get the fuck out.

Driving:
As stated before make sure the vehicle and driver are all legal, if you get stopped by the cops, you don’t want to give them any reason to search the vehicle, or question you.
Drive under the speed limit, and obey all traffic laws, this might seem a bit obvious, but when people are out doing stupid shit they tend to want to go all out, and drive like idiots.

Selling the shit:
Tools and things for the most part can be sold on Craigslist or ebay. Motorcycles and go-karts and shit may have to be parted out, but you’ll make good money that way. Don’t try keeping this shit, sell it ASAP. I’ve known too many idiots thinking they can ride their stolen dirtbike in the mountains or desert, and they always end up getting caught with it. Sell that shit and use the money to buy your own. Luckily I live near the Aquaduct, so getting rid of the motorcycle frames and other numbered parts is pretty easy. Throw them in a river or lake or whatever you got. Don’t hold on to them, and don’t try and sell them.

Discuss

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