That doesn't sound like a good idea. If you fill the hole with a cover a thief might think you have a cleverly disguised stereo and break in to find it (after all how many cars nowadays don't have a stereo). At least if you leave the hole empty they can see that the stereo is not there.

Not in my case. The cover piece I have is not a disguise. It's an actual car part- it's the piece they put on my model of car if the dealership sells the car without a radio. It literally looks exactly like a car that simply has no radio installed at all. The speakers are all hidden under upholstery, so there's no way to see anything worth stealing when you look in the windows. Like I said, the car was very secure that way for years, and I never had a problem. When I gave up my pullout model for a removable faceplate model (and could no longer use my cover plate), it got ripped off the first time I parked my car in the city. The thieves know that they can order another faceplate for fifty bucks.

As far as the logic of "leaving the hole visible", yes, that works, to a certain extent. However, many thieves will bust a window on such a car anyway, assuming that you stuck the radio under the seat because you didn't want to lug it around with you. Personally, I've had good luck in the past with my cover plate, so I'm sticking with it.



-- Tony Fabris -- Empeg #144 --
Caution: Do not look into laser with remaining good eye.