Just a note from the "they" people.....I work as a road deputy out here in WA state. I know laws differ somewhat from state to state but I've never heard of a victim being responsible for damages done while someone is joyriding/committing crimes in a stolen vehicle. There are many, many people who end up getting their vehicles stolen where I work because they (1) leave them unlocked, (2) leave them running with the keys in them or (3 and my favorite) leave the keys on the seat or the dashboard where an opportunistic person can use them.
In fact, I was involved in a case awhile back where several juveniles stole a car (unlocked) and then struck several other cars/went joyriding before being stopped by us. When everything was said and done in court, both the driver and front seat passenger were convicted of stealing the car and sentanced. Never was it brought up to charge the owner of the car for leaving it unlocked and ripe for stealing.
Although.....several years ago, a burglar won a civil trial after he injured himself while burglarizing an elderly woman's home. Does that make sense?
What other foks have said is true; if someone wants your ride bad enough, they will get it. Just my 2 cents but If a person wants to spend money on an anti theft/recovery device, spend your money on a LoJack system. I know, I know, that would be fairly ridiculous installed on a Deuce but the system really does work. For those who aren't familiar with them they are a small transmitter about the size of a a pack of cigarettes. The LoJack dealers/installers place them in different areas throughout vehicles and they are very hard to find. When a vehicle is stolen, we request that the transmitter be turned on by LoJack. Last time I did this it took less than 10 minutes for it to start producing the signal. Most police cruisers have a reciever installed in them which works more or less like a direction finder. The closer you get to an activated transmitter (stolen vehicle) the stronger the signal gets on your reciever.
Our air unit is also equipped with a reciever and on the last stolen car I was involved in the vehicle was recoverd within 30 minutes of being stolen parked about 1/2 mile away. The air unit located it within minutes of getting to the area. It may sound strange that it was parked so close to where it was stolen from but it is not uncommon for thieves to return to it later and move it to where they actually want to get it to. Another thing to note about this incident was that officers from surrounding jurisdictions had come into our area (not by request) following the LoJack signal. Our radio channels are seperate so they had no idea we were actively working the recovery. It just goes to show that the LoJack system really does what it's supposed to do. Unlike some older systems, LoJack will even transmit out of underground parking garages through all the concrete. Like I said earlier, they won't prevent the vehicle from being taken but with one installed it is HIGHLY LIKELY you will get the vehicle back. I believe the recovery rate is somewhere around 80-90%
OK, I'm ready. Bring on the laughter and joking about putting something that sophisticated in a Deuce