That's pretty reasonable advice. Whenever we're going to leave the car parked on the street in the city overnight (or at least late at night), we drive the old car, rather than the newer nicer car (though we're talking $25K versus $5K). Makes our car less attractive to thieves, and we care much less if it gets some minor damage. I'd be surprised if either of our cars were ever stolen since they have transponder keys and I don't think tow-truck thefts are that common in this city. We're more likely to run into smash-and-grab thefts. (only happened twice over almost 10 years, nothing of value was taken, and the window "only" cost about $200 to replace)

For that same reason, I ride the cheap $500 commuter bike to work or the store, and save the $4000 nice bike for long rides where I'm not going to leave it unattended. (well, that and the commuter bike has a rack so I can easily carry more stuff) I did ride the nice bike to work a few times, and parked it at my desk.