Leaving V/Expensive Cars On Your Drive
Discussion
There was a thread running some while ago regarding taking expensive dealership cars home after work and then leaving them overnight on your drive, the O.P had received a work disciplinary over it.
My next door neighbour did this over the week end. Went out on the Saturday night and came home to find his house ransacked and the keys and the car stolen. Thieves climbed over the fence and broke in via the conservatory and kitchen window.
This car [£60k] wasn't a regular visitor at this address so the thieves were either cruising the neighbourhood looking for a type of car or had the place staked out. According to Plod the M.O is to knock on the door several times to check the occupants are out before breaking in.
Lesson here is to leave expensive cars that are not yours at work and or always leave the key's down stairs.
My next door neighbour did this over the week end. Went out on the Saturday night and came home to find his house ransacked and the keys and the car stolen. Thieves climbed over the fence and broke in via the conservatory and kitchen window.
This car [£60k] wasn't a regular visitor at this address so the thieves were either cruising the neighbourhood looking for a type of car or had the place staked out. According to Plod the M.O is to knock on the door several times to check the occupants are out before breaking in.
Lesson here is to leave expensive cars that are not yours at work and or always leave the key's down stairs.
londonbabe said:
Or clear all that s
t out of your garage and park the car in it.
Always wondered what the form was if you had your car stolen off your drive as per above and had ticked the box "kept in garage at home premises overnight" on insurance submission. On a linked note would an insurance firm send a loss adjuster round to check you could actually get your car in your garage if it was stolen off your drive ?t out of your garage and park the car in it.HappyMidget said:
Or just live in a nicer area...
Unless your property is gated off and ideally car out of view, it's not really a solution. By definition, for an area to be considered 'nice', it must have some less nice ones nearby. We live in an area considered as very nice but half a mile away is one considered equally 'not nice'. Consequently, our area has one of the top 20 motor vehicle crime rates in the country and the one half a mile away I doubt hits the top 1000. Mind you, I wouldn't say it's a good idea moving you and your sparkling new M3 to the dregs area, as I doubt that would solve your problem...
janesmith1950 said:
HappyMidget said:
Or just live in a nicer area...
Unless your property is gated off and ideally car out of view, it's not really a solution. By definition, for an area to be considered 'nice', it must have some less nice ones nearby. We live in an area considered as very nice but half a mile away is one considered equally 'not nice'. Consequently, our area has one of the top 20 motor vehicle crime rates in the country and the one half a mile away I doubt hits the top 1000. Mind you, I wouldn't say it's a good idea moving you and your sparkling new M3 to the dregs area, as I doubt that would solve your problem...
We had a spate of car theft in our area a few years back. We live in a quiet area, single road in and out, well lit, the scum bags drove 15 miles to rob 2 cars off our road and try to take ours. Luck for us our dogs are very alert and the house is very secure. Plod told us where they came from and why they were trying to rob as many performance cars for a bigger robbery job.
Presumably next door neighbour had no CCTV and no house alarm? Neither is particularly expensive, and certainly not relative to the car.
A sufficiently determined thief will be off with your stuff regardless of how well-to-do your house is, but if you make the security overt it might make them think twice. That's sadly about the best you can hope for really.
A sufficiently determined thief will be off with your stuff regardless of how well-to-do your house is, but if you make the security overt it might make them think twice. That's sadly about the best you can hope for really.
Fozziebear said:
We had a spate of car theft in our area a few years back. We live in a quiet area, single road in and out, well lit, the scum bags drove 15 miles to rob 2 cars off our road and try to take ours. Luck for us our dogs are very alert and the house is very secure. Plod told us where they came from and why they were trying to rob as many performance cars for a bigger robbery job.
dlockhart said:
Fozziebear said:
We had a spate of car theft in our area a few years back. We live in a quiet area, single road in and out, well lit, the scum bags drove 15 miles to rob 2 cars off our road and try to take ours. Luck for us our dogs are very alert and the house is very secure. Plod told us where they came from and why they were trying to rob as many performance cars for a bigger robbery job.
I sold my nice car, one of a few reasons, because i was spending a few days away from home each week and leaving it on the driveway. Missus was at home alone.
I would wake up at any noise outside, or randomly at 4am and look out. Car would sort of go in the garage - would involve having to remove mirrors, scrape the paintwork, and climb out of the sunroof.
Now, no one is going to break in for a low performance estate. Insurance went from circa £1200 to £400 - inner city manchester, so never further than 1/2 mile from anything considered dodgy.
Next house will have a big double garage further out of anywhere dodgy.
I would wake up at any noise outside, or randomly at 4am and look out. Car would sort of go in the garage - would involve having to remove mirrors, scrape the paintwork, and climb out of the sunroof.
Now, no one is going to break in for a low performance estate. Insurance went from circa £1200 to £400 - inner city manchester, so never further than 1/2 mile from anything considered dodgy.
Next house will have a big double garage further out of anywhere dodgy.
If I leave the McLaren on the drive I just make sure the key is somewhere easy to find, not on show from a window but somewhere they can spot as soon as they are in, I don't want the place ransacked. The house has cameras covering all areas including the drive and two separate alarm systems, the car also has like for like replacement insurance, if they take it I get a brand new one.
Obviously I can't leave the Tracker fob because that would cause problems with the insurance but any professional gang is going to know they won't find that.
I get a call on my phone about 5 seconds after the alarm is tripped (I can then view the cameras from the phone) and the Tracker people normally call me about 30 seconds after the car has been started or entered without the fob.
Honestly, if they want it that bad they can have the fking thing!
Obviously I can't leave the Tracker fob because that would cause problems with the insurance but any professional gang is going to know they won't find that.
I get a call on my phone about 5 seconds after the alarm is tripped (I can then view the cameras from the phone) and the Tracker people normally call me about 30 seconds after the car has been started or entered without the fob.
Honestly, if they want it that bad they can have the f
king thing!Its not just expensive cars. My GTI was absolutely ransacked for the wheels a few months after I bought it. They couldn't find the locking nut key but trashed the whole thing in their search for it and left the interior outside in the rain, and all the documents.
Ironically I had left it across the road, directly opposite the house, whilst we were having our drive redone with a gate and fence.
One thing that did puzzle me though is that I didn't hear the alarm or the window being smashed.
Ironically I had left it across the road, directly opposite the house, whilst we were having our drive redone with a gate and fence.
One thing that did puzzle me though is that I didn't hear the alarm or the window being smashed.
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