Neighbour been round to show gang scoping my car last night

[andrewparker]

Monty Python said:

andrewparker said:

I personally wouldn’t drive a lesser car on the off chance that the one I really wanted might one day get stolen...

Probability of theft never even entered the equation...

Then I think you’ve got the wrong thread mate.

[tankplanker]

Leptons said:

My friend (called Paul) had his Whyte mountain bike nicked. It appeared on gumtree later that day. He messaged the seller, got an address e.t.c and gave it to the police....

Who did nothing. You can steal what you like in this country with no fear. Police aren’t interested unless it’s a minor motoring offence or you’ve racially abused someone on social media.

My story is the opposite of this, my Golf R was stolen overnight from my driveway start of April last year. The Police recovered the car less than a week later when they arrested the gang responsible, who were then convicted and sentenced September last year. So I'd put that as a good result, even if I had to fight the insurance company to write off the Golf as the gang had fked the engine, gearbox and clutch.

[J4CKO]

ntiz said:

Are there actually that many of these being stolen relative to the amount that are out there? If a couple of hundred of them have been stolen obviously that's terrible but if there is ten thousand of them out there your not exactly taking your life in your hands by owning one.

Is this a localised thing?

I bought my wife an estate a year ago and nothing has happened and you simply don't hear about it in my part of the world.

I woke this morning and realised I had left it unlocked with the keys in it lol. Maybe I'm just very lucky.

Very much localised, if you live in, or in easy driving distance of a large town or city then it is a much higher risk than if you live further out, and it isnt all towns and cities either.

They do seem to be quite prepared to go to extreme lengths to get their hands on fast VW/Audi products.

I wonder how many bought them and are in blissful ignorance but at high risk, a lot of VW/Audi buyers might be middle class non petrolheads with little awareness of this kind of thing.

Its not new, my cousin had an R32 when they were still quite new and that had an attempted theft, but it was fairly low key compared tot he modern approach of baseball bats and stuff.

[JQ]

Live in a reasonably nice suburb of South Manchester and had the car 3 years without a single issue. Quite frankly, if my neighbour hadn't spotted them on Monday night and then gone back and reviewed his CCTV I'd have no idea that 3 lads had been on my drive twice in the last 3 weeks.

The lease has now been formally cancelled - payed the £100 to terminate early, transpires there was 2 months left and I'm awaiting a call from BCA to arrange collection of the car.

I must admit I had planned to hand the car back early anyway to avoid the final service which would have been due. Looks like I'll be car shopping this weekend.

[hondansx]

J4CKO said:

Very much localised, if you live in, or in easy driving distance of a large town or city then it is a much higher risk than if you live further out, and it isnt all towns and cities either.

They do seem to be quite prepared to go to extreme lengths to get their hands on fast VW/Audi products.

I wonder how many bought them and are in blissful ignorance but at high risk, a lot of VW/Audi buyers might be middle class non petrolheads with little awareness of this kind of thing.

Its not new, my cousin had an R32 when they were still quite new and that had an attempted theft, but it was fairly low key compared tot he modern approach of baseball bats and stuff.

The amount of cars makes a difference. I see a new Golf R without fail every day. I had a Mk6 Golf R and perhaps saw 2 in the 18 months I owned it. Naturally then, there weren't threads about the theft of them too often!

I think it's a great idea someone posted about putting posters up of a white Lexus (with details on the reg) on your road.

Otherwise, normal theft prevention if possible - garage, gate, steering lock, block it in, security post.

Cars have always been stolen, but now there is more press coverage and FAR more social media coverage. People are being too easily influenced by increased awareness.

[wemorgan]

JQ said:

Live in a reasonably nice suburb of South Manchester and had the car 3 years without a single issue. Quite frankly, if my neighbour hadn't spotted them on Monday night and then gone back and reviewed his CCTV I'd have no idea that 3 lads had been on my drive twice in the last 3 weeks.

Thread drift:

Have you considered something like Netgear Arlo home security camera?
Relatively cheap to buy and if you have <5 cameras the data backup is free.

[markcoznottz]

V8RX7 said:

andrewparker said:

I personally wouldn’t drive a lesser car on the off chance that the one I really wanted might one day get stolen...

Depends...

I owned a 3 Dr Cosworth back in the 90's when they were the car to steal.

It was alarmed, immobilized and I wheel clamped it and parked it in.

After doing this for a month and having sleepless nights as I'd wake up at the slightest sound - I sold it - simply not worth the hassle.

If you are the type who can accept theft and are happy to throw them your keys - good for you, but I'm unable to do that.

I parked a sapphire cosworth on my drive for 3 years, never had a sniff. 10 year old combo van, can't leave it alone, forced the locks, frequent attempts to get in the back, now fitted a slam lock, then the number plates were stolen over xmas. s.

[Chr1sch]

I for one would subscribe to the - leave the keys by the door and help yourself school of thought.

With a young family I have no interest in someone coming in the house regardless of the car.

I've got a very similar car coming shortly.....gulp

[fakenews]

I feel more and more that the police are only there to ensure the middle classes (people who work and pay their taxes) remain in check.

I had my day in court for speeding in a lease car (put my foot down in frustration after miles upon miles of 50mph on an 'intelligent motorway' for seemingly no reason...again) and received a greater fine and penalty than most of these career car jacking scum would ever see from the same hand-wringing magistrates. Amusing that speed/congestion cameras are so effective at revenue generation (I have a photo of my crime) and yet when a serious crime occurs none of the more advanced tracking systems can be used to track them.

I'd happily pay for more police, except all we'd see is a load more blokes with hairdryers and happy (but dumb as you like) PCSOs creating problems where none exist.

Sorry for going off-topic, I'm now off to see if having a non-gender neutral nursery is now illegal in the UK.

[Gio G]

Having had my Golf R taken from me some 3 years ago in broad daylight by a masked gang (Herts in the South!). I understand once stolen by whatever means, the gang will park it on a quiet road on different plates and wait for a week to see whether the tracker (if fitted) becomes activated, they then drive it off and commit their crimes.

A few months after a good friend had his Audi S3 stolen 2am, (North London in the South!) they knocked down the front door, took keys and some jewellery while they were at it..

Police called me last week saying that they potentially had a lead on my case, as someone's finger prints were left on a bottle left in my old car, after it was crashed in Beckton, however they could not prosecute due to the evidence, so this gang is probably still at large nicking peoples pride and joys!

OP - be super vigilant at all times if you keep it..

G

[JQ]

wemorgan said:

Thread drift:

Have you considered something like Netgear Arlo home security camera?
Relatively cheap to buy and if you have <5 cameras the data backup is free.

Our house is going on the market in the next few weeks, so reticent to spend any money on it, but I will definitely be investing in a system for our new house. Cheers for the recommendation.

[djc206]

Dog Star said:

Unless I lived up a mountain in the far north of Scotland there's frankly no way I'd even consider ownership of a Golf R, Audi RS thing, anything called an EVO/ST, M car etc etc. I'd be absolutely stressed to fk. The hassle of dheads wanting a "race" or whatever all the time would also do my head in.

Owned an S3 for a year, an RS5 for 2 years and an RS4 for 3 years. Never any bother. I shared a house with a mate when I had the RS5 and he’d move it to access the garage and half the time forget to lock it, it never strayed.

Car theft in this country is incredibly uncommon, yes certain cars get nicked more but look at the most stolen list for last year and it doesn’t feature a single Audi model or the golf R.

[sbk1972]

djc206 said:

Owned an S3 for a year, an RS5 for 2 years and an RS4 for 3 years. Never any bother. I shared a house with a mate when I had the RS5 and he’d move it to access the garage and half the time forget to lock it, it never strayed.

Car theft in this country is incredibly uncommon, yes certain cars get nicked more but look at the most stolen list for last year and it doesn’t feature a single Audi model or the golf R.

Bit of a side issues this but DJC, Im looking at RS5s, how do they compare to RS4s ? What are the good / bad points of a RS5 ? What colour did you have ? Type of wheels ? What was the fuel / mpg like ?

Sorry OP, :-)

SBK

[Hairymonster]

JQ said:

However, my wife has just thoroughly cheered me up - she wasn't keen on the 540i and has this morning sent me a link to a Honda Jazz for sale locally.

I thought you said she was a keeper

[ANJ91]

Leptons said:

My friend (called Paul) had his Whyte mountain bike nicked. It appeared on gumtree later that day. He messaged the seller, got an address e.t.c and gave it to the police....

Who did nothing. You can steal what you like in this country with no fear. Police aren’t interested unless it’s a minor motoring offence or you’ve racially abused someone on social media.

I had my push bike stolen from a train station. I made a report to British Transport Police and had to follow up with a statement, bike was in full view of CCTV. It dragged on for a few months but eventually they caught the guy as he was already sighted stealing more bikes in the area. I was informed of his name and sentence he has received.

[djc206]

sbk1972 said:

djc206 said:

Owned an S3 for a year, an RS5 for 2 years and an RS4 for 3 years. Never any bother. I shared a house with a mate when I had the RS5 and he’d move it to access the garage and half the time forget to lock it, it never strayed.

Car theft in this country is incredibly uncommon, yes certain cars get nicked more but look at the most stolen list for last year and it doesn’t feature a single Audi model or the golf R.

Bit of a side issues this but DJC, Im looking at RS5s, how do they compare to RS4s ? What are the good / bad points of a RS5 ? What colour did you have ? Type of wheels ? What was the fuel / mpg like ?

Sorry OP, :-)

SBK

I had the pre facelift. Bad points, leaking driveshafts had to be replaced, alternator regulator went, brakes squeaked and fuel economy was ~20mpg. When I was looking I wanted sepang blue and 20’s, I ended up with white and 19’s which is why I ordered my RS4 in sepang with 20’s to make up for not getting what I wanted. I didn’t notice any difference in ride comfort between the two wheel sizes. Be careful of the S tronic gearbox, there are many horror stories and my RS4 had its replaced at 14k! An insured warranty is probably the way to go. I much preferred the look of the RS5 but there is something cool about the estate and it was far more practical obviously but it’s very much personal taste, they’re essentially the same car underneath so it’s a case of what do you need from the car.


Back to the OP, personally I’d probably want rid of the car too and I’d also be buying my neighbour something nice! As much as it sounds like I’m being flippant about car theft I’m not, just trying to dispel some of the commonly peddled myths on here that sadly prevent people from having what they want and have worked hard for.

[Hoofy]

fk that. Rent a garage, put it in the for 6 weeks, buy a £1k shed to get to work. And get a wheel and Playstation for driving kicks. I can't be arsed with tts like this spoiling people's fun.

[AyBee]

Alternative view - park it on the drive, leave keys accessible and remove wheel-nuts overnight, it'll make a great video if you set up a camera at the end of your road

[captain_cynic]

MDMA . said:

London is the car crime capital of the UK and has been for the last 6 years. Everything you post is bullst.

London is the largest city in the UK. So hardly surprising. By "Down South" I suspect the OP meant some gentrified small town in deepest, darkest Dorset where everyone knows everyone else (and half of them are related).

0a said:

I still find it strange how attractive these cars are (my ignorance no doubt!) to those who steal them.

Are there really so many bank jobs requiring a fast car with 5 doors, or that many car chases?!

Apologies if I'm stating out the obvious, but they're stealing cars to be chopped up, re-birthed or imported out most of the time. Occasionally for joyriding, but mostly to be sold on.

[yajeed]

JQ said:

Our house is going on the market in the next few weeks, so reticent to spend any money on it, but I will definitely be investing in a system for our new house. Cheers for the recommendation.

It may not sway your decision, but the cameras as wireless and battery operated.

So installation is literally drilling a single hole.

They're great, have night vision and can record (to the cloud) based on movement. Some models do 2 way audio if you want to talk to the scrotes too ;-)

I've just bought a load of them, mainly for talking to delivery people at the front door, and protecting the garage etc but they're a decent product if you ever find yourself needing something like them in the future.