Landrover Discovery Headlight Theft

[DannyVTS]

Yes really.. was speaking to a friend tonight, she told me her mothers Land Rover Discovery has had it's headlight stolen!

And what surprised me more was that it was the second time this has happened, the first time costing somewhere in the region of £800, her mother paying the excess on her insurance which was much less of course.

There is absolutely no damage to the car, but somehow the theieves have managed to disable the alarm and remove a full headlight without smashing a window or getting the keys.

Does anyone know how on earth they have done this? I want to help stop it happening again (the friend in question is definitley fit)

Any advice?

Also are these headlights really that expensive? I'm not sure if it's a xenon one or not but even if it was.. £800?! Seriously?

This is the model:



Danny

[Jimmyarm]

Interesting, I'd expect that mark of Disco to have a microswitch of somekind to set the alarm off if the bonnet was opened but I haven't worked on one for a while. Perhaps and owner can clarify ?

Without opening the bonnet its pretty difficult to get a headlight out without breaking it..

[DannyVTS]

Yeah, with all the cars i've had its usually been 1 screw at the bottom under the bumper and 2 on the top only accessible from the bonnet.

It would seem the lower ones may be accessible under that bit of plastic trim on the bumper, but the top ones? Hmmm

ETA: I can confirm it is both headlights, not just a headlight as I made out in the first post.

Edited by DannyVTS on Thursday 13th January 21:33

[Jimmyarm]

What year is the Disco (even better the Reg no. if you don't mind sharing) ?

£800 is ridiculous btw unless the theives have levered the bonnet open and damaged that as well

Edited by Jimmyarm on Thursday 13th January 21:35

[C Lee Farquar]

People fit them to older models, presumably with the misguided belief that people will think they have a more expensive car. Even sadder that they've had to steal them, I think.

[John D.]

Bet its that Mentley bloke and his mates.

[DannyVTS]

Jimmyarm said:

What year is the Disco (even better the Reg no. if you don't mind sharing) ?

£800 is ridiculous btw unless the theives have levered the bonnet open and damaged that as well

Edited by Jimmyarm on Thursday 13th January 21:35

I've asked her, but why would you need the reg plate?

[David87]

Not that much help, but I don't think Discoverys of that vintage were available with xenon lamps.

[charliedaker]

The headlamps are expensive enough for them to warrant the theft (as if thit matters what they cost these days) and its quite a regular occurrence.

Not so long ago there were some pinched from the local main dealer too

[DannyVTS]

charliedaker said:

The headlamps are expensive enough for them to warrant the theft (as if thit matters what they cost these days) and its quite a regular occurrence.

Not so long ago there were some pinched from the local main dealer too

Any ways of preventing it?

It's a 2004 model disco



Also on another note just found these on eBay, but I can't see if they were listed today or not? They are the same headlights and are in the same town as us, too much of a coincidence to ignore

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/land-rover-discovery-td5-hea...

[Jimmyarm]

DannyVTS said:

Jimmyarm said:

What year is the Disco (even better the Reg no. if you don't mind sharing) ?

£800 is ridiculous btw unless the theives have levered the bonnet open and damaged that as well

Edited by Jimmyarm on Thursday 13th January 21:35

I've asked her, but why would you need the reg plate?

Just makes it easier to find parts

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Land+Rover_Disco...

Would expect a genuine LR one to be twice as much perhaps, plus an hours labour at absolute maximum. £800 is ludicrous.

Edited by Jimmyarm on Thursday 13th January 21:48

[DannyVTS]

That must be a prefacelift light with a cracked lense or something !

Seen them selling at £160 each used on eGay

[philmh]

Tell your friend to tell her mum to get them etched with the registration number in case it happens again.

[Raverbaby]

He says there is a clip broken on one of them, could there still be a fixing screw in the disco where it has possibly been yanked off.
Seems odd that he found the headlights in the boot when he bought his jeep.
Could be totally above board though.

[DannyVTS]

Raverbaby said:

He says there is a clip broken on one of them, could there still be a fixing screw in the disco where it has possibly been yanked off.
Seems odd that he found the headlights in the boot when he bought his jeep.
Could be totally above board though.

Looking at his feedback, and currently selling items, he is selling a lot of "detachable" items, such as indicator housings :|

But yes, could be legit

[Garett]

One of the directors at a company I work for had one of his rear lights stolen off his Range Rover. There was no other damage and no alarm triggered, but there's no other explanation as to how it just disappeared overnight!

[lost in espace]

There seems to be quite a problem with this. This is just one area!

Police in Nuneaton are urging Landrover Discovery owners to be extra vigilant following a spate of thefts in the Nuneaton and Bedworth areas.
Between April and October 2010 over 35 offences of theft from Vehicle have occurred, whereby Landrover Discovery's have been targeted and their front headlights stolen.
These parts can cost up to £900 to replace.
Most of the incidents in the Nuneaton and Bedworth area have occurred during the day, with the majority of vehicles being attacked whilst parked at various carparks in and around Nuneaton Town Centre.
We are asking Landrover Discovery owners to be extra vigilant in regards to their vehicles and be extra cautious when selecting parking spaces.
Landrover Discovery owners, in particular, are being advised to make sure they park in well lit areas of public car parks, close to the entrance or exit where there are likely to be more people passing by.
PC Sam Sutton from Nuneaton Police also gave the following advice,
"We also recommend that Landrover Discoveries are parked closely facing a wall or other boundary as this makes it more difficult for the thief to get around the front of the vehicle in order to steal the headlamps."
Anyone with any information about the theft of the Landrover Discovery headlamps is asked to contact PC Sam Sutton on 02476 641111.
Alternatively call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

[Jimmyarm]

philmh said:

Tell your friend to tell her mum to get them etched with the registration number in case it happens again.

Lol, etching a headlight ?

How many people would take any notice of this if they bought a second hand headlight off ebay or similar ?

[Jimmyarm]

lost in espace said:

There seems to be quite a problem with this. This is just one area!

Police in Nuneaton are urging Landrover Discovery owners to be extra vigilant following a spate of thefts in the Nuneaton and Bedworth areas.
Between April and October 2010 over 35 offences of theft from Vehicle have occurred, whereby Landrover Discovery's have been targeted and their front headlights stolen.
These parts can cost up to £900 to replace.
Most of the incidents in the Nuneaton and Bedworth area have occurred during the day, with the majority of vehicles being attacked whilst parked at various carparks in and around Nuneaton Town Centre.
We are asking Landrover Discovery owners to be extra vigilant in regards to their vehicles and be extra cautious when selecting parking spaces.
Landrover Discovery owners, in particular, are being advised to make sure they park in well lit areas of public car parks, close to the entrance or exit where there are likely to be more people passing by.
PC Sam Sutton from Nuneaton Police also gave the following advice,
"We also recommend that Landrover Discoveries are parked closely facing a wall or other boundary as this makes it more difficult for the thief to get around the front of the vehicle in order to steal the headlamps."
Anyone with any information about the theft of the Landrover Discovery headlamps is asked to contact PC Sam Sutton on 02476 641111.
Alternatively call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Based on this, I'd say there was either no bonnet protection on the alarm and a quick way to open it without pulling the release cable or an easy way of getting to the bolts inside from underneath.

[Hitler Hadrump]

Jimmyarm said:

philmh said:

Tell your friend to tell her mum to get them etched with the registration number in case it happens again.

Lol, etching a headlight ?

How many people would take any notice of this if they bought a second hand headlight off ebay or similar ?

Every little helps. Might make a thief think they'll be too much hassle to sell on, might make a buyer contact the police if they think it's suspicious, might make your headlights identifiable as stolen if the police find someone with a bootload of them.

Hardly costs anything to get them etched, I think it'd be worth it.