Smashed side windows
Discussion
A number of cars parked on the street had the side windows smashed last night, nothing taken from the cars as far as we know.
Car is parked on the street. No off road or undercover parking available.
The glass replacement is covered on behalf of the insurance company by Autoglass who say that they can't fix until the end of the week. They say that they are not a recovery service so cannot recover the car to secure covered parking in the meantime.
We don't have access to any garage parking with friends or family locally.
Not happy about leaving the car unsecured on the road for four days. Autoglass say that we could leave it outside their depot about 10 miles away but that it would be outside parking not secure. They have suggested protecting from the rain by opening the door and wrapping cling film round it.
We are obviously not the first people to be in this situation so it seems surprising that there is no process in place to secure vehicles before the glass can be repaired.
Any experience of a similar situation or suggestions would be welcome.
Car is parked on the street. No off road or undercover parking available.
The glass replacement is covered on behalf of the insurance company by Autoglass who say that they can't fix until the end of the week. They say that they are not a recovery service so cannot recover the car to secure covered parking in the meantime.
We don't have access to any garage parking with friends or family locally.
Not happy about leaving the car unsecured on the road for four days. Autoglass say that we could leave it outside their depot about 10 miles away but that it would be outside parking not secure. They have suggested protecting from the rain by opening the door and wrapping cling film round it.
We are obviously not the first people to be in this situation so it seems surprising that there is no process in place to secure vehicles before the glass can be repaired.
Any experience of a similar situation or suggestions would be welcome.
Bag up the window and just strip the car of anything moveable. You can put it back next week.
If a potential thief cant see anything he wont break in and your already smashed window will suggest anything worth while is already gone.
The chances of you having 2 smash and grabs in a week are pretty slim.
If a potential thief cant see anything he wont break in and your already smashed window will suggest anything worth while is already gone.
The chances of you having 2 smash and grabs in a week are pretty slim.
rallycross said:
Get some polythene some scissors and some tape and cover it up.
We've done as Autoglass suggested and wrapped it in cling film.It was more the security aspect that I'm surprised that they seem to have no process in place for.
If it was a premises they would board it up until the window was repaired.
GasEngineer said:
We've done as Autoglass suggested and wrapped it in cling film.
It was more the security aspect that I'm surprised that they seem to have no process in place for.
If it was a premises they would board it up until the window was repaired.
Logic would suggest that if they had enough staff to charge you to "board" the window up until the glass bloke fitted a new window, they would be ecstatic to do so. The fact that you have solved it with clingfilm might suggest that the market for temp repairs is limited.It was more the security aspect that I'm surprised that they seem to have no process in place for.
If it was a premises they would board it up until the window was repaired.
randlemarcus said:
Logic would suggest that if they had enough staff to charge you to "board" the window up until the glass bloke fitted a new window, they would be ecstatic to do so. The fact that you have solved it with clingfilm might suggest that the market for temp repairs is limited.
We've only temporarily solved the rain getting in - not the security aspect. I wasn't advocating boarding the car up 
But I would have thought they could arrange to take it somewhere secure/covered till it can be fixed if they can't do it straight away.-Cappo- said:
If you do tape plastic on, rather than cling film, do NOT use gaffer tape - if it's there for any length of time it will lift the lacquer.
Yep, masking tape like 3M 3434 is probably best.I agree with others that the security aspect isn't too critical - after all, the window glass didn't stop them, did it? At least they won't do any more damage if they want to get in.
It is frustrating, though. I've had a window smashed on a car thwr wasn't even locked, and a steering column trashed in an attempt to hotwire a car with no engine in it. Some crims are thick as pigs
t.Parked my car outside where I was working for a few hours on a Saturday night in Camden.
Came back to find both front windows smashed. Very odd, nothing taken.
Glass from one window all in the car, the other outside of it all on the pavement.
Always wondered if it was some kind of projectile.
Annoying thing was that even after they were replaced they never worked properly and were always coming away from the winder mechanism, despite getting Autoglass to do them again.
Came back to find both front windows smashed. Very odd, nothing taken.
Glass from one window all in the car, the other outside of it all on the pavement.
Always wondered if it was some kind of projectile.
Annoying thing was that even after they were replaced they never worked properly and were always coming away from the winder mechanism, despite getting Autoglass to do them again.
Yesterday my son-in-law was mowing the front lawn. Next door are having some building work done and some of the gravel must have found its way into the grass. The mower very neatly picked up a piece of gravel and shot it like a bullet right through his rear passenger window. His insurance company have an arrangement with Autoglass, when he called they were very busy and couldn’t possibly do it before Tuesday! Don’t worry OP, just cover the frame with poly sheet and take out any valuables. It is unlikely that you will be targeted twice in a week.
triggerh4ppy said:
This seems to be commonplace nowadays in rougher areas but it made me think.
Do car alarms not go off if a window is smashed anymore??
How are they able to do this to a whole row of cars without setting an alarm off?
The alarms do go off. But at 3am, nobody is going to be awake in time and out their house to catch the scrote. I think they are done and dusted in less than a minute. Police have bigger fish to fry so will just log it and move on. Do car alarms not go off if a window is smashed anymore??
How are they able to do this to a whole row of cars without setting an alarm off?
It's pretty common in London. Even in areas where the average 2 bed flat costs nearly £1mil people are still willing to smash a car window to empty the ash tray of loose change.
You can view all reported instances on the police.uk site. Anywhere near social housing there is always a massive uptake in these kinds of incidents. Camden is a prime example, anywhere near the estates around Camden town or Kentish town is a real hot spot.
croyde said:
I remember finding my car with it's door window frame forced open (BMW 3 series) and my collection of CDs scattered all over the pavement.
Nothing taken. Guess they weren't fans of Crosby Stills and Nash or The Glen Miller Band
Similar happened to my dad. Stole the head unit, but took the time to eject his Shadows tape and leave it behind.Nothing taken. Guess they weren't fans of Crosby Stills and Nash or The Glen Miller Band
InitialDave said:
croyde said:
I remember finding my car with it's door window frame forced open (BMW 3 series) and my collection of CDs scattered all over the pavement.
Nothing taken. Guess they weren't fans of Crosby Stills and Nash or The Glen Miller Band
Similar happened to my dad. Stole the head unit, but took the time to eject his Shadows tape and leave it behind.Nothing taken. Guess they weren't fans of Crosby Stills and Nash or The Glen Miller Band
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