Near Theft of my S3

[TooMany2cvs]

xjay1337 said:

Did I say I would fight the guy?

Somebody was about to you, whether you or somebody else...

xjay1337 said:

Infact I said I specifically said that it was just in relation to leaving your keys about, etc. I would also do the same as the bloke and give up the code.

I just said that not fitting additional security seems like giving up to me.

Secure your home and your car. The same could be said for those big Disklok things. Not going to put one on incase the baddies come back and ask for the key to that too?

And isn't that precisely the point? The additional security was what caused the threat of violence to ramp up a notch.

[J4CKO]

TooMany2cvs said:

J4CKO said:

What are the penalties these kind of thieves face if caught ?

On top of the car theft?

If they brought the knife with 'em, then potentially up to Aggravated Burglary - maximum sentence life...?

So the stakes are very high for them, normal car theft is pretty low grade petty crime in comparison, I wouldn't be trying to negotiate over a bloody car.

Just need to try and make it so they go elsewhere, first step is not owning fast 4WD VAG cars, even though my old TT fits the description, dont think they are that interested if they did I would give them my VAG COM laptop and see if they can sort a few bits out.

[sjg]

All these extra security measures are fine for making things difficult when the car is parked up somewhere away from home - particularly ones that are vulnerable to methods to bypass electronics or if you're paranoid about someone obtaining duplicate keys.

At home - anyone willing to break in when they know we're home, with a weapon; I'm not going to make it hard for them to find the keys or have reason to harm me or my family. I secure the house as best I can (within sensible limits, bearing in mind you can always smash a window to get in) but the car is a standard insured thing, it's not something I've put thousands of hours into building or something of great sentimental value. It's theft would be an inconvenience so not worth the risk of physical harm to protect it.

Without the Autowatch thing and keys downstairs, the guy would be posting about an annoying break-in and a car missing. Spending all that money and taking those "precautions" just got them threatened with violence.

[andrewparker]

sjg said:

Without the Autowatch thing and keys downstairs, the guy would be posting about an annoying break-in and a car missing. Spending all that money and taking those "precautions" just got them threatened with violence.

Exactly, Wife is mentally scarred, he'll never have another performance car in his life, just not worth it.

[xjay1337]

Andy OH said:

xjay1337 said:

Of course we can disagree.

But refusing to fit additional security to your car just because?

Seems like you are giving up.

I wonder how many thefts the gang will simply give up when car fails to start.

My friend you are talking bs. If three large guys in balaclavas broke into my house and demanded the keys to my car or to put a PIN into an immobiliser device whilst holding a knife to my wife's throat I would not sit back and challenge. They can have the bloody car it's replaceable my wife isn't.

Jeez, is it school holidays?

I also specifically asked the question, I wonder how many cars are not stolen simply due to inability to find the key, immobiliser, disklock or similar.
The point is MOST of the time the thieves don't want a confrontation as much as you.
So if their initial theft doesn't go to plan, MOST will just leave it.

Where do you draw the line?
Won't leave the doors locked incase they smash the glass and I stand on it next morning and cut my foot.
Won't bother locking my car next time either incase they break in to my house to begin with.

I am agreeing with what you are saying. Given the scenario I would also give them the keys / PIN. FFS.

I am simply saying that by refusing to use security to your own advantage you are simply playing into the hands of the assholes that do this.


I can see why you may not want a Ghost immobilisor. That's your choice.
But to not have one simply because they may threaten you seems, like I said, like giving up. As I also said, most of the time I very much doubt the thiefs would want to get into a confrontation about it.

Or just own a Hyundai i20 1.6 instead of a Golf R.

[Krikkit]

xjay1337 said:

Where do you draw the line?
Won't leave the doors locked incase they smash the glass and I stand on it next morning and cut my foot.
Won't bother locking my car next time either incase they break in to my house to begin with.

I am agreeing with what you are saying. Given the scenario I would also give them the keys / PIN. FFS.

I am simply saying that by refusing to use security to your own advantage you are simply playing into the hands of the assholes that do this.

I think you're taking this a bit far.

They're saying that with a reasonably secure home you'd leave the keys somewhere sensibly accessible rather than hidden somewhere odd. Once someone is prepared to break in to get keys stored out of plain sight they've crossed a line of determination that's significant imo.

[IJB1959]

TooMany2cvs said:

xjay1337 said:

Did I say I would fight the guy?

Somebody was about to you, whether you or somebody else...

xjay1337 said:

Infact I said I specifically said that it was just in relation to leaving your keys about, etc. I would also do the same as the bloke and give up the code.

I just said that not fitting additional security seems like giving up to me.

Secure your home and your car. The same could be said for those big Disklok things. Not going to put one on incase the baddies come back and ask for the key to that too?

And isn't that precisely the point? The additional security was what caused the threat of violence to ramp up a notch.

The point is to make theft as difficult as possible by having an Autowatch fitted. If some nutter tried to steal the car, found it would not start, came back into your house to demand the code whilst threatening your wife with a knife is about as likely as winning the lottery. If that DID happen then of course you would give them the code no question. Likely hood is they would try to start it, fail, then try someone else's as they don't want to hang around and get caught, and therefore the chances of you retaining your car are VERY high if your key is stolen, cloned or relayed, or OBD started. Any deterent is better than none IMO.

[Durzel]

andrewparker said:

With respect mate, we're going to have to agree to disagree. Once they're in my house they'll find the keys on my kitchen island. Under no circumstances am I going to create a situation that invites any confrontation. My stand, if you could call it that, is that my cars have trackers, and I'd hope that if they do get taken the tracker goes some way to either retrieving the car, or leading the Police to them. I've also secured my house as much as I am comfortable with, so I'm not making it easy for anyone, but if someone gets inside I'm not one of these people who is going to take the risk that they might not come upstairs to forcibly remove the keys from my hands.

+1

I wonder if all the people talking a big game have thought about their partners, or their kids if they have them, and what their thoughts are about the possibility of getting into a unnecessary confrontation with someone, or several people, who are alert, running on adrenaline, is already resolute enough to be in your bedroom threatening you, etc when you're bleary eyed and on the back foot.

No one wants to lose their pride and joy, but at the end of the day its an insured asset. It's no good making a stand on principal if you or a loved one is left with life changing injuries (physical or psychological).

Another guy elsewhere on the forum said that he keeps his keys visible at the top of the stairs. That seems to be a reasonable compromise between not "giving them away" but at the same time not inviting a confrontation. Frankly though, I'm not sure I'd want them to intrude even that far.

I think the principal of that Autowatch is sound, but in practice you're basically challenging them to confront you if they've found your keys and have found they can't start the car. When you think about the sums of money involved in stealing these cars, and the ancillary crime related to it, I'm not sure the sort of people it attracts are the sort you want to be having any kind of interaction with.

Edited by Durzel on Thursday 11th January 13:26

[Terzo123]

J4CKO said:

TooMany2cvs said:

J4CKO said:

What are the penalties these kind of thieves face if caught ?

On top of the car theft?

If they brought the knife with 'em, then potentially up to Aggravated Burglary - maximum sentence life...?

So the stakes are very high for them, normal car theft is pretty low grade petty crime in comparison, I wouldn't be trying to negotiate over a bloody car.

Just need to try and make it so they go elsewhere, first step is not owning fast 4WD VAG cars, even though my old TT fits the description, dont think they are that interested if they did I would give them my VAG COM laptop and see if they can sort a few bits out.

The ring leader of the gang who targeted a friend's house got 13 years in the jail. The other got 8 years or so.

[Herbs]

xjay1337 said:

Andy OH said:

xjay1337 said:

Of course we can disagree.

But refusing to fit additional security to your car just because?

Seems like you are giving up.

I wonder how many thefts the gang will simply give up when car fails to start.

My friend you are talking bs. If three large guys in balaclavas broke into my house and demanded the keys to my car or to put a PIN into an immobiliser device whilst holding a knife to my wife's throat I would not sit back and challenge. They can have the bloody car it's replaceable my wife isn't.

Jeez, is it school holidays?

I also specifically asked the question, I wonder how many cars are not stolen simply due to inability to find the key, immobiliser, disklock or similar.
The point is MOST of the time the thieves don't want a confrontation as much as you.
So if their initial theft doesn't go to plan, MOST will just leave it.

Where do you draw the line?
Won't leave the doors locked incase they smash the glass and I stand on it next morning and cut my foot.
Won't bother locking my car next time either incase they break in to my house to begin with.

I am agreeing with what you are saying. Given the scenario I would also give them the keys / PIN. FFS.

I am simply saying that by refusing to use security to your own advantage you are simply playing into the hands of the assholes that do this.


I can see why you may not want a Ghost immobilisor. That's your choice.
But to not have one simply because they may threaten you seems, like I said, like giving up. As I also said, most of the time I very much doubt the thiefs would want to get into a confrontation about it.

Or just own a Hyundai i20 1.6 instead of a Golf R.

You mention school holidays, yet it is you that is missing the point.

Firstly - thefts come in many different shapes - some are opportunist, some are druggies and some are gangs that will stop at nothing as you have seen above. Putting them all in together is naive.

Secondly- there is a very big disparity between:

making it easy ........................................................standard precaution.....................................taking keys to bed and dominating teh keys.

No-one here is saying, please help yourself, why would they? Most, including myself will take obvious precautions to prevent theft but I am not going to lose sleep thinking of where are my keys in case i get robbed or ensuring I take them to bed with me. It's simply not worth the daily stress or the stress if a gang turned up wanting it - doesn't mean I leave them by an open door.

Thirdly: you talk about additional security but then admit you would give it up anyway so why is it worth the cost and hassle to have in the first place???

[70proof]

i think its very important to realise that times are changing......

when i was a lad, cars were stolen to be ragged around the local streets, for a bit of fun

improved security dramatically stopped this....

cars are now stolen for a reason, as that car has value for the thief..... golf r's aren't being stolen to be driven around the golden triangle, the have a financial value to the thief.... it may be their only source of income, so leads to more aggressive behaviours..... car jacking used to be seen in south africa only, violent jacking is on the increase here in the uk now.....

what you have to ask yourself is does the anti-theft device prevent the opportunistic thief, probably yes, but will it stop the determined thug....

[70proof]

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[SlimJim16v]

If you have one of those cars, it looks like the additional security has to be on the house.
You can make it hard enough for them to go elsewhere, or even not bother. Your choice.

[TooMany2cvs]

SlimJim16v said:

If you have one of those cars, it looks like the additional security has to be on the house.

Then the missus gets carjacked.

[Digga]

Long term, there is only one solution; the government has to spend money on policing and building more prisons. Employ offices to detect and apprehend criminals. Make the consequences of car theft very, very severe, make sure those that do it stay inside for a long while. A locked-up thief cannot steal cars or put the lives of the general public at risk.

[thesmurfs]

eatontrifles said:

produced a large knife and grabbed his wife Julie,

Jesus sorry to hear about this.

[TooMany2cvs]

Digga said:

Make the consequences of car theft very, very severe

Did you miss that the crimes they committed around the car theft carry a maximum of life?

How much more severe do you want, bearing in mind the death penalty's not on the cards?

[Herbs]

TooMany2cvs said:

How much more severe do you want, bearing in mind the death penalty's not on the cards?

[Evanivitch]

Digga said:

Long term, there is only one solution; the government has to spend money on policing and building more prisons. Employ offices to detect and apprehend criminals. Make the consequences of car theft very, very severe, make sure those that do it stay inside for a long while. A locked-up thief cannot steal cars or put the lives of the general public at risk.

Or they could reduce social inequality...

• Scarpers*

[J4CKO]

TooMany2cvs said:

SlimJim16v said:

If you have one of those cars, it looks like the additional security has to be on the house.

Then the missus gets carjacked.

Yeah, mine is aware now that these cars are a target, no way would I be getting one, just too much of a risk living not that far from Manchester, I know it would affect me anything happening like has been described, it would really badly affect her, indefinitely, even if not injured.

these things do have a massive bearing on peoples lives, their trust of others, we all talk like we would shrug it off but it isnt that easy, that lad I know that had his RS4 taken really felt it and he is a tough bugger.

Glad to hear of the 8 and 13 years being given, would rather hear of them picking the wrong house and getting savaged by a large dog or some kind of Pulp Fiction "Medieval" scenario.