Car stolen and my experience
Discussion
Your stolen car will now be in a container on Liverpool docks/ on its way to the Middle East.
It will probably have been pulled apart by morons having a quick look for a tracker.
They are sometimes left for while in case the tracker (if fitted/ activated) locates the car. Obviously, they aren't left in a place that can be linked to the thieves.
Going rate paid to the thieves who go shopping is about 200 quid a car on a good day.
It will probably have been pulled apart by morons having a quick look for a tracker.
They are sometimes left for while in case the tracker (if fitted/ activated) locates the car. Obviously, they aren't left in a place that can be linked to the thieves.
Going rate paid to the thieves who go shopping is about 200 quid a car on a good day.
Gavia said:
I’m happy that different people want to protect their stuff in different ways. I don’t want a £1.50 eBay relay switch on my car. I don’t want to learn to do that stuff as there’s every chance I’ll f
k it up and practising on a new M4 isn’t a great move IMO.
I’m happy to fit the Ghost system alongside a tracker and see what happens.
There’s nothing for me to recover from, I’m not emotionally scarred or anything like that.
I fitted a small 12 volt timer, set to 2 minutes.k it up and practising on a new M4 isn’t a great move IMO. I’m happy to fit the Ghost system alongside a tracker and see what happens.
There’s nothing for me to recover from, I’m not emotionally scarred or anything like that.
Timer was energised by the ignition turning on.
All I needed to do after starting my car, was to press a secret button.
This cancelled the timer function.
If the timer "timed out" it operated a very small relay that open circuited the ignition system.
2 minutes was far enough away from me, but still in the locality.
If the relay was ever energised, then it needed resetting by hand.
Took about an hour to fit it all< and hide it like it was all original
Register1 said:
I fitted a small 12 volt timer, set to 2 minutes.
Timer was energised by the ignition turning on.
All I needed to do after starting my car, was to press a secret button.
This cancelled the timer function.
If the timer "timed out" it operated a very small relay that open circuited the ignition system.
2 minutes was far enough away from me, but still in the locality.
If the relay was ever energised, then it needed resetting by hand.
Took about an hour to fit it all< and hide it like it was all original
Sounds like the clifford blackjax I had fitted years agoTimer was energised by the ignition turning on.
All I needed to do after starting my car, was to press a secret button.
This cancelled the timer function.
If the timer "timed out" it operated a very small relay that open circuited the ignition system.
2 minutes was far enough away from me, but still in the locality.
If the relay was ever energised, then it needed resetting by hand.
Took about an hour to fit it all< and hide it like it was all original
Red 4 said:
Your stolen car will now be in a container on Liverpool docks/ on its way to the Middle East.
It will probably have been pulled apart by morons having a quick look for a tracker.
They are sometimes left for while in case the tracker (if fitted/ activated) locates the car. Obviously, they aren't left in a place that can be linked to the thieves.
Going rate paid to the thieves who go shopping is about 200 quid a car on a good day.
Yep, my thoughts exactly. It will probably have been pulled apart by morons having a quick look for a tracker.
They are sometimes left for while in case the tracker (if fitted/ activated) locates the car. Obviously, they aren't left in a place that can be linked to the thieves.
Going rate paid to the thieves who go shopping is about 200 quid a car on a good day.
FunkyNige said:
I think we'd all like to hear what doesn't work!
Trends do change but the most easily preventable burglary was when people hadn't locked a modern uPVC front door with multi locking points. It's easy to make the mistake that if it can't be opened from the outside then it's 'locked' as in the handle has been lifted from inside and no-one can just walk in off the street. Takes literally two seconds to slip that open with items that aren't even prohibited or could come under the 'going equipped' label. This is very common at night, less often when people were out. Locked with a key, no movement to the handle means used properly. These doors can still be forced open, easier if they're double doors but takes a lot longer / makes more noise. Cameras are a mixed bag. Mounted too high = a view of a hoody unless you're lucky. Too low = easily interfered with, this goes for PIR sensor lights too. Don't have a hard drive storage for these in the house, I've seen plenty of those stolen. They won't prevent a burglary but they might get a good shot of someone if discreetly positioned or inside somewhere. Takes the person being known locally too though.
Alarms, varied success again. Some people just don't care, plus if it's car keys they're after then they'll probably be able to dash in and grab them before the alarm really starts up. I've never seen any major success from monitored alarms but it may make a bit of difference to response times from the Police.
Double glazing is not infallible, you'd be surprised how many people think this. It is still glass. Modern, safety orientated glass, especially that fitted to patio doors can be broken pretty quietly. I'd have the stuff that breaks into big jagged pieces if you can get it. They nearly always cut themselves on it and it takes a tiny spot of blood, as small as the eye can see to get a DNA match.
Euro cylinder locks that are advertised to prevent 'lock snapping' are a good start. It's been pointed out that they're not perfect but they do make it harder, the standard ones take less than 30 seconds to remove using basic implements.
For day time burglaries (most are, apart from those for car keys etc) prevent access to the rear of the house as best possible. High sturdy gates, don't leave wheelie bins in front as a handy little step up.
I like the ideas relating to blocking the car in with moveable posts etc. I can't say how useful they are, most jobs I saw either had gates or nothing. I guess that all depends on how much faff you want getting in and out of your drive.
Hope that's a start, sorry it looks a bit defeatist but it is very hard to prevent someone determined. It is easy to make it not worth their while and push them somewhere else.
Less than two weeks ago a friend of mine was in his front room with his girlfriend at around 3.30am on Saturday morning. She heard something from the back door so Ben went to check it out. He opened his porch to see 3 blokes in balaclavas fiddling with his door, so he opened the door (it was unlocked 
) said what the fk are you doing then took off after them, very almost caught one an chased them down the road shouting profanities. Two more blokes got out a a black A6 that was waiting and I think they had a bit of a Rodney chasing the thief moment 
They chased Ben back into his house and grabbed bricks to throw at his front room window...
Last week my mums husbands van was stolen from his drive, between 6.30pm and 10.30, it was a Mercedes sprinter 13 plate, CCTV showed 5 of them. According to Police, two wait outside your door, if you come out they tell you in no uncertain terms to get back in. The other 3 use magic to steal the car as they didn't touch his keys...
I live in a sthole where cars are constantly broken into, my brother has his plates stolen last week (twice I st you not, they stole his replacement anti tamper plates ) I've had cars broken into too. My cars worth more than most of the surrounding flats, I wonder how long it is before someone banishing a knife politely asks for me keys as I walk from my parking spot to my apartment...
) said what the fk are you doing then took off after them, very almost caught one an chased them down the road shouting profanities. Two more blokes got out a a black A6 that was waiting and I think they had a bit of a Rodney chasing the thief moment They chased Ben back into his house and grabbed bricks to throw at his front room window...Last week my mums husbands van was stolen from his drive, between 6.30pm and 10.30, it was a Mercedes sprinter 13 plate, CCTV showed 5 of them. According to Police, two wait outside your door, if you come out they tell you in no uncertain terms to get back in. The other 3 use magic to steal the car as they didn't touch his keys...
I live in a s
thole where cars are constantly broken into, my brother has his plates stolen last week (twice I st you not, they stole his replacement anti tamper plates ) I've had cars broken into too. My cars worth more than most of the surrounding flats, I wonder how long it is before someone banishing a knife politely asks for me keys as I walk from my parking spot to my apartment...Register1 said:
Gavia said:
I’m happy that different people want to protect their stuff in different ways. I don’t want a £1.50 eBay relay switch on my car. I don’t want to learn to do that stuff as there’s every chance I’ll fk it up and practising on a new M4 isn’t a great move IMO.
I’m happy to fit the Ghost system alongside a tracker and see what happens.
There’s nothing for me to recover from, I’m not emotionally scarred or anything like that.
I fitted a small 12 volt timer, set to 2 minutes.k it up and practising on a new M4 isn’t a great move IMO. I’m happy to fit the Ghost system alongside a tracker and see what happens.
There’s nothing for me to recover from, I’m not emotionally scarred or anything like that.
Timer was energised by the ignition turning on.
All I needed to do after starting my car, was to press a secret button.
This cancelled the timer function.
If the timer "timed out" it operated a very small relay that open circuited the ignition system.
2 minutes was far enough away from me, but still in the locality.
If the relay was ever energised, then it needed resetting by hand.
Took about an hour to fit it all< and hide it like it was all original
Interesting stories, keep em coming.
I'm surprised re the praise for LV. My wife's experience is the polar opposite. M240i convertible nicked in early November, car recovered the same night (ANPR), waited for forensics for a week (acceptable IMO), car taken to body shop, assessed and verified by LV's engineer within days... yet here we are two months after the theft and they still haven't authorised it! Endless phone calls and hassle because the paperwork they had sent to the police had not been received... no proactivity whatsoever to follow it up. They were also highly obstructive and frankly dishonest when we insisted it went to a BMW authorised repairer, which we were perfectly entitled to do.
I'm surprised re the praise for LV. My wife's experience is the polar opposite. M240i convertible nicked in early November, car recovered the same night (ANPR), waited for forensics for a week (acceptable IMO), car taken to body shop, assessed and verified by LV's engineer within days... yet here we are two months after the theft and they still haven't authorised it! Endless phone calls and hassle because the paperwork they had sent to the police had not been received... no proactivity whatsoever to follow it up. They were also highly obstructive and frankly dishonest when we insisted it went to a BMW authorised repairer, which we were perfectly entitled to do.
Kingofthelea said:
Register1 said:
Gavia said:
I’m happy that different people want to protect their stuff in different ways. I don’t want a £1.50 eBay relay switch on my car. I don’t want to learn to do that stuff as there’s every chance I’ll fk it up and practising on a new M4 isn’t a great move IMO.
I’m happy to fit the Ghost system alongside a tracker and see what happens.
There’s nothing for me to recover from, I’m not emotionally scarred or anything like that.
I fitted a small 12 volt timer, set to 2 minutes.k it up and practising on a new M4 isn’t a great move IMO. I’m happy to fit the Ghost system alongside a tracker and see what happens.
There’s nothing for me to recover from, I’m not emotionally scarred or anything like that.
Timer was energised by the ignition turning on.
All I needed to do after starting my car, was to press a secret button.
This cancelled the timer function.
If the timer "timed out" it operated a very small relay that open circuited the ignition system.
2 minutes was far enough away from me, but still in the locality.
If the relay was ever energised, then it needed resetting by hand.
Took about an hour to fit it all< and hide it like it was all original
Power up the car but it only runs for a specified time, 10 seconds say. Then it shuts down, again for a specified time - up to 15 minutes on this circuit, or just 10 seconds for entertainment value. Bypass with a hidden switch that either sends power straight through as normal, or sends it via the timer. You'd hook it into the fuel pump or ignition circuit - easier to do fuel pump on modern injection cars. Fuel pump fuse plus an earth close to the fusebox is a good place to start.
Pondlife wouldn't have a clue what was going on.
andy43 said:
This'd do it ebay relay
Power up the car but it only runs for a specified time, 10 seconds say. Then it shuts down, again for a specified time - up to 15 minutes on this circuit, or just 10 seconds for entertainment value. Bypass with a hidden switch that either sends power straight through as normal, or sends it via the timer. You'd hook it into the fuel pump or ignition circuit - easier to do fuel pump on modern injection cars. Fuel pump fuse plus an earth close to the fusebox is a good place to start.
Pondlife wouldn't have a clue what was going on.
Would you really trust a £2 Chinese switch to not fail on you? What if it’s whilst you’re driving? Dread to think what could be thrown at you if you caused an accident with it. There’s a reason that Trackers only remotely immobilise a car once it’s stopped. Power up the car but it only runs for a specified time, 10 seconds say. Then it shuts down, again for a specified time - up to 15 minutes on this circuit, or just 10 seconds for entertainment value. Bypass with a hidden switch that either sends power straight through as normal, or sends it via the timer. You'd hook it into the fuel pump or ignition circuit - easier to do fuel pump on modern injection cars. Fuel pump fuse plus an earth close to the fusebox is a good place to start.
Pondlife wouldn't have a clue what was going on.
Gavia said:
Would you really trust a £2 Chinese switch to not fail on you? What if it’s whilst you’re driving? Dread to think what could be thrown at you if you caused an accident with it. There’s a reason that Trackers only remotely immobilise a car once it’s stopped.
I've got no idea about these things but I think the way he's suggesting to fit it, you have it wired in so it's on a switch. Get in and flick it to the off position and the little ebay gizmo wouldn't be connected so it wouldn't do anything. When you get out wack it onto the 'on' position and when started next time without knowing it's on the gizmo thing cuts in and does its thing. I like the idea, I dunno how well the execution would work though. If they've just nicked the car they'll likely be launching it down a residential road when it cuts out, leaving them with no assisted brakes or steering and heading who knows where. While I'd not car about them or the car to an extent I'd rather it doesnt end up in Vera at number 46s front room.
As much as I'm not 100% taken on the Ghost for the reasons I mentioned earlier, I quite like that on the auto BMW it'll allow it to start, just not engage drive. Put an old skool crock lock on the wheel and there's a decent chunk of time bought to get away/help/the police etc.
It's really gutting to read these threads though, as a car lover and petrolhead it's a shame we have to go to such lengths to have a nice motor without it being nicked.
Kingofthelea said:
And this I wish was a product on sale. Let the start it, let them drive off. Then a mile away from home, shut down....
i imagine they would set fire to it then........unless you see that as a better outcome than getting it back not knowing if its been to hell and back. these tales of blokes in balaclavas sounds hollywood-ish and no doubt bloody nerve racking if you are woken up in the dead of night to face that when you arent even fully with it or only partly dressed.........a pretty vunerable situation. to come back from having gone through to buy the same car again takes balls. many would buy a micra and move on.
i reckon the next thing youll hear about if its not already started are thieves flying drones around seeking out the cars they want hidden behind gates or up and off quiet lanes. casing the joint without actually setting foot anywhere near your property until the night of the theft.
Perhaps overkill but I have a cctv system on a tablet which is bedside (set to quite dim) then a stupidly renforced bedroom door which I lock whilst sleeping. If I heard a noise at night then I’d look on the cctv and if someone has entered the house then I’d ring the police and just wait, there’s absolutely no way they could get through the door and the worst thing they could do would be hurt my pet cat 
but she would probably hide. All of my keys are bedside too
but she would probably hide. All of my keys are bedside too Gavia said:
I’ve already explained the garage situation. I’ve got a house with a single garage, which is used for other things. I couldn’t get a car in there if I wanted to.
What's the value of your garage contents? How much is your car / safety / sanity / time worth?B&Q sells some nice sheds for your accumulated crap. Put the car in the garage.
So said:
What's the value of your garage contents? How much is your car / safety / sanity / time worth?
B&Q sells some nice sheds for your accumulated crap. Put the car in the garage.
I’ve got about £70k worth of road and race motorbikes, £8000 of pushbike, plus £20k worth of accumulated race related “crap” in the garage. My shed is used for the real crap. B&Q sells some nice sheds for your accumulated crap. Put the car in the garage.
There’s also the small matter, as I’ve already explained that the car will barely fit in the garage and even if I did squeeze it in, then I couldn’t open a door to get out.
I think my sanity would be tested to the limit by leaving the bikes and associated crap out on the drive.
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