MERCEDES SPRINTER STOLEN WITHIN 3 MINUTES.
Discussion
New Sprinter can be tracked as standard. If your still concerned there's another tracking system they do which is £150 and then £4 a month. It pulses once a day, so can't be scanned, they even go and recover it for you no matter where it is.
Heck I'd even chuck it in foc if you wanted to buy some new vans from me
Heck I'd even chuck it in foc if you wanted to buy some new vans from me
A friend of mine runs several sprinter vans for his business and he has had no end of problems with them being stolen and broken into.
He literally cannot keep theives away from them.
All his his new vans have a secondary alarm systems and trackers fitted, but none of that made a s
te of difference in stopping the last one getting stolen.
On the CCTV they just approached the van, and were in within a few seconds and calmly driving away. No alarms or anything.
The GPS was disabled as soon as the van set off.
The story gets interesting when the GPS reactivates a week later and the Police go to where it is.
It was found in a huge warehouse with 15 other sprinter vans all being totally stripped to a shell for spare parts.
Massive operation. Half the warehouse was Sprinters being rapidly stripped, and the other half was carefully organised into floor to ceiling shelving filled with the parts and also power tools out of the vans sorted into type and make etc.
Apparently every few months they fill an almost new, stolen, long wheelbase sprinter with all the power tools, drive the van and tools to Turkey/Morocco/Albania etc and then sell the van and all the tools to a prearranged buyer in one transaction of £50k or whatever, then just catch a plane home.
The guy who was renting the warehouse owned one of the largest online/ebay Sprinter parts/spares businesses in the country.
Easy to make money when all your stock is free.
The thieves steal the vans via key coding, OBD etc, and they then plug a GPRS/GSM transmitter device into the cigarette socket, which jams any signals from GPS tracking devices.
They leave the GSM jammer plugged in until they begin stripping the van, and only unplug it once they find the tracker or find there isn't one.
What happened with my mates van is that he paid extra to have the tracker installed in a really unusual place where it wouldn't be found, rather than the usual easy to find places.
The thieves looked in the usual places, couldn't find a tracker, assumed it didn't have one, and then turned off the GSM jammer which meant that it suddenly popped up on the map again.
The irony here is that despite everyone's high tech anti-theft devices, the thieves themselves were using old fashioned DISCLOCKS and pedal locks to stop their own vans being pinched, as the old fashioned physical devices actually work.
He literally cannot keep theives away from them.
All his his new vans have a secondary alarm systems and trackers fitted, but none of that made a s
te of difference in stopping the last one getting stolen.On the CCTV they just approached the van, and were in within a few seconds and calmly driving away. No alarms or anything.
The GPS was disabled as soon as the van set off.
The story gets interesting when the GPS reactivates a week later and the Police go to where it is.
It was found in a huge warehouse with 15 other sprinter vans all being totally stripped to a shell for spare parts.
Massive operation. Half the warehouse was Sprinters being rapidly stripped, and the other half was carefully organised into floor to ceiling shelving filled with the parts and also power tools out of the vans sorted into type and make etc.
Apparently every few months they fill an almost new, stolen, long wheelbase sprinter with all the power tools, drive the van and tools to Turkey/Morocco/Albania etc and then sell the van and all the tools to a prearranged buyer in one transaction of £50k or whatever, then just catch a plane home.
The guy who was renting the warehouse owned one of the largest online/ebay Sprinter parts/spares businesses in the country.
Easy to make money when all your stock is free.
The thieves steal the vans via key coding, OBD etc, and they then plug a GPRS/GSM transmitter device into the cigarette socket, which jams any signals from GPS tracking devices.
They leave the GSM jammer plugged in until they begin stripping the van, and only unplug it once they find the tracker or find there isn't one.
What happened with my mates van is that he paid extra to have the tracker installed in a really unusual place where it wouldn't be found, rather than the usual easy to find places.
The thieves looked in the usual places, couldn't find a tracker, assumed it didn't have one, and then turned off the GSM jammer which meant that it suddenly popped up on the map again.
The irony here is that despite everyone's high tech anti-theft devices, the thieves themselves were using old fashioned DISCLOCKS and pedal locks to stop their own vans being pinched, as the old fashioned physical devices actually work.
Fast Bug said:
New Sprinter can be tracked as standard. If your still concerned there's another tracking system they do which is £150 and then £4 a month. It pulses once a day, so can't be scanned, they even go and recover it for you no matter where it is.
Heck I'd even chuck it in foc if you wanted to buy some new vans from me
Trackers are a waste of time these days if the thieves are vaguely competent.Heck I'd even chuck it in foc if you wanted to buy some new vans from me
See my post above.
Make a fully tracked van or car invisible for only £35.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 15th June 00:38
Thanks so much for all of that Lord Marylebone. You didn't say what happened next, were they well and truly busted, proper custodials and everything? I was talking to another mate who runs around 80 Sprinters, he reckons that if you mechanically protect the ignition/key reader assembly then it makes it pretty impregnable (if there is such a thing).
neverraced said:
Thanks so much for all of that Lord Marylebone. You didn't say what happened next, were they well and truly busted, proper custodials and everything? I was talking to another mate who runs around 80 Sprinters, he reckons that if you mechanically protect the ignition/key reader assembly then it makes it pretty impregnable (if there is such a thing).
They got well and truly busted.It was fairly conclusive, the guy who ran the operation had the lease for the chop shop on his name, and his sprinter parts business was in his name etc.
But there will be many other operations like that around the country, each stealing 10 vans or so per weekend.
Don't know what happened with regards to sentences etc.
Scandalous how easy mercs are to get into. Mines had all the rear doors done despite it having deadbolts they try regardless. Think having deadbolt on all 5 doors probably makes it less attractive to wholesale steal though, just the crackhead scum looking to snatch and run.
You think by now some proper armour around the handles would be standard fit rather than 3 seconds with a screwdriver to wreck the lock but no.
You think by now some proper armour around the handles would be standard fit rather than 3 seconds with a screwdriver to wreck the lock but no.
Another piece of info for you: When vans are stolen, the thieves often drive to to an area where the van can be left parked up. Council estate or an industrial estate somewhere.
They leave them there for couple of days or so.
If no one attempts to recover the van then they know there is no tracker and it's safe to come back for it again and move it to their chop shop.
The irony is that the the thieves are so worried about 'their' stolen van being stolen, that they fit things like a Disclock and gearstick lock to stop them being pinched...
So learn from the experts. If you want to keep your van then you need to use low tech physical anti-theft devices.
They leave them there for couple of days or so.
If no one attempts to recover the van then they know there is no tracker and it's safe to come back for it again and move it to their chop shop.
The irony is that the the thieves are so worried about 'their' stolen van being stolen, that they fit things like a Disclock and gearstick lock to stop them being pinched...
So learn from the experts. If you want to keep your van then you need to use low tech physical anti-theft devices.
neverraced said:
Thanks so much again. As a company in the transport sector, we cannot afford the hi tec "solutions" anyway; and in any event, they don't seem to be solutions, the thieves just get cleverer and find a way around them!
As per my original post, my mate runs Sprinter vans and he has tried everything 'high tech'. Best trackers money can buy, thousands of pounds worth of aftermarket alarms and immobilisers on top of the original van security, CCTV etc
Literally nothing stops them coming for his vans on an alarmingly regular basis.
His insurance premiums are massive.
It's a total scandal how easy modern cars and vans are to steal.
neverraced said:
K321 said:
disable the obd port
take out the fuse that powers it
put sticker on the car to say obd port has been disabled
free and effective
So the fuse for the ODB covers only the ODB? That would certainly delay them wouldn't it, hopefully they'd move on.take out the fuse that powers it
put sticker on the car to say obd port has been disabled
free and effective
fuses are located in fuse box between door and dash, so thief cannot get to the fuses either as the doors are deadlocked
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/805065/Mercedes-...
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/805065/Mercedes-...
the sprinter has 2 fuses that power the obd. i suspect it is similar to my car- the 10a fuse powers the obd port when the car is off, and the 5a powers the obd port when the ignition is live
put a steering lock on
the thieves wont be able to steal the car via obd
just remember to put them back in when you take the vans to the garage for servicing etc, as the mechanics wont be able to do onboard diagnostics!
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/805065/Mercedes-...
the sprinter has 2 fuses that power the obd. i suspect it is similar to my car- the 10a fuse powers the obd port when the car is off, and the 5a powers the obd port when the ignition is live
put a steering lock on
the thieves wont be able to steal the car via obd
just remember to put them back in when you take the vans to the garage for servicing etc, as the mechanics wont be able to do onboard diagnostics!
Edited by K321 on Tuesday 19th June 23:53
Edited by K321 on Tuesday 19th June 23:56
K321 said:
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/805065/Mercedes-...
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/805065/Mercedes-...
the sprinter has 2 fuses that power the obd. i suspect it is similar to my car- the 10a fuse powers the obd port when the car is off, and the 5a powers the obd port when the ignition is live
put a steering lock on
the thieves wont be able to steal the car via obd
just remember to put them back in when you take the vans to the garage for servicing etc, as the mechanics wont be able to do onboard diagnostics!
That is really good news indeed, thanks very much for that K321 :-) https://www.manualslib.com/manual/805065/Mercedes-...
the sprinter has 2 fuses that power the obd. i suspect it is similar to my car- the 10a fuse powers the obd port when the car is off, and the 5a powers the obd port when the ignition is live
put a steering lock on
the thieves wont be able to steal the car via obd
just remember to put them back in when you take the vans to the garage for servicing etc, as the mechanics wont be able to do onboard diagnostics!
Edited by K321 on Tuesday 19th June 23:53
Edited by K321 on Tuesday 19th June 23:56
no problem neverraced
i am glad i could give you some advice
i myself have had my car stolen before and attempted car jacked twice, so i researched a lot about car theft to come to the conclusion of removing the fuses to disable the obd as first deterrent to prevent car theft.
it's free as well which is an added bonus
i am glad i could give you some advice
i myself have had my car stolen before and attempted car jacked twice, so i researched a lot about car theft to come to the conclusion of removing the fuses to disable the obd as first deterrent to prevent car theft.
it's free as well which is an added bonus
A friend came round to see me a few weeks ago and ask for advice regarding security on his 12 month old Transit van.
He came out to it one morning and everything was missing from inside. All his tools, the lot.
There was no signs of any damage apart from the tiny plastic keyhole surround had fell off on the drivers door.
The alarm did not sound.
He was horrified when I showed him this video:
https://youtu.be/u0lzdX6b6Hw
Simply twisting the exterior part of the door lock with mole-grips opens all the door and turns the alarm off.
Disgraceful.
He came out to it one morning and everything was missing from inside. All his tools, the lot.
There was no signs of any damage apart from the tiny plastic keyhole surround had fell off on the drivers door.
The alarm did not sound.
He was horrified when I showed him this video:
https://youtu.be/u0lzdX6b6Hw
Simply twisting the exterior part of the door lock with mole-grips opens all the door and turns the alarm off.
Disgraceful.
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