How retro - having all your wheels nicked
Discussion
Last Thursday my wife returned to her car after work to be greeted by this:
Ruined her day somewhat. I had no idea this was still a thing, it's like something from the early 90s. I also had no idea Leon wheels were desirable enough to warrant something like this.
Car has been declared a write off today, wife is gutted as she loved the car. Interestingly sometime between us leaving the car with the recovery company on Thursday night and the car being delivered to the garage on Friday lunch time the head unit went missing! you can clearly see it present in the pictures above. No idea what's gone on there.
It's all a bit of a p*sser to be honest.
Ruined her day somewhat. I had no idea this was still a thing, it's like something from the early 90s. I also had no idea Leon wheels were desirable enough to warrant something like this.
Car has been declared a write off today, wife is gutted as she loved the car. Interestingly sometime between us leaving the car with the recovery company on Thursday night and the car being delivered to the garage on Friday lunch time the head unit went missing! you can clearly see it present in the pictures above. No idea what's gone on there.
It's all a bit of a p*sser to be honest.
I'm surprised as well that the car was written off, makes sense not to leave a car overnight somewhere that's deserted.
I've noticed quite a few cars with Recaro's/Bucket seats tipped forward and then a bike like locking the seat to the steering wheel.
What type of locking wheelnuts did it have on it?
I had McGard OEM's on mine till the garage lost the key to the security nut, they simply hammered a slightly too small socket onto it then used an impact driver, came off in seconds.
I have some OZ rims at the moment and seeing stuff like this I'm slightly worried so may invest in some 'tuner' bolts instead as they look to me to be harder to remove without the correct tool.
I've noticed quite a few cars with Recaro's/Bucket seats tipped forward and then a bike like locking the seat to the steering wheel.
What type of locking wheelnuts did it have on it?
I had McGard OEM's on mine till the garage lost the key to the security nut, they simply hammered a slightly too small socket onto it then used an impact driver, came off in seconds.
I have some OZ rims at the moment and seeing stuff like this I'm slightly worried so may invest in some 'tuner' bolts instead as they look to me to be harder to remove without the correct tool.
From what i've been told they've given an £8k estimate for it all to be fixed.
Wheels £400 a pop allegedly, two windows, discs & pads all round (Pads?! Why?!) various suspension components. There is also some issue with it being full of broken glass which means all the carpet has to be replaced, that's a new one on me.
She's been offered £11600 as an initial settlement which doesn't seem too bad. We could try to buy it back I guess but I just can't be bothered with the hassle, we're both a bit time poor at the moment.
I also had my car keyed outside my house about 5 days before this happened, it's been a bit of a rubbish week for our cars!
As for the head unit, I'm not sure what was taken and how, the head unit was still there when we left the car with the recovery company. I assume they couldn't get it recovered that night and left it for some chode to help themselves overnight. Ho hum.
Wheels £400 a pop allegedly, two windows, discs & pads all round (Pads?! Why?!) various suspension components. There is also some issue with it being full of broken glass which means all the carpet has to be replaced, that's a new one on me.
She's been offered £11600 as an initial settlement which doesn't seem too bad. We could try to buy it back I guess but I just can't be bothered with the hassle, we're both a bit time poor at the moment.
I also had my car keyed outside my house about 5 days before this happened, it's been a bit of a rubbish week for our cars!
As for the head unit, I'm not sure what was taken and how, the head unit was still there when we left the car with the recovery company. I assume they couldn't get it recovered that night and left it for some chode to help themselves overnight. Ho hum.
Edited by JackThrust on Monday 6th August 15:17
JackThrust said:
From what i've been told they've given an £8k estimate for it all to be fixed.
Wheels £400 a pop allegedly, two windows, discs & pads all round (Pads?! Why?!) various suspension components. There is also some issue with it being full of broken glass which means all the carpet has to be replaced, that's a new one on me.
She's been offered £11600 as an initial settlement which doesn't seem too bad. We could try to buy it back I guess but I just can't be bothered with the hassle, we're both a bit time poor at the moment.
I also had my car keyed outside my house about 5 days before this happened, it's been a bit of a rubbish week for our cars!
As for the head unit, I'm not sure what was taken and how, the head unit was still there when we left the car with the recovery company. I assume they couldn't get it recovered that night and left it for some chode to help themselves overnight. Ho hum.
Brake manufacturers recommend new pads when you change discs. I've managed to survive without the new pads every time...Wheels £400 a pop allegedly, two windows, discs & pads all round (Pads?! Why?!) various suspension components. There is also some issue with it being full of broken glass which means all the carpet has to be replaced, that's a new one on me.
She's been offered £11600 as an initial settlement which doesn't seem too bad. We could try to buy it back I guess but I just can't be bothered with the hassle, we're both a bit time poor at the moment.
I also had my car keyed outside my house about 5 days before this happened, it's been a bit of a rubbish week for our cars!
As for the head unit, I'm not sure what was taken and how, the head unit was still there when we left the car with the recovery company. I assume they couldn't get it recovered that night and left it for some chode to help themselves overnight. Ho hum.
Gutted for you. They must be local as it looks like a quiet carpark, they must have been there before and seen how long the car is left there during the day. Imagine the time it took to remove them wheels, they were real chancers.
Re: Pads, it's because it will need new discs from damage and you have to change the pads for bedding in purposes.
I can imagine the underwriter wrote it off because of the damage it will cause lifting it onto a flatbed, and then further damage in transit.
Re: Pads, it's because it will need new discs from damage and you have to change the pads for bedding in purposes.
I can imagine the underwriter wrote it off because of the damage it will cause lifting it onto a flatbed, and then further damage in transit.
That's a good point about them finding the locking key and then using that, might be worth hiding it somewhere that thieves wouldn't think to look (taped under the seat for instance)
The wheels are a common offset and a decent hoover would clear the glass out of the seats and carpet, pattern discs from eurocarparts etc...
Reckon the whole car could be repaired for around a grand so if they offer something silly for the buyback you'd be quids in.
JackThrust said:
We could try to buy it back I guess but I just can't be bothered with the hassle, we're both a bit time poor at the moment.
Out of interest I'd find out how much you could buy it back for as there could be a couple of grand profit in it for very little work.The wheels are a common offset and a decent hoover would clear the glass out of the seats and carpet, pattern discs from eurocarparts etc...
Reckon the whole car could be repaired for around a grand so if they offer something silly for the buyback you'd be quids in.
layercake said:
bloody shocking, in some ways you would have wished they would have taken the whole car rather than leaving you with that mess
+1also... as another said, these were indeed chancers
this wasn't just smash-and-grab; they did some significant work
you can't always see nowadays where the CCTV eye is; these can be rather discreet; in another car park at a different time, and their faces might have been on video
untakenname said:
The wheels are a common offset and a decent hoover would clear the glass out of the seats and carpet, pattern discs from eurocarparts etc...
Reckon the whole car could be repaired for around a grand so if they offer something silly for the buyback you'd be quids in.
Ever had a broken window? Took a lot more than just a "decent" hoover to get rid of it all.Reckon the whole car could be repaired for around a grand so if they offer something silly for the buyback you'd be quids in.
I was finding bits for months.
Krikkit said:
untakenname said:
The wheels are a common offset and a decent hoover would clear the glass out of the seats and carpet, pattern discs from eurocarparts etc...
Reckon the whole car could be repaired for around a grand so if they offer something silly for the buyback you'd be quids in.
Ever had a broken window? Took a lot more than just a "decent" hoover to get rid of it all.Reckon the whole car could be repaired for around a grand so if they offer something silly for the buyback you'd be quids in.
I was finding bits for months.
JackThrust said:
From what i've been told they've given an £8k estimate for it all to be fixed.
Wheels £400 a pop allegedly, two windows, discs & pads all round (Pads?! Why?!) various suspension components. There is also some issue with it being full of broken glass which means all the carpet has to be replaced, that's a new one on me.
She's been offered £11600 as an initial settlement which doesn't seem too bad. We could try to buy it back I guess but I just can't be bothered with the hassle, we're both a bit time poor at the moment.
I also had my car keyed outside my house about 5 days before this happened, it's been a bit of a rubbish week for our cars!
As for the head unit, I'm not sure what was taken and how, the head unit was still there when we left the car with the recovery company. I assume they couldn't get it recovered that night and left it for some chode to help themselves overnight. Ho hum.
Hmm.Wheels £400 a pop allegedly, two windows, discs & pads all round (Pads?! Why?!) various suspension components. There is also some issue with it being full of broken glass which means all the carpet has to be replaced, that's a new one on me.
She's been offered £11600 as an initial settlement which doesn't seem too bad. We could try to buy it back I guess but I just can't be bothered with the hassle, we're both a bit time poor at the moment.
I also had my car keyed outside my house about 5 days before this happened, it's been a bit of a rubbish week for our cars!
As for the head unit, I'm not sure what was taken and how, the head unit was still there when we left the car with the recovery company. I assume they couldn't get it recovered that night and left it for some chode to help themselves overnight. Ho hum.
Edited by JackThrust on Monday 6th August 15:17
Lichfield.
TooMany2cvs said:
Might as well just write everything off every time there's a broken side window, then...
Im not so sure that was the point he was making.Broken glass is indeed a pig to remove and no matter how thorough ive been in the past you always find more months (and one time even years) later.
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