Powerful Audis still being targeted by scum
Discussion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-40...
I know we've had this topic crop up many times on here, I think the last time was the guy who got run over and killed in his S3. The most recent, yesterday, is a mother and baby in an RS6 being targeted whilst at traffic lights in Solihull. Real heroes targeting a mother and baby, hopefully they'll plant the RS6 into a tree at speed.
I couldn't see another thread on this or a relevant one to add it to so started a new thread just to reignite people's awareness.
I know we've had this topic crop up many times on here, I think the last time was the guy who got run over and killed in his S3. The most recent, yesterday, is a mother and baby in an RS6 being targeted whilst at traffic lights in Solihull. Real heroes targeting a mother and baby, hopefully they'll plant the RS6 into a tree at speed.
I couldn't see another thread on this or a relevant one to add it to so started a new thread just to reignite people's awareness.
f1nn said:
I suspect that you are being a little naive, the people who target such cars know exactly what they are looking for.
The owners however, assume that they are buying a powerful yet anonymous car. Unlike us, they may not be so tuned into what cars are flavour of the month with thieving lowlife and assume that few people will realise it's a powerful car. SkrrSkrr said:
Blimey. Well the Hartley family have a bit of money in the bank. I'd be tempted to spend a bit of it to find out who was responsible. I can't imagine how he must have felt to get a phone call telling him what had happened. f1nn said:
Jonmx said:
The owners however, assume that they are buying a powerful yet anonymous car. Unlike us, they may not be so tuned into what cars are flavour of the month with thieving lowlife and assume that few people will realise it's a powerful car.
Now I know that you are being naive.RS model Audis have been popular with car thieves for a long time now for a multitude of reasons. Ignorance is not a defence.
to say that to a victim of a carjacking. I can assure you there are many owners of RS, AMG and M model cars that will be completely oblivious to the fact that their vehicles are desirable to thieves. Does that make them naïve, possibly, does it justify them being held up at knifepoint, absolutely not.The woman in this photo hasn't even noticed the guy taking her picture. A prime spot for taking a car as she's out of the vehicle and the keys are to hand.
gottans said:
Glad the woman and baby are okay as cars can be replaced.
It really doesn't take too many brain cells to identify an S or RS model from a standard one, my S4 is silver so quite anonymous but I still received a knock on my door from someone trying to distract me to see if they could get the keys.
So never keep the keys where they can be seen from the front door.
A friend recently found his insurance on his Fiesta St dropped if he had it registered as being parked on the street rather than the driveway. I'd imagine it's for the exact reason you identified in the situation you had.It really doesn't take too many brain cells to identify an S or RS model from a standard one, my S4 is silver so quite anonymous but I still received a knock on my door from someone trying to distract me to see if they could get the keys.
So never keep the keys where they can be seen from the front door.
f1nn said:
Do you really think that there are "many" owners of RS, AMG and M cars that are oblivious to the fact that they are desirable to thieves? Be honest. They are desirable cars full stop, so why would they not be desirable to thieves?
You make an example of justifying being held up at knifepoint, which of course It doesn't and equally I've never said that it does. I think we all need to be realistic here. Most know, and if they don't there is a lot of information online and freely available, that such cars can be targets for carjacking/theft etc. This is nothing new.
I'm all for personal choice, and i don't think it should prevent someone from owning a desirable car but I think owners need to consider and accept an increased risk of such attacks. I'm not defending it, and it's clearly wrong, but it does happen.
You've made an assumption as to the context of the picture. I understand the point you are making though. Let me ask you this, would the example be as strong if the car was a Nissan Micra? Of course not.
I think we're coming at this from different ends. I full agree that these cars are desirable, I just think that a lot of people aren't really aware that their vehicle is necessarily desirable and have an 'it will never happen to me' mentality. To them it's just the latest car in a string of vehicles that are replaced every 12 months. My parent's neighbours are massively guilty of this, leaving their XKR/RRS running at the gate to the driveway while they nip back to the house to grab something. I live in a rural area, and there are people who have £1M plus houses with no alarms, who leave the keys in their Range Rovers and £100k tractors because they don't believe they'll ever get nicked. You make an example of justifying being held up at knifepoint, which of course It doesn't and equally I've never said that it does. I think we all need to be realistic here. Most know, and if they don't there is a lot of information online and freely available, that such cars can be targets for carjacking/theft etc. This is nothing new.
I'm all for personal choice, and i don't think it should prevent someone from owning a desirable car but I think owners need to consider and accept an increased risk of such attacks. I'm not defending it, and it's clearly wrong, but it does happen.
You've made an assumption as to the context of the picture. I understand the point you are making though. Let me ask you this, would the example be as strong if the car was a Nissan Micra? Of course not.
When I was in the Police I used to go around trying to give crime prevention advice to these guys and I'd get laughed at. One guy told me he didn't care if his Land Rover got nicked because the NFU would give him a new one. I suppose given the violence being used to obtain keys, maybe leaving them in the vehicle overnight isn't such a bad idea!
I agree with you, drivers should be more aware, but unfortunately a mother with a 3 month old in the back of a car isn't going to be in Jason Bourne mode at the lights. To her stopping at the lights is a chance to turn around and check little one is ok. I'm surprised insurance companies aren't highlighting the issue more, it's almost a duty of care issue to inform their customers of the heightened theft risk around their vehicle. Like you say, ignorance is no defence, but insurance companies and the Police could do more to raise awareness.
Leemcd said:
Fair point... However most of these oxygen thieves aren't the brightest. Problem is, it will never change as our police are useless / scared of offending any groups!
From what I understand from a friend who works up there, the community is very tight and trying to get any information out of them is challenging to say the least. That said, I'd imagine if Mr Hartley offered a suitable reward someone might have an attack of conscience and dob them in. And yes, these people should have their oxygen licences revoked.K321 said:
Audis are still targeted by robbers in the birmingham area. A stolen rs6 was in a police chase recently on aston expressway. my own audi was stolen last year from my office car park in birmingham in broad daylight..it had been targeted and then used for another robbery. I was informed that a lot of fast audi cars are getting stolen
Out of interest was yours recovered? If not, did you replace it with a similar car or did the experience put you off? I've only ever had a car stereo nicked but that really made me angry, so I can't imagine what it feels like to have a car nicked.f1nn said:
No I get that and agree with you, but in the examples you gave, and especially the latter, the choice of vehicle could largely negate any risk of this happening.
Let's just say, for example, you live in Birmingham, London, Manchester or similar and have to buy tomorrow a vehicle for your wife to ferry the kids about daily.
Would you be perfectly satisfied that an RS4/6 is not increasing the risk of this sort of theft, say when compared to say, a Mini Countryman?
I think if we are both being honest we both know the answer, and there is enough online for anyone considering purchasing a similar vehicle to be well informed.
Agreed, and as a matter of fact my wife drives a Mini Clubman. But, the sheer number of these thefts is proof enough that people are naïve to the risk posed by the cars they own. That so many are taken whilst the driver is still with the vehicles show there is a lack of understanding around risk avoidance. Personally, I'm too far the other way, I'll even pull into a bus stop and let vehicles pass if I think they've been following me too long. Unlikely I'll be targeted for a £200 Mondeo LX but I still risk assess all the time. Let's just say, for example, you live in Birmingham, London, Manchester or similar and have to buy tomorrow a vehicle for your wife to ferry the kids about daily.
Would you be perfectly satisfied that an RS4/6 is not increasing the risk of this sort of theft, say when compared to say, a Mini Countryman?
I think if we are both being honest we both know the answer, and there is enough online for anyone considering purchasing a similar vehicle to be well informed.
I think I said it on the S3 thread back along, but when I was in Birmingham a few years ago in my 123D Coupe I got followed by a group of lads in a car. I took the tactical option of booting it when I hit the motorway. It may well have been some young lads wanting to get a look at what was at the time quite a flash car, but I wasn't going to take that risk.
As others have said though, it's surprising that someone in the Hartley family was the victim. I'd imagine there's a lot of risk awareness training that whilst not necessarily available to his wife, would definitely have been passed onto Hartley Jr.
AshBurrows said:
Jonmx said:
Personally, I'm too far the other way, I'll even pull into a bus stop and let vehicles pass if I think they've been following me too long. Unlikely I'll be targeted for a £200 Mondeo LX but I still risk assess all the time.
I think I said it on the S3 thread back along, but when I was in Birmingham a few years ago in my 123D Coupe I got followed by a group of lads in a car. I took the tactical option of booting it when I hit the motorway. It may well have been some young lads wanting to get a look at what was at the time quite a flash car, but I wasn't going to take that risk.
Really?!I think I said it on the S3 thread back along, but when I was in Birmingham a few years ago in my 123D Coupe I got followed by a group of lads in a car. I took the tactical option of booting it when I hit the motorway. It may well have been some young lads wanting to get a look at what was at the time quite a flash car, but I wasn't going to take that risk.
And in answer to the expensive car to drive around in without attracting attention, I think a Bristol Blenheim might do the trick. This one's up for a touch under £60k and is certainly not flash enough for the thieving skiplickers to pay attention to. Looks like an old BL product, but I quite like them.
Sheepshanks said:
adamgti said:
If this was TH Jnr's wife, then it seems a little unfortunate that one of his Instagram posts featured an RS6 illuminated sill plate, with words along the lines of "wife's new car is awesome, thinking of hijacking it"!
Maybe he did it, and it's all a publicity stunt? The story does sound slightly odd.Top lurking, by the way.
Dog Star said:
Anyway - back to the point there by V8RX7 - even a simple burglary like that has affected me badly, and there was no violence involved (although the thieves did draw a picture of a motorbike with "ha ha" written under it on the window).
I really, really hope the cowardly weasel that did that ended up coming off the bike at speed, catching his nuts on something as he did so.When I was in the Police, I caught a guy who was in a nicked car. He initially failed to stop, but then tried to run off having abandoned the vehicle in the middle of the road. I apprehended him in a 'home office approved technique'. He then acted like a nobber, refused to give me his hands and reached for his pocket. He was then introduced to my colleague's Taser. Despite being a disqualified driver who was on a suspended sentence, he was let off almost scot free by the courts, much to the understandable unamusement of the victim of the original theft. The victim did however enjoy being told the tale of how the toerag was apprehended.
When I went to the Police station a good few years ago and reported that my car had been broken into and several hundred pounds worth of stuff had been nicked, I got the response, 'And? What do you want us to do about it?' I was not a happy Hector at that point and for the rest of my time living in that city was paranoid about where I parked and if I was being watched. The priorities in this country really are skewed beyond anything resembling what they should be.
I know my former colleagues would like nothing better than to focus on dealing with dishonesty offences and offences against the person. Unfortunately the focus of policing has changed from 'prevent and detect crime' to 'protect the vulnerable.' In essence they're doing Social Services and NHS work because the buck stops with them rather than the people who should be holding the risk for the vulnerable and mentally unwell part of society.
irocfan said:
Jonmx said:
When I went to the Police station a good few years ago and reported that my car had been broken into and several hundred pounds worth of stuff had been nicked, I got the response, 'And? What do you want us to do about it?'
what's the betting that if you'd said: "how's about doing your fking job" they'd have found the time to arrest you....https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/exp...
RS4 stolen with keys in Turiff. Sounds like the owner left it on the driveway and went away for a few days.
Article says;
'A grey Audi RS4 -reg. number K8EDR- was stolen from a property in the Meadowview Road area of Turriff with the owner last having seen it on Saturday July 22. It was discovered stolen on Tuesday July 25.'
RS4 stolen with keys in Turiff. Sounds like the owner left it on the driveway and went away for a few days.
Article says;
'A grey Audi RS4 -reg. number K8EDR- was stolen from a property in the Meadowview Road area of Turriff with the owner last having seen it on Saturday July 22. It was discovered stolen on Tuesday July 25.'
This video popped up in my YouTube feed. Shows the kind of abuse and ending that a lot of these nicked RS's end up with. It's a nicked 61 plate RS6 Estate in Birmingham, Police pursuit with tactical contact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Nuq1Vx9S4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Nuq1Vx9S4
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