Galaxy Tdi Mk1 - Stolen

[pcshak]

Hi

 

We had our Galaxy stolen about 2 months ago, it was recovered but had been trashed, now the insurance are trying to say that because the ignition lock had not been tampered with that thay suspect foul play. They are saying that it is impossible to drive the car without a key especially when there was no damage to the ignition lock.

Has someone had a similiar experience and does anyone know or can confirm what the insurance company are saying, that if the car was stolen without the key they needed to have first brocken the iginition lock?

The wires around the steering column had been pulled out so maybe they started that way.

We know it was stolen, but its proving this to the insurance company now.

 

Please any help would be appreciated.

 

thanks

 

Sam

Edited March 26, 2009 by pcshak

[gregers]

how long had you had the car,ie when you bought it did it come with all keys??3 in total(1 remote,1 normal,1 black plastic key).

i could be wrong but i think you need a key programed to the pats system to start and drive the car away.

you havnt had any work done on the car recently,i:e at a garage?

 

either that or someone with a good knowledge of nicking cars,which means an awful lot of chavs.

[pcshak]

how long had you had the car,ie when you bought it did it come with all keys??3 in total(1 remote,1 normal,1 black plastic key).

i could be wrong but i think you need a key programed to the pats system to start and drive the car away.

you havnt had any work done on the car recently,i:e at a garage?

 

either that or someone with a good knowledge of nicking cars,which means an awful lot of chavs.

 

Cheers thanks for the reply

 

We had the car for 8 years, it was a Mk1 2000 model, we didn't have a remote just a couple of keys.

We usually had the car reapired from a local garage but they're trust worthy as we know them.

I just wanted to know if it was possible to drive the car by tampering with the ignition ?

[big_kev]

Without knowing the exact details I can only look at the following.

 

In your favour.

 

External door locks and alarm ( basically a joke....complete design xxxx up ) easily overidden.

 

Anti-theft PATS system...several methods for overiding this...all time consuming...eg several minutes....but all relatively simple.

 

Mechanical steering lock.....easily forced but this does leave evidence....however skeleton keys may exist....not 100% on this.

 

On top of this there is always the easy overide for all anti-theft systems......tow the vehicle away using a tow-truck.....unlikely...but still possible.

 

The fact that the wires around the steering column had been pulled out would indicate foul play as it is unlikely that this would be your usual method of starting the car.

 

 

 

 

Against you....

 

If as you say the steering lock had not been forced then this would indicate that a key of some sorts had been used.

However this could have been obtained from a dodgy service company or even directly from the registration ( I am sure that the software exists to convert registration number to key number ).

Against this however would be the value of the vehicle.....if you are going to plan to steal a vehicle then it is much more likely that this will be one of substantial value......no offence intended...mine is even older.

 

From the evidence given and assuming that the steering lock had not been forced then it is most likely that a key had been used that had either been left in the vehicle or had been obtained from the house where the vehicle is parked.....this would be why the insurance company are sceptical.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would tell the insurance company to sort it out and if a key had been used then it must have been obtained either without your knowledge during a previous service ( etc ) or stolen from your house, again without your knowledge.

 

Don't let them bully you !

[seatkid]

It does sound very fishy. The evidence is clear that a key must have been used. The insurance company may also have other evidence you are not privvy to - e.g. ECU evidence of recent running.

 

I think its highly unlikely that someone would "lift" an 8 year old Galaxy and trash it elsewhere. Also I dont think there are "skeleton keys", the insurance company would know if the ignition key could be easily "picked".

 

It does "look" very much like as if someone arranged for it to be taken by consent to be deliberately trashed. The wires pulled also indicate an amateur theif (with expert lock picking skills) as it is impossible to start the car without a PATS transponder.

 

You have either been highly unfortunate or you know more than you are saying. Either way, I doubt the insurance company will pay up.

[big_kev]

You have either been highly unfortunate or you know more than you are saying.

 

Slightly less subtle than my post.....but probably more accurate.

 

 

Also "skeleton key "......LINK

Edited March 27, 2009 by big_kev

[mk2vr6]

skeleton key? why bother? it's a well known fact that the door locks are easy to beat and hence the oe alarm if fitted, the question is can you start and drive away a galaxy without the correct key or breaking the steering lock? NO! the steering lock is designed to break and allow the steering wheel to spin freely if its forced! you can pull the barrel and beat it, but it will be messy and leave proof of this action! as for the imobiliser? it too can be beaten but again you need the right equipment and knowledge of how to do it! you dont just pull wires from the rear of the barrel and twist them together as in the movies ! so tbh your insurance company is well within their rights to question the break in and theft of the vehicle

[pcshak]

skeleton key? why bother? it's a well known fact that the door locks are easy to beat and hence the oe alarm if fitted, the question is can you start and drive away a galaxy without the correct key or breaking the steering lock? NO! the steering lock is designed to break and allow the steering wheel to spin freely if its forced! you can pull the barrel and beat it, but it will be messy and leave proof of this action! as for the imobiliser? it too can be beaten but again you need the right equipment and knowledge of how to do it! you dont just pull wires from the rear of the barrel and twist them together as in the movies ! so tbh your insurance company is well within their rights to question the break in and theft of the vehicle

 

Thanks for all the replies, I can assure you all that the car was taken from my drive overnight, the first I knew of it was when the missus called me at work and asked if I'd taken the car to work or if I had parked it round the corner. I was shocked, I couldn't believe it, why would someone want to take a car of this age, its crazy.

From all your replies its going to be 50/50 if they'll pay, but I'll take it all the way if I don't get a settlement out of them cos I've done no wrong they have the 2 keys, they can investigate all they want I know the cr was stolen from my drive.

Anyway I'll keep you updated about the outcome.

Thanks for all the info.

 

Happy Easter to All

[pcshak]

Hi

 

I eventually got an offer of

[bj2004]

ive had a couple of claims in last 20 odd years and have always rejected first offer

try for a better one

[gregers]

yep i agree about not accepting the 1st offer,do you have any receipts for work carried out recently?or anything thats been added to the car to make it look better?.

[roy202]

yep i agree about not accepting the 1st offer,do you have any receipts for work carried out recently?or anything thats been added to the car to make it look better?.

never accept the first offer, i would be careful if you say its got added extras eg alloy wheels, they may back out of the insuranace deal if it has extras they dont know about, if you get the auto trader or something and cut out the pages with expensive vehicles simular to your own, circle them and send them to the insurance company, you can then argue the point that your car was worth more than they are offering!

good luck

[Ivor_E_Tower]

You said it's been serviced by a trustworthy local garage - can you get them to do you a letter to that effect saying that the car was in well above average condition and had been well looked after and properly maintained, enhancing its value? Then send this to your insurers. Keep a copy, ane be prepared to go to the Ombudsman.

Sorry to hear of the theft BTW

[nogdog]

As has been said above, checking auto trader is a good move. The insurance company is supposed to provide you with a payment that enables you to replace the vehicle with the same model. (Less any excess)

 

auto trader is a good guide as to the market value of the car. However with their offer of

Edited May 21, 2009 by nogdog