Too Easy To Steal!

[tahirti3]

bought a 2003 ghia tdi auto.was stolen from drive about 6 weeks later.no glass or alarm noise.police said these are very easy to steal and a common car for thieves.

i am looking for another one as we need an mpv and this was my second one, so better the devil and all.

the stolen one was a bit unusual with a pretty good spec.leather,multimedia pack,hid lights and two built-in child seats.

i cant find another one with this same spec.

i expect insurance will shaft me for years to come,even though i have protected ncb.and the premium will go up by a lot for at least 5 years.

they will probably make me an insulting offer for the car.

if the the thieves had asked for the car it would have been cheaper to just give them the keys and buy another one.

Gutted!

[cugsy]

Got to agree with the insurance comments. I had a yaris verso automatic for about 6 months. Probably paid over the odds for it because of the stack of receipts and fsh it had. Plus full mot,tax,tyres etc. Then some numpty in a motorhome sideswiped us and it got written off. His fault - with a witness. It took the insurance 4 weeks to make an offer - £600 less than I paid. After arguing, I got £300 less than I paid. They have to go by some insurance approved valuation. Still screwed me though. And made me feel like it was all my fault. 

 So, I bought another Galaxy. This ones ok though - it shouldn't get nicked. I'm having trouble getting in the feckin' thing meself! John

[gregers]

i have to ask the question,

how can a car be stolen without the correct key,as these cars like a lot of others have a pats system installed to stop this from happening.

 

now my next question how many keys did you get when you bought the car.

[mumof4]

i have to ask the question,

how can a car be stolen without the correct key,as these cars like a lot of others have a pats system installed to stop this from happening.

 

now my next question how many keys did you get when you bought the car.

You gotta thing about keys today aint yer..

 

They could of hot wired it!

 

No one would nick a car i own, im known all over town and by the police for the collection of bug eyed soft toys i have tie wrapped to my roof rails.

[mk2vr6]

getting in and switching off the alarm is easy ! its a known fault on VW's! breaking the steering lock a five minute job, but getting it to start is the hard bit! your in, the steering wheel works....so you push it off the drive, hook it up and tow it away to work on later.... factory fit alarms suck, just like me.

[tahirti3]

i was given 3 keys with the car.the police officer told me how they get into the car which turns off alarm and immoboliser.i didn't ask how they start the cars as i was still in a state of shock.a friend had his galaxy stolen from outside his house a couple of years ago and he had all the keys.

when i called my insurance company they also said they get quite a lot of these cars reported stolen.

i had always wondered why the insurance premiums were so high but never thought to find out.

the next one will have to have seperate security devices fitted that are not switched on or off by drivers door lock.anyone notice that the steering wheel type locks are getting more popular again?

[SilverBeast]

I don't think the immobiliser is turned off by the key in the drivers door, or the the remote.  Doesn't it need a key with the correct PATS chip to be in the ignition in order to turn it off?

[gregers]

well every days a learning day.many thanks for the heads up.

 

i was lead to believe that the immobilizer unless you had the correct equipment was fool proof.

but if it is a known problem then surely the dealers shouldve high lighted the problem on any relevent tsb's???

[tahirti3]

mine was an auto so how do they get it out of parked? you have to have ignition on and press brake to get it out of parked.this is all strange stuff.but cars get nicked all the time including expensive new cars.how do they start them without keys?

[BrianH]

I've spoken to someone who couldn't understand how his £30k's worth of brand new Audi disappeared whilst parked overnight in the car park of where he worked. Until he got the security tapes for the time and saw one of those recovery trucks with a 4 point lift turn up and collect it that was. So if there is someone who wants it badly enough it can happen.

[tahirti3]

no sign of the car yet and insurance have already made me an offer, so i dont think they hold out much hope of finding it.i hope the gits who took it get whats due.

i have bought another one and put on an after market alarm and a steering lock.i hope it stays here now.

does anyone where i can get a full set of mudflaps at a good price?

thanks

[seatkid]

I'm surprised anyone wants to steal a MK1 or Mk2 Shalaxy except maybe a joy rider or a scrap dealer.

 

Shalaxys cannot be hotwired mumof4! The ecu is the immobisiler and will not cooperate until the immobiliser sequence is complete.

 

Although there are some cars that can be started using a special box of tricks that exploits a weakness in the immobiliser radio protocol, I think this is restricted to keyless entry systems fitted to high cars on some BMW etc. highlighted recently by the BBC. These software weaknesses have, I believe, been patched by the manufacturers.

 

The classic way to steal is to pull it on a recovery truck and drive away - the usual method for high value prestige cars.

 

Most other driveaway thefts are because the theif has got hold of a key - usually stolen from the owners house or (dare I say it?) given by the owner (usually for insurance purposes - they can give them the key back so it all looks hunky dory...) In tahirti's case it may be that one of the three keys (I got 3 with mine) was retained by a previous owner or a clone made and not passed over to him.

Edited September 24, 2013 by seatkid

[tahirti3]

my mechanic told me that there is a device for £15 that the thieves are using on these cars.i didn't ask how it works but after being told by the police officers that a lot of these get stolen and the insurance agent saying the same, i am looking out of my front window a lot.i have an aftermarket alarm and steering wheel lock.cctv being fitted on saturday.i always park with the front up against the front of the house and put it into parked and make sure steering is locked.i hope these things will put the gits off.

i was amazed that the a car like this got stolen as well, i had the first one for 10 years but it was bruised and battered, and it was never touched.it looks like these cars are valuable to us owners and also the thieving !!!! who take them.i was very kind to the ones who took mine as they got a full tank of fuel and a new 12month tax disc as well as all my personal stuff inc. my grandsons favourite blanket.

i still dont sleep too well but hopefully this will fix up with time.nobody hurt after all.

[Sylray]

Maybe a nice add-on for all our cars

go to Ebay, and search for "GPS Tracker".

Order one of less then 40 pound (or even the 10 pound ones which they advertise for motor)

 

order 2 GiffGaff SIM cards (at no cost) from http://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/raystur (yes my affiliate link, but that gives you free 5 pound extra credit (and me to)

 

Every time you topup this prepayed/pay as you go card you have unlimited FREE texts to other GiffGaff numbers (your 2nd number)

1st topup is 10 pound, after 3 months you just do a 5 pound to keep it unlimited

 

put the SIM in the Tracker, and set it up following included instructions.

 

If you want to know where your card is, just call it and it will text you back its location. 

you can set a geofence, or let it text you every x miles.

It even can send you a Google Maps link, do on the receiving number just click the link and you know where your tracker is(or at least its last location (if stored out of GPS reach)

 

so invest max 60 pound with returning cost of 5 pound each 3 months and you can ALWAYS see where your car is, (set a geofence on the shopping centre to know when your wife is shopping again, or around the house to know when the car is coming home again

 

Alarm is great, but those are disabled, this device hidden under the dashboard will work for a few days after power is lost(disconnected battery) It even sends a last text and location if the battery is running out

 

want to know more, feel free to contact me

[159john]

To be honest, I think I'll just get a sticker such as this for the car: 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Vehicle-Security-GPS-Tracker-Alarm-Device-Stickers-Car-Van-Tracking-Sign-/230878122613?hash=item35c1689275:g:EQsAAOSwuAVWzKaY

 

Sylray; your solution is excellent, but I'm more interested into trying to get the barstools to move onto a different car rather than decide to pick on mine. I remember back in the eighties I bought a dirt cheap stick-on mock keyhole and alarm an alarm sticker for the window of my car. After I had traded the car in, I had the garage on the phone complaining I hadn't given them the key to the alarm. If it fooled them, I was happy it would deter all but the most determined thief. I know technology has moved on a long way since then, but maybe a case of prevention is better than cure?

[ronald1017]

Well, that was interesting to read.