jjones

This morning I found that some thieving ******* had stolen my prized scooby (MY97) from my garage. The scum had cut though a security post in front of the garage door and twisted the security light away from the garage. They then must have pushed the car around the drive and away down the road. The car only had the standard immobilizer.

How much can I expect for the car from the insurance company? - it had only done 20K and was immaculate. I have an MY00 on order and the dealer - who although had given no firm price had said that anywhere between 16000 and 18000 depending upon the market at the trade in time.

Secondly if the police find the car in one piece (unlikely) before the insurance company pays out then will I have to have the car back? I have only ever driven carefully (I enjoy the acceleration and grip but never have approached the cars limits - as mine are a lot lower!) and would not like to think that some scum has thrashed it to hell when I have looked after it so well and then have it recovered and for me to have it back.

Lastly, On my new car - when it arrives - delivery date dubious at the moment - what alarm/immobilizer is a good buy - nothing flash - just functional.

Must go the police are coming to take a statement.

carl

I was wondering if having an easily recognizable number plate (I would have C4RL W but I think it's 4000 pounds) would make theft less likely. People aren't going to remember if they saw R738AVC being driven about on the night in question, but they might do if they saw CARL W. Ideas, comments?

PhilH

Sorry to hear about the car - what you decribed is an unpleasant experience and one all of us would wish to avoid. I would be interested to know where you are located - is it deemed 'high risk'?

On the security side, when my car arrives in March/April, I am seriously considering having a gearbox lock fitted which locks the car in reverse, and would welcome any comments/suggestions relating to their effectiveness (and sources for fitting in the Birmingham/Worcester area).

MTR

MTR

[This message has been edited by MTR (edited 17 September 2000).]

JasonHook

I feel for you I really do.

You mentioned having a security post in front of your garage door that they cut through. Do you know who supplied it?

I keep my car beside the house some of the time behind a heavy duty collapsible post which I imagine would be a bugger to cut through. I also keep a disklock on all the time again I hope this stops the casual thief. I would definitely recommend one even though it's a little painful to put on/remove.

I doesn't sound like you are the victim of a casual thief though does it?

I would consider the gearbox lock but not if it harms the warranty.

Alarm your garage also: contacts on the door and PIRS.

Best Wishes

Jason

Nick

JJones

Bad news, it's something that could happen to any of us, You must feel terrible.

If the police find it, you must have it back & then argue with your insurance company.

You must live is a bad area to have a security post? If so, look at an alarm for the garage, a tracker for the car & maybe CCTV outside the house? Often a planned theft like this means the buggers have to do a reccie first. The CCTV can put them off.

For the value, look at Parkers price guide & talk to more than one Subaru dealer. You will need this info to argue with the insurance company. Basically the insurance co has to give you another 20K miles R reg Scooby or you may have to argue for a cash equiv depending on the insurance company. remember that if it's financed the finance co is also involved.

jjones

I live in a small village on the Warwickshire/Oxfordshire border. It is a quiet village a few miles from the nearest A Road. So I presume the car must have been followed at some point.

I will dig out the packaging that came with the security post (purchased at a DIY shop) and see if there is anything that is of help.

I can only assume that the car was pushed down the road (no adjacent housing) and loaded onto a lorry.

How long would it take a skilled thief to bypass the standard scooby immobilizer?

The next worrying thing is if they went to this much trouble to get the car and then came accross a gearlock mechanism would thay leave after hacking through a security post or break into the house and force me to hand over the keys?? Worrying thought.

firefox

Hi there...

You say they cut through the post ? With what? It must have taken some boody cutting.. maybe they hand a rechargable reciprocating saw ?

And they pushed the car ? Have you ever tried pushing the scoob? Did they get your keys ? They have to beat the steering lock (admittedly not difficult) and the immobiliser (not difficult).

Sorry to hear about it...

I have a feeling the insurance wont pay that much... They dont care if the car is A1 and driven slowly.. they will pay the same as someone who has trashed it and not really looked after it. But it does depend on the insurance company

J.

James Neill

iTrader: (1)

See my post in

COF139

Jason / Phil

The Gearbox lock can be supplied and fitted by Andrew Burt Subaru dealership who are in Wooten Wawen (5 miles north of Stratford 15 miles south of Birmingham). It does not effect the warranty in any way at all.

Registrations do not die with the car. They can be transferred should a car be stolen or written off.

chrisp

Your new car will come with a cat1 alarm and imobiliser part of UK spec. Have you thought of a tracker you can get them with 24 hour monitoring and you can specify when the during the day the vehicle will not be moved ie. between 3.00am and 5.00 am for example. If it is moved then you will be contacted to make sure you know about it. If its been nicked it can be reported straight away. Costs a bit though but worth it for peace of mind. You could always alarm the garage or get a pager off your alarm system. Loads of options and all cost money . Hope everything sorts it self out.


cheers

chrisp

EdwardH

Sorry to hear it.

My first Scoob arrives on Saturday and is going to have to live on the drive.

Where I live is extremely high risk ( East London)and having read about your experience I am now even more worried about theft.

I have been looking at RAC Trackstar with Guardian (which alerts control if the car is moved in any way even if not reported stolen.)I am wondering though if thieves can get round this as they do with immobilisers.

I think I am going to get one of these welded on gearbox locks too.

Good luck.

Ed

johnfelstead

I would strongly recomend a gearbox lock for your scooby and a tracking device.
I think the gearbox lock manufacturer gives aditional payout if the car is stolen.

A chap i know had his immaculate cosworth stolen by some scum who broke into his house, beat him up for the keys and got the car out of the garage.

He had a tracker fitted, rang the police and they had them in custody in 15 minutes.

They are now serving time in strangeways prison for GBH and Theft.

Advise i would give if this happened to you is give the b******s the keys and ring the police, it just aint worth going to hospital over.

jjones

Thankyou all for all of the advice.

Firefox:
They cut through the post with a hacksaw. There are 17 (I know I counted 'em) attempts (by that I mean saw gashes and slips) on the post so it must have taken a little while. When cut 80% of the way throught it was folded over - just low enough for the car to go over. I know they hacksawed it as I found the blade discarded in the garden hedge.

Police were quick in response and forensics turned up rapidly. The thieves were wearing gloves so there is no evidence at all. The police said that the car was going on some subaru registry and they would keep an eye out but basically said it would disappear into the ether.

I think if its seen again it will probably be on crimewatch! (sense of humour slowly returning!)

James Neill:

Thanks for the link - makes interesting reading.


The car was left in gear and the steering lock must have been opened to steer the car around the drive to get onto the road. However, there is no glass in the garage so I assume they smashed the door lock.

Thanks.

yunus

how about a snap off steering wheel, i saw a company that versions with an airbag, i`ll dry and dig out the url.

jjones@work

Thanks once again for the useful information.

Paul F:
Can the gearbox lock be defeated by pressing the clutch it - as they ha dgot into the car to steer it (I'm not technically minded so please excuse my ignorance)? If not this sounds like an excellent security device.

Dave B:
Could you please let me have the telephone number of the Sevenoaks dealer (I have tried to find it) if you have it and I will try to get them to send me a quote for the 18K 'R' Reg as this seems good ammunition against the insurance company.

Does anyone know any of the employees of this garage? If so do you think name dropping may help my cause?

Cheers

jjones

Yex

JJones,

Lancaster Sevenoaks are on 01732 465785, I don't have a usual contact but they are all very good.

or

NickF

Sorry to hear of the loss - it's always gutting when you go to the garage to find it empty.

A couple of thoughts, in addition to the (mandatory, I'd say) Cat1 alarm/immobiliser:

There are cases of people being threatened for the keys, but it's so rare that you really don't have to worry about it. If it DOES happen, just hand the keys over, cos no car is worth that much.

Any of you who ride bikes will know that theft is even more of a problem for motorcycles - they can be lifted by 2 /3 people and it's easier to attack any immobiliser.

Top tips include (in order of paranoia!):

Sensor floodlights by the garage. OK, these can easily be disabled, but they might well put off the opportunist thief.

Connecting the house alarm to the garage.

A really good garage post (often £100+. Should take 30 minutes to remove without using incredibly noisy power tools. A serious deterrent if it's high enough to prevent the car being driven out.

A baby alarm in the garage - seems ridiculous, but at £20, why not? Hear any noise, just call the police.

Keeping a good look out in the final mile or so before you reach home to see if anyone is following.

Varying your route home - people can follow you from work.

Sodding great lumps of metal - easier on a bike than a car - are always useful. A chain on the steering wheel is very ugly but surprisingly effective. Again, it's all about time.

Disclocks are also VERY good - unexpected on a car too - see RIDE magazine this month for the best ones.

Remember, you're not trying to defeat the thieves - if they want your car, they'll have it - but to deter them. The longer it'll take them to half-inch it, the less likely they are to take it.

Advice from a policeman friend - when you're looking for your next car, think about a boring colour/take off the rear wing/debadge it. It may look less exciting, but it'll attract less attention (both police and thieves).

Paul Frank

My 2p worth . . .

1) chose my insurance company 'cos they pay for a new car up to 2 years old. Worth thinking about for a new car!

2) Trackers are very, very easy to find

3) Gearbox lock (locked in reverse - let's see the buggers push that one away eh?)

See this thread for a previous discussion:

DBarthorpe

jjones,

Sorry to hear about the theft, it seems they went to some lengths. Hope the insurance works out OK.

I have a Cat1 and a Disklok on the steering wheel but I'm sure if some scumbags wanted to pinch it they could.

For info, I have just spoken to Andrew Burt at Andrew Burt Subaru in Wooten Wawen and the gearbox lock mentioned in this thread is £287.87 fitted inc. VAT. It locks the car in reverse and is enabled by pushing a plunger on the transmission tunnel. It takes them half a day to fit, and they have been fitting them for over 2 years.

I remember reading something about the lock in a different thread in the past, it sounds like one helluva deterrent to me - surely anyone wanting to nick the car would need a crane......

Hope this helps people.

Regards

Dave.

Yex

JJones,

I know of two 1997 4dr cars for sale at Lancaster sevenoaks as follows:

1997 R 4 door 39K £18000
1997 R 4 door 18K £19000

Push your insurance company until you are happy, and ring dealers for quotes on a like for like car to the one you had stolen.

Best of luck

Yex

JerryB

I had planned to do all the things to my garage/ home that have been mentioned here to protect my WRX from scumbags.

Alarm, Immobilser, Tracker, garage alarm, cctv (dummy (or is it)),security post and a brakeline lock.

Me and my wife haven't got our car back from the insurance company yet after it was stolen in November. Over this last week we have come to a regretable decision to sell it, to buy a less targetable but still enjoyable car - not sure what yet. Our uninsured losses on this theft are now approaching £2000, but the greatest problem is that this might happen again. Particular concern and thoughts go out to the Cossie owner who was assaulted in his own house for his car keys.

I think of my wife driving that WRX with our baby in the car, and someone really setting their heart on nicking it, and its just got to go.

It was stolen as we walked out of the M6 Hilton Park Services ( cup of tea and change a nappy) on our way back from buying the car in Ireland - we watched it drive off from twenty yards away. Five minutes sooner - you know you're not going to let someone take your car - and we could have been in worse trouble.

The two scumbags, it transpires, were part of a six man gang who only steal imprezas in the midlands to commit robberies. On the night they were caught and the car recovered, they had threatened a shop assistant with a gun.
These thieves had almost certainly followed us for some time, according to the police, before literally seizing the moment.

I will still read this BBS in hope that a new affordable supercar replaces the Scooby as the sh**bags most wanted motor.

ps

jjones, If I were you I would pray you don't get your car back but do get a good settlement. Obviously it depends on how good your insurance company is. Mine is s***, and I rue the day the police rang to say it had been recovered in one piece. Mechanical damage, paintwork needed, depreciation etc. I hope it all works out well for you.

Cheers,

Jerry

[This message has been edited by JerryB (edited 10-01-2000).]

Moz

I had my alarm immobilisor wired on the battery side of the fuse box using a seperate loom, this means that you can then remove the fuseable link from the fuse box every time you park, this effectively kills every electrical circuit(including the alarm immob. if you don`t wire it seperately) , it would have to be a very prepared thief who would carry one with him, combined with a gearbox lock this is probably the best security you can get. the alarm/immob.is then just an added deterent.

ptholt

This may seem daft i know, but doesn't removable steering wheel seem like a good deterant now ?

i think it was a momo wheel that comes with a special unique boss. and when parked you lift off the steering wheel and put it somewhere

Being a bike rider i have been followed once or twice, but its a good excuse to take the long way home if it means having a good blast and enjoying yourself

sunilp

A removeable steering wheel would be a good idea ONLY IF you dont have airbags to worry about!

ptholt

Im not a big fan of air bags personally, its an excuse to have your steering wheel nicked (roaring trade in them apparently), smacks you face up a fair bit and they are usually very ugly and far too thin for my liking.

jjones@work

Thanks John.

Something I forgot to mention earlier is that the forensics chap did mention that Subaru theft isn't as rife as it was. Let's hope that he is right!

My insurance company are waiting 2 weeks to see if the car can be recovered before paying out.

I spoke to Lancasters of Seven Oaks and the salesman said he would ask his boss if he can send me a written quote for replacing what I once had

Nick C

The best bit of advice for anybody who uses a garage to park their car in is to have it (the garage) alarmed.
About 6-8 weeks ago my alarm went off at 4.00am in the morning and I obviously jumped up wondering what on earth had happened. I rushed downstairs and reset the alarm and looked on the panel for the alarm sensor that was activated. The garage sensor was showing and I then went upstairs to look out of a window that overlooks the garage. The side entrance door of the garage was open.
The sensor allows this to happen but as soon as heat and movement are detected in the garage the whole house alarm goes off.
I personally think that if any burglar has this to contend with before they even get to the car at least your pride and joy remains untouched. It may have been that the person or persons were not after my car at all but at least they had the fright of their lives and took absolutely nothing.
The added expense of an extra sensor onto your house alarm system is very small and far better as a deterrent in that its another barrier before they even get to the prize.
When you are outside I,m afraid if someone wants your car badly enough they will take it whatever you spend. The savings for myself on the insurance for having tracker etc would no way cover the cost of its installation so I didn't bother.

johnfelstead

jj, pushing the clutch down just disingages the engine from the gearbox.

Once in gear the car can be pushed but it is very difficult against the transmision, it would possibly allow it to be pushed to a crane though.

jjones

Gearbox Locks:

I rang Wooten Warren Subaru dealer and checked about the gearbox lock. It is a plunger located in the passenger footwell that 'jams into' the gear selector mechanism.

Two things that rule this out for me as a security deveice (and I well may be wrong) is that the thieves invariably break into the car and depressing the clutch will render this useless. Secondly, isn't the gear selector mechanism accessible from under the car? If so can this easily be cut - is it not just a couple of rods? As my car was broken into and pushed away - either onto a lorry or onto some 'dead ground' for further tampering I don't think a gearbox lock would have helped.

As for the point that the car will be difficult to push if not in neutral surely this will not hamper a team of two or more scum who are fired up on adreline.

I will post any further developements from the insurance company.

Thanks for the support

JJones.

[This message has been edited by jjones (edited 11-01-2000).]