Re: Theiving Pikey Bastards

Bizarre. Soft target, yes, but very distinctive and no fun to drive unless you're used to them.

I recall a girlfriend's Morris Minor being nicked once. So unreliable that they only got about 300 yards before it broke down. Sort of good from the perspective of anti-theft.

snipped-for-privacy@quickwatchsales.com raved thus:

:: I recall a girlfriend's Morris Minor being nicked once. So :: unreliable that they only got about 300 yards before it broke down. :: Sort of good from the perspective of anti-theft.

Haha, I had an MG Metro like that once...

Indeed. I'm finding it fun because it's very predictable on the limit, and the limit is low enough to have fun without worrying about a big bang if you really arse it up. But totally crap car to thrash around till it blows I would've thought. There's a mk3 Cav SRi in the car park that I thought they would've gone for if anything, as it's easy to nick, and much more appealing to idiots.

When I saw the car was gone, I did wonder if it was really gone, or if they'd have given up just down the road. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw they'd managed all of 5 yards from the carpark entrance!

But your car was unlocked. If they'd managed to get it started, it would have been a VERY easy theft !

Hope you got a crime reference number. Without that they won't even have written it down.

When someone tried nicking my elderly car they cut the rear window out with a stanley knife. The attitude of the Police was pretty much "What do you want us to do?".

When I insisted they investigate I had to drive to the Police station to get the car fingerprinted...guess what? There were more local drivers waiting there who'd also had their rear windows removed around the same time!

Talk about a crime pattern and yet the Police weren't interested in taking it further. How many other cars were done over the same night but the owners got fobbed off when they reported it?

sPoNiX

Quite agree. In fact, it's going to be slightly more fun in a few years time when they start nicking them and crashing them to airbag surf, to discover the classic cars don't have airbags.

Should reverse the "soft target" thingy.

You're sure it wasn't a faulty handbrake :) :) :) :)

Sorry, I know, yes, just that a mate has an old Alfa and it has ended up parked in various places it didn't start off parked in. Not so much of a mystery there, though.

That woudl almost make me happier about them half inching my pride and joy. Although the cost of front wings for them, when you can get them, is a little high. And blood's a bugger to shift once it's dried.

Must be very faulty to leap up, buckle the ignition switch, pull the light switch harness off, and then reapply itself round the corner!

lol

Must be a bit worrying at times. I take it he instinctively points the wheels at the curb every time he parks now? :)

These would be people you've listed all its problems to then?...

:-)

Yeah, you keep on telling yourself that! Let's hope you finally get it sorted with this rocker gasket.

Peter

Even got a letter this morning, saying they are sorry I was the victim of a crime. Good to see the new caring law enforcement means they don't catch the buggers who f*ck you over, but at least offer you a cup of tea afterwards. Handy that.

That's why this car wasn't locked. Last time I had one, and locked it, every day I was replacing broken glass, and those rear quarterlights are a right bastard to do.

And as posted elsewhere in this thread, when I tried to report it that time, they did f*ck all. When I tried to stop it myself, they were far too busy trying to find something to arrest me for as I was an easy target, rather than go after the bastards.

I had another very similar experience. Except in my case they cautioned me with a view to arresting me for a driving offence (that I hadn't committed, much to their annoyance). Whilst busying themselves once again trying to get the easy target instead of catch the real crims, there were a dozen reports of the same damage being done to other cars in the area. Of course, they could have responded to my report, and gone out and stopped them, but that would mean having to leave their coffee and confront actual wrong doers. Far too troublesome and dangerous for the pillars of the law.

Tossers.

Unlocked, they haven't touched it till last weekend. Last one I had, locked, was smashed up daily to get into it to try again. Granted I lived somewhere else at the time, but I ran out of spare windows!

Plus, the Cav I mentioned isn't locked either, AFAIK.

The whole to lock or not to lock is a tricky question. Locked does make it more tempting to idiots around here to get into, the promise of the great unknown the other side of the door. Unlocked means they can get in, find there's f*ck all to take (no stereo, no nothing in the cabin) and f*ck off. I must get round to sticking some rusty nails through a board and leaving it on the seat though, for next time they try.

Hmm... Ok, how about something that is actually mounted in the garage / house, a van der graaf, say, and runs a wire to the car to charge it up to a high voltage that won't quite earth through the tyres?

Maybe it won't work in the wet, I dunno.

Anyhow, anyone who doesn't know to run the charge back off into the capacitors would just basically earth the car through their body as soon as they touched / got near the metalwork. Would be a bit of a rust magnet, but hey, you know all about that, as do I... ;)

As a very late night/ early morning quickie update, guess what?

I just got stopped by plod on my way back from a friend's. For daring to drive my own car legally at such a silly time of day, it would seem.

I'm now the proud owner of a producer, whilst the thieving little shit gets yet another good night's sleep.

Bless the police, they really know how to keep the public happy (and I said as much in not so polite terms to the officer who pulled me).

Heh - I always use the words "I hope you're not stopping me because I'm not white and I'm driving a nice car" and never get a producer. I do get stopped a lot, but learned that line after pressing one officer into this conversation.

Officer. "Is this your car" Me. "Can I ask why you've stopped me" O. "Is this your car" Me. "Can I ask why you've stopped me" O. " I think you were speeding" Me. "Why have you stopped me" O. "How fast were you going" Me. "30mph all the time you were up my bumper. Why have you stopped me" O. "You don't look like the sort of person who would own a nice car like this" Me. "I'll call your number in to the chief constable in the morning - I assume that you are judging me by my appearance. Shall we all go home now"....

Coppers. Especially in our area. All the same. Send 'em 'ome...

You can't win then :(

Get yourself a Disclock on the steering wheel, and they they won't bother trying to steal the vehicle itself.

You can do it with an electric fence drive unit, mounted inside the car. You need a trailing earth, but that can be just a wire touching the ground.

Just had a look - there's one going on eBay for £15, if someone wants to give it a try :-)

LOL !

Peter

Now *that's* a good idea, stings a bit but does no injury as such, and available from all good farm suppliers.

Even cheaper, keep an eye on your local rag and look for a police "innitiative" on car crime. Went to my local supermarket on Wednesday and picked up a couple of Autolok locks (full steering wheel covering type) for nowt from the Plod van in the car park.....