Dave's shonkers - one in

[MarvinsMom]

i've suffered both from vehicle theft and been to bradford.

 

both are shit.

 

bradford is very shit, very shit indeed.

 

but i got the car back, and there is a road out of friggin' bradford.

[Junkman]

Interestingly, on the few occasions I was at Bradford, the people were friendly, the glasses clean, the beer good and my car where I had left it, so there is no reason for me to hate it.

I also don't think it's the only place in the whole UK where cars are purchased Polish style.

 

However, that the car was nicked, is truly the lowest of the low.

That particular generation of Soobaroo would basically only appeal to two groups outside Autoshite - molesters of antique WRC shite, and Dubbers.

So maybe it would be worthwhile to put feelers out on related forums.

[Aston Martin]

Sadly, all it takes is a beavertail and a hi-vis jacket. No-one bats an eyelid.

 

Hope you find it.

[vulgalour]

The best thing to do is get the word out as far and wide as you can.  There's an increasing success in recovery of cars whose details have been shared all over car forums and social media sites when stolen.  You know the window of time and the location it was taken from, you've got good detailed pictures of the car, get the info out.  Also go around local shops etc. to where it was lifted and get as many as you can to let you put a WANTED type poster with your car details and instructions to contact the plod if it's seen.

 

It's not a surefire wire to recovery, but it's more useful than talking about steel toecaps and shotguns.

[bub2006]

I've got biker friends far and wide on Facebook. If you want to email me some pictures dink I'll get it shared if you like?

[Lankytim]

Aren't these popular with ram raiders?

[Slappy]

Shit the fucking bed, that's rubbish news to log on to this morning. Best of luck with the search, a non-molested Scooby is a rare beast, so I hope it's recovered in 1 piece

[320touring]

Rubbish news chap-will keep an eye oot!

[D Spares & Tyres]

To be fair to Bradford's citizens I delivered a car there to a young Asian lad and got better hospitality than you would exoect. Cup of tea, AND cake ☺

 

Shit about Scooby but could happen anywhere, an old Shogun went missing round here recently, that was destined for ram raiding too, and its not a bad area really with low crime rates...

 

I say hopefully it will turn up but would you want it back? After my XR2 was returned I didn't love it anymore, just sold it.

[Dave_Q]

Yes I can't really blame the area as such, the car didn't have an alarm or tracker or anything which seriously harms my chances of recovery.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions of getting the word out, Jon_Dugong is going to put it in the next issue of CCB, I have posted on all the local FB selling groups, the university student's union has shared it for me, and I've posted on Subaru forums as well. If anyone wants to post/share themselves here are some words and pictures to use. Please note that the phone number is a burner SIM so can be shared wherever you like.

 

 

 

STOLEN from Bradford, West Yorkshire: Subaru Impreza N557XTA

 

My beloved WRX wagon N557XTA has been stolen yesterday, lifted from Pemberton Drive about 50m from the University of Bradford in broad daylight. It was taken between 1 and 3pm.

 

The car is silver with black wheels and blue interior and fitted with a detachable towbar.

 

Please text or Whatsapp Dave on 07400 525237 or call West Yorkshire Police on 101 if you have any info relating to the theft or any sightings of the car.

[phil_lihp]

I hope you get it back, is there any CCTV covering where it was parked that you could get hold of?

[fordperv]

I've just shared this on the blue forum, i hope this gets found unharmed as it looks a lovely example

[HillmanImp]

Being from 'Bratfurt innit bro', I will keep an eye out for it on my travels.

 

Remember this happening to a chap I used to work with at Sainsburys in Rustington, Sussex. We actually saw some chaps come along and load his RS Turbo (this was in 1992 when it was new) onto the truck. It was only when someone said to him 'Whats wrong with your car Tony?' that anyone realised that it was actually being stolen in broad daylight by these guys.

[bub2006]

Shared on Facebook from Derbyshire

[vulgalour]

Not sure if I know anyone Bradford way but the word is out on my Twitter where I do know plenty of car people.

[Dave_Q]

Thanks all for the shares.

 

Have called the Police today and they haven't had any ANPR leads or anything so if it is driving round it's on different plates.

 

Have heard from my insurance and they will send someone out soonish to take a statement and get the keys etc for it.

 

Have been out today replacing stuff that was in the car - 2 child seats, other child sundries like books, phone charger, sunglasses etc. About £100 so far with a satnav still to get. Insurance policy only covers up to £50 of personal belongings in the car so this will have to come out of my eventual settlement.

 

Meanwhile, check out the OEM standard of my wob application on the Berlingo:

 

[Pillock]

What's worse is someone nicks a car with two child seats in the back, knowing it's family transport. At some point, they'll take the seats out and lob them in the bin and their tiny little minds won't make the connection between nicking "an old Scooby" and someone having to go without.

 

For that, I hope they get an incurable, itchy, smelly disease of the genitals and never get laid again.

[Dave_Q]

Yeah that does give them a few extra bastard points.

 

Lucky I'm not the kind of sap to shell out on premium Britax-McLaren-Ted Baker car seats or you could add a zero to the £70 they actually cost.

[richardmorris]

Thanks everyone for the sympathies.

 

The Police said they would ring me if anything happened such as it pinging ANPR.

 

Summoning all my best Bradford stereotypes it is probably:

 

a) Driving round on false plates

In a garage being stripped

c) Going to be used to rob a post office

d) a), then c), then .

 

I think I would like another once insurance etc is sorted but finding a non-modified one that can go on classic insurance will be a bit of an ask.i

 

Am open to suggestions on alternatives, budget would be around £1500, looking for 4x4 and turbo, preferably estate but must at least be 4 door and pre 96.

 

Don't ask for much do I?!

Awful news. To compound the misery how about a replacement w124 diesel turbo estate four motion ?

[Split_Pin]

Shared on FB in Scotland. Waste of time with the police, other than the formality of doing so for insurance purposes. The best thing is for people to keep sharing on Social Media. Even if you don't get your car back, all it takes is for some numpty to tag their mate who is involved with the theft and before he knows it the Men in Beige are at his address and giving him a big boot in the fanny.

[Dave_Q]

No sightings of car so far.

Police have sent a PCSO to the university to check for CCTV - none.

Spent an hour or 2 driving round the back streets of Bradford, no sign.

 

Insurance are likely to pay out eventually.

 

A deposit has been paid on a replacement car. Possibly a bit risky as I don't trust insurers in general and expect them to try and not pay out.

 

Collection thread incoming on Thursday.

[Dave_Q]

So the collection thread was here - http://autoshite.com/topic/23879-land-air-and-sea-a-collection-thread/

 

And here's my replacement for the Subaru.

 

 

It's a Subaru.

 

It's the same year, model and colour as my old one, including the interior colour.

It's done more miles (200k km so about 120k miles) and has a few bits that need removing.

Hopefully I will be able to get some money back on some of the parts fitted.

 

It came with new age saloon seats vaguely bodged in, the rear bench was just wedged in place which is GR0.1 for safely carrying children.

 

The originals were included, they have a few rips that have been stitched up, I think it's been owned by a dog owner.

 

I've now fitted the originals and hoping to sell the new ones on for $$$. (Or at least $.)

 

It's got a massive exhaust which has to go, I've actually managed to locate original centre and rear sections for a total of £50 on ebay, with luck I can get close to that back for the drainpipe.

 

It's fitted with a boost gauge and a turbo timer, which also has a boost gauge function. I'll keep the turbo timer for now and ebay the gauge, it looks like it might be "period" so who knows what it's worth.

 

The wheels fitted are 18s and look horrible IMO. It rides poorly on them but that's what 35 profile tyres will do. I've already scored a set of standard 16s with tyres for £40 off a dubber who was planning to bodge them onto his mk3 Golf with mega spacers but changed his mind.

 

Tinted windows also need to go, I had a quick go at them expecting it to come of in big sheets but I think it will take a while to peel it all off.

 

So there you have it, I am very happy with the car and will keep updating as I go along trying to get it back to standard.

[dollywobbler]

Annoying that you had to seek a replacement. Looks like you're well down the road of detwatting! Excellent. How shit does that boost gauge look just stuck to the dashboard top like that? Good grief.

[Dave_Q]

It looks poor but for my purpose (removing it) it's much better than it being mounted in an A pillar pod made from glue and filler.

 

I'm pretty sure the ancient looking sticky pads it's stuck on with won't put up much of a fight.

[Felly Magic]

Try a hair dryer with that window tint film, or a steam wallpaper stripper. Car thieves are the lowest common denominator. I suspect sadly that your car has been stripped by now, and the shell disposed of by a less than reputable scrap dealer

[Ghosty]

GReddy (pronounced G.R. Eddy) gauge should get you a few quid. Least it's not screwed in or owt.

[Dave_Q]

GReddy (pronounced G.R. Eddy) gauge should get you a few quid. Least it's not screwed in or owt.

 

Well every day's a schoolday, I would have pronounced it Gee - Ready.

 

There's one on ebay in worse condition for £35 and a few on US ebay for £50-60, I'd be happy with £50 or so for it anyway.

[martybabes]

When my Impreza Wagon WRX was the victim of an attempted TWOC in the wee small hours outside mon repos (failed attempt but steering wheel cut with bolt cutters to remove stop-lock, ignition switch fubar'd, and giffer wind deflectors smashed) it was only the immobiliser that prevented the car being removed.  Les hommes en bleu suggested that car might have been targetted for later use in a bank or cashpoint job, but to remain hidden until then, maybe for some 2 or 3 weeks.

 

I sold the car soon after getting it repaired cos I fell out of love with it.  Got a Lancer* instead!

 

* now also sold.

[Dave_Q]

So now that the cash is in my account I feel alright about relating the story of my insurance claim.

 

Fairly straightforward I suppose, I rang within about an hour of the car being stolen and reported it, they said they would send a man round to take a statement etc.

 

When the man came, he was asking me various questions about myself and the car, I noticed some of the things written on his paperwork as he was doing a poor job of not showing me it.

 

"We need you to get chapter + verse from Policyholder on all the vehicles he is insured on or has attempted to insure"

 

I started feeling somewhat apprehensive.

 

The man asked if I often got quotes for different cars, I said yeah mate, all the time, am near-constantly shopping for cars I don't need, can't afford and won't buy and getting insurance quotes is all part of the fun.

 

I also had to explain to him how and where I got the car, namely I found it on Swapz and did a p/x with a guy who may or may not have been called Mohammed in a Toys'R'Us car park near the M5 near Birmingham. He looked like he might have thought this was slightly* dodgy but wrote it all down in the statement anyway.

 

As it happens I think the man had decided within about 5 mins of meeting me that I wasn't trying to defraud the insurance company for £one_grand_ono worth of old rallyshite.

 

He said he'd send the report off and I'd hear back eventually. I spent a few weeks convinced that they'd find some way of not paying out, but I got a phone call last week to say they were offering me £1600, and the money hit my account the other day.

 

The replacement car cost £1250, plus £250 to fetch it and another £150 or so for car seats, satnav and child things, it's not far off cost-neutral.

 

Until I get bummed on my various insurance renewals.

 

So back to the actual car.

 

I've made 70 quid back on de-councilling from the seats and boost gauge. 

I haven't had much time to work on it recently as I'm flat out doing uni work till next week or so.

 

Have managed a few things, some of which seem vaguely familiar:

 

Rebadging

 

The steering wheel wasn't contacting the slip ring thing so the indicators weren't self cancelling and I was told the horn was on a comedy button hanging out of the dash. I took the wheel off and adjusted the steering column with a hammer. Sorted.

 

This is the horn button I removed.

 

This is where the wires from the "horn button" went - wrapped around a vacuum pipe connected to nothing.

 

Finally, here is a quick look at what I found under the dash when removing the boost gauge. There is an old Laserline alarm in there, to be removed, and I have another alarm to go on.

[Supernaut]

That final shot will give RantingYoof nightmares...