Car theft in 2022

[SRi05]

6 minutes ago, LoftyvRS said:

It seem to be rife round here at the moment (West Mids) with every day FB posts of folks having Fiesta's stolen by the hour from local shopping centres, and JLR/VAG/BMW going overnight from folks houses. Bloke over the road bought a new BMW m135i and within a week it was gone from his drive, and this was 8pm at night, relay theft again.

This sort of thing puts me off buying a new motor tbh. Have discussed it with the Mrs a couple of times but I think I'd be constantly worried having something nice sitting outside the house. Has happened to a couple of folk we know, don't think I could be arsed with the hassle of it. 

[New POD]

If you want anti-theft, buy an astra exclusiv.  Who wants the steel wheels, giffer trim and none of the gizmos 

[DSdriver]

3 hours ago, New POD said:

If you want anti-theft, buy an astra exclusiv.  Who wants the steel wheels, giffer trim and none of the gizmos 

I presume its called the Exclusive because all the options have been excluded

[Soundwave]

The big problem we had round here recently was catalyst theft rather than whole cars. Not just pikey chancers either, proper gangs of thugs. You'd get one under the car with the saw, one keeping the getaway motor running, and two with iron bars standing either side of the front door of the owner's house, ready to deal with them if they came out. Scary stuff.

[DSdriver]

5 minutes ago, Soundwave said:

The big problem we had round here recently was catalyst theft rather than whole cars. Not just pikey chancers either, proper gangs of thugs. You'd get one under the car with the saw, one keeping the getaway motor running, and two with iron bars standing either side of the front door of the owner's house, ready to deal with them if they came out. Scary stuff.

Organised pikey gangs: d'yer like dags

[Mrcento]

2 hours ago, DSdriver said:

I presume its called the Exclusive because all the options have been excluded

Said it before on here, but whoever comes up with the trim levels at Vauxhall is a sick fucker always naming them in the most ironic ways possible.

EXCITE- Always the dullest version in the worst trim

LIFE- That's how long a sentence it'll give you, nobody will buy it off you with fuck all on it.

ENERGY- Similar to excite, lowest power models can't get out their own way.

Exclusiv- they reinforced the point of what was excluded by even making the e at the end of exclusive an optional extra.

Design- Has none, usually something close to a base model with part vinyl seats or something.

Comfort- Just LOL.

[sierraman]

Merit - completely without any merit

Exclusiv - exclusively for reps 

Life - a doom blue Zafira 1.6 is not living. It’s just existing, waiting for something awful to take you away. 

[warch]

6 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Merit - completely without any merit

I had a Vauxhall Nova Merit, possibly the most bullheadedly doggedly reliable car ever, it went over the bridge with 225k on the clock and a broken rear axle. It was also luxuriously equipped with the mighty 67hp TD engine, rev counter, err radio cassette and beaded seat covers. 

I was once pulled over whilst driving this automotive dreamboat by South Wales plod who wanted to check it wasn't nicked. I became slightly affronted at this accusation and said that if I was going to steal a car I'd pinch something a lot better than a rusty old diesel Nova. 

I'm a great believer in driving shit old cars or bikes because they simply don't appeal to organised crime gangs. 

[reb]

When me and my mate had a Clio 2 16v as a track* car it had a name like "Eleganza" or something to that effect. It wasn't very elegant once we put a home made induction kit on it. (Took all the baffles out of the airbox and drilled holes in it)

It was even less elegant when the entire fucking exhaust fell off.

[MantaGTE85]

Funnily enough, couple over the road from me owns a silver '06 Meriva 1.6 'CLUB' which looks well-fucked but somehow just keeps going, and a '13 Astra 1.7 CDTi 'ELITE' in that funny greyish-brown a lot of them seem to be in, it currently has the deadly DMF rattle and it chugs along like a very loud taxi. S'pose they'll do as AN cars. But the pair of them are ultimately very nondescript.  

[MantaGTE85]

@warchThe Nova 1.5 TD was an absolute gem of an engine. Also sometimes used in sportier SX trim with its two-tone Cavalier Commander steels and light airy interior. I always liked the Novas. Incidentally, there was also an entry-level trim level called 1.0 'TRIP'.

[warch]

It had occurred to me recently whilst watching prescient dystopian documentary Mad Max that, even in George Millers hellish imagining of the future they do at least have actual pleece. 
 

Toecutter and the lads could spend days fucking about in my endz before the police would turn up, so I imagine car thieves would have a field day.

[Rod/b]

Modern Toyotas are susceptible to a particular type of theft which i’ve heard of a few times recently. First heard of it when a guy found his Rav4 bumper and headlight pulled off overnight, twice in a couple of weeks, after which it disappeared.

Turns out that there is a large multiplug behind the headlight which, if you can get to it, you can use to send a spoof signal over the CAN which unlocks the car and starts the engine.

You can even find the “emergency starter” bypass devices for sale on the web fairly easily. 
 

https://www.chrisbypass.com/en/products/228-toyota-emergency-start-2017-2021.html

[bunglebus]

I've heard that modern Toyotas are prone to theft 

[Mrcento]

Club- 'If you like a lack of options on your Vauxhall join our club 🎵'

4 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I've heard that modern Toyotas are prone to theft 

You say that, but i've heard that modern Toyotas are prone to theft.

Not just any theft.

A particular type of theft.

And i've heard it a few times very recently.

[reb]

17 minutes ago, Rod/b said:

Modern Toyotas are susceptible to a particular type of theft which i’ve heard of a few times recently. First heard of it when a guy found his Rav4 bumper and headlight pulled off overnight, twice in a couple of weeks, after which it disappeared.

Turns out that there is a large multiplug behind the headlight which, if you can get to it, you can use to send a spoof signal over the CAN which unlocks the car and starts the engine.

You can even find the “emergency starter” bypass devices for sale on the web fairly easily. 
 

https://www.chrisbypass.com/en/products/228-toyota-emergency-start-2017-2021.html

Fuck me, €3500 for what is in all likelihood just a microcontroller in a box. Maybe I'm in the wrong business.

[SRi05]

18 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I've heard that modern Toyotas are prone to theft 

You can say that again 

[Missy Charm]

All the posh jeeps and the like round here are sporting Krookloks, Clubloks, Stoplocks, Disclocks and all manner of early nineties Halfords tat on their steering wheels.  How long until the Moss MS remote control alarm with LED scanner makes a comeback?  

On a serious note, why has this happened?  Cars of the 2000-2010 period with combination immobiliser and ignition key are very difficult to steal without the key.  The rise in thefts attributable to the introduction of keyless cars has proved that the keyless system is simply not a robust enough security system in the real world.  Why, then, are car buyers not picketing dealerships and demanding a return to proper keys?  I have driven keyless cars and they offer no practical advantage at all to cars with keys.  Pressing an unlock button on a remote control key (I do like remote controlled locking, I must say), isn't that difficult.  We don't need a technological solution to that problem because it isn't one.  

I suspect the answer is because it's cheaper to make keyless cars.  There's no need to manufacture an ignition barrel and, additionally, no need to have a solid keyswitch structure in the vicinity of the steering wheel, which simplifies crash testing.  But these things can be got round.  Incidentally, most drivers seem to get in and stick their keyless key, which is usually on a bunch with other keys, in the nearest convenient cubbyhole.  The bunch of keys is not, therefore, anchored to anything in the car.  Have there been any injuries caused by bunches of keys sent flying by collisions?  It's possible.  

[HMC]

21 minutes ago, SRi05 said:

You can say that again 

Toyota theft +100000

[MantaGTE85]

2 hours ago, Mrcento said:

Said it before on here, but whoever comes up with the trim levels at Vauxhall is a sick fucker always naming them in the most ironic ways possible.

EXCITE- Always the dullest version in the worst trim

LIFE- That's how long a sentence it'll give you, nobody will buy it off you with fuck all on it.

ENERGY- Similar to excite, lowest power models can't get out their own way.

Exclusiv- they reinforced the point of what was excluded by even making the e at the end of exclusive an optional extra.

Design- Has none, usually something close to a base model with part vinyl seats or something.

Comfort- Just LOL.

We also used to be stuck with the Vectra C 1.8 or 2.2 ELEGANCE from '02 to '06, also 'Meagre 2.0 SELECT or EDITION S in late-'90s both with no a/c and keep fit winders in the back. Late-model Corset D LIMITED EDITION which was bought (and written off) by everybody. 

Facelift Verruca C 1.8 140 SRi, and Astra J 1.6 n/a SRi. Performance was pretty dire on the pair of them.  

[Missy Charm]

1 minute ago, HMC said:

Toyota theft +100000

Having a Toyota stolen: it's no picnic...

[Cookiesouwest]

12 hours ago, cobblers said:

It's so easy to steal a lot of vehicles nowadays, you need the right tools but they are easy to get.

Peugeot boxer/ducato/relay. Ignition lock has special security features to make it unpickable, but the drivers door lock doesn't, and they're the same key. For <£100 you can get a "self setting key" which you put in the drivers lock, turn side to side a few times and it forms to the correct keying and opens the door. Once you're in, plug an immo bypass box into the OBD connector, then use your new key to turn the ignition on and drive away. No damage, no noise, you're away in under a minute.

Gone are the days when people would nick a car on the way home from the pub to save driving - they're nicked with a purpose nowadays.

 

That said I am quite convinced that a fairly significant chunk of the Golf R/S3/M135 thefts are "arranged" by people deeply upside down on finance. I'm also even more convinced that every single Golf R part for sale on eBay is from a nicked car. Same goes for all the high spec VAG interiors, steering wheels, stereos, bumpers, everything. Every bit of it is nicked.

 

Would a self setting key work on a garage euro lock?

Lost my lock up keys. 

Possibly cheaper than a locksmith

[Wibble]

11 hours ago, Schaefft said:

Well, this happened the other day to my Senator. The screwdriver is still in the back. They literally chopped the steering wheel off and took it with them after the car ran out of fuel half a mile down the road. Contacted police but financially it makes no sense other than letting them know. I cut my own splines into the shaft and drove it back with a pair of vice grips.

Time to order a new column and steering wheel!

 

 

Holy shit! I’m really sorry to hear this and hope it’s soon sorted. Was it not dead locked?

[Zelandeth]

51 minutes ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Would a self setting key work on a garage euro lock?

Lost my lock up keys. 

Possibly cheaper than a locksmith

Probably not, they're usually used on slider type locks I believe rather than standard pin and tumbler ones.

The majority of locks you find in general circulation though are relatively easy to pick.  Somewhat frighteningly so to be honest.

Even the - not cheap - ones we have on our house which are fancy 13 or something daft like that pin dimple locks, which have all manner of lofty claims behind them, took me about 10 minutes to open.  I am not an experienced lock picker either!  

Realistically nobody is ever going to bother with that though when they can put a brick through a window far more easily, or in the case of a lockup just rip the door off the hinges with the nicked Transit the thieves are driving.

In my case I'd locked myself out (our front door can only be opened from outside with the key) for the second time in one day - so faced with the choice of A: Climbing through the (small) Utility Room window, B: Phoning someone inside and admitting I'd locked myself out twice in one day, or 😄 Picking the lock, I chose C.  I was bloody staggered that it took me so little time to open the door though.  Especially as I was just using what I had to hand in the garage rather than a proper set of lock picks!

Edit: fscking automatically inserted smiley crap...sorry, I can't seem to delete it now the editor has decided that C with a colon after it must be made into a smiley face.  I really hate software trying to be helpful...

 

I reckon mid to late 90s cars really had security down well.  Short range transponders in the key were a good solution.  You physically need the key to make the car go.  The keypad system PSA had worked well too, and while it sounds a faff I found that the two seconds it takes to punch a code in became muscle memory within a couple of weeks.  It also meant the key was cheap and easy to copy as it didn't need a transponder in.

The vulnerability of the CAN/VAN data networks in modern vehicles is its own can of worms simply because of the degree of system integration these days.   If there's anywhere the data lines can be got to, it's always going to be a game of whack-a-mole trying to stay ahead of the thieves...but the manufacturers have kind of backed themselves into that corner...did they *really* need the bloody number plate lights to be tied into the sodding CANbus system?!?

However the whole keyless entry/starting situation is just an utterly avoidable mess that there really is no excuse for.  They will plainly have known how bloody easy to exploit the system is well before any car fitted with it ever left the showroom.

[Schaefft]

53 minutes ago, Wibble said:

Holy shit! I’m really sorry to hear this and hope it’s soon sorted. Was it not dead locked?

Not sure, I'm sure they'd know their way around it.

[MikeR]

in some ways I am glad we have a C1 , std key lock and starter , cat is up by the engine , tyres are shite as is the radio , so common its not worth pinching for parts ?

its hopefully a park anywhere car ...

 

[New POD]

6 hours ago, DSdriver said:

I presume its called the Exclusive because all the options have been excluded

Some but i'd love to see the minutes of the marketing meeting, which decided what was essential and what wasnt. Steel wheels, blue tooth for phone, cruise control, front electric windows, electric hand brake and hill start control (although it's an auto, so not as useful as in a manual car)  And a rear wiper. Also electric mirrors, which don't seem to be heated. And central locking. Very light tint on glass.

But not DAB radio, no parking sensors, no trip or fuel. And warning messages are coded. No front fog lights. 

Unlike my GTC which has DAB but no phone Bluetooth, parking sensors, heated mirrors and self dimming rear view mirror, tyre pressure transponders, actual messages on the display and not codes. But a manual hand brake.  An extra button on the key to open.the boot. And the rear side windows don't open at all. 

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, Missy Charm said:

Having a Toyota stolen: it's no picnic...

[maxxo]

my XM would be easy to nick, no immobiliser etc so you could hotwire it

but....i dunno, i just can't imagine it being nicked really, i put a stop lock on it everytime i park just incase

C5 has alarm, immobiliser, deadlocks etc so wouldn't be so easy

 

but keyless stuff usually seems piss easy to take, shame really, surely we have the tech to make it secure?

[Datsuncog]

MrsDC's mother thoughtfully offered us one of those scan-proof bags for storing car keys, to thwart passing ne'er-do-wells with their code-grabbing doo-dahs - however, as owners of two scabby Toyotas from the early 2000s, there's not much call for it... neither of them have any keyless capabilities, and the Corolla doesn't even have remote central locking...

Plus, would crims even see these as worth the risk?