Rise in car thefts

[Flat4]

I wonder if some of the figures quoted in this article, account for some of the reasons why insurance prices have rocketed this year.

https://www.lovemoney.com/news/20031/the-cars-most-likely-to-be-vandalised-or-stolen?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_term=article1img

Guess any kind of Lexus is gonna need to wait for a while....

[Stinkwheel]

have to say, i didnt realise that moderns were stolen in such large numbers still. We all know about the poor Land Rover/Jag & some late Merc security systems but is the whole cloned keys/stealing keys from house etc thing so bad these are so often stolen? 

[sierraman]

Passed a Fiesta this morning sans headlights. Presumably nicked during the night. 

[Spottedlaurel]

The issue with Lexus is on models from the last 7-8 years fitted with Canbus wiring. Mercifully my RX completely pre-dates it.

Basically they can pop off a wheelarch liner, pull off the headlight connector, plug something in and it enables them to take over the car without needing a key or signal.

When pressed (but not voluntarily) Lexus will fit a security plate to the RX, but it's not available for other models. ES owners in particular are very unhappy.

Apparently new models have some form of encryption, but there is still a problem is with 'overlap' models where they have this new level of security yet it still looks like the ones that don't have it, so there's a risk of an attempted theft and subsequent damage.

Other than physical security (steering wheel locks etc, which if they can't cut through then they just cut the wheel) there is a recommendation for secondary trackers/immobilisers, but is there then a warranty issue?

I'm not sure if they're then shipping these cars out complete, or just stripping them for parts. Certainly one ES owner recently suffered the latter, apparently it took just 24hrs to find his car stripped to a shell.

Insurance rates on affected models are going up (or some insurers are refusing to offer cover), and understandably it seems to be the case that values of them are dropping.

[Rustybullethole]

31 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

The issue with Lexus is on models from the last 7-8 years fitted with Canbus wiring. Mercifully my RX completely pre-dates it.

Basically they can pop off a wheelarch liner, pull off the headlight connector, plug something in and it enables them to take over the car without needing a key or signal.

When pressed (but not voluntarily) Lexus will fit a security plate to the RX, but it's not available for other models. ES owners in particular are very unhappy.

Apparently new models have some form of encryption, but there is still a problem is with 'overlap' models where they have this new level of security yet it still looks like the ones that don't have it, so there's a risk of an attempted theft and subsequent damage.

Other than physical security (steering wheel locks etc, which if they can't cut through then they just cut the wheel) there is a recommendation for secondary trackers/immobilisers, but is there then a warranty issue?

I'm not sure if they're then shipping these cars out complete, or just stripping them for parts. Certainly one ES owner recently suffered the latter, apparently it took just 24hrs to find his car stripped to a shell.

Insurance rates on affected models are going up (or some insurers are refusing to offer cover), and understandably it seems to be the case that values of them are dropping.

Jeez what massive poo river. I think id be up at Lexarse UK have a word if I, friends or family were effected by this. 

[sierraman]

I would imagine claiming would be fun* if a new car goes missing without obvious signs of break in. If it’s had a key duplicated by plugging into the OBD socket I’d doubt they’d be taking your word for it. 

[Split_Pin]

I read that it's because cars are now more expensive to fix, in part due to rising costs of materials and in part due to ever increasing complexity.

Or simply because the lot of it is a fucking racket.

[chaseracer]

Looks like I timed my exit from Posh Toyota about right.

[Zelandeth]

It's interesting how things have come full circle.  Back in the 70s/80s you could take your pick of just about anything on the street with a dull spoon and a bit of determination.  I've certainly owned several cars where the locks and ignition were so worn that you could open and start them with pretty much anything vaguely key shaped.  My first Saab for instance I lost the keys to for a good fortnight at one point, just used the screwdriver from the factory toolkit for that whole time until they turned up!

Then you got to mid 90s and early 00s, cars had become really pretty damned difficult to nick if you didn't physically have the keys.  Yes punching in a code on PSA stuff took five seconds of extra effort, but it's really not a chore and provided the owner did actually change the code from the default (and didn't have it on a post it under the sun visor), it was actually a bloody effective system.

Now we've got to the point where we've got back to a point where with £30 of kit off AliExpress and a bit of patience, largely because of keyless entry and such has become seen as "necessary" you can get in and drive off even easier than you could in an 80s Ford with worn lock tumblers.

[Dave_Q]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

I read that it's because cars are now more expensive to fix, in part due to rising costs of materials and in part due to ever increasing complexity.

Or simply because the lot of it is a fucking racket.

Deffo a racket, I am sure that insurance companies are writing off stuff that could otherwise be repaired as it makes them more money. 

The stuff at copart etc does stupid money so they must be making more than they would from repairing. 

These write-offs then need repaired which you can't get the parts for any reasonable money so they are then stealing cars or parts off cars to fix them/ring them, then the cars with the bits stolen off them get written off just continuing the cycle. 

The manufacturers do also need to be held to account for improving security, if it was an iphone with security this bad a software update would be rolled out within a week.
Yet we're meant to just swallow the fact that any Ford or Land Rover can be driven away by any herbert who can find the OBD port and it's "oh whoops never mind, just have to put the insurance price up"

[sierraman]

I figure a lot of those at Copart will head abroad where labour rates are cheaper. As ever the people who get fucked over are those in the middle, the ones at the bottom couldn’t give a shit because they’ll just drive without insurance - if stopped it’s just a slap on the hand. The ones insuring a new Range Rover couldn’t give a shit as they can afford it anyway. Those that have some compass to follow the requirements to insure it pay the price ultimately. 

[Split_Pin]

A pal of mine sold his lightly damaged 16 plate Golf R as salvage as getting spare parts was impossible without being scammed. It was unbelievable. He is a full time fabricator and spraypainter as well.

[SiC]

Quite a few cars around near me are getting stolen in the two weeks, looking on Facebook groups. Fancy stuff like a high end 2022 Range Rovers to less fancy stuff like a 2017 C220d coupés. My neighbour is a bit nervous on his cars and uprated security on them. I personally bank on that my cars are undesirable enough to thiefs that they won't bother me and target my neighbours much nicer, fancier cars. 🤣

I mean who would want to nick a 8yr old Civic 1.8 Estate when there is fast BMWs and Audi's along the same road.

Police seem to not give a fuck, even when there was potential evidence and camera footage. They just give a crime reference number and that's it. 

[sierraman]

It’s that prolific they aren’t going to investigate it because it’s seemingly not worth their time. If they weren’t bogged down dealing with mental health, disputes over social media and sorting drink/drug problems out they’d be able to tackle this but alas it’s now completely out of control so I wouldn’t expect them to take the time to investigate someone having had their car stolen. 

[bigstraight6]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

It’s that prolific they aren’t going to investigate it because it’s seemingly not worth their time. If they weren’t bogged down dealing with mental health, disputes over social media and sorting drink/drug problems out they’d be able to tackle this but alas it’s now completely out of control so I wouldn’t expect them to take the time to investigate someone having had their car stolen. 

Exactly, this is also why there is a huge problem with shoplifting now with the Police not being interested, welcome to lawless Britain.

[Chris2cv]

A friend of mine had his Lexus stolen from his drive 6 months ago. Much like the stories above, his Ring camera showed some men approach the wheel in the middle of the night, plug something in and then drive off within a couple of minutes! He was (understandably) very upset. Not just because of the car, but his wife and kids were asleep inside the house when it happened. It eventually turned up several months later in a shipping container, on it's way abroad. Unfortunately he couldn't have it back as they had been paid out. He apparently lost quite a lot of money on it, and then within weeks was in a serious accident in their other car, leaving him with whiplash! Not their best year!

I now live in a slightly rough area and we seem to get stolen cars dumped nearby periodically. The latest one is a Discovery with a huge scrape down one side - although not the side that is jammed in a hedge! I've heard people say "well it's insured, it doesn't matter", but it does. That's somebodies commuter/ their family car/ the runabout /the pride and joy etc. It can be really upsetting and financially crippling. It probably makes me an awful person, but I wasn't sorry to see a little blood in the Discovery. I hope that the scumbags were hurt, not anything terrible, but enough to put them off doing it again.

None of my fleet are particularly valuable. I worry about the 2cv and always use a steering lock, but they are probably too much work for relatively low rewards when some modern cars can be stolen in seconds. It's more the joyriders that are a concern.

 

[2flags]

All my cars are at least 20yrs old. I hope that they are never stolen as the book price for them is just short of fuck all. They are all brilliant cars and they are all used regularly. [I would say daily, but I don't go out that often]. Hopefully they are not desirable to car thieves. 

[SiC]

Mine aren't valuable so if they do get nicked I'm not that bothered apart from the hassle from having to declare claims. Flip side because of this, is that they're less likely to be stolen thankfully. Still not zero as there is a chance due to being useful ram raid disposable cars - but I just need to make sure it's not too hard to steal them to be worth the hassle. Classics are always a risk but I make sure if they're on the drive then they're not easy to get off - i.e. blocked in by moderns. Or parked inside the garage/storage out of sight. 

I'm also concerned that my garage would be broken into as my tools, while not mega valuable, are easily sold on. It does happen but thankfully not that often where I am. So tried to make sure that is as hard to break into as possible. I.e. secure roller door (even if smashed, stuff in the way to prevent bending opening it) and an alarm to let the whole village know something is up. Basically making it less worth hitting me than other properties. 

I'm in a quiet area and not crime ridden. However that also makes it a big risk as much less patrolled and thus getting caught. The villages worse hit are the ones set even further back from any major road probably because less/no cameras or ANPR to trigger alerts making it even easier to get away with rural crime. 

Absolutely shit that it's like this but priorities don't seem to be there and the police unfortunately see this as petty crime not worth their hassle. 

[bunglebus]

13 hours ago, Chris2cv said:

I hope that the scumbags were hurt, not anything terrible, but enough to put them off doing it again

I'm not that nice. Car thieves and burglars can die a slow, painful death as far as I'm concerned 

[Sham]

12 hours ago, SiC said:

the police unfortunately see this as petty crime not worth their hassle. 

What the powers that be fail to see is that if you enforce and follow up on the minor stuff with a visible presence, that all crime rates are lowered because those that would do it are put off by the possibility of police about looking at the minor stuff.

Police in view is all it takes to lower crime dramatically.

[ProgRocker]

I've always picked boring cars that float below the radars of car thieves.

There was a spate of GM Corsa B thefts many years ago, so anything not so obvious could be a target.