Car broken into on Seymour but nothing taken

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on October 14, 2018 at 17:14

There’s been something of an epidemic of this on the Ladder recently. Our car was opened and searched too. As far as I’m aware, there’s no sinister follow-up. I think this is the sort of crime that is highly likely to be screened out, however. So I’m not sure that we’ll see the end of it any time soon. Do don’t leave anything in your car folks. 

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Permalink Reply by Gabriel on October 14, 2018 at 17:55

Thanks Hugh - they actually opened a panel on the dash on the drivers side by the boot unlock lever, which I’m told (from people on a car forum) was probably an attempt to bypass the engine immobiliser- so it does look like they’re actually trying to make off with cars rather than just grab valuables. OTOH maybe they just mess with the electrics to turn the alarm off.

Really annoyingly I’m sure I heard them; woke up at 2 thinking I’d heard my morning alarm, and could hear a very loud motorbike and voices outside; I suspect I actually heard the car alarm now! Anyway, nothing of value lost this time.

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Permalink Reply by Hugh on October 14, 2018 at 17:58

Could be that they were trying to steal it. I guess there's no monopoly on car crime!

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Permalink Reply by Chris brock on October 14, 2018 at 17:32

This- and the increasingly Kafka-esque nightmare that is getting a parking permit - is the reason why I sold my car. So now I am using public transport. Silver linings and all that? (For those of us who don't NEED a car)

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Permalink Reply by Tsara Taylor on October 18, 2018 at 23:03

I'm not on the Ladder but am local. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but this happened to me about 8 weeks ago and nothing was taken but glove box open and everything moved around. At the time I honestly thought I had stupidly left the car unlocked and was very lucky they didn't take it but unfortunately at the start of this month it was stolen :(

I'm gutted as I loved my car, it was very distinctive and had hardly any miles on it. No sign of broken glass and I still had both keys. The car had an immobiliser and alarm.

Police (who are of course very busy I know) have no interest and literally opened and closed case without even calling me - you register a vehicle theft online - but luckily my insurance has been quite quick to sort.

I've been told since apparently they can either clone the keys or disable the immobiliser from something that is usually in or underneath the glove box.

Fingers crossed it's not the case here, I'm really not sure how they did it so don't know what to suggest to try and prevent it happening to others.

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Permalink Reply by Gabriel on October 19, 2018 at 6:42

Yikes; thanks for the heads up. I’ve put a steering wheel lock on it, so see if that helps. It was the obd port under the dash which they accessed, which apparently as you say can be used to mess with the immobiliser. Apparently you can move them so thieves can’t find them, so I might try that!

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Permalink Reply by Mysteriously Unnamed on October 20, 2018 at 16:42

Be careful, I used to have a very battered old Mitsubishi, that no-one in their right mind would even dream about stealing...family due to go on holiday came out to load car to find the lock missing from the boot of the car! Nothing stolen whatsoever so we assumed we must have disturbed whoever it was, but couldn’t find the lock anywhere on the road, police called but found it puzzling but as we could lock the car from the dashboard we went on holiday.......two weeks later, a couple of days after we came back the next door neighbour knocked to say were  we aware our car wasn’t there any more, she had just seen two youths come up and get in the car and drive off, using a key! Never found it again, lost a load of stuff we kept in the boot etc. So whoever took it must have been watching for it or knew it belonged there, to have patiently waited for our return so they could steal it! Could have only wanted it for parts though. So watch out!

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