I thought thieves were so thick that they still thought Skodas were sheds....but someone stole mine in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Someone broke into our house, defeating the Anglian double lock (no sign of forced entry), and found SWMBO's handbag with her set of keys (no sermonising please - I know she should have taken it upstairs). Used the keys to take the Octavia sitting on the drive. Fortunately they didn't get into the locked garage with the Mini and the Z3 in it - but they have a set of keys so we'll have to change the locks, as we already have on the front door.

Anyone else heard of a Skoda being nicked? My insurance broker thinks that as it's a vRS it may have been targeted. If so, it just shows what a long way Skodas have come.

Everyone has been very helpful, including Thames Valley Police (although I'm sure they won't find anything), other cars' insurers about changing locks - all except the insurers of the Skoda who shall be nameless (but they sound like a clapped-out Vauxhall) - trying to wriggle out as they don't understand how the burglars got in. Nor do I - what's that got to do with the car policy? The car and front door were locked - that should be enough for them.

This is more common than many people think very very easy to do on most euro cylinders as fitted to double glazed doors there has been a spate in my area but Police claim its people fishing for the keys using a piece of wire through the letterbox , which is rubbish imo

I replaced all our cylinder locks with any bump types like these

https://www.upvc-hardware.co.uk/locks-gearing-163/euro-cylinder-lock-barrels-185/

And also fitted a sash jammer as well

https://www.upvc-hardware.co.uk/safety-security-193/extra-security-189/sash-jammer-406.html

sorry for the loss , not in West Berks as well are you??

Edited 30 January, 201016 yr by Richf

Anyone else heard of a Skoda being nicked? My insurance broker thinks that as it's a vRS it may have been targeted. If so, it just shows what a long way Skodas have come.

The RS trims are popular steal in mainland Europe because attractive interior and exterior options fetching good prices - the seats, the bumpers, alloys etc. I suppose it was just a matter of time before local thieves woke up to it. Key bumping is on the rise, as its relatively quiet, requires no skill and opens 99% of door locks across the country. And of course police/insurers will argue there are no signs of break in to the house and car was driven away with original key, which slows down investigation.

Edited 30 January, 201016 yr by v0n

sorry for the loss , not in West Berks as well are you??

Not far away - just east of Reading. Thanks for the suggestions.

Edited 30 January, 201016 yr by Zdenek Fibich

I know it's a pain , but that's what insurance is for.

If they had targetted the car , then if the keys weren't easy to locate they may have wandered upstairs looking for them which isn't what you want at all.

No matter how tough people think they are , if you are woken up in the middle of the night by people standing over you it would be a very different situation.

I know it's a pain , but that's what insurance is for.

If they had targetted the car , then if the keys weren't easy to locate they may have wandered upstairs looking for them which isn't what you want at all.

No matter how tough people think they are , if you are woken up in the middle of the night by people standing over you it would be a very different situation.

I agree. Imagine SWMBO had taken the keys upstairs and they went up looking for them. And what if you were away for the night.......................

Sorry to hear about your loss. I think this is increasingly common however. The house across from me was done a few months ago and they took a Clio sport and a VW transporter full of tool. Where my folks live one house had a ranger rover and SLK taken, and another had a brand new disco taken on the fisrt night they had it. Really suspicius that one.............

Sorry for your loss. With the advent of PVC doors and standardised crap locks this has become more common. Bump keys are nothing new and have been available to those in the know for many years, over that time they went from something the trade used to something you can purchase directly for very little money on a no questions asked basis. The simple solution is fit more than one type of lock and ideally better quality locks, wood is still tougher than the rubbish that 95% of the usual double glazing fitters offer no matter what. Either way if whoever stole it found the keys downstairs that's probably better than them coming up stairs and having to take them. The insurance company will play dumb of-course but eventually settle, don't be fobbed off.

Sorry for your loss. With the advent of PVC doors and standardised crap locks this has become more common. Bump keys are nothing new and have been available to those in the know for many years, over that time they went from something the trade used to something you can purchase directly for very little money on a no questions asked basis. The simple solution is fit more than one type of lock and ideally better quality locks, wood is still tougher than the rubbish that 95% of the usual double glazing fitters offer no matter what. Either way if whoever stole it found the keys downstairs that's probably better than them coming up stairs and having to take them. The insurance company will play dumb of-course but eventually settle, don't be fobbed off.

The new thing is there are now dozens of videos on the internet showing you how to do it ,it wasnt common knowledge before

Hi

Sorry about your loss , here in Vienna Austria only a month or so ago the papers were saying that Skoda is now up with BMW , Merc and VW for preferred cars to be stolen in Austria. Looks as though the world has moved on, and considering the amount of Skodas, Octavia, or any other model that are now seen here in Vienna, its not surprising, they are very popular. Price we all pay for driving such a fine make of car these days.

Sorry to read this.

We had our Fabia Sport stolen on Thursday night too!!

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/150725-stolen-fabia-sport-yh09nub/

Edited 30 January, 201016 yr by ChrisRs

I got offered a silver06 plate furby vrs for £250 off an old mate. Keys and all.

Bloody great,part reason i got rid of the subaru was because i didn't want the hassle of locking it like fort knox every time i left it.Iget a vrs and now these are becoming popular for theft...I remember when i was at a mates house and some lads tried to break in to get the keys for his scoob..This only about 11pm a big crashbang at the door we looked out of the upstairs window and saw 3 lads trying to break the door in..We got the dog and chased after them but they jumped into a car and left...My mate trains his dog well but he was going mental that night...They never came back since

The new thing is there are now dozens of videos on the internet showing you how to do it ,it wasnt common knowledge before

If you leave your key in the Lock cylinder overnight, turn it so it is no longer straight ( vertical ) this will stop any key being used. Although the lock can still be snapped but will make a lot more noise.

we always leave key on inside side of lock if a key is on the inside door lock, the outside side of the key hole cant be used!!!!

Anything thats a bit quick could be stolen to use in other crime, where I work there was a spate of Subaru, EVO, Golf R32 and other quick 4 and 5 doors being nicked and then used a couple of months later as transport for cash in transit robberies.

As for getting into houses loads of uPVC doors and windows can be opened and closed again with tools found in a normal works van without leave much damage (certainly not noticable unless you know how it's done). It's rare for the burglar to close up again after but thats possible I've done it before and the home owner didn't know exactly how we had got in.

If you leave your key in the Lock cylinder overnight, turn it so it is no longer straight ( vertical ) this will stop any key being used. Although the lock can still be snapped but will make a lot more noise.

Great if you never go out ??

Sounds like a cunning plan, Baldrick:)

Someone broke into our house, defeating the Anglian double lock (no sign of forced entry), and found SWMBO's handbag with her set of keys (no sermonising please - I know she should have taken it upstairs). Used the keys to take the Octavia sitting on the drive. Fortunately they didn't get into the locked garage with the Mini and the Z3 in it - but they have a set of keys so we'll have to change the locks, as we already have on the front door.

sorry to hear about this but in all honesty better the handbag was down stairs than have them come upstairs, god know what they might have done to get the keys!! I'm a car lover but it is just metal atleast you and swmbo are both unhurt and ok (albeit the mental effects of being broken into).

May their fingers and bits fall of and crawl into a darkhole and die!

I always try to put my VRS at the top of the drive, with our other (totally undesirable) car at the bottom of the drive, between the VRS and the road. I think this does a relatively good job of hiding it from people looking for that type of car to steal. Also, they'd have to move the other car out of the way before they could make off with the Octavia. We don't have room for a garage :( .

I leave the house door key in the lock from the inside, at a slight angle and I keep the keys for the VRS in a non-obvious place. I set the house alarm before going to bed. I'm also going to remove the rear Octavia and VRS badges from my new car.

What else could I do?

I always try to put my VRS at the top of the drive, with our other (totally undesirable) car at the bottom of the drive, between the VRS and the road. I think this does a relatively good job of hiding it from people looking for that type of car to steal. Also, they'd have to move the other car out of the way before they could make off with the Octavia. We don't have room for a garage :( .

I leave the house door key in the lock from the inside, at a slight angle and I keep the keys for the VRS in a non-obvious place. I set the house alarm before going to bed. I'm also going to remove the rear Octavia and VRS badges from my new car.

What else could I do?

I had my Fabia vRS taken from my drive 6 or 7 months ago, it was an immaculate one owner low mileage 06 silver one with a re-map and grey custom fit seat covers, it also had a beltronic radar detector on the dashboard, the scum broke in through my back door by breaking the handle and then the door lock. Also lost my wallet phone and the wife’s purse, and slept right through everything, I bought an Octavia with the insurance money, Privilege insurance paid out ok even though I told them it was always garaged.

Great if you never go out ??

Sounds like a cunning plan, Baldrick:)

If you read the original post you will relise the victims of this crime were in the house.

Slightly off topic but.....and as well as additional security of leaving the key in the lock (at an angle) at night its a good idea if (God forbid) you ever have a fire. You then don't have to worry about faffing around looking for any keys when you have to get out fast.

I recently upgraded the locks on my Anglian windows following a burglary next door. They came home to find their patio door open despite it being locked when they went out. They couldn't figure it out and the insurance company made a fuss but eventually paid out. My windows and doors had the standard BS compliant locks demanded by the insurance company but my locksmith (member of the Fed of Master Locksmiths) confirmed that he (so also presumably the bad guys) could get in and out of my locked doors without leaving much of a trace and that the insurance companies are well aware of this but will try and kick out any claim anyway. He had my sliding patio door off in about 5 minutes which was impressive in a frightening sort of way.

The police told my neighbours that they were compartively "lucky". We live in a comparatively affluent area and the police said they are strating to see a significant increase in car crime executed with minimal finesse. The thieves target a house with a quality motor parked in the drive and then just smash down the front door (even when the occupants are at home) enter the hall and 9 times out of 10 find the car keys actually in the hallway. They are then in the car and away and into the back of a covered transporter. By the time the police attend they are long gone. Most of the cars stolen are never recovered. One of my neighbours has just bought a 59 plate Porsche which is on the drive - at night his son parks his battered old mini across the drive as a sort of barricade.

I know it's a pain , but that's what insurance is for.

If they had targetted the car , then if the keys weren't easy to locate they may have wandered upstairs looking for them which isn't what you want at all.

No matter how tough people think they are , if you are woken up in the middle of the night by people standing over you it would be a very different situation.

+1.

My keys are near to the door. Not so close you can fish them, but if someone is prepared to break in to steal my car (and potentially harm me or SWMBO) then they can take the car.

Not just skodas - some ****** broke in through our front door while we were asleep last September and nicked our bog standard Civic. Keys were downstairs in the kitchen, along with my wallet, phone etc Bizarrely it was found a few weeks later in Lithuania...

We take the keys up stairs now and have motion sensors, glass sensors and extra secuirty on the doors now. If they nicked a bog standard civic then I'm sure they'll happily nick a VRS!

We were burgled 2 years ago - the crappy garage door lock was forced (leaving little evidence - they just left it open with the bolts sticking out).

Both our cars were taken - the vRS and my wife's A3. The keys were in the kitchen.

Both cars were recovered by the rozzers within 2 hours. They knew were to look for them

Steve

Edited 31 January, 201016 yr by Steve vRS