Is it time to sell?

[Lab_man]

Hi all......had my Vrs since mid May this year & enjoying every minute of it BUT had a few very strange incidents....very lathargic dog over the last week (drugged), meter readers calling when I do paperless billing...then the big one....attempted break-in. Police called, in their opinion without a shdow-of-a-doubt, its the keys for my beloved Vrs they are after...stolen to order!!!!!they say, a Skoda beggers belief. Saw this guy in a red hatch...watched me patk my car down my drive & saw him again the following day ...thought nothing of it, untill the attempted break in. Told the local plod. Then today the wife tells me a guy in a red hatch drives past our house slowly, takes a long look & drives off at speed. Police informed of this ..told to box my Vrs in at night & they would up their drive pasts. The most unwelcome aspect is that, so i'm informed is that it's a steal to order & my movements have been observed for several days...scary or what...any advise greatly appreciated.

[tankman57]

if the red hatch pulls up again at your property,let him/them know that they have been seen..you got the reg no.right?

Edited 20 August, 2011 by tankman57

[Lab_man]

No...my wife had been reading a bookat the time & when she noticed it was too late, it had driven off at speed.

[Lab_man]

tankman57...btw thanks for your help...cheers mate

[gadgetman]

Dont confront them. The red car is likely stolen, but if you can get a Reg anpr may less them to this person.

Box the car in and perhaps remove a lead or relay so can't be started even if they do get the keys.

[Lab_man]

gadgetman Thanks for your advise...but we do't have that at the moment..... but am suer you can imagine we are under seige...having all locks replaced with top of the range security ones..etc, etc..........but it's the being followed that freaks me.....or am I being (hate to say it but...being a big lad)a bit of a wimp????

[gadgetman]

Call police on 999 if followed again.

[weyland]

Difficult situation. By all means box the car in, but leave the keys easily accessible in the house. Last thing you want is a bunch of tooled up criminals coming upstairs after your car keys. Leave them somewhere they will easily find them, but without it being so obvious to invite them in.

I'm surprised they have made it so obvious that you and your wife have noticed though. This happens all the time (which I know doesn't make you feel any better), but they normally turn up out of the blue, not make house calls where they could be ID'd.

Hope it all turns out OK and the above is false alarm

[FUBAR]

Last thing you want is a bunch of tooled up criminals coming upstairs after your car keys. Leave them somewhere they will easily find them, but without it being so obvious to invite them in.

Holy smokes he was rightly nervous before he will have a shotgun by the end of thread at that rate! I do see what your saying and agree but man you've got me scared now and my car is 867 miles away!!

Me Id do something i've never heard the police suggest and I think its a solution to this sort of thing for the most part! Get a big yellow wheel clamp(Halfords/Ebay do them for caravans etc just need one to get over big wheel)Ebay Wheel Clamps and put it on at night leave key for it in car so its separate and you can't loose it. These criminals always seem to be wanting to get in and out FAST not knowing if the person they are ripping off is really Chuck Norris and not wanting to risk a baseball bat to back of their heads. I wouldn't worry myself too much about someone chasing you around the house for keys its a nice car but at the end of the day not many highly uneducated lil toe rag is going to want to risk the extremely serious charges over a Skoda. You say they attempted to break in before if you disturbed them and they legged it that's a great sign and if your home security defeated them also good. I also would imagine these tits don't operate for long in one area for obvious career implications if caught.

I say Keep the Skoda and easily said I know but don't allow yourself to be intimidated by SCUM!

[preston334]

At the moment I'm looking at a 2nd hand octavia for work and I see a few tidy vRS for sale. Not heard of any attempted break ins to get the keys but I will be venturing into some "nice" estates as part of my job. I install alarms/CCTV for a major utility company at their sites and over the last few years the products that have came onto the Market is amazing. Look at www.espuk.com that is who I use and I fitted about 200 of there alarm systems and are great. Got 1 in my shed and one in the house. Look at the guard cam which is a floodlight with built in cam which is activated by the pir and records the images directly onto a internal SD card. All you need is a 230v supply. So if you already have a floodlight in place just swap it. Put up CCTV signs. Even fit dummy bell box/camera. If they been observing you they will notice it. There was a break in up our street and the police ask to see footage of the CCTV from the camera up on the apex of the house. They were quite surprised when I told them it was a dummy camera and I pointed out the miniature CCTV on the garage recessed in behind the black Fascia boards. Touch wood no one has yet attempted to break in to my house. And if they did they be going out in a body bag

[Lab_man]

Thanks for all your advise & help.....decided to keep the Vrs...why should I let the little toe raggs win & spoil MY enjoyment. Just hope the see sense & think it's too risky to continue...will keep you posted on future developments, but if anyone has any further advise fell free to post. Thanks again everyone.

[weyland]

Certainly didn't mean to scare so I hope you haven't taken my comment that way. I leave my keys easily available, but out of general sight. I'd much rather them break in to my house, find the keys and go than risking anyone coming upstairs where my young kids are. Bu that's just me.

VRS' stolen to order are a rarity, and in reality they are just an ordinary ever day sporty car which are not as high up the desirable list as many type R's, RS's, EVO's etc etc.I'm sure everything will work out well, the fact that they have been spotted will probably mean that they will never come back.

I sold my previous car to get a VRS for this very reason - I don't want to be afraid to park it anywhere or worry about it being nicked.

[PhilP1903]

Hmmm, i am away on hols for 2 weeks shortly, pondering about leaving car in works , underground car park especially as tax disc runs out while i am away and new one aint arrived yet..

[jrw]

That's why I had a new garage built. I hate leaving my car outside any where now.

[PhilP1903]

Well we have house for sale so not gonna spend more money on it, plus eldest idiot (son) will be at home while we are away so house is reasonably safe (and well insured).

[Guest]

You seem to have covered all the basics, but the truth be told, if someone is determined to get into your house, then they will regardless of how robust your home security is.

There is a fine line between securing your vehicles keys within the home to satisfy the insurers, and making them accessible enough for the determined thief to get them without endangering your family. As previously suggested I would ensure you have signs up warning of cctv. I would also request a visit from the local plod Crime Prevention Officer, for him to give a once over, and see what he suggests. If there are people watching your house, then the fact they have seen the police enter your property may be enough to put them off. They will move on, and probably nick my car instead!

There is every possibility that plod have got it wrong, and your house is the actual target. The fact you have a fairly new high performance car MAY be just coincidental. It may be worth investing in this stuff Smar****er or something similar and placing the stickers in a prominent place.

Unfortunately too many people believe if they want something, it should be their right to just take it. Not put the graft in to earn the thing.

Best wishes.

Fin

ps The above link should say Smart Water. The software has read it as Smar T W A T er!!!

[tankman57]

good luck lab-man.don't let the little s***s win.although i do think a wheel clamp is the best bet!.cheers.

[m0bov]

Not wanting to offend the OP, but we're talking about a Skoda vRS, not a SLS or Lambo. Cars stolen to order, tend to be shipped to Eastern Europe or Middle East. These are normally prestige cars and things like construction diggers etc.. I just can't see an organised gang going after a 3 month old Skoda. :'( If they had been after the car, why drug your dog? If it was one of the "meter readers", why did'nt they demand the keys there and then? Why risk themselves observing you then try and break in?? Like I say, don't want to offend but toooo many holes.

[patrolman]

Holy smokes he was rightly nervous before he will have a shotgun by the end of thread at that rate! I do see what your saying and agree but man you've got me scared now and my car is 867 miles away!!

Me Id do something i've never heard the police suggest and I think its a solution to this sort of thing for the most part! Get a big yellow wheel clamp(Halfords/Ebay do them for caravans etc just need one to get over big wheel)Ebay Wheel Clamps and put it on at night leave key for it in car so its separate and you can't loose it. These criminals always seem to be wanting to get in and out FAST not knowing if the person they are ripping off is really Chuck Norris and not wanting to risk a baseball bat to back of their heads. I wouldn't worry myself too much about someone chasing you around the house for keys its a nice car but at the end of the day not many highly uneducated lil toe rag is going to want to risk the extremely serious charges over a Skoda. You say they attempted to break in before if you disturbed them and they legged it that's a great sign and if your home security defeated them also good. I also would imagine these tits don't operate for long in one area for obvious career implications if caught.

I say Keep the Skoda and easily said I know but don't allow yourself to be intimidated by SCUM!

Top idea, you if you choose well you can even get a reduction on insurance premiums, I have a Rhino Post on my drive does the same .

[tony2311]

if a thief is willing to break into your house and confront you for keys to car, i think they will ask for wheel clamp key aswell wouldnt they?

Just secure house as much as you want but if thief do get in just give then the keys, cars can be repair/replace life is not as easy

[Lab_man]

I agree with m0bov's comments, so thats why I bought a Skoda but it's the police who have said it's the car they want, even the finger print guy said it was a professional job as no finger prints at all & part of the door plate taken away where the the molegrips they used would have left teeth marks. They take this away with them so it cannot be connected with any other job they might have done in the area.

[matt_theforce]

Not wanting to offend the OP, but we're talking about a Skoda vRS, not a SLS or Lambo. Cars stolen to order, tend to be shipped to Eastern Europe or Middle East. These are normally prestige cars and things like construction diggers etc.. I just can't see an organised gang going after a 3 month old Skoda.

You say that but a mate of mine was asleep in bed when his house was broken into and the keys to his Wifes ST TDCI were in full view but they rumaged around until they found the Fabia vRS keys and took that.

The Fabia was also standard and in a nice(ish) part of the world.

He was told that by the police it will have been stolen to order.

I agree with everyone else. If at all possible block the car in and fit a visual deterant like a wheel lock, leave the keys viewable once inside the house but out of sight from the outside and don't confront them (its only a piece of metal that can be replaced)

[Stuart_J]

If you are really worried fit a tracker , if not make sure you have good insurance & dont leave anything of value in the car

[Simes]

Perhaps it's down to the long waiting times for the new order cars...

If only they would make them faster - things wouldnt need to get stolen to order...

Honestly - lots of good advice here - have my p&j locked up in the integral garage with a tracker on it, my scout has to live the

hard life outside the house.... Keys to both are easily available but not accessible. It's only plastic, oil metal and rubber and can be replaced.

Simes.