There are about 3 to 5 a week stolen in my city a week, mainly more upmarket brands is true but there have also been a few small fords etc over the last few months, many of which have been recorded on CCTV, I just don't want to be among those if I can help it.

13 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

There are about 3 to 5 a week stolen in my city a week, mainly more upmarket brands is true but there have also been a few small fords etc over the last few months, many of which have been recorded on CCTV, I just don't want to be among those if I can help it.

I have to be careful not to be too complacent when I visit other places.  We had an article in our local newspaper recently with a picture of a damaged flower pot and the police were asking if anyone had any information on the identity of the perpetrators.  That seems to be about the most serious crime here for some while!

 

I'm off to Lithuania for 3 weeks soon and will be renting an apartment in Klaipėda where the car will be parked on the street or in a parking bay nearby, so I'll need to more wary of keeping the car as safe as possible.

17 minutes ago, Penpusher said:

I have to be careful not to be too complacent when I visit other places.  We had an article in our local newspaper recently with a picture of a damaged flower pot and the police were asking if anyone had any information on the identity of the perpetrators.  That seems to be about the most serious crime here for some while!

 

I'm off to Lithuania for 3 weeks soon and will be renting an apartment in Klaipėda where the car will be parked on the street or in a parking bay nearby, so I'll need to more wary of keeping the car as safe as possible.

Yep, after years of being used to a normal key and not having any problems, getting used to a KESSY system is taking a while (my hire car has this system) and apparently so do all the stolen cars around me, this BMW was taken only 3 days ago, not too far away from me either.

 

 

Skoda aren’t your usual car thieves and organised crime fare, which is fantastic news for us owners….👍🏻

19 minutes ago, numskull said:

Skoda aren’t your usual car thieves and organised crime fare, which is fantastic news for us owners….👍🏻

You know, a few years I would have believed that, but given that these cars are gaining rapidly in the popularity stakes, the Superb especially, once a rare sight on our roads are now extremely common, at least around the London end of the country, I fully expect that they will come within the sights of some at least of the criminals in the auto realm before long. I'm just moving onto my 5th model so far, and I've had Rover 2000's, 3 litre's, Vanden Plas Princess 3 litre's, Mondeo's, and many Passats before, but as good as those cars are/were, none have come close to the comfort, space and style of the Superb 👍.

Edited 8 May, 20233 yr by Graham Butcher

On 06/05/2023 at 23:05, Graham Butcher said:

Reading the owners handbook, you are right, you can disable it, but when you lock the car, it is re-activated at that time, so what is the point of deactivating in the manner describe?

If you lock the car with the keyfob and touch the outside of the handle within a couple of seconds the KESSY is disabled. This is not deactivated until you unlock the car with the keyfob

2 hours ago, Graham Butcher said:

You know, a few years I would have believed that, but given that these cars are gaining rapidly in the popularity stakes, the Superb especially, once a rare sight on our roads are now extremely common, at least around the London end of the country, I fully expect that they will come within the sights of some at least of the criminals in the auto realm before long. I'm just moving onto my 5th model so far, and I've had Rover 2000's, 3 litre's, Vanden Plas Princess 3 litre's, Mondeo's, and many Passats before, but as good as those cars are/were, none have come close to the comfort, space and style of the Superb 👍.

Yeah, I agree but putting aside all those classics you’ve owned, Graham, a Superb is not a BMW X5/7, Land Rover or Range Rover, is it? Those are what thieves want; 4x4, high resale values as whole units or for parts and of course, they’re easy to nick in 30 seconds. Around here in Kingston, that’s all people report as being stolen and the recovery rate is neigh-on zero. 

There are reports of normal everyday cars being stolen, stripped for parts and the parts ending up on eBay etc, so it is not just high end cars, but normal cars as well. Skoda parts are becoming harder to get hold of according to my dealer, headlights, seat belts for instance are on back order from the factory.

If someone wants your Skoda they will take your Skoda.  For parts.

 

Your dealer needs to watch this.  You know they lie. their lips move. 

Your old car will likely be fixed using bits from here if it is not now a donor.  Some nice looking cars being dismantled.

 

 

 

Edited 8 May, 20233 yr by toot

Wow, that is really impressive and clearly shows that there is some serious money to be had from old crashed cars, and hence why there are reports of cars being stolen to strip for parts. Once the parts are removed and on racks, the frame crushed, melted down etc, there is nothing left for police to identify as stolen. I can see manufacturers having to come up with a clever way to encode parts so that they can at least prove that a part is from a stolen car.

 

As to my car ending up in a place like that, nah, I already have someone lined up who wants to buy it and do the work required to put it back on the road for a family member, once the insurance companies can get their arses into gear and come up with a realistic valuation. Its already been over a month since the accident and now the whole claim has been put back to stage one and the firm of assessors and management company have effectively been fired from the case and the whole process is starting all over again. I have travelled the best part of 2,000 miles trying to find a replacement and it puts me in a very awkward position, I can't finalise a deal until I know what the valuation is going to be😒

Edited 8 May, 20233 yr by Graham Butcher

The Stolen cars arriving there are Stolen Recovered, uneconomic repair.

They are not buying from thieves and 'resetting' goods. Being part of crime other than the Legalised Crime the Insurance Industry is involved in in the UK. Including allowing cars back on the road without full Inspections including making sure all Safety / Electrical systems are checked and seat belts replaced with new.

I wasn't implying they were, but there will be small crooked outfits that will be doing the same thing but low tech, low-key and low profile as once the body shell is gone, there is almost no way of identifying the parts unless someone has invisibly marked certain items.

On 06/05/2023 at 14:40, skomaz said:

I got the car in May 2018 and the bag shortly after.  Just checked it again now and you're right it does seem like it's finally giving up...   Its fine from a couple of yards off but not stood right next to the car any more although it was OK a few months ago. 

 

Looks like I'll be investing again...   Thanks for the reminder to check! 

Barling

I found this video by accident on YT, it might help someone out, personally I'll be doing all of these preventive measures once I take delivery of my new car.

 

Big thanks to all who have contributed in this thread as well, thank you all.

 

 

It is professional car thieves day / might job.  They are up on tech & not just dafties.   But you are as well to try and stop the amateurs with what ever.  Might as well be a steering lock.

 

You just walk up to vehicle look in and you read the VIN through the windscreen.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, toot said:

It is professional car thieves day / might job.  They are up on tech & not just dafties.   But you are as well to try and stop the amateurs with what ever.  Might as well be a steering lock.

 

You just walk up to vehicle look in and you read the VIN through the windscreen.

 

 

 

Yes, I know that can be done, I follow the Salvage Rebuilds channel and they often have to get a locksmith to come to them and cut and programme keys for some of their vehicles, as can be seen in this video.  But I would think that if someone tools up with the required kit, they are not going to be looking at Skoda's, their value is not worth the risk involved, as you said, they are professional and after a far bigger payback.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKGhBERjfi0

We have several of these in the house and they work very well. 

Another vote for the box over the pouches.

I purchased 3 pouches for my keys when I got the car and for quite a while I carried one with my keys and just moved the key fob from the shielded pouch to unshielded when driving. Soon discovered that even in the shielded position unless I held the pouch shut around the Velcro there’s enough leakage to unlock the car and drive it to work….

got one of the boxes instead and that works properly, no chance of opening or starting it when in the box.

also means my key pocket has less clutter in it, downside being if I’m out and about then technically someone could scan from me but it’s a case of how paranoid do I want to be?

for my main objective of being protected at home the box is perfect.

If you get an automatic (maybe manual too but not sure) there is another level of security you can have which is to have a lock fitted on the gearbox inside the cabin.

 

It’s an official part but no idea how much it costs to have it installed

On 06/05/2023 at 14:40, skomaz said:

I got the car in May 2018 and the bag shortly after.  Just checked it again now and you're right it does seem like it's finally giving up...   Its fine from a couple of yards off but not stood right next to the car any more although it was OK a few months ago. 

 

Looks like I'll be investing again...   Thanks for the reminder to check! 

 

New Faraday bags arrived last week and all working fine again...   Car can't be unlocked with the key inside even when stood next to the car

I bought a little RFID pouch from Amazon. It works very well. I put my kessy key in it and tried to start the, car nothing!

as long as the pouch is velcro-ed shut.

Just remember to periodically test the pouch as it seems the keys wear away the effective screening of the lining after a while and they become less effective.

We used to get about 3-4 months out of the pouches. The boxes last about two years or more, depending on use. 
The one used at home has lasted a lot longer than the one my wife takes with her to work. 

I use this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CJJ89N7J 
Is this the one that could wear out?

 

 

Edited 27 September, 20241 yr by Dave77

I’ve tried quite a few of the pouches as they’re quite handy when out and about. I’ve never tried the one you’ve posted, but never had any luck with pouches lasting very long. Ended up getting a smaller box for my wife to take to work with her instead.