What would happen if you left your car unlocked?

[TinnedPearsForPudding]

Just wondering really...because I discovered my husband hadn't locked our car and it had been in the car park adjacent to our flats unlocked for 3 days and no harm done. Phew. Quite impressive I think bearing in mind we live in relatively central London (zone 2) and on a local authority estate.

Made me wonder...what would happen on your street if you left your car unlocked?

Always lock your car!

There are definitely opportunists trying everyone's doors in the small hours. We were caught out a few years ago, having a small amount of cash stolen.

4.30am Monday morning, my neighbour was alerted (camera) to someone prowling around their car. I've just read warnings on local Facebook about this happening in several places. Statistically, I'm in a low crime area.

Not sure... I'm in a cul-de-sac within a cul-de-sac so it's pretty secluded.
I've gone to bed having forgot to lock the front door (although it's been shut) & been ok so I'd hope the car would be ok too.
I put my car keys in a Defender pouch as it's keyless entry so that reminds me to lock the car.

Nothing at all. I'm in a quiet village and in the 15+ years I've lived here there's been one car stolen and one house burgled and trashed (though apparently it was personal). Farm thefts are really common though. Fellas with varying accents in white vans caught snooping or actually making off with quad bikes, trailers and other farm equipment. Had a spate of work van break ins too but cars probably wouldn't be touched. If you were to try the door of any house with the householders home during daytime hours you can bet it would be unlocked. Some don't even lock up when they pop out to the shops.

I've done this and my car was ransacked. By this I mean everything pulled out from glove box etc. My sunglasses were stolen but sat nav wasn't which I thought was weird. This was a time where there was a spate of people stealing from cars. I live in a affluent area/village.
I always lock it now.

I left the keys in the door of our old car while at a garden centre.

I was tannoyed to collect them. No one wanted to steal an a 15 year old Puma.

I once left the keys in our almost new car in Morrisons. My Mum had got wedged upside down in the footwell (dont ask) and in the ensuing drama I ended up walking off without locking it with the keys in full site in the middle. I only realised whrn I didnt have the key fob with saver card. I have never ran so fast to the car

There have also been local police warnings about making sure access to your house is locked too, unoccupied or not, day and night.

Must add that while we are parked up for the night we have a Disklok, and have only accidentely left it off twice.

Bugger all. We live in the middle of rural Wales and don't exactly have passers-by, iyswim...

My car messages me if I’ve accidentally forgotten to lock it and j can lick it remotely using an app. Very useful.

No. I can LOCK it remotely which is very useful

Remote licking would be quite a skill. Although I don't know if I'd recommend it nowadays.

I live in a smallish town and leave my car unlocked 90% of the time at home.

And when I lived in London I accidentally left it unlocked once and someone tried to move into it so yeah depends where you are i guess

Not a thing.

Hell a few years ago I accidentally left my front door wide open all night (family party, everyone thought someone else had closed /locked it). The worst that happened was that the hall got soaked because it rained overnight.

We have had cars broken into when they were locked.

However, since moving here my neighbour forgot to lock hers once and someone rifled through her belongings. Cars are lifted from drives and catalytic converters are taken in broad daylight so leaving it unlocked doesn't happen as there are also people that regularly try door handles.

Would be great to live in a low crime area, far away from London.

When I got married, I left my car unlocked, with the door open, and my change of clothes and handbag on the back seat in the municipal car park near the register office
Got back with my new DH, and found everything just as I'd left it!
We did pick a naice place to marry, but it's definitely not a crime-free zone

Nothing, I live in the sticks. In my old place it would of been nicked!

Did that once and found a frat boy sleeping off his night out in the back. He was quite apologetic and apparently thought it was his car. We all had a good laugh about it. Although we did have to drive with the windows down for a good while to air out the smell. We live in a naice neighbourhood but it is a large American city and we’re the first street behind a lot of bars that doesn’t have parking metres.

Round here they steel your Percy pigs.
Swines
They also took a Hugo Boss T-shirt but DH was more pissed off about his Percy Pigs. Car was on our drive too.

Nothing. We have electric gates! But even if we didn’t I’m sure it would be fine, it’s electric and bloody hard to steal without keys. We live very rurally, tiny hamlet. I could leave the house unlocked and it’d probably be fine (I don’t!)

In my last street I did this and it was opened and they went through the glove compartment looking for something to steal. I only knew because the contents were all over the seat when I looked through the window. There was nothing of any value so they went on their way.

I never lock my car at home. I haven’t in probably 10 years. Absolutely nothing. We don’t lock our door unless going out.

MIL literally never locks her house or car. A few years ago they went on an longer holiday, couple weeks away, and it took about 2 days of tearing the house apart to even find the house keys. That’s how long it had been since they were last used.

We live in a rural part of the south west though. Only thing people steal here are sheep.

We live in the middles of no where I pretty much leave my car open 24/7
Same with the front door tbh...it only gets locked at night. 🙈

I leave my car unlocked all the time - we are super rural though. I leave the house unlocked a lot too. I probably shouldn't and one day I might get a shock, but it is absolutely normal here.

I forget to lock my car several times a week. Thankfully, nothing has happened yet.