Neighbours sat in car for hours on end with engine running. It this weird

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Names changed as could be outing

we got some new neighbours across from us about 6 months ago. A man and a women. I was talking to another neighbour and she asked if I had noticed they sit in their car for hours on end with the engine on. Now I had noticed them a few times sat in the car but though nothing if it. The car is parked outside this neighbours house a lot.

Now the neighbour has said to me DH and I have been more aware of it, especially with doing lots of work in the garden. And the fumes from the car as well have been more noticeable since we have been outside a lot. Neighbour is a bit nearer so has noticed them doing it during the day and at night as well. Usually between midnight and 6am.

Basically they sit in the car sometimes it’s the man, sometimes the women, sometimes both. The engine is running all the time (yesterday it was about 7 hours). They seem to be always on their phones and then one of them will get out go in the house and then come back out again into the car. Sometimes they will just get out of the car, walk round it and get back in.

yesterday the other neighbours husband went out and asked them to turn the engine off as his son has asthma and the car is right outside his window and was told very forcefully to mind his own fucking business.

now if it was not for the engine being on all the time I probably would just shrug and think “each to there own”. But this is very strange is it not?

I thought this too.
In heat waves you can get people sleeping all night in their car with the air conditioning on, because it is too hot to sleep in the house.

Walk into your local Police Station and report their annoying action, their car rego and their home address..

Without naming you, the Police could include your street in their regular drives about town.
They will stop and ask questions, hopefully. If you suspect crime, don't antagonise them.

My initial thought was a sleeping baby, I've done it before on my drive when baby has fallen asleep in the car and I am in fear to move then haha! But you say they live alone, so that is really weird!

I'd leave a note. See if anything changes and then report.

How strange. We leave our cars idling on the drive for 5-10 minutes sometimes but that is because they are prewar cars that need time to warm up before driving. But it’s literally just before we go somewhere in them, certainly not all night.

7hrs of idling can’t do a car much good though, surely?

With reference to what others have said about needing the engine running in case they need to move quickly - a modern car doesn’t require a warm up nor does it take long to start it. With it running for 7hrs non stop there is a much bigger risk of taking more time to go and fill up with fuel than starting it.

This is very odd behaviour and worth investigating. I'd report this to the police.

Idling is illegal where I live as well as being extremely polluting. I guess they’re trying to hasten the demise of our planet.

Sorry, not RTFT but it would be worth calling 101

Happened with a neighbour of my parent’s - turned out that the house was FULL of cannabis plants and they were essentially living in the car

There will be some reason.

Maybe they don't have a radio / music player in the house.

Maybe they don't have any heating in the house. Or aircon as someone else said.

This probably won't apply but some religious people (JWs and I think Mormons) are not allowed to be alone together before they get married so if one owns a home the other can't come in without a third person so they sit in the car.

Well they can do it with the engine off

Maybe the power is off in the house so they use the car for internet and heating.

Or they have mice and are afraid to sit inside.

Something must be happening either in the house or in the car. I think the latter - and one of them has to be in it to ensure it’s going according to plan.

How about calling the non emergency police line on 101 if you suspect criminal activity or feel unsafe?

Drug related, if report to police, especially as he seemed aggressive

I'd !

I was going to suggest this. I was seriously tempted to do it myself during a heatwave a few years ago, when I had a car that had ferociously efficient air con.

I think drug related too. Do they ever spend any time in the house?

My mother used to do this. She had COPD due to a life long smoking habit (which she eventually died from) - in hot weather, even mildly warm, she couldn't breathe so used to retreat to the car to use the air conditioning to try and cool down.

OK so we have drugs (doing or dealing) and lack of internet signal in the house. Two good theories. Some more not so good theories from me which are all about the house itself - most inspired by MN threads.

They could have some terrible problem in the house that you don’t know about - an infestation, a bad smell? They could think there’s a ghost and be terrified of staying indoors? They could be part way through doing it up and have made it uninhabitable. Your other neighbours could be making some very irritating noise that you can’t hear? They could have no furniture to sit on.

I agree with the poster who suggests contacting the local police either via the non-urgent number or calling in. I think that could be a way of disrupting the situation without it being traceable back to you individually. As pp have said, round here sitting in cars with the engine on is drug-related.

Their house is haunted.

Or they are haunted but only when inside a house.

Perhaps they're running a generator from the car to boost the power to the cannabis farm inside.

I'd be inclined to ask the police their opinion.

The house is infested with fleas/cockroaches/ghosts and they are too scared to be inside and the engine noise is a comfort blanket.

I agree with pp, council and police is the way forward.

Police and council. Pretty sure most areas say this is against the law.

Alternatively, banana up the tail pipe!

DH used to do it with a sleeping baby about 1-2 times a week. Engine on so he could keep the heater/air con running. Not ideal, but not for hours at a time - 30 mins or so so they could finish a nap, after they outgrew the carry type car seats. We lived in a flat so carrying them inside was too long and noisy and they would wake up.

It would drive me mad if it was for hours at a time every day and I would def report to council for noise and pollution reasons.

i thought it wasn't allowed in UK? Here (not UK) the police would give you a huge fine. (and i would have called the police after asking them to stop it)

I would honestly contact crime stoppers anonymously. 🤣
Either their house is haunted
They have someone locked up in their house they are avoiding
They don’t live there really and are spies
They are doing some major drug deals in the car ( not sure why, but someone will )
They are really staking out, you or a neighbour.

There is also the religious couple theory and the spies escaping listening devices theory. I’m invested and want to know!