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?

We had a similar situation at the end of our road with a turning space was turning space -we could only access our drive by turning in the space to access our drive. Local drugs gangs would park there for hours hot boxing or selling weed. It was particularly bad over lockdown. I never reported though.

None of these reasons explains seven hours in an idling car

That's really weird. Are they using someone else's WiFi from the car? Maybe get all the neighbours to switch theirs off when they are in the car. Do they work or otherwise leave the house?

Totally antisocial and 95% likely drugs

Report away

We have a neighbour that does this. They work a long shift, then sit in their car for hours, playing music and making calls. Often they will drive off again without going inside. It's so weird!

You can ask your local council for help if the neighbour dispute involves an activity that is damaging to health or a nuisance. This is known as a 'statutory nuisance

It’s illegal where we are, idling

My parents neighbour used to do this (young lad) he was smoking weed in his car.

Probably drug related.

If it was an infestation, lack of WiFi, lack of air conditioning etc, most people would just sort it out. Spending hours in the car is not comfortable.

Also what are they doing awake at that time of night? Of course they are free to be, but unless they are shift workers, most of us are in bed.

How strange. Especially sitting there through night.

Nothing wrong with sitting in your stationary car for hours - even overnight - if you want to, for whatever (legal) reason.

Just turn your sodding engine off.

Could you put a potato in their exhaust? Just joking, report them to the council.

With the engine running though / it’s pretty strange behaviour

Maybe their house is haunted

😄

I would report it to the Police, don’t say they’re your neighbours. Just report two adults sat in a car for 7 hours all through the night for the last last month. That sounds very suspect indeed. Pitch it in an old biddy busy bodying sort of way. I think you can even report it online.

Oh hello, it’s probably nothing but I have noticed a Red Ford Fiesta number plate XXXXXX sat on our road every night for the last six weeks. Two adults sit in the car all night and every night. They are sometimes there for 7 hours. The engine is always running which is causing a disturbance at night. They just look highly suspicious. In fact I wondered if it was undercover police they look so shifty, but I doubt Police would leave the engine on for so long.

A patrol car will definitely check this out.

Report to the Police non emergency line as potential drug dealing. That's not normal behaviour at all.

Nothing wrong with it. Still highly odd though. If this behaviour was reported to the Police as a suspicious vehicle, they would 100 percent check this out.

Seven hours with engine idling the whole time is bonkers.

As usual, the 164th response nailed it

Is it a hybrid car that they do not drive much? they might be charging the 12v battery and keeping it topped up so it does not go flat and they cannot start it.

I leave mine idling for 1 hr each week to keep the battery topped up as i do short journeys.

"To recap, Toyota hybrids generally contain two batteries: a 12-volt battery (which powers systems such as the headlamps and audio) and a high-voltage hybrid system battery (which supplies the power to start the combustion engine and drive the electric motors).
The simplest way to maintain charge in both of these batteries is to simply go through the normal start procedure: press the ‘Start’ button with your foot on the brake and ensure the ‘Ready’ light is illuminated on the dashboard (you don’t have to keep your foot on the brake thereafter, but ensure your vehicle’s transmission is in ‘Park’ and the parking brake is engaged).
We recommend you put the car in ‘Ready’ mode for about 60 minutes before switching it off again and repeat the process at least once a week"

https://mag.toyota.co.uk/coronavirus-toyota-hybrid-car-maintenance/

Would it be a heating problem I'm the house. Maybe the car is warmer.

I wonder if they are operatives for a unfriendly state and are masking the calls from being heard or intercepted by running the engine noise. Although their strong response suggests they are unprofessional if so. Best to ask council noise pollution team about what could be done as they do it through the night which is unreasonable.

They are selling something.

I finished posting and immediately thought of some IT related possibilities. They have jumped on a neighbour’s Wi-Fi that has an easy password but they can only get the signal outside - solution, neighbours change the password.

Scamming/hacking! They are sitting out there reading all of your emails and looking at what you are browsing - they are probably reading this right now!

I would simply assume that they can't afford to heat their house and that its cold indoors for them 🤷

It is weird but I don't know if I'd have asked them to stop