Car stolen off my drive, again

[chasegirl]

It was stolen the first time almost exactly 2 years ago, they smashed the drivers side window and hot wired it at about 4am. Neighbours ring doorbell footage showed my car on the drive, then it cut off for about 15 mins at that time, when it resumed my car was gone It was found repaired and returned to me.

It was stolen again last night, my daughter heard cars speeding off and looked out her window saw my car and another 1 disappear round a corner. No smashed window this time do no idea how they got in. They removed the tracker device and crooklock.

I don't want it back at all.

I feel like I've been targeted. They won't get caught and it'll cost me. Victims of crime seem to be the ones who pay in every way, not the perpetrators

What sort of car was it?!?

Certain makes and models of cars are prime targets for theft, sadly.

What car is it? I agree sounds like they are targeting it. I would just get a different car to be honest it's not worth the hassle.

I'm sorry it was stolen.

Do you have your own cameras?

@chasegirl Im sorry this has happened again. Some thieving twat had smashed my car window last year to steal it but I caught them just in time. Still had to pay for a new window though and was edge for months after. Are these any good for you? I just have onscreen parking so no use to me

They can clone your key from outside, a friend had her audi stolen like that.

What deterrents do you have? Can you ask local police for advice?

Fiat 500. I am going to get my own cameras now.

It's made me feel so angry and upset

I don't think my key is that type as far as I know.

Yes, definitely time to do some Googling, @chasegirl . People assume that targeted cars are automatically fancy, expensive ones, but actually, it’s just ones that have a huge vulnerability somehow (like I remember reading the most stolen car in the US a decade ago was the Honda Civic, just because they accidentally made it incredibly easy to steal somehow - I’m not sure if it was that it could be turned on with any other Honda key, or just that it was easy to hotwire). That said, since it sounds like you do need a car, and maybe they’re targeting your area and not your vehicle - you should always have an AirTag hidden somewhere in the trunk, and leave the “obvious” dealer tracker to be removed by thieves.

Honestly, I think its just a coincidence.

Still very annoying and inconvenient.

Sorry, crossposted with you OP. Yes, Fiat 500s are extremely vulnerable and have been targeted en masse.
www.staffordshire.police.uk/news/staffordshire/news/2023/march/warning-to-remain-vigilant-following-spate-of-fiat-500-thefts/

I had the tracker for the insurance, took me ages to find where to plug it in, they must have known where to find it. Wonder if they have a device to check if a tracker is fitted?

That's interesting thank you

I doubt it's a coincidence. The type of car is currently popular and definitely being targeted.

I would definitely get some cameras and hopefully it deters any future thefts.

Yes, they would know exactly where a dealer tracker would be fitted. They wouldn’t bother to steal the car if they weren’t confident of being able to remove it.

How nasty for you & maybe DD witnessing the crime, v sorry💐
Get a crap old car like mine, it’s a bugger to get into gear, makes me laugh every time I leave it unlocked somewhere, thinking about some1 attempting to drive the horrid thing. (& it has alarms for all sorts of non-existent problems!)

Plenty of other small cars available I honestly couldn't be bothered with the hassle. Yes you can get cameras, trackers, bollards, crook locks etc but is driving a Fiat 500 over another small car worth the effort?

Why do you think that? I would think the opposite.

You can get faraday boxes pretty cheaply. Worth doing alongside a camera as a camera signal can be temporarily jammed by thieves.

I had a 22 year old shit box was stolen off my drive, there’s no way to avoid it. It was worth about £200 and the battery was in the hall while I got a new one. They backed a tow truck onto the driveway!

It's shit isn't it?
Husband's Focus ST was lifted off our drive in the early hours a few years ago with very expensive roof bars & 2 car seats. Got a flat rate of £100 for contents of the car which was no where near the value and his premiums rocketed, so unfair.
Interestingly I had an Abarth 500 for 8 years and never had any attempts on it despite it apparently being a target car.

DH has gone back to using a good, old-fashioned steering lock after someone tried (unsuccessfully) to steal our Ford Focus from his work's car park.

Move house!

The op does say they removed the crook lock in the op.

Really? Why? I cannot see anything appealing about them. My friend had one - had to put my daughter (in car seat) in her car through the boot. On the motorway, it was like sitting in a tin can with no suspension. Felt like it would be smashed to smithereens in a crash.

Sorry OP - don’t have it back - get a nice new car.