to leave a note on my neighbours car? (a bit long...)

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We live on a terraced London street where parking is very tight. It isn't unusual for us to need to park a street or more away. As we are near the end of the terrace, the last few yards of the road outside our house have got double yellow lines.

We have some very weird neighbours a few doors down. The curtains are always drawn, and when I've seen them in the street, the father clips his children around the head, yells at them etc. Which may or may not be relevant.

Anyway, they have a really crappy noisy car. The tax disc is up to date, but I'd be amazed if it got through an MOT. One headlight is smashed and more importanly, it makes more noise than a tractor when it is started up. They also have a disabled badge for the car, which means they have a marked, reserved bay outside their house.

At about 9pm every night, the husband moves his car from outside their house to any free spaces outside our house, or a double yellow if there isn't one free. I presume his blue badge means this isn't illegal.

The reason for this is that at around 5:30/6am every morning, they start the car and sit there for at least 5 mins just revving the engine, before driving off.

The noise this car makes is bloody staggering. I can sleep through a reversing bin lorry outside, but this car wakes me and DH up every morning without fail. I've spoken to my neighbours on both sides and they have said the same thing.

Obviously they know it is disturbing people, which is why they don't start the car up outside their own house. I don't know where they are going at that time, but it isn't to to work, as they are back again about 30 minutes later, when the car gets returned back to outside their space.

It has been going on for a few months now and it is starting to drive us mad. We both bristle in the evenings when we hear the car being moved to outside our house, knowing it means we'll be woken up.

AIBU to leave a note asking them to either make their car roadworthy, or leave it outside their own house and disturb their own families in the morning? Or can you report a noisy car to the police?
Can you come up with some nice wording for my note?

Or should I just buy some earplugs and get over it and not wind up my prone-to-slapping-his-children-in-public neighbour?

You could contact the noise people at environmental health, they will come out and monitor the noise and slap him with a notice.

My neighbour does this, I live in a small cul-de sac though with houses and car space in a right angle, he just sits there with the engine going for 5-10 mins. Sometimes he goes out at 12pm or so for an hour, then returns.

If they're revving it up for that long every morning, you can report them to the council for anti-social behaviour. Make a recording of the din, and use it as evidence. They won't have any reason to suspect it is you, as I am sure that it's pissing half the street off.

You could also ask a few other people in the street if they would consider complaining to add weight if you know them well enough.

YANBU, by the way. It's anti-social behaviour, pure and simple, and you shouldn't have to put up with it.

Riven,
I am convinved they won't start it outside their own house because they don't want to wake up their own family.
They have a set of grandparents living there, and 2 children and the noise would easily wake up the whole damn house. It makes our windows rattle!

It is nearly always just the husband in the car in the morning, and I'm sure the wife must have pointed out to him how noisy it is and she doesn't want to be disturbed at that time

You don't live on my street do you? Sounds like my next door neighbour.

I read the title wrong at first and wondered how in the hell you were going to attach a note to a cat.

i would leave the note, anonymously. say that you do not wish to offend but that since they have been moving their car near to your house and starting it early in the morning your family have been suffering from sleep deprivation and that you would appreciate if they could keep their car at their own reserved space.

how odd........I guess they don't start it outside their own house because there are other people in there who are still asleep and they don't want to wake them? I don't know what you can do tbh, other than have a word or leave a note as you suggested. maybe a bit friendlier to have a chat with them face to face rather than leave a note? Surely if they need a diabled space directly outside their own house, they shouldn't be able to park away from their house and walk back?......

disabled. x-posted with lots!

Diamonds, I think the disabled badge is for one of the grandparents who lives with them, but I've never, ever seen either of them in the car, so I suspect the couple of just taking advantage of being eligible for a badge...

Belly, do you live in SW London?

yab a bit u . If it isn't illegally parked (and I don't know the rules tbh) and it is taxed (it must therefore have had an mot and isnurance at the time) then it is hard to formally complain . Similarly if you own your house and want to sell you'd then have to declare the issue. You'd probably still hear it wherever they parked.

If the blue badge isn't someone who isn't in the car...(for example if it's a grandparents and they have gone out with the husband of the family then they can use it). If not it's illegal.

I'd be tempted to shove some traffic cones outside or hire a skip to block the space.

Sorry if I missed something, but why don't you go and speak to him rather than leaving a note?

Juicy, I've never spoken to this family but they are real oddballs. They live about 12 doors away from us, so we don't have any reason for conversations. And the only times I have seen them out and about, the husband has been slapping his children around the back of the head, so i don't really fancy my chances of a rational, grown-up conversation

you can get a pack from your council for noisy neighbours where you have to note down for 2-3 weeks any disturbances ,time date etc and then they will review these. There is a law against noisy vehicles so phone up your council and register a complaint.

YANBU. They sound like selfish people. Don't want to wake their own up, but are quite happy to wake another family up, thats about it, isn't it?