Conference terri::cars_uk

     While I don't like to discourage what might be a good idea, wouldn't
   you be likely to have more of a chance in a regional notefile? 

I had my VW Golf GTI (mark I) stolen a week ago from the Reading area.

It is Silver in colour with the extra headlights on the front.

The registration was VVO 645Y. It had a sunroof, very rusty headlights
and was a bit rusty. 

Again probably taken by joy riders so if anybody should see the car 
please let me know.

I can be reached on dtn (7)830-6017 or by mail on SYSTEM::ZENTNER.

	thanks

		Adam

Can I suggest you delete the note when the car is found!

Greg

I would also be very interested to known what security measures were 
in place when you left the car:
e.g.
	In a well lit area, Alarmed, Krook-lock on, removable stereo 
        under seat, rotor-arm in handbag, fuel-pump relay in 
        briefcase, etc...

Sorry to hear some half-wits have got your Golf Adam.

Robert.

    >> half-wits
    
    I wouldn't give them that much credit.

> I would also be very interested to known what security measures were 
> in place when you left the car:

The car was parked outside my house under a street light.
The steering wheel lock was on and there was a gear stick hand brake lock 
on the car (in use). There was no stereo in the car as that had been stolen
previously, so there was just a gaping hole in the dash board. There was 
nothing in the car to nick. There was no car alarm.

	Adam

>    If not, what other methods are there of protecting your car without
>    putting an alarm on? I only know of the crook-lock. How well do these
>    fare when out to the test?


A friend of mine had that removed too !!

There is now also a different kind of steering wheel lock. It prevents the steering
wheel being turned (only). It's bright yellow in colour. I have no idea how good it
is.

Adam

    A friend of mine had a Crook-lock fitted to his Capri when it was
    stolen. When the car was recovered it was obvious that the thief had
    just rammed his foot down on the clutch pedal thus bending the steering
    wheel. This resulted in a slightly mis-shaped wheel but an unprotected
    car....

    The Strongarm is similar to a Krooklock,but far stonger and locks round
    the steering wheel.They are about three times the cost of the Krooklock
    but could not be removed by bending the wheel.
    
        John 

    I find the Pedalok to be quite effective (so far anyway :-).
    
    I have put a note in here about it before, but basically it holds the
    brake pedal down, thus locking all four wheels. So it makes driving or
    towing away impossible (or somewhat noisy anyway).
    
    Gary.

    ...The fix for the crooklock was to add a length of gas pipe to close
    the open endds of the hooks. This way bending the steering wheel
    wouldnt release the Crooklock. What I dont know is, how good is the
    lock ?

A topic to log the level of theft has been started in MARVIN::UK_digital topic
574. So far it seems to be DEC Park specific.

/Dave.

This conference appears to have gone quiet but I thought it might be worth
putting a note in here anyway.

 My Renault 5 GT Turbo was stolen from the Shire Hall car park yesterday.

 The registration number was H184YHR.

 The car was standard and its colour was Tungsten.

 I dont have much hope of seeing it again and even less hope of it being in good
shape if its recovered.

 Shire Hall security have a video of it being driven from the car park at about
15:00 yesterday. If any of you happened to be in the Shire Hall car park at this 
time yesterday afternoon and saw anybody hanging around near a Tungsten R5 GT 
Turbo it may have been the person/people responsible.

 Barrie ( who is VERY upset ).

    Barrie,
    
    Sorry. It's me. I have stolen your car. You must understand: 5 years
    since I sold mine. I could not resist. As you rightly expect I'll keep
    it ...

OK...what *COLOUR* is tungsten ?

 re -1. 

 In this case a dark metallic green.

    Re .20 ....
    
    Unless my eyes are mistaking me or someone's been spraying paint on my
    glasses, the current Renault brochure shows Tungsten to be a dark
    metallic grey.
    
    perhaps green is the colour of the ex-owner at the thought of someone
    else driving his car?..... ;-)

    RE-1
    
    	How cruel?
    

 

 It definately looks like green to me. Perhaps the photo in the brochure isn't
too good.

 As for being green with envy at the thought of someone else driving my car id
like to set fire to the ba....d and watch him burn.

 As I said I dont hold out much hope of getting the car back and If that is the
case I cant get a replacement ( they stopped making them ) and I do/did love
that car.

	Barrie.

I think setting fire to someone and watching them burn for stealing a car is a
little extreme.

/Dave.

    
    I don't!
    
    Mark

I don't think it is extreme,  not enough pain if you ask me....

_Richard

    There is a REnault 5 Turbo available for takeover on VTX, AND it's
    tungsten, which is GREY, not GREEN!
    
    Greg

 Whos car was this ?

  Lets compromise on grayish green -).

  By the way thers no need to shout.

	Barrie.

    As Barrie's wife and co-enjoyer of "Hugo" (the car that is), 
    I'd say that Tungsten is mostly metallic grey with a dull greenish/pewter
    coloured tint depending on the light and way the car is facing.
    
    OK! Is this the end?
    
     

    I think the car used to belong to Eamonn Young, who left for more dosh
    in France!
    
    I reckon it would be well looked after, although the radio was nicked a
    fair few times. Rumour has it that he once asked a fellow turbo owner
    what the turbo needle was for as it hadn't moved on his car...
    
    Greg

    Re .27
    
    Thanks, Greg, I knew that my eyes weren't **THAT** bad!
    
    What made me pretty sure of my ground was that my last Renault was
    "Tungsten", and it definately wasn't green.......

    Folks,
    	My Lotus Elan was stolen two weeks ago. Fortunately, for me it was
    recovered 30 hours later. Much as it seems quite fun to extract the
    michael from one who has lost a car, believe you me, the experience is
    traumatic! As I say, fortunately my car was found, almost intact and I
    now have it in my posession again. I know that humour was the
    motivation behind the previous notes, but sensitivity should play a
    part. Sorry to get on a soapbox but I was amazed at how much the theft
    got to me.
    
    By the way Joy-riding is THEFT and there is a need to Shout!
    
    Jim

    
    Just to add to the last entry, A stolen cars is not just a stolen car.
    For one that does not return , the owner has not just lost a car, they 
    lost the car, and probably a significant amount of money. Unless you
    have an owners club type insurance with guarenteed value, you never get
    what you paid for the car , and the differnce could be big. 
    
    
    

In addition, unless the rules have changed, if the vehicle is written off
the number will become non-transferable.  Worth thinking about if you paid
lots for some fancy number.

jb

    I thought tungsten colour had a bluish tint!

    This seems the best place to put this note...
    
    Does anyone have the issue of What Car? from earlier in the year that
    evaluated the anti-theft devices available for cars today? Does anyone
    have any other reviews on the subject? I've seen these unwieldy things
    that go right across the steering wheel, and I've seen those yellow
    things that lock the gearlever to the handbrake, plus others, but which
    is really best?
    
    I have a Krook-lok already, but it doesn't fit my ZX Volcane.
    
    I want to invest in an anti-theft device that will be a reasonable
    deterrent, and theoretically effective, although I acknowledge that if
    anyone is really determined, they will take your car away come what
    may.
    
    Any advice?
    
    
    
    Cheers,
    Stephen

The latest issue of Auto Express has an article with evaluation and ratings for 
anti theft devices.

Matt.

    Hi
    
    I have a "VECTA" imobiliser installed on my car including stickers in
    windows !!
    
    VECTA claim the only way someone will move the car is with a crane onto
    a truck.  It took there chap a DAY !! to install.  He uses no
    scotchblocks or tape everything is soldered.  On my car it cuts into
    seven separate systems.
    
    Howevere like anything you can only go on peoples say so.  But
    insurance companies give discount on VECTA fitted cars. Hampshire
    police told me car thiefs do hate it and as a rule will not go near it. 
    
    I also have an alarm fitted witha 110Db Klaxon mounted up under the
    dash.  You would not want to be inside for to long with this going off
    in your ears.
    
    Note well !! all this did not stop some moron putting a key scratch on my
    bonnet.  An act that I would personally like to thank the individual
    for, by putting an equally sized but much deeper scratch on his/her
    face.
    
    Regards
    
    Brucef  

    I've got thaty What Car I think, I'll try and dig it out
    
    
    Greg

re.38:

Dear Bruce, 
	do you really think "putting an equally sized but much deeper scratch
on his/her face" is a reasonable act of a normal rational human being?

Regards,
Dave.

    Dave
    
    You are correct.  A much more reasonable solution would be to simply
    shoot them.
    
    Regards
    
    Bruce
    
    PS: seven quid on colour wax that turns your hands, dusters and jeans
    black,  but makes absolutely no difference to the car.

    Apologies if this has been asked.
    Roughly how much is this Vectar system ?
    
    
    Jason.

re .42

Don't do it Jason, it's more than the cars worth! 8-]

Steve.

    I wasn't thinking of my car in particular Steve.
    .. But then at least I'm not waiting for mine to be made.
    
    
    (-;
    
    
    Jason.

    re .41
    
    Whats that colouredd was stuff like ?
    I've seen it advertised on Sky selavision and it looks great,
    but then so does the vege-slicer :}

    Coloured Wax = Kiwi ???   ;-)
    
    J.R.

    My 3 year old Golf GTi met a sad fate a couple of weeks back - it was
    stolen in the early hours, driven round the corner into a school car
    park and totally trashed. The interior was cleaned out so that it
    looked like a racing touring car (without the Recaro) - stripped to the
    bare metal. The outside was similarly stripped of anything removable.
    They only didn't take the alloys because they chucked away the piece of
    trim with the wheel spanner clipped inside. Finally EVERY panel of the
    car was scratched by a sharp instrument and most of them were booted in
    for good measure. I also noticed that the new tax disc and a number
    plate (G422 CPE for the observant) were taken. It was a very sorry
    sight as you can imagine.
    
    One thing I'm wondering, is there some sort of scam going on that made
    them go out of their way to make sure it was written off (which it was
    of course)? Maybe the number will be switched to a different stolen car.
    
    Nigel
    
    

>    One thing I'm wondering, is there some sort of scam going on that made
>    them go out of their way to make sure it was written off (which it was
>    of course)? Maybe the number will be switched to a different stolen car.
    
    Nigel, you're lucky it was written off, A guy here had something similar,
	the car was found in Maidenhood woods, with every panel except the 
	roof dented, no wheels, engine and gearbox ceased, and they decided to 
	repair it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    	Heather

    
    Not a stolen car - but a stolen trailer......
    
    Our trailer was taken last Friday afternoon - (27th November)
    presumably loaded onto some flat-bed trailer/low-loader, since the 
    wheel clamp was on it - and there was no evidence of them having
    removed it.....  so,if anyone sees a 4-wheel flatbed car trailer for
    sale, with tyre rack (or I suppose that might have been removed), we'd
    be grateful if you'd let us know. (This is in the Reading/Basingstoke
    area ) 
    
    Thanks - Elaine

    Oh Elaine!
    
    My commiserations; it was a lovely trailer. I hope it was insured.
    
    Laurie_who_hired_the_trailer_once.

    
    Thanks Laurie - yes, it was insured, and we'll be getting another one
    from the same manufacturers.... hopefully fitted with it's own
    Rottweillers!  We will probably end up fitting it with a motorbike
    alarm, and hoping the local cats/kids don't keep setting it off, or we
    will be popular with the neighbours!