VW California STOLEN from South Yorkshire

[panadero]

Hi could you tell me where to locate this item you are talking about .where does it fit to gearbox also is it cable operated or electric and how is it tapped in to gearbox .is there a company supplying these items .thanks Mervyn

The lock is located directly near the DSG shifter. No electronis and no cables are used; only mechanical parts and no maintenance is needed. In case of a DSG it will simply lock the gearshifter in P(arking) position.

and

(bad music).

 

[Loz]

You could add a key operated switch that disconnected the DSG lever solenoid which does the same by stopping you moving the lever.

Also you need a hidden switch that disconnects power to the ODB socket.

You can disable the starter solenoid relay...

Most importantly keep your keys in a key safe bolted properly to the wall preferably with threaded bar through a solid wall so it can't be levered off.

All you need to do is add as much delay as possible to the thieves operation whilst the alarm Is blaring.. Eventually they will give up.

 

[Sheffield26]

Many thanks for posting about the theft of my Cali - the reg is FM12FTJ, I've pasted below the Facebook post by South Yorkshire police;




SYP Operational Support
23 hrs ·
This much loved VW California was stolen with the keys sometime last night from the Swallownest area of Sheffield during a house burglary.

Also stolen at the same time was a silver BWW 4 series, which has since been recovered in the Attercliffe area of Sheffield.

The VW California had the black Exodus roof box still on it, but no pushbikes on the back.

Help us find this vehicle and return it back to its owner, any information or sightings ring 101 and quote inc 143 of 3rd August 2016.

 

[sapto]

Many thanks for posting about the theft of my Cali - the reg is FM12FTJ, I've pasted below the Facebook post by South Yorkshire police;




SYP Operational Support
23 hrs ·
This much loved VW California was stolen with the keys sometime last night from the Swallownest area of Sheffield during a house burglary.

Also stolen at the same time was a silver BWW 4 series, which has since been recovered in the Attercliffe area of Sheffield.

The VW California had the black Exodus roof box still on it, but no pushbikes on the back.

Help us find this vehicle and return it back to its owner, any information or sightings ring 101 and quote inc 143 of 3rd August 2016.

I keep my fingers crossed! Hope you get your Cali back soon!

 

[Amarillo]

Many thanks for posting about the theft of my Cali

So sorry to hear of this. I sincerely hope this has a positive outcome. It is a reminder to me of how casual I can be with my car keys - I would never leave a large wad of cash lying about on the kitchen table or mantelpiece, but that is exactly what my wife and I do with our car keys.

 

[andyinluton]

Most importantly keep your keys in a key safe bolted properly to the wall preferably with threaded bar through a solid wall so it can't be levered off.

.

Having previously been woken up in the middle of the night by a couple of less than polite intruders asking for my car keys I would recommend the opposite - leave them downstairs where they will be easily found. Not in plain view from outside windows or within fishing reach of the letterbox, but somewhere that anyone who has already taken the trouble to break in will find them without having to trash the house.

When going away on holiday I don't leave keys in the house.

 

[Loz]

When going away on holiday I don't leave keys in the house.

So they would still trash the house then...

Perhaps a dummy set of keys is what's needed, perhaps some like keys off ebay?


Better still, a dummy set of keys that have the electronics of a taser inside so that they find the keys in a top kitchen draw, run out side try and blip the car and taser themselves instead?

 

[Bramco]

I would also say Andy that you shouldn't advertise the spec of one of your most expensive possessions on a public forum and most definitely don't put the location name in your profile.

Personally I also wouldn't want any public web site showing a flag of my current location.

So I've stripped our signature down to the essential. Given a broad description of where we live and turned off the flag thingie.

I'm also going to take myself off the strava group because if you're a member of the group you can see the exact start and end point of any ride or run.

And that's not being paranoid, just sensible interweb behaviour.

 

[Loz]

I'm also going to take myself off the strava group because if you're a member of the group you can see the exact start and end point of any ride or run.

And that's not being paranoid, just sensible interweb behaviour.

And remember to anonymise photos screen shots of satnav screens, of street names etc. that show your current location..

 

[andyinluton]

Whilst I would of course rather they don't trash the house, there is a huge difference between it being trashed when I'm still in it compared to when Im not.

Mouse traps are good for kitchen draws.

 

[MattBW]

I appreciate they aren't for everyone but I know people who've had vehicles returned due to cheap £15 trackers being fitted so each to their own. Also handy if you hire your vehicles out to keep an eye on speeds and such.

Not all thieves are pro after all, and even the blockers don't always work. In the UK thieves leave them somewhere quiet and watch for police or people turning up to check for trackers before moving them on.

Many are opportunists.

 

[MattBW]

Gutted for you, so sorry. :-(


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MattBW]

But by buying a tracker, all you are doing is helping either the police or the insurance company at your cost. and just like having a burglar alarm and not setting it, you are just giving the insurance companies more reasons to void your claim should something not

I personally haven't declared my trackers on my insurance for any of our vehicles. I also don't advertise the fact on those vehicles that they have them.

I like to think the police would treat information on a 50k van slightly different to a tablet computer. I would also suggest a police complaint needs to be filed of evidence was provided of stolen goods location and ignored.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[T6 CFO]

What this thread tells us us that there are exceptions to every rule such as someone breaking in and then demanding the location of the keys as in @andyinlutons example.
On the whole though it seems that it more likely to be stolen from home when you've left it in the driveway and gone off for the day so best not leave the keys and Cali at home alone. It's a case of cherry picking the security that suits your circumstances and taking sensible precautions.
I shall probably go for an additional cut off somewhere as mine will be safe at home due to the peculiarity of where it's parked. If I had a conventional house and driveway I would have to thing again.
One thing is for certain, as emotive as we are it is a heap of metal that is insured.



Mike

 

[SheffieldSteel]

Many thanks for posting about the theft of my Cali - the reg is FM12FTJ, I've pasted below the Facebook post by South Yorkshire police;




SYP Operational Support
23 hrs ·
This much loved VW California was stolen with the keys sometime last night from the Swallownest area of Sheffield during a house burglary.

Also stolen at the same time was a silver BWW 4 series, which has since been recovered in the Attercliffe area of Sheffield.

The VW California had the black Exodus roof box still on it, but no pushbikes on the back.

Help us find this vehicle and return it back to its owner, any information or sightings ring 101 and quote inc 143 of 3rd August 2016.

Sorry to hear about your loss Sheffield 26, its not a nice thing to happen. Im a Sheffield lad myself and I have gone through the same experience in Dore. I will keep my eyes open as its quite recognisable.

 

[SheffieldSteel]

If they want it they will take it and to be completely honest if they succeed then I don't want it back. I consider good insurance , not necessarily the cheapest, more important.

Im with you on that.

Im not sure if the UK is the same but for a new car in Switzerland you can get old for new policy for the first 3 years. So if its stolen you basically get a new one. In fact when I ordered my Cali here with the alarm added as an extra, the sales guys looked at me as if i was an alien and asked if i was travelling to Italy alot.. not sure what that says about Italy !

 

[BarryC]

Sorry for your loss and hope you get it back. I fitted a Vodafone CarTrack Plus Web for about 250. You can define a geofence zone when you leave the van so you get an instant sms alert if it moves - even with the key being used.

 

[Blue-T4]

There is no Total Safety, we all know it can happen anytime.

Examples ?
Friend of mine drove to Italy in his brand new BMW M5. Parked in Front of the Hotel to check inn. When he turned around he just saw his Beamer pull off.

American Friend owned a very Special One of a kind Corvette. Thiefs broke in his house at night time while he was sleeping upstairs and stole the Car keys, Corvette gone.

How would I steel any Car ? Take a recovery vehicle, in Germany I would pick a yellow one and put ADAC Stickers on it, dress myself like a recovery guy, have faked Paperwork with me stating I have orders to pull the Car off the Road and do it in bright daylight. You believe anyone would care if an Alarm goes off ? People will clap when you finally pull it away so the Noise stops. What if the Owner appears ? Show your faked Paperwork and apologize fot the aberration.

A Jammer to disturb your GPS signals will be in the Standard Toolkit.


For the average Thief Bearlok, Pedaloc, securing access to the engine Control Unit, hidden switch to Stop Fuelpump and so on will be a good defense.


;-) Well, triple reading my posts now to make sure typing errors and weired Tapatalk actions will not screw up the text. Not always having my glases on ;-) plus I am working with Americans for 35 years ;-), so I ask your indulgence

 

[Pete M]

I'm also going to take myself off the strava group because if you're a member of the group you can see the exact start and end point of any ride or run.

That's crackers ! I'm removing myself as well So if I have my privacy setting for my regular Strava account it doesn't hold for groups? Off to check ...

 

[Pete M]

I'm happy to be wrong on this but I've just checked and it appears the privacy setting continues on groups!
On a side note you can only see the bar graph (not the map) of people you don't follow so even if the privacy setting fails with groups it would only be the people you've allowed to follow you that could see it anyway (I think!).