Car-free living

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Drago

Legendary Member
The most secure parking is at a stop served by frequent buses, in full view of the street and the buses (no, I know people rarely intervene but it does deter most thieves), and ideally shared with a shop or similar high-footfall place.
"Natural surveillance" is the term.
 
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tyred

Legendary Member
Location
Ireland
I do own a car (several in fact) but I drive very little as a general rule. I have been working from home since Covid started but prior to that I walked to work (and whenever I get called back to the office I intend to walk to work again as before (assuming my ankle injured ankle will be up to it).

When I lived in town until recently I walked or cycled everywhere in town. I have temporarily moved to rural location a few months back while I wait for the purchase of my apartment to progress but even so, prior to my accident, I still cycled the five miles to the nearest supermarket on my Brompton which works pretty well for carrying groceries.

My car often sits for days or sometimes weeks without moving. If I do use it it is because I want to go somewhere far away or have something heavy or awkward.

I could survive without it in all probability but view it as a luxury as it's nice to be able go further afield to visit friends or to cycle or walk in different surroundings once in a while. I do enjoy going to the coast in particular for walks. My car costs me little apart from the tax and insurance. In fact, in my ownership my car has passed from bargain basement banger to classic car and the last one I saw for sale was priced at three times more than I paid for mine in the first place and didn't even appear to be in as good condition.

I would never pay a lot of money for a car, if at all possible I would never put myself in a position of needing to commute by car ever again (I had a c45 mile round trip commute for 13 years in my last job).
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Both my wife were fast asleep upstairs when they broke in and had the car keys. They ignored the three mobile phones, a laptop and my wifes purse with £100 in notes poking out the top of it all sat on the kitchen table. The sole aim was to take the car and the Police said that they would have been watching for a while and that they would have already been round the back of the house on a number of occasions to check out the type of locks, and the lack of house alarm and dogs.

Looking at next doors CCTV footage, two masked men walked down the driveway, climbed over the locked side gate, snapped the lock on the back door, searched the cupboards in the utility room, then the cupboards in the garage, then all the cupboards in the kitchen then walked into the hall and found the keys in a Faraday pouch on the book shelf under the stairs and out.......all that in just four minutes :angry:

The first I knew was when I got up around 3 am to go for a wee and peeked out of the bedroom curtains as you do and the car was gone!

These jobs are usually two-handed, presumably because the thieves arrive in one car and hope to leave in two.

I've covered quite a few in which the keys are hooked off the hall table via a fishing rod poked through the letterbox.

Sounds a bit far fetched, but it does happen.

Was your car expensive?

Most two and twos seem to target nearly new cars, the bigger the better.

I've rarely heard of a car being taken from a garage, probably because the car is not on show for weeks on end to attract the thieves in the first place.

Worth thinking about what to do about security for the replacement car.

As with all burglaries, you are most at risk from a return visit soon after you've replaced the stolen items.
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
I considered this recently as I had to get rid of my old car (I live in the ULEZ). I was planning to rely on Zip cars for my occasional car use. But a mate was selling his car and we came to a mutually agreeable price.

I only use the car to drive up North to see family, for occasional weekend outings, and for annual trips to France (which have not happened lately, obviously). Since my mum died last year the need to go North regularly has diminished, so a Zip car would suit perfectly - except for the trips to France with the bikes.

Hiring a car with a bike rack is - from my brief researches - either impossible or difficult, so I'd have had to hire a van for the France trips probably.

Incidentally, this has nothing to do with cycling. My wife won't cycle in London (traffic), and I very rarely do any utility riding. due to location and plentiful public transport in London, we almost never use the car for short trips. Shopping and so forth all gets delivered. The garden centre is the only place we visit by car with any regularity.

Incidentally about 10 years ago our neighbours had their car (a fancy Merc, parked outside) nicked in a burglary in which they broke in, found the keys, and took the car. What I found surprising was that they actually nicked someone for it, using fingerprint evidence. I wouldn't have thought that it would warrant such a degree of forensic effort.
 
Both my wife were fast asleep upstairs when they broke in and had the car keys. They ignored the three mobile phones, a laptop and my wifes purse with £100 in notes poking out the top of it all sat on the kitchen table. The sole aim was to take the car and the Police said that they would have been watching for a while and that they would have already been round the back of the house on a number of occasions to check out the type of locks, and the lack of house alarm and dogs.

Looking at next doors CCTV footage, two masked men walked down the driveway, climbed over the locked side gate, snapped the lock on the back door, searched the cupboards in the utility room, then the cupboards in the garage, then all the cupboards in the kitchen then walked into the hall and found the keys in a Faraday pouch on the book shelf under the stairs and out.......all that in just four minutes :angry:

The first I knew was when I got up around 3 am to go for a wee and peeked out of the bedroom curtains as you do and the car was gone!
Blimey. Was it a very attractive car?
I only need a car to go from place to place - really not bothered about how appealing it is to others.
 

All uphill

Still rolling along
Location
Somerset
And what about bike racks?

Does anyone know how new car clubs get started? Are they all still speculators moving into big cities, or has someone heard of viable rural ones yet?
Our district council (Taunton Deane) tried to start one in 2010; I have no idea why it isn't still going, and they (Somerset West and Taunton) sent out a questionnaire last summer to see if there was sufficient interest to get a commercial company excited. I'm guessing there wasn't :wacko:
 

AlanW

Guru
Location
Not to sure?
Was your car expensive?

In the greater scheme of things not that expensive, but still £36k. It was three days short of being one year old! But on the plus side, the insurance paid me 3£k more than I paid for it.

Worth thinking about what to do about security for the replacement car.

I would like to think that Ive covered every angle now to prevent a recurrence:-
All the house locks replaced with anti snap and anti drill locks
Full house alarm with two internal cameras, 7 x motion sensors, 5 x door sensors, 1 x panic button and 1 x external alarm siren
300w LED flood light and PIR on the side gate
500w LED flood light and PIR at the rear of the house.
Dead bolt fitted to the rear door
"Patlock" fitted to the patio doors

But more importantly the replacement car, (if it ever arrives!) will now be kept in the garage and not on the drive. This has been a major rethink from a garage that was full of bikes, wheels, work bench and tool chest. Its all now been moved into the workshop at the rear of the house. Which is also alarmed and has 2 x floodlights and PIRs.
But in order to do that, I've had to buy another tool shed in which to keep the garden tools, mower etc etc.

So all in all, its been a dam expensive and very time consuming exercise to say the least!
 
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AlanW

Guru
Location
Not to sure?
Blimey. Was it a very attractive car?

It was a BMW M135i, so yes a stunning beautiful and a fairly high performance car at that. In truth it was a mid life crisis purchase to be honest, but hey why not? I'm getting close to retirement so it was an early retirement present to myself ^_^

But I wasn't that ignorant or stupid not to think that it would not attract the wrong type of attention which is why for the first time ever I took out GAP insurance.

However, where I was ignorant and stupid was the fact that I didn't factor in the possibility of having the house broken into in order to get the keys.
 

Electric_Andy

Heavy Metal Fan
Location
Plymouth
I went carless for a little over a year in 2011. It was very easy when I only had myself to think about. But when I got married and my son arrived, everything changed. I did like going everywhere on my e-bike, especially in the summer when I could pop round to a mates for a few beers. But commuting every day in the winter was not so good; I had to leave earlier, come home later, loads more washing and showers and I soon needed to help out with breakfast club, afterschool club etc as me and the ex both worked full time (and she already had 2 kids under 14). SO I needed a car to ferry kids around and so as not to be late for work.

I do know a guy near me that is a cycling fanatic, he took his younguns to nursery in a bike trailer. But having been nearly wiped out about 5 times whilst wearing bright yellow high viz and 3 lights, I'd not carry my pride and joy around that way!

Maybe when my son grows up and moves away I'd be happy to do it again, but I htink I'd still rely on my partner's car for carrying stuff. We tend to do a lot of things ourselves (DIY, gathering trees for firewood etc) so even a bike and a trailer wouldn't cut it.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
In the greater scheme of things not that expensive, but still £36k. It was three days short of being one year old! But on the plus side, the insurance paid me 3£k more than I paid for it.



I would like to think that Ive covered every angle now to prevent a recurrence:-
All the house locks replaced with anti snap and anti drill locks
Full house alarm with two internal cameras, 6 x motion sensors, 4 x door sensors, 1 x panic button and 1 x external alarm siren
300w LED flood light and PIR on the side gate
500w LED flood light and PIR at the rear of the house.
Dead bolt fitted to the rear door
"Patlock" fitted to the patio doors

But more importantly the replacement car, (if it ever arrives!) will now be kept in the garage and not on the drive. This has been a major rethink from a garage that was full of bikes, wheels, work bench and tool chest. Its all now been moved into the workshop at the rear of the house. Which is also alarmed and has 2 x floodlights and PIRs.
But in order to do that, I've had to buy another tool shed in which to keep the garden tools, mower etc etc.

So all in all, its been a dam expensive and very time consuming exercise to say the least!

Blimey, you don't prat about, do you?

Looks to me like you are well sorted, particularly as there will no longer be a tasty car on show for hours on end/overnight.
 

AlanW

Guru
Location
Not to sure?
Blimey, you don't prat about, do you?

Looks to me like you are well sorted, particularly as there will no longer be a tasty car on show for hours on end/overnight.

Certainly not, as you would imagine I lost a lot of sleep days/weeks after the event. Yes I've probably gone over the top but its not an experience I care to repeat. The replacement car is the same model, but the much less powerful version, so fingers crossed it shouldn't attract the same attention. Only time will tell I guess?

Even now, a couple of months on, I still reflect on that night and the thought of what would have happened had they not have found the car keys?

What would their plan B have been?
 
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