Have you ever had your car stolen?

[BrumJim]

One morning, after I had got up, had breakfast and got myself ready to go out, I strode over to the garage, opened the door, and there was no car inside.

First reaction was that my pride and joy had been stolen. Only I couldn't work out how they had got into the garage without damaging the door, and why they had so carefully closed the garage doors after they had taken the car out.

So I started to think back as to when I last used the car, and what had happened the previous day.

Then I worked it out.

That evening I had gone off to see my girlfriend. I had decided to drive round to avoid walking home late at night, and had therefore kept off the alcohol. Only at the end of the evening, whilst stone-cold sober, I had forgotten about the car and walked home instead.

Popped round to hers, and there, parked on the road exactly where I left it and completely unharmed was my car.

 

[cougie uk]

I'm starting to think that the car theft statistics are massively over stated and about half of them are just misplaced cars.

 

[fossyant]

I'm starting to think that the car theft statistics are massively over stated and about half of them are just misplaced cars.

Always handy leaving the roof rack on the car - you can spot it then.

 

[Broadside]

Back around 1998 I had a highly nickable Peugeot 306 in north London. They ransacked my flat to find both sets of keys for mine and my flat mates cars. His was stolen but they couldn’t take mine because it had a manufacturer fitted PIN code immobiliser in front of the gearstick which they couldn’t get past.

I went out to sit in the car which they had helpfully left open until a recovery truck towed it away, all the while being watched by a 14 year old spotter who was sitting on a nearby postbox waiting for me to leave the car alone, no doubt because they were coming back for a more determined attempt as they already had the keys.

New locks all round and I moved out of London shortly after….

 

[Gunk]

Always handy leaving the roof rack on the car - you can spot it then.

Stick a roof box on and your car will never be nicked

 

[AlanW]

We had the house broken into with the sole purpose of getting the car keys, nothing else was taken, and to make matters worse we were both asleep upstairs and slept through it all!

Yes I have since taken some serious steps in order to protect the house and hopefully the replacement car. I know....horse and stable door.

But I was trying to understand was if anyone else has experienced the same and did you replace the stolen car like for like or did you down size in monetary value/performance.

Part of me thinks why not replace like for like, after all its insured, its what we like and want so why should some scrum bag dictate to us what we can or cannot have, but the other part of me says why risk the added attention and potentially risk being a victim again

 

[byegad]

I had my Honda Accord stolen from outside this B&B in Ribblesdale in 1994, not exactly your typical inner-city sink estate. After I got back home the police called to say that it had been found abandoned outside the home of a cave rescue guy in Stainforth, he'd reported it because he thought it might belong to someone who'd got into trouble whilst caving. The only damage was a forced door lock and smashed ignition switch, but I lost the luggage from the boot, including an £80 fleece jacket that I'd worn for the first time that day. When I went to collect it from the body shop in Settle they said the police had been round fingerprinting it because they thought it had been used as the getaway car in a robbery.

In about 1974 we had some contents stolen from my dad's Mini van when it was broken into whilst parked in a multi-storey car park in Leeds. They must have been in a hurry, because they missed the valuable stuff, and grabbed some fairly worthless stuff instead. They had levered the sliding window that Minis were famous for, but I remember the copper at Millgarth telling us that at that time you only needed 6 keys to unlock all the Fords in Britain.

Yes, around that time my Dad, who'd had a fairly severe heart attack a couple of years before, was with Mam and sister shopping in York. He decided to go back to the car and sit for a while. A few minutes after he'd returned to the car he looked for his book in the glove compartment which wasn't there. His search was interrupted by an irate chap demanding to know what the blue blazes he was doing in his car.
The police were duly called and Dad's car was found two rows away from the irate chap's motor. Both sets of keys opened both Mr Irate's car and Dad's Cortina. Mr Irate was all for charges being brought until the Police Officer mentioned that there were only 6 different keys to open a multitude of Fords.

Next time the car was parked in a public place the rotor arm went into Dad's pocket, along with the key.

 

[Pale Rider]

My brother had a nearly new Ford Escort stolen, and replaced it with something similar.

Within a week that was also stolen from the same car park.

The insurance company was a bit sniffy about the second claim.

Brother is a typical old fashioned bank manager so he was a little upset by the imputation of dishonesty.

 

[Bazzer]

Mk1 Golf GTi about 1987 from Oldham. My reward to myself for avoiding an unwanted work transfer.
Cop did the sucking air through his teeth when I told him what it was and said I would never see it again. Sadly he was right.
The arguing with the insurance company made the experience even more unpleasant and the car was not replaced.

As with some others upthread, Mrs B and I thought her car had been stolen earlier this year. The pay station by a hedge near her car had a duplicate, also by a hedge, elsewhere in the car park. It was only after we both walked the length of the car park getting more despondent with each step that we rediscovered her car.

 

[Archie_tect]

Mk1 Golf GTi about 1987 from Oldham. My reward to myself for avoiding an unwanted work transfer.
Cop did the sucking air through his teeth when I told him what it was and said I would never see it again. Sadly he was right.
The arguing with the insurance company made the experience even more unpleasant and the car was not replaced.

As with some others upthread, Mrs B and I thought her car had been stolen earlier this year. The pay station by a hedge near her car had a duplicate, also by a hedge, elsewhere in the car park. It was only after we both walked the length of the car park getting more despondent with each step that we rediscovered her car.

That's why I like cars that have flashing indicators and lights that come on when you click the key fob... that';s saved me a lot of time in car parks!

 

[AlanW]

Next time the car was parked in a public place the rotor arm went into Dad's pocket, along with the key.

Those were the days......

 

[tyred]

I'm starting to think that the car theft statistics are massively over stated and about half of them are just misplaced cars.

Years ago, my aunt left her Escort in for a service and drove to the supermarket in the courtesy car, came out after shopping and couldn't find her Escort. She reported it stolen and got a lift home. The next day she got a phone call from the mechanic to say he was finished and she could pick it up when it suited. The courtesy car was still at the shop

A work colleague had gone shopping with a friend in her red VW Polo and left the car in a multistorey car park at the shopping centre.

When they went to go home, the key wouldn't unlock the driver's door. They called a mechanic who broke into the car and damaged the door handle in the process. My colleague sat in the driver's seat and wondered who had moved her seat, then realised that it was actually the wrong red Polo and that her's was on a different floor of the multistorey. She ended up paying to have door of the car they had broken into repaired

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Yes in 1984 when I was 18.

My first car - an old Mini.

I was due to go on holiday a week or two after its theft with my then girlfriend and under the back seat were 'hidden' 36 condoms - the optimism of youth as the holiday was only due to be 1 week long!

 

[Threevok]

under the back seat were 'hidden' 36 condoms - the optimism of youth as the holiday was only due to be 1 week long!

1 Week?

Sounds more like a Goodyear

 

[Badger_Boom]

I remember the copper at Millgarth telling us that at that time you only needed 6 keys to unlock all the Fords in Britain.

My Dad once came home from work and told us that he and a colleague who both drove Minis had discovered that their keys would open and start each other's cars.

In the early 90s my partner drove a Morris Minor and although it wasn't stolen, someone did break in and leave a large bunch of old car keys hanging from the ignition. Presumably they liked to try their luck with the key theory and it obvioulsly worked on the doors.