Beware there is a thief about

[Steve_C]

I think I'm going to get a dog as that seems the best security measure. Fortunately I have an Avant so it can also travel in the boot

[rtd]

I think I'm going to get a dog as that seems the best security measure. Fortunately I have an Avant so it can also travel in the boot

its not that easy as just getting a dog Steve_C.

it is a common myth to assume that a dog is naturally protective/aggressive in confrontational circumstances. a dog may initially bark/growl when a trespasser e.g. comes onto your property however, if engaged the dog would probably back off and run away. and this trait is probably representative of most breeds in this country today.

to have a dog which will be good with the family/children but also switch in the blink of an eye to protect mode - requires a lot of work and dedication however, it can be done.

[adsgreen]

CCTV box (real or fake) can work well.
If you had one mounted over the main enterence along with an ir activated light then can work.
The key to security isn't about making things secure (as you can't really as the example above shows) but making it so it's not worth the bother.

[ChrisCSL]

I had my 911 Turbo stolen from my previous house (on a busy-ish road) via burglary. I ended up moving house (not just for this reason) to a cul de sac in a quiet location. I did get the 911 back (tracker), luckily still in mint condition. The thief's were in the car in traffic when the cops caught them. They didn't resist or try to make a run for it. Typically they got let off as the cops couldn't prove they actually did the burglary and said the car was lent to them. Despite having my property on them (jacket, phone etc).

I was also burgled again at the same address a couple of years later (now alarmed) and my wifes BMW X3 was stolen. My M3 CSL was left but I think it was this that they were after and just grabbed the first BMW keys they found. This was recovered later the same day via tracker just parked up in Slough.

Living in a posh area on a busy road is not a good thing. The people who bought my house have a 911 and a Lambo so god help them. I do feel more secure in a quiet cul-de-sac.

[^Qwerty^]

As some of you may know/remember, we had a visit in the middle of the night last September, looking for the keys to the RS4 - this is assumed by the police, since we are not aware that anything was stolen.
It's doesn't seem to be that well known that it takes under a minute for somebody to break in via the average UPVC door and 'yale' style lock - that's how they got in to my house. It's quite simple to do with the right equipment
Other than the fact I'm a bit fooked off that the police (CID) in not following up on some info I gave them, the rest of the police were fine.
I was told that noise is the best defence against this style of car theft. It's all about time, and noise is the thing that starts the stop watch ticking on how long the criminals have to enter your home, find/get the keys and then make off with your car. Clearly most people know a dog is the best line of defence on this count. No matter how big your dog is, once it starts barking and wakes you up, this gives you chance to call the police, and in quite a lot of cases, you'll have plod on your driveway in under 10 minutes, depending on your location of course. Ten minutes does not give the crims a lot of time, so rather than get caught, they'll probably go try steal something else. If you don't have a dog, or don't/can't have one - get some external proximity stuff set up. If somebody starts looking around your house, you'll get woken up by a beep/chime whatever, and if you make it so the criminals can hear it, they'll be off.

But still, at the end of the day, if they want your car, they'll take it off you anyway, as posts above suggest.

You can of course disimss what I've written, but in my case, I now struggle to sleep and keep leaping out of bed in the middle of the night because I think I've heard something, which is not good. Getting out of bed in the morning to find that somebody has been in your house whilst you were asleep is not good, never mind if they get your car or not.

Take Care people.

[scottie1979]

Or just buy a red rs4 as red is seen as bad luck in the criminal world!

Happy days

[PetrolDave]

Other than the fact I'm a bit fooked off that the police (CID) in not following up on some info I gave them, the rest of the police were fine.

Sadly that's all too common - when my car got broken into on my drive 5 years ago the SOCO officer that visited the next day got a perfect print off the dashboard. A few days later through work contacts (I was worked on covert equipment for the Police and other agencies at the time) I was told that it was a match for a well known local criminal, but despite that no arrest was made.

[jameslynn]

Just saw this thread, and thought better let you guys know. On the morning of the 8th jan ie Sat @ 3am - 4 guys in balaclavas broke our door down, and held us at knifepoint to get the car keys...

RS4 avant in Daytona Grey in west London.

They got 200 metres down the road before overdoing it, and crashing into 3 parked cars...

So if there was someone out there looking to get an RS4 - they're still looking for one...

Hope no-one else gets anything like this. Bit of a nightmare.

[Timster]

Sh!t... that's awful.
Hope you're all ok!

Where abouts roughly in west London are you?
Yet another place for me to avoid.

[Ice_Coffee]

Now I'm feeling nervous, my local dealership is west london audi

[RS4POWER]

You guys need an NRA to protect the rights of law abiding citizens to bare arms. Therefore a thief thinks twice before entering your house.

I forget the % that crime jumped once the gun ban went in to effect. You cant keep guns out of the hands of thieves.

[rnb]

Thats shocking news!!

Hope your all ok.

[neckarsulm]

Yet another place for me to avoid.

I think all cities are risky, what's more surprising is where the OP lives as it's a well off Warwickshire town.
As happens a lot now is that the crims travel rom the nearest cities in this case Bham and Coventry.
I'd only feel safe in Wales, Cornwall, Suffolk and Scotland and the rest of Europe!

[wolfgang]

Bad times.

Really sorry to hear about the thefts in this thread.

I have just invested in a Y-Cam Knight SD wireless security camera to keep an eye on my pride and joy. It has built-in infra-red LEDs for night vision and a micro-SD card slot. You can log into the camera video stream from anywhere in the world and also set up alarms if it detects motion. I have set mine up to record a short video and take a picture every time it detects motion. You can also have triggered snapshots emailed to you.

The one I have is this one:

http://www.y-cam.com/y-cam-black-sd

The total cost, including an 8GB micro-SD card, was under £200. It took 10 minutes to set up.

[klauster]

These barstewards are the scum of the earth, I wish they would bring back hanging for them, glad their plans went tits up, I need to get a dog!