[Closed] Burgled last night!! Car tracking devices?

Homebrew tracker from a very meticulous chap here - https://scotthelme.co.uk/building-a-gps-tracker-for-my-car/ Possibly not what you're after but worth including on the thread for others interested in solving the problem.

I can't believe locks still get snapped. I posted on here back in 2010 about a similar/same problem and figured word would've got around by now. Sorry all the same - total ball ache.

https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/attention-upvc-door-owners-major-lock-vulnerabilities/

Have a search on Youtube for 'Automatrics'
They seem to recover a lot stolen vehicles & plant fitted with their trackers.
It's a subscription based product,not sure about non subs based stuff..

Get your locks changed to Avocet or similar. By all accounts they are a right git to break. Bonus is you end up with one key for the whole house, and your dog walker/chauffeur can't get the spare key copied unless he finds your keycard and orders in advance 🙂

and your dog walker/chauffeur can’t get the spare key copied unless he finds your keycard

Unfortunately not all key cutters are completely above board. Our suited master keys aren't supposed to be cuttable, some geezer down the high street did 10 the other day 🙄.

Upvc doors have definitely come on with the "secure by design" elements but if they want in they'll get in especially for shiney motors.

As an aside are trackers not a insurance requirement anymore on certain models. Used to piss me off but I had to have them on my scoobs when new.

Sorry to hear about this OP. I believe that the crims will block trackers or leave the car parked up somewhere to see if can be tracked before moving it on. Sporty hatchbacks particularly VAG or Ford are high targets for these scum and the reason why I won’t have one.

called a locksmith out as soon as police had been now got all locks changed for anti snap 3 star avocet ones as mentioned above. Also advised me to get some sash jammers on doors and windows downstairs which are en route.

I know it's Liverpool but it's a nice part and we've never had the slightest bit of bother with crime whatsoever before now.

As mentioned above, it's an eye opener how easy they snapped the lock!

As mentioned above, Avocet locks can go someway to help I have them in all.of my doors.

My brother recovered a 25k piece of machinery recently using its tracker when nicked. I think it was a subscription service but paid for itself.

I know it’s Liverpool but it’s a nice part and we’ve never had the slightest bit of bother with crime whatsoever before now.

Not the area mate, it’s targeted for the car.
We had 7 quiet years in Huyton before someone found out about my bikes.
Moved over to Wirral and same here, not a peep for about 8 years then the garage got done twice in 6 months

Not sure i'd want the car back. Just claim off insurance. Good locks? No point when you have windows in your house. A neighbours house was broken into and they went in via the window..if they want in they'll get in...these cars are stolen to order by professional and organised gangs and not amateur opportunists, they'll have been watching you for a short while and have about three or four options for getting in the house. The official Police line is make it easy to take the car if they get in to prevent them coming upstairs and disturbing you in your bed to get the keys...all they want is the car and they are insured and can be replaced. You don't want to be woken at 3am by three burley and armed blokes at the food of you bed wanting the keys to your car.

The official Police line is make it easy to take the car if they get in to prevent them coming upstairs and disturbing you in your bed to get the keys…all they want is the car and they are insured and can be replaced. You don’t want to be woken at 3am by three burley and armed blokes at the food of you bed wanting the keys to your car.

The very reason I leave my car keys near the front door.

Sorry to hear that OP. Harrowing experience having your home broke into.

Definitely worth checking that Automatrics Mtrax channel on Youtube.  Lots of it is heavy plant, but there's the occasional pride and joy in there. Shows the different ways the criminals leave freshly nicked vehicles, and in the case of cars, when found, expect the trim to be ripped to shreds as they go hunting for hidden trackers.

Tracker is useless without the support to find it, so I'd guess that a non-sub one would be a waste of cash. I'm sure other services are available, and I guess Automatrics don't put vids up for the ones that get away. But it does show what kind of service you get for your money.

As for bikes, I have no issues whatsoever about using explosive devices and the criminals coming to harm in my garage, and end up stained in permanent dye, and choking and in agony after getting a face full of capsaicin from the worlds hottest chillis. And the bikes I leave locked up in town have brakes that will not work.

The very reason I leave my car keys near the front door.

Me too. It took a while of retraining my gf to stop her bringing her handbag upstairs next to the bed, complete with keys but now they're downstairs in the hall.

When I was looking at new cars Golf R and Leon Cupras were temptingly cheap on lease but I decided quite quickly I wouldn't want one on the drive for this reason.

The very reason I leave my car keys near the front door.

...but not near enough that they can fish them through the letterbox.

I agree with above. Keys were left in hall for easy finding. Got daughters in house so don't want to turn vigilante to protect an insured asset.

It didn't really cross my mind that we'd be targeted like this. I'd always been to complacent that there were nicer cars on the street. Certainly houses that'd be easier to access. It's been a definite wake up call.

I've suggested getting a different car if we don't get this back but the wife is resolute that her choice of car will not be governed by ****s who might want to steal it.

Not that bothered about the bike really, I'll get it replaced with the insurance and thankfully they didn't take the Brompton. Which I'm sure your average scally wouldn't be seen dead with.

It didn’t really cross my mind that we’d be targeted like this. I’d always been to complacent that there were nicer cars on the street

Well its not just nice cars they're after..its specific cars. My neighbours was a Golf GTD, so nice but not prestige. Also they are sometimes bought for spares, so they nick the cars, get them over to a garage somewhere and within an couple of hours they're stripped out to retrieve the specific parts they're after...could be front wings, interior pieces, catalytic converters...whatever, so a tracker is useless because by the time you find them they'd have already retrieved whatever parts they need and left the rest of the car to be found. Like I say, i'd rather the car was written off and just get a replacement from insurance. If it was a new car it would feel tainted after that and lost the new car feel about it.

sorry to hear this, I was burgled 3 years ago in Nov and still paranoid. 2 guys hammer through the kitchen window, 3pm on a sunday during the hour we were out of the house. So we were being watched too.

Don't underestimate the mental impact - if you were offered counselling have a think about trying it. I didn't and then it took nearly 2 years to sleep properly.

I have been thinking about upgrading locks and handles on new house - which ones of those avocet did you go for? Are they easy enough to DIY fit?

About 2005 I had a Mitsubishi FTO (reasonably sporty car, nice looking and moderately fast). I had a tracker fitted at the time to reduce the insurance cost as it was an import and not very common car.

Went on holiday to Turkey for two weeks in the summer and left the car parked outside a friends house in Northolt London (they were on holiday with us). Received a phone call from my mum (the car was registered at her house) asking me what I was playing at with all the speeding? I was confused, and asked her to go through the tickets. I had somehow accumulated 18 points in the last week and she was understandably concerned.

I pointed out that I was on holiday in Turkey and that I needed to get off the phone to call the police regarding my car being stolen.

The police (I phoned Harrow police station as it was the nearest to where the car was parked and where the tickets came from) informed me that I couldn't report the vehicle as stolen over the phone, I would need to come into the station with the V5C and report it in person. Obviously with another week of my holiday to go that wasn't possible. I made them aware that the vehicle had a tracker and where I had left the car parked. I urged them to check with the tracking company for the location of the car. They wouldn't until I came into the station.

I phoned the tracking company and they checked the vehicles location. Confirmed that it wasn't where I left it and offered to phone the police on my behalf. The operator "accidentally" didn't mute my line and I heard the conversation between the tracking company and the police. The police still were not responding to the request to cease the car.

They sent an officer to take a look at the car to see if there was anything suspicious, and reported that they couldn't see any cause for concern.

The tracking company were excellent and between them and me on the phone (the mobile bill came to £600) we persuaded the police to impound the car until my return. On my return I went to see the car and it was pretty clear that it had been stolen (drilled out door locks and detached ignition barrel). Why the police had been so reticent with regards to impounding the vehicle is beyond me but on that occasion the help of the tracking company was worth every penny.

The insurance company fixed the car as well as possible and it was returned to me. I payed for a further immobiliser and alarm to be fitted, but unfortunately the car was never the same again after being thrashed for a week. The gearbox was crunchy and there had been some twisting of the chassis that was reflected in the handling.

Anyway, look carefully at the car when it comes back (if it does) to make sure that there is no unseen damage that will effect the drive. Consider the pay monthly tracker services (mine was RAC Trackstar plus at the time but this has probably moved on a bit since then) as their operators are excellent and will help as much as possible.

We were burgled, and when looking for new insurance were asked about the locks on our patio door. Bearing in mind the full height window adjacent to the door was smashed to gain entry, the quality of the lock does seem a bit pointless. I am a bit resigned to the fact that if someone really wants to get in, they are coming in and theres not a lot you can do to stop them.

So that Manhunt thing where they track a car from sat in a nice cozy office based on them turning on the radio or something is all made up? I knew it was all TV trickery....

@DT78 the avocet locks are easy to fit. Just measure your existing barrels (assuming eurolocks). As long as you have the key it's a 2 minute job. Without key you have to snap the old one which is also alarmingly simple. They do other versions for night latches, one sided for garages and thumb turn. All nicely keyed alike.

thanks, where is best to buy them from? they seem pricey direct from manufacturer compared to the prices on amazon. But I'd like all the locks key'd alike which I'm not sure you can do if you buy from amazon?

I bought them from a locksmith in the midlands via the web. You get a code which the locks and keys can be made too on future orders (ordered ours in two batches). First order I got the choice of keyed alike for all the locks and how many keys. No they aren't cheap.

I have a cheap tracker in my boat. Cost about £30 off Ebay, plus £5 every 3mths for a PAYG sim.

I can't see what advantage an expensive tracker can give you or that phone in the link above? Mine has been in place for nearly 4 weeks and is still showing 70% battery. It's just a matter of finding the right spot for it so it can't be found.

If it was a Golf R I'd think twice about replacing like for like personally. Sadly I think these are the new Escort Cosworth in terms of desirability to crims

Edit: Actually, don't let them win if you're up for it. Upgrade your security and add a tracker. It's for you to weigh up yourself

As well as the Euro cylinder itself, upgrade the housing. I've installed tougher ones which prevent access to the Euro lock itself...

We had a tracking box thingy installed in the van.

Not only does it track the vehicle, but you can remotely cut off the fuel supply, stalling the engine.

You can set up a radius around the vehicle and if/when it leaves that radius you'll get an SMS. Potentially handy if you've left the car with airport parking service or a garage.

The fuel is cut off when the vehicle speed drops below 15mph. Quite good fun when you let your mate drive it for the first time.

I dont understand the point of the upgraded housing. How does being able to remove it give easier access to break the lock?

Update on the car situation. Nothing on the one that was taken, but spoke to the insurance today and because it's a lease car and is less than 12 months old they are just going to replace it like for like and just carry on under the original lease terms. Apparently they are on it now and once they have two quotes back from dealers they'll sort one out. Didn't expect anything that quick!!!

Although might have to invest in some gap insurance as once it's over 12 months old they won't replace and I'd have to make up the shortfall. Definitely dodged a bullet with that as didn't even realise this when we took the lease out.

UrbanHiker: once the handle is broken you've then got access to grip the lock cylinder with the mole grips and snap it. That's why it's also bad to fit cylinders that are too long and protrude out beyond the surface of the handle.

I thought all new cars came with tracking and location. My wifes corsa can be located by an app, disabled and located by a call to the onstar service

I dont understand the point of the upgraded housing. How does being able to remove it give easier access to break the lock?

See bails reply.

Whilst you can get anti-snap euro cylinders you really don't want to come home and find it's been snapped and you're outside as the only way in is for a locksmith to drill out the broken part. So preventing access to the cylinder is the cleanest form of defense.

NB That probably sounds confusing. Snapping a lock is the easiest way to foil a euro cylinder, you torque one side and it snaps in the middle exposing the lever which you just push with a screwdriver to unlock the door. An anti-snap cylinder has a weak line in the outside half so it snaps early leaving the lock lever in the middle still hidden behind part of the lock. However, you can only unlock from the unsnapped side on the inside, if you're outside, you're locked out.

Balls, Footflaps, ta for that info. Makes perfect sense. So if you have a snappy lock, then the security isn't degraded, you just might end up with a twisted off cover, a snapped lock, and not being able to open the door.

Just checking as have 3 external doors with euro locks, want to replace all with high security ones, but dont want added expense of 3 new handles. My bet would be worst case thief would ruin one, then give up and move on. So I'd still have two functioning doors.

Also, the handles are white, does that mean they're more secure than the zink ones in the video anyway.

As i said, ta for the info.

Also, the handles are white, does that mean they’re more secure than the zink ones in the video anyway.

I used this place to get a load of keyed alike locks made when we moved house. https://www.lockandkey.co.uk/ Had them delivered to a friends house to remove the risk of someone in the 'supply chain' getting hold of a key and knowing which front door it would work on.

Had them delivered to a friends house

That's my kind of attention to detail. Stealing that idea.

old they are just going to replace it like for like and just carry on under the original lease terms.

Good news, but I don't want to be the constant voice of doom, but be aware that it is a known tactic of these sort of crims to target the replacement as well as the original vehicle in that once they've done it once, they know how and where to get the replacement. Happened to a mate of mine, had his sports car done twice and a third attempted theft.

It didn’t really cross my mind that we’d be targeted like this. I’d always been to complacent that there were nicer cars on the street. Certainly houses that’d be easier to access. It’s been a definite wake up call.

there are some dead posh cars on my street & they still broke in & nicked my Zafira!! (actually I think they only used it as a convenient way to escape with my bike)

But my posh neighbour did comment that it was odd they took our car as theres a porsche 2 houses down !!

anyway feel your pain OP, its very unsettling to be burgled like this & my wife was really affected by it

OK so now got Avocet locks, sash jammers on doors and going to start closing drive gates and locked with a heavy duty D lock, key not on car keys. I guess that's as safe as I can do.

Landmines, don't forget landmines....

I got my Mila handles from Screwfix.

On the patio doors I also have a https://vendes.co.uk/products/patlock-patlock-french-double-door-security-lock.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwiZnnBRBQEiwAcWKfYsXZKFkojsCntKH7-eJnUpkZxIpusZ2VJep1TtHeISw5ML7TeARvCRoC5I4QAvD_BwE
fitted over the internal handles.

If the outer handles and locks are broken its supposed to prevent the doors from then being pushed open.

Get your locks changed to Avocet or similar. By all accounts they are a right git to break.

As others have said it's not that they're hard to break per se, but rather they have a sacrificial piece at the front which will break off instead of snapping catastrophically in the middle like a Euro (so it's really important to fit them the right way around).

Are they easy enough to DIY fit?

Absolute piece of piss, it's literally one screw and turning the barrel a few degrees with the key to line up the latch. There isn't a standard size though, so you'll have to take out the existing one temporarily to measure it before ordering.

where is best to buy them from?

Last one I bought was from https://www.barnsleylockandsafe.co.uk/ Came in at £35, I shopped around back in February and couldn't find anywhere (reputable) cheaper. They do key matching and all that shizzle if you're buying multiples too.

Sorry to hear about the burglary.

House opposite me in a small q northern village where there has not been a crime for years. House had every security feature going. Thieves just threw a brick through the window and got what they wanted, it was a targeted theft. In and out in 5mins. They had recycled it before.

Used to have an Audi S3 and did get rid of it partly due to a friend's experience with their S1. She initially had it stolen from her forcibly by 2 people grabbing her when she got out of her car at home and stealing her handbag. It was recovered and then, both her S1 and her husbands Octavia VRS were nicked by someone breaking into the house. S1 recovered again but the Octavia last seen heading into the Mersey Tunnel and never recovered.

My wife was then nervous about driving it anywhere remotely dodgy. Given we live in a rural location it was the ideal car for country roads and I do miss it. However I don't think I'd want it back if it had been nicked and thrashed either.