Right. I'm aware this is a bit tin hat and paranoid, but hear me out.

We are about to take delivery of a new Audi A3, a car which I'm aware is pretty high on the steal to order list.

Friends of ours have been broken into in the past (in other areas) and had their brand new cars stolen. The impact has been devastating on them. Forget the car, but knowing someone was in the house, near families and children, is haunting. I know I'd find that hard to deal with.

In light of that, I want to ensure that my property is as unattractive a break in prospect as possible. I already have CCTV, alarm, security lighting and all doors and windows are multi-point locked.

I know if someone REALLY wants in, they are gonna do it, but is there anything else any of you do to deter things like this from happening? The only thing I can think of is putting visible alarm and CCTV signs up but I don't want my house/garden to look like some council car park 🤣🤣

Cheers 👍 FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - so many issues
2019 DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎
Couldn’t afford the fuel bills so back to an older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Significantly better than I remembered it to be…

It sounds like the house is as good as it will get, short of a moat, drawbridge and crocodiles, the only thing left would be to secure the keys is some sort of faraday cage pouch so that they can not be detected from outside and maybe install some sort of lock to the steering wheel. MY13 HSE Lux Santorini Black Gone
MY11 HSE Santorini Black Gone
MY08 SE Blue, Gone
Alfa Romeo GT Gone
Alfa Romeo 156 Space wagon Gone
Volvo V40 Gone
Volvo 480ES Gone
VW Sirocco GTX Gone

Yeah, I had considered the steering wheel lock. As long as we don't then put the key on the same ring as the car keys 🤣

The only saving grace is the car doesn't have keyless ignition. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - so many issues
2019 DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎
Couldn’t afford the fuel bills so back to an older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Significantly better than I remembered it to be…

Yes, good point.

I don't know your circumstances personally, but my house is 3 storeys. I have strategically placed items around various points of the property that could be used in self-defence if anybody has the temerity to try their luck in the middle of the night, wherever I collar them.

Please don't ask me to elaborate on what these particular items are, suffice to say that I would not hesitate to use any of them in the most extreme way if I felt that either I or my families safety was compromised by scumbag intruders. The police around here are non-existent and would take at least 28 minutes to get here given our rural location. Not a chance in hell would they be my first point of call.

When I lived and worked in South Africa 20 years ago, you couldn't get insurance unless you were signed up to ADT Armed Response, and it's about time that something similar was introduced in the UK. The police, unfortunately, have become useless this last 10 years, and are frequently becoming people's last resort. MY13 HSE Lux.......faultless since new.

Last edited by SouthamFL2 on 29th May 2019 3:15 pm. Edited 1 time in total

A long time ago we were broken into twice knocking in the front door & breaking the door jamb away from the wall. There was a third attempt but we had strengthened the door & frame of our rented unit.

When we bought our unit we put a metal frame behind the door jamb bolted into 22 bricks each side. Used a solid core door with a metal outside face. Metal bar the length of the hinge side with pins from the door into the frame like a safe door.

The inside of the door was covered with Bullet resistant plate covered with thin plywood to hide everything. The door locks' tongue went into the metal frame. Windows have laminated glass.

After our first experience with a wine bottle found in the wrong place to be used as a weapon we really didn't want someone to break in, more so when someone was at home.

Fire extinguishers are handy from a distance, but you only have about 8 seconds in one go! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

So you aren't worried about anyone stealing the Freelander then ?  3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

Hahahah! If they did take the Freely the police would find it dumped and probably cleaner inside than it was when they took it  FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - so many issues
2019 DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎
Couldn’t afford the fuel bills so back to an older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Significantly better than I remembered it to be…

I've heard stories of thieves breaking in, boiling the kettle, then going to wake up the occupants ...... asking for the car keys whilst holding said kettle over the occupant's head.

Also, just knocking at the door and asking for the car keys ..... whilst holding out a big knife.

Always remember, if they really want it, they'll get it! FL2 now gone and have a couple of items left for sale:-

Brodit active iPhone holder + Brodit dash clip,
Bluetooth Music Streaming Module.

Never been worried about this since being down here but I used to worry about my Daughter on the farm in Norfolk, loads of white vans cruise in and out of the yard “lost” and looking for treasure!
But for a long time now she has had a rather larger big black Doberman and two GSDs, unfortunately the Doby is the dopiest dog ever but you do have to know her name to turn her from a snarling beast into a kitten looking for a lap (you need a BIG lap ), the GSDs are both highly trained IPO dogs and would tear the side off a transit if told to!

I worry a lot less now

My Son was a copper for a while and officially any “weapon” picked up during a struggle would be seen as self defence, if it is something that would not normally be “just laying around” like a baseball bat, cricket bat, samurai sword etc, you stand a good chance of being charged BUT if it happens to be something like a walking stick (however large and heavy) that you need occasionally for that dodgy knee, whack six bells out of them!

TBH if it was me in an area likely to be targeted with a desirable car, the keys would be as close to the front door as possible with a big label saying CAR on the hook.

Insurance is cheap compared to the alternative. Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

We're pretty isolated where we are and the advice we've had from Police and professional security services is that a big dog, lights and visible as well as invisible CCTV cameras at the building and around the perimeter are the strongest deterrent and defence from the bad guys - we have the place permanently illuminated (i.e. not on motion sensors) after dusk by big cathedral-style lighting - the balance being the horrendous electricity bills over the spectre of intrusion, even so we're under no illusions, security is never guaranteed as stated above.

If we were to be threatened, we'd just hand the keys over, and not mention that all three cars have Cat 5 trackers in them... we have a good multi-car policy for the business, and it was a condition of the insurance to have one on all three, though I do doubt that anyone would expect my 2009 Freely worth about 8K to have one...  Lexus RX450H - 500 mile a week commuter- I just couldn’t trust in a newer RRS or DS for that….
2009 Freelander 2 HSE... 155K miles, we’ve done 135k of those, has done brilliantly on the commute and staying firmly put as car two in the household
2002 Jaguar XK8 Coupe... fun, fast, ours for 12 years and owes us nothing - so staying with us too…

after reading this, I can clearly see I live in a different world, no fancy locks, no alarm, no fancy house, nothing of great worth, car maybe only £2,500 trade in value . . . . in all seriousness, the only thing I value is an external hard disk drive with thousands of my photos on it and thousands of music albums . . . . .most of which is duplicated elsewhere.

So I simply live in the belief I have nothing to lose as I have very little.  2017 SEAT Ateca 4drive 2.0 xcellence (May 2022 -
2007 HSE with HST bodykit in Zermatt Silver 169,700 miles (dec 2016 - May 2022 )
2007 Honda Civic Type S GT (2012-2017)
2002 Mini Cooper S (2008-2012)
1992 Honda Legend 3.2i (2003-2008)
1990 Honda Concerto (1999-2003)
1985 Honda Accord (1997-1999)
1983 Honda Accord (1993-1997)
1983 Mini Mayfair (1988-1993)
1974 Mini 1000 (1979-1986)

Thanks for all the replies. I would agree, as much as I hate it, that making the keys easy to find is the best idea. me off, but it's true. The less time someone is near my family the better. But I'd rather they didn't come in in the first place. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - so many issues
2019 DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎
Couldn’t afford the fuel bills so back to an older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Significantly better than I remembered it to be…

Been told to take the broken glass off my inner perimeter wall as someone could get hurt climbing over it !!!!!

Feking nanny state but same as boxbrownie , keep a normal household item close to use in ** self defence**


Now this " let them take the car" , a friend of a friend did this a good few years back but then he seemed to be getting done over every so often! So did the scum just think he was an easy touch and word gets around or is he just unlucky? If it wasn't so bad it'd be funny.

🐑
Freelander 2 HSE auto 2014 ( Florrie ) ..... Try again.
Freelander 2 GS 2012...... Gone.

6 X D-Cell Maglites make wonderful truncheons you know

After all, a torch could legitimately be used to investigate a noise in the house somewhere after dark, couldn't it Officer?  MY13 HSE Lux.......faultless since new.

Quote:

So did the scum just think he was an easy touch and word gets around or is he just unlucky

A customer of mine had his 2-month old Volvo XC90 stolen from his drive, and then the loan car (also a Volvo from the same dealer) went six days later from the same spot. Obviously targeted, and he still had all the keys...

The Police then did get properly involved and found a scanner in the hedge of his driveway... and DNA on the thorns of a vicious bramble growing in his hedge, which ironically (and in my presence) his Missus had been nagging him to cut out of the hedge just a few days before.

The bad guy is an Eastern European and known to the police, so they're looking for him thanks to nature's own barbed wire...unlucky for that thief!!!

No sign of either car though, and he now has a great big collapsable bollard on his driveway... which his Missus has forgotten about twice that I know of...  Lexus RX450H - 500 mile a week commuter- I just couldn’t trust in a newer RRS or DS for that….
2009 Freelander 2 HSE... 155K miles, we’ve done 135k of those, has done brilliantly on the commute and staying firmly put as car two in the household
2002 Jaguar XK8 Coupe... fun, fast, ours for 12 years and owes us nothing - so staying with us too…