Lessons learnt and my advice after stolen car

[fredgroves]

The advantage of a battery powered one I like I showed you is that you can hide it totally!

Not wired in anywhere at all.

[Rudedog]

Not sure if this has been mentioned.

I'm sure in the last Volkswizard video he very briefly said that if you have set up your pin in the infotainment system then the VW tracker 'thingy' (sorry don't know name) can't be reset.... surely that's just too easy?

[Carl_45]

Not sure if this has been mentioned.

I'm sure in the last Volkswizard video he very briefly said that if you have set up your pin in the infotainment system then the VW tracker 'thingy' (sorry don't know name) can't be reset.... surely that's just too easy?

I’ve seen that too and was going to mention it. My understanding is they can’t log you out of being “primary user” without both keys, BUT, mine was factory reset (with only one key) within 25 minutes, VW Germany said there’s a special sequence of buttons you press to factory reset the infotainment system, they obviously knew this.

My guess is the reset works regardless of the pin, anyone who doesn’t mind spend hours setting there car back up could try this….

[Carl_45]

There’s another question you need to ask yourself regarding the trackers…

By all means, learn from my mistakes and don’t be an easy target, that’s the main goal for me now. However, if it’s taken, how much do you really want that car back?

Many on here are like me, you’ve excitedly awaited your new pride and joy, holding back on calling the dealer for an update because once a week is far too often, it finally arrives and you’ve spent 10 hours washing and waxing it because you wouldn’t even let the dealer do the pre-delivery wash.

You’ve enjoyed the car for 3 months looking after it so carefully, the way you wash it, the way you ran the engine in, the fact you don’t drive it hard until the oil temperature is 70 degrees…. Then it’s taken away!

I loved the car, but, from that moment it felt tainted. I’m sure even more so if it had a tracker and a thief thought he could out run one of the unmarked cop BMW 335d’s, yes you’ve got your pride and joy back, but it then has to be repaired because the insurance insist??

I’ll consider an AirTag, but, I’m not going mad on a tracking device, that’s why we pay insurance and my opinion, the monthly tracker fee is better spent on choosing a good insurance company. I won’t name and shame them (yet) but mine are not doing great, they’re so slow at sorting anything…. except discussing the off hire of the courtesy car.

[SRGTD]

There’s another question you need to ask yourself regarding the trackers…

By all means, learn from my mistakes and don’t be an easy target, that’s the main goal for me now. However, if it’s taken, how much do you really want that car back?

Agree; I’d not want a car back if it’d been stolen and almost certainly abused - and very likely damaged - while in the possession of some low life scum .

[dfm]

Years ago I had a car nicked which was recovered. The crims had tinted the rear windows for some reason which was a pain to remove.

[Foxy367]

There’s another question you need to ask yourself regarding the trackers…

By all means, learn from my mistakes and don’t be an easy target, that’s the main goal for me now. However, if it’s taken, how much do you really want that car back?

Agree; I’d not want a car back if it’d been stolen and almost certainly abused - and very likely damaged - while in the possession of some low life scum .

I've seen some videos on the local Stolen cars Facebook groups where they have named and shamed some of the low life who have been filming inside the cars which are allegedly stolen. They certainly do use the moto "drove it like you stole it"

I'm the same make it difficult to steal to hopefully get them to move onto the next target but I wouldn't want it back if it was taken for that reason.

[Hertsman]

There’s another question you need to ask yourself regarding the trackers…

By all means, learn from my mistakes and don’t be an easy target, that’s the main goal for me now. However, if it’s taken, how much do you really want that car back?

Many on here are like me, you’ve excitedly awaited your new pride and joy, holding back on calling the dealer for an update because once a week is far too often, it finally arrives and you’ve spent 10 hours washing and waxing it because you wouldn’t even let the dealer do the pre-delivery wash.

You’ve enjoyed the car for 3 months looking after it so carefully, the way you wash it, the way you ran the engine in, the fact you don’t drive it hard until the oil temperature is 70 degrees…. Then it’s taken away!

I loved the car, but, from that moment it felt tainted. I’m sure even more so if it had a tracker and a thief thought he could out run one of the unmarked cop BMW 335d’s, yes you’ve got your pride and joy back, but it then has to be repaired because the insurance insist??

I’ll consider an AirTag, but, I’m not going mad on a tracking device, that’s why we pay insurance and my opinion, the monthly tracker fee is better spent on choosing a good insurance company. I won’t name and shame them (yet) but mine are not doing great, they’re so slow at sorting anything…. except discussing the off hire of the courtesy car.

That's the camp sit in, definitely do all that's sensible and described on here, could not do much more, but not thought about tags etc, as the thinking is, if its gone, be happy to never see it again, and think that pragmatism has come from changing many cars, having quite a few of them damaged by carelessness and then repaired, so, tend to be in the moment a lot more and not worry about the ifs and buts, and if its there to enjoy then I will, and if not, well, its move onto the next, as there is always a next, even if there is some hassle to get to.

Leave nothing personal in the car whatsoever, definitely nothing of value and so if its gone, that be last care about it if honest, just be thinking who talk to report missing and start the process to claim,

[SRGTD]

That's the camp sit in, definitely do all that's sensible and described on here, could not do much more, but not thought about tags etc, as the thinking is, if its gone, be happy to never see it again, and think that pragmatism has come from changing many cars, having quite a few of them damaged by carelessness and so, tend to be in the moment a lot more and not worry about the ifs and buts, and if its there to enjoy then I will, and if not, well, its move onto the next, as there is always a next, even if there is some hassle to get to.

Leave nothing personal in the car whatsoever, definitely nothing of value and so if its gone, that be last care about it if honest, just be thinking who talk to report missing and start the process to claim,

That’s my view these days. I also never leave anything personal in my car, and what few items are left in it are low value and pretty easy to replace.

[Exonian]

I’m with you guys, if the car is gone then it’s gone. I’d not want it back after it was violated by scumbags. It’s just a lump of tin and plastic.
The only system I’d consider fitting would be a remote detonation device