[phamilyman]

So this query comes on behalf of a friend, SP, whose not a BHPian. His 3 month old white safari LX has been the target of two highly efficient break-ins (literally gone in sixty seconds type guys) but he has luckily managed thus far. His beast is yet to come back from the workshop (insurance claim is happening) but we just wanted some ideas here.

He lives in South Ex-II. He does not have locked parking - only on the road. the main road for the area has one entry point which is not properly policed. There are CCTVs there - which have recorded the second attempt as being over in 14 mins (from entry to breakin, to discovery by his landlord who was coincidentally out on the morning walk).

The damage is self explanatory:



Same modus operandi - break quarter glass, get in, take out central locking and drill through ignition. Same result. They left a handy drill as a souvenir this time.

He's been told his car has been marked for theft, someone would have paid a deposit on his car - and the thieves are now trying to pick it up twice. How else can they be so quick both times?

Now the question - what would you do in such a scenario? How would you ensure peace of mind?

[Born 2 Be Wild]

First of all i would suggest a Gear Lock from the pictures i cant make out if one is installed. secondly a gps tracker is a must which would immediately alert your friend if the car is being broken into also if they are lucky enough to run away with the car it will give the location at all times, thirdly get a clutch steering lock from kashmere gate its a crude device but deters car jackers. all of these will take the car jackers atleast 30 minutes or more to crack.

[akshay4587]

That must be Sumeet' Safari,isnt it?.
Gear Lock? Steering Lock?
GPS based Security system?
What else can be done?
Hire a Personal Security guard for the Safari

[hrman]

GPS tracker is an immediate need, followed gear lock and parking the car somewhere else for a few days.

Is there really such a thing as people earmarking a car for theft? Isn't it given up after the first attempt or in this case, a second attempt?

In the worst case, if the car is old and his IDV is higher than the MV, better to not be too worried. If it does get stolen, can recover from Insurance. Although I hope the measures in para 1 will deter it from coming to this state.

[AbelAFC]

Originally Posted by hrman

In the worst case, if the car is old and his IDV is higher than the MV, better to not be too worried. If it does get stolen, can recover from Insurance. Although I hope the measures in para 1 will deter it from coming to this state.

Nope, he just mentioned that the car is 3 months old, so that isn't a possibility.

[humyum]

Steering lock, GPS tracking, Gear Lock and if this sound a little insanse I am sorry, locking the front suspension strut with a pillar and a thick chain attached to a mighty lock.

[himanshu_j]

Removing one of the fuses every night?

[govigov]

True, removing the fuses is a very good option. Can an impact detecting alarm be installed on the car? especially the ones that detect an entry through quarter glass? A very very loud alarm would be better.

[Prowler]

1. Fit a Minda Anti theft remote lock system. If they open the door manually after the door is locked through the remote, Minda starts the alarm. That is the first line of defense.
2. Use a steering lock. It is visible from the outside and so most car thieves would look for easier victims.
3. Remove the fuse feeding the main ECU (safari LX has only this ECU) when the car is parked in unattended areas. Ask your Engineer friend to rig up a circuit to cut the feed through a hidden switch otherwise. But this would not be practical for a 3 month old Car as it would cause Warranty issues.

[KiloAlpha]

I was thinking along the lines of a fuel tap - like the one we have on bikes. But I guess removing the ECU fuse every night and installing a good alarm system would be a much simpler option.

I used to park my car on the street for a few months, and I always felt that having an unpredictable schedule and changing the parking place every night would make my car less attractive to thieves.

[Alter_Ego]

Apart from all the locks mentioned by bhpians above, get wheel clamps for all the 4 wheels. One of my fried uses wheel clamps on all four wheels after he got paranoid post a theft attempt on his car. But now he has peace of mind and a good night's sleep

[selfdrive]

- If the street has a dead end, park it facing the dead end
- All other locks, GPS as suggested above and remove fuse.
- Place a big rock in front of one of the wheels
- park in a tight place, where at least 2 manouvers would be required to get out
- Put a dog in the car at night, with the window rolled down a bit. If not, get stray dogs to sleep under the car

[djpeesh]

oh boy. This reminds me of my Safari. When mine got stolen, the cops told me that white Safaris are in high demand especially during elections. The cops told me to follow all of the suggestions that selfdrive's listed above.

The funny thing is that a week after the Gujarat elections, they found it abandoned on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. By then I'd got the insurance money. Now, I need to get a gear lock for my new XUV500.

Btw, the guys from Tata told me that you can get a device to disable the immobilizer for about 200 rupees in Mumbai's Lamington Road. Oof.

[Manzone799]

Originally Posted by Alter_Ego

Apart from all the locks mentioned by bhpians above, get wheel clamps for all the 4 wheels. One of my fried uses wheel clamps on all four wheels after he got paranoid post a theft attempt on his car. But now he has peace of mind and a good night's sleep

+1 to that. I think wheel-clamps are one very efficient method to prevent vehicle theft. I have heard of anti-theft systems that can alert you on your mobile when the car is been jacked. Are such devices and apps really available in our market ?

[Shiv_1984]

Now this is really serious. If in understand from the post rightly, someone has paid a supari for the car and if that's the case, most likely it will be followed along too. Quite unnoticably, someone might be tagging along wherever the car goes, may be in a motorbike so the threat is everywhere the car goes. Now the question is how do you protect it.

I would have the following suggestions :
1. Get a GPS tracker.
2. Gear and steering lock
3. Wheels locks.
4. Keep changing your parking places or for few days park it at your friend's/relative's place (good if that can be a covered parking).
5. Get an onboard video camera and leave it on at the nights for atleast 2 weeks (somthing like the movie Paranormal Activity). This will record the identities of the thieves in their next failed attempt.
6. Tip the local security guard to take special care of your car.
...... Many more.