[rahulananda]

Very sorry for your loss man. Hope things go smooth with your insurance claim.

I recollect the days(early 90's) where my neighbors used to put an extra pair of locks on their newly purchased Fiat Padmini. I reckon old school security mechanisms are a strong deterrent than high tech gadgets these days.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by dinesha

I have started thinking of buying a new vehicle and am considering the new Tata Safari.

SUVs are even more of a magnet for car thieves. My Scorpio was stolen in end 2018 and recovered in January 2020 in Rajasthan, caught being used to smuggle opium (afeem ka choora).

Your insurance settlement will take several months to accomplish so try to buy the new car with other funds, else you have a long wait ahead of you till the police agree to close the FIR and certify the vehicle as untraceable.

[manishkapadia]

Really unfortunate, reminds me of the time my car was stolen right under our nose. Year was 2009 and car was Hyundai Accent. i think it took me nearly 6-8 months to get the money from insurance.

I used to think that mine got stolen because it did not have immobilizer. That it happens with the modern cars as well is scary. Can happen to anyone, anytime and there is always a financial dent, no matter what.

[bark1234]

Originally Posted by dinesha

"Return to Invoice" insurance may not be a bad idea if the local area is prone to vehicle theft.

Yours is a 2016 model, so I assume it wasn't RTI. Curious to understand how much much will you get from Insurance.

Also please note, you can cancel your registration and get the balance of your road tax along with the Insurance's claim. You don't need to pass on your ownership to insurance(form 29), else they will cancel the registration and take the balance road tax.

details here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4449467 (The tale of a Total Loss Claim)

[srirajkota]

Really sorry to see this. Same thing happened to me last year. I too live in a gated South Delhi colony and whatsmore these guys drove up in a dark Baleno too. (I have the CCTV footage) tried braking into my Fortuner. But I had a wheel clamp installed, A steering lock installed and finally the vehicle was chained to the grill of the compound wall behind the Fortuner. They broke the quarter glass, got inside the car and tried braking the steering lock...but the lock held on and they got frustrated when they saw the wheel clamp and chain & left immediately.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by bark1234

Also please note, you can cancel your registration and get the balance of your road tax along with the Insurance's claim. You don't need to pass on your ownership to insurance(form 29), else they will cancel the registration and take the balance road tax.

Form 29 is insisted upon by some insurers at least (Icici in my case) as part of the documentation for a theft total loss claim, along with original rc and keys. The policy may differ in the case of a flood or accident damaged scrapped vehicle.

[Ragavsr]

Why shouldn't the RWA not made a party to the case ? And its high time insurance premiums became dynamic and theft prone NCR areas should be made to pay a higher premium like similar places in the West do.

For example , I have heard very few cases of vehicle theft down South (one of which is hserus Scorpio above).

The keys also can be cloned when the car goes for service or somewhere similar. The thieves could even have an accomplice in the dealership itself.

[Shamegz]

In NCR "Mewati Gang" is quite active in vehicle theft and might have been taken to Bengal elections.

If car is driven out of the city, is it possible to track it from fastag transactions ?

[pkk077]

Originally Posted by hserus

SUVs are even more of a magnet for car thieves.

Is there a fuel preference as well? My hunch is that they target diesel SUVs only. They would not have bothered with a petrol Innova.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Shamegz

If car is driven out of the city, is it possible to track it from fastag transactions ?

My stolen scorpio had a fastag. The thieves had google maps and a “avoid tolls” option.

The only time they crossed a toll it was at 2 am in the morning and the cameras had been temporarily shut down “for maintenance”.

[sgm]

Really sad to hear this. Hopefully, you get a break through very soon. It is really worrying to see the rising number of thefts of these modern cars and surprising to see the ease with which these can be done. Time for mechanical lock systems like steering wheel lock or wheel lock etc

[AKSarkar1]

Shocking! Such kind of incidents seem to be on a massive rise these days, especially in the big cities. In the past decade, car thefts had become way more uncommon as compared to the 2000s. Almost scary to think that it is becoming somewhat rampant again that too in posh areas of big cities. Police need to really take note of what is happening and start cracking down on it. In Mumbai at least, the police took note of such incidents rising and made an SIT committee which has been doing some great work so far.

I feel there are many factors to these thefts including people who might potentially be 'hand in gloves'. End of the day I feel it might be time to consider additional alternatives like many other BHPians suggested i.e. wheel clamps and steering locks even though they might be an eye-sore to many people.

When it comes to car safety, I think we're heading back to the '90s! Hope your situation gets sorted out really soon!

[sunnysideup_]

There was a really popular Tamil movie that released last year (Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal), which focused a lot on the leading pair stealing from cars by tapping into a car's remote frequency with a tracker or something. I am not too well versed with the technology, but I assumed it was for fiction, I never imagined it existed in real life too.

I am so sorry for your loss, losing something as personal as one's car is very painful. Is there no way you can get it back?

[Guna]

Don't all modern cars come with 'transponder' chip built in to the key? Even if someone manages to start the car, it should die within few minutes.

[driver52001]

This must be a really frustrating experience. CCTV, gated colony in the relatively safe south Delhi area, guards, yet it got stolen. The thieves clearly didn't do a random job. It's too risky for them. They must have done their recon thoroughly for days and marked your car and chosen the ideal time to execute it. Tell cops to check nearby CCTVs for their entry and exit routes. They will be definitely seen in many of those cams. As has been said many times here, the only deterrent to thieves are mechanical locks and menacing looking wheel claps, gear lock and steering lock. Make the thief hesitate, make him think three times before attempting it. Most time I use only gear lock if am in familiar place. But if parking in unknown places, it's gear lock plus steering lock plus wheel clamps (front and rear). Bit irritating in summer heat to do this often, but the pros outweighs the cons.