STOLEN T6 !!!!!!!!!!!

[anxiety-hothouse]

A more positive theft story from me:

Two days ago, my T6 Multivan was stolen from right under our balcony in Berlin. I discovered it was missing the next morning. Thankfully, I had an AirTag in the front compartment along with my sunglasses, so I checked FindMy and saw the car was 2.5 km away. I asked my girlfriend to call the police while I quickly cycled to the location.

I found the car parked at the end of a cul-de-sac with no signs of forced entry and the doors unlocked (I have all the keys). Inside, the skirting around the wheel had been removed, and there were screws and trim clips on the floor. Unfortunately, they had stolen my dash cam. When the police arrived, they explained that it's common for thieves to move stolen cars short distances to check if they are being tracked. They also mentioned that the cul-de-sac was a smart choice because of the low traffic, making it less likely to be found.

The car had to be towed to the dealership because the thieves had reprogrammed the immobilizer, so my key no longer worked. The dealership estimated it would take several weeks to fix the electronics, which meant we had to reorganize our holiday plans, but at least I still have the car and my deductible for theft is just 150€, so whatever.

I've done some research and found that picking the mechanical lock is surprisingly easy. However, I'm curious about how they managed to reprogram the immobilizer (not the radio, just the immobilizer). If anyone has firsthand experience or definite knowledge about reprogramming IMMO4, please share. I understand it involves either obtaining a PIN from the workshop or reading it from the EEPROM of the instrument cluster, but I'm not certain.

Previously, I only had the factory immobilizer and the AirTag for security. Now, I'm planning to buy some visible theft protection to deter future attempts. Sure, the Ghost or similar system could have prevented the car from being moved, it wouldn't have spared me the hassle of having the electronics fixed, so I'm not sure how I feel about that...

Anyway, I find it hilarious that they put so much effort into the theft, but somehow didn't find the AirTag which was probably chirping for 10 minutes straight...

 

[Jay586]

I know people don't like trackers but I do like mine. It has a map with location and the ability to immoblise the van remotely. Metatrak S 7.

The one time I started the vehicle without the fob, the most bored sounding bloke rang me immediately to check.

 

[Sabre]

Mine comes with a team of ex-coppers to go retrieve it when the police can't be @rsed. They have "better" things to do.
They also make use of the fact that most stolen cars are cooled off somewhere unless they go straight into a container and onto a boat. Containers are just big Faraday cages... :-/
Glad you got yours back. Lucky that air tag was there. Chapeau.

 

[jimc91]

I put one of these in mine, really can’t fault it for the price, uses a giffgaff sim, I have it geofenced and it texts me whenever it moves in and out of the box, this is it at VW Croydon on mot day being moved in and out of the workshop.

 

[Lubrown]

when the police can't be @rsed.

There is enough domestic violence going on and stabbings and suicides etc that a stolen van isn’t going to get any attention unless there are enough officers in that day… which there never are.
Sadly unless we see more officers being taken on (not that there is the staff to train them - they all got cut 14 years ago), or society finds a way to get on like adults, that’s the way it’s going to be. The few times it is quiet and car theft can be looked at the ones with live trackers are top priority as that is classed as a crime in action.

It’s never a case of ‘can’t be arsed’. That’s just the rag tops and people in their echo chambers who don’t like that not everything can be visited urgently.

 

[Jay]

Adrian Flux insurance gave us 2 quotes, one with a tracker and one without. With a tracker worked out about 200 quid cheaper with a tracker supplied by them. Easy to set up and you just need to hide it in the van.

 

[rod_vw]

Adrian Flux insurance gave us 2 quotes, one with a tracker and one without. With a tracker worked out about 200 quid cheaper with a tracker supplied by them. Easy to set up and you just need to hide it in the van.

Yep, that is what I opted for.

 

[Sabre]

Totally understand @Lubrown but it still feels like that when your van has been taken and your tracker tells you where it's being cooled off yet still no-one will go to close the case and get a win. There are indeed lots of scumbags but we have well & truly bolloxed up our police service.
So a tracker with a recovery service makes sense.

 

[Lubrown]

Totally understand @Lubrown but it still feels like that when your van has been taken and your tracker tells you where it's being cooled off yet still no-one will go to close the case and get a win. There are indeed lots of scumbags but we have well & truly bolloxed up our police service.
So a tracker with a recovery service makes sense.

I wasn’t disagreeing with the tracker and recovery - I have the same on the bike and am considering it for the van too. Also, on recovery, if there is manpower available then stolen vehicles that are parked up and have trackers will get attention, but their priority has to slot in with numerous other crimes/emergencies.

It was the line about Police can’t be arsed - that’s what got me as it’s simply not the case, they just don’t have capacity. 14 hour shifts (typical) for four days straight dealing with adults acting like children at best (or worse than animals in some cases), being threatened, being spat at… is sadly an expectation in the job. But unjustified patronising/insults from people online, usually stoked by ‘news’ outlets who haven’t had any insight into the job isn’t justified or helpful and needs calling out. It’s BS. Anyone that thinks it’s an easy job sat on your arse ignoring crime ought to try it.

 

[DaveD]

There is enough domestic violence going on and stabbings and suicides etc that a stolen van isn’t going to get any attention unless there are enough officers in that day… which there never are.

It is simply a matter of priorities.
The notion that stabbings and serious violent crime must take top priority is of course totally correct and justified, but when a Detective Inspector and a team investigate an unknown offender painting over a flag on the pavement, trawling CCTV and looking for forensic opportunities and witnesses, it frustrates those who have lost a £60,000 vehicle and get a much less thorough investigation.

Police hunt vandal who sprayed paint over Pride flags outside station

The flags, painted on the pavement outside Forest Gate railway station in east London, were vandalised in the early hours of Friday morning.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The Police will never please everybody, it's impossible, as I know after 30 years trying, but the protection of life and property used to be more important than hurt feelings.

 

[Lubrown]

It is simply a matter of priorities.
The notion that stabbings and serious violent crime must take top priority is of course totally correct and justified, but when a Detective Inspector and a team investigate an unknown offender painting over a flag on the pavement, trawling CCTV and looking for forensic opportunities and witnesses, it frustrates those who have lost a £60,000 vehicle and get a much less thorough investigation.

Police hunt vandal who sprayed paint over Pride flags outside station

The flags, painted on the pavement outside Forest Gate railway station in east London, were vandalised in the early hours of Friday morning.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The Police will never please everybody, it's impossible, as I know after 30 years trying, but the protection of life and property used to be more important than hurt feelings.

As I say… ‘news’ sites stirring.

Your article does reference the offender vandalised public property over three days. Their actions clearly damaging stuff that cost taxpayers money. There will be no insurance for the repairs/cleaning.
That ‘news’ site will have scoured all the crime stories and picked that knowing full well a pride flag will get clicks on pages (and therefore revenue) due to the division they stoke around differing beliefs. It is still a prolific criminal causing damage that will be seen by large numbers of people though whether you agree with the flag or not. It has potential to encourage further damage to public property.
Police detectives do crack car criminal gangs, officers do raid chop shops, stolen cars picked up driving by ANPR do get stopped, often. But that doesn’t get clicks on pages. And ultimately there are some that cannot be dropped onto in time, hence tracking companies offering recovery.
It’s not a binary ‘all vehicle crime is left’ and all apride flag removal is followed up.

 

[DaveD]

As I say… ‘news’ sites stirring.

Your article does reference the offender vandalised public property over three days. Their actions clearly damaging stuff that cost taxpayers money. There will be no insurance for the repairs/cleaning.
That ‘news’ site will have scoured all the crime stories and picked that knowing full well a pride flag will get clicks on pages (and therefore revenue) due to the division they stoke around differing beliefs. It is still a prolific criminal causing damage that will be seen by large numbers of people though whether you agree with the flag or not. It has potential to encourage further damage to public property.
Police detectives do crack car criminal gangs, officers do raid chop shops, stolen cars picked up driving by ANPR do get stopped, often. But that doesn’t get clicks on pages. And ultimately there are some that cannot be dropped onto in time, hence tracking companies offering recovery.
It’s not a binary ‘all vehicle crime is left’ and all apride flag removal is followed up.

Yes, I know, I was a Detective when I retired. I raided numerous places where cars were cloned and dragged people out of stolen cars both before and after ANPR.
"News sites stirring" - is the article wrong in any way? I'm glad we live in a country where the press are relatively free.
As I said, it's about prioritising scarce resources, many people simply don't agree with how resources are allocated, people are allowed to express opinions.
Our Police are among the best in the world, as I say, we are lucky, but like other organisations, it is not perfect and when it fails or could improve, it must accept criticism.

 

[Lubrown]

it must accept criticism

Did you ever have days where you ‘couldn’t be arsed’ to turn out?
Do you think that happens now?
That was my objection, the rest was just adding context.
The officers I know never have a ‘can’t be arsed’ approach and yet people think that’s a valid criticism… based on what? How can they ever know?

I have no problem with criticism as long as it’s valid. That was my point.

 

[lightning]

"Did you ever have days where you ‘couldn’t be arsed’ to turn out?"

l am not sure that's an option, if a "job" comes in.
The problem l encountered was, l reported a stolen Land Rover dumped near our house, clearly to see if it had a tracking device.

l called the Police on 111 and they said it would be "passed on" to the local department. It never was.

The thieves came back for the Land Rover the next day. lt was eventually recovered when it was spotted in someone's garden and reported again.

 

[RobJH]

A more positive theft story from me:

Maybe they swapped the bcm which they already had a matching immobiliser for.

 

[Qnapper]

A more positive theft story from me:

Two days ago, my T6 Multivan was stolen from right under our balcony in Berlin. I discovered it was missing the next morning. Thankfully, I had an AirTag in the front compartment along with my sunglasses, so I checked FindMy and saw the car was 2.5 km away. I asked my girlfriend to call the police while I quickly cycled to the location.

I found the car parked at the end of a cul-de-sac with no signs of forced entry and the doors unlocked (I have all the keys). Inside, the skirting around the wheel had been removed, and there were screws and trim clips on the floor. Unfortunately, they had stolen my dash cam. When the police arrived, they explained that it's common for thieves to move stolen cars short distances to check if they are being tracked. They also mentioned that the cul-de-sac was a smart choice because of the low traffic, making it less likely to be found.

The car had to be towed to the dealership because the thieves had reprogrammed the immobilizer, so my key no longer worked. The dealership estimated it would take several weeks to fix the electronics, which meant we had to reorganize our holiday plans, but at least I still have the car and my deductible for theft is just 150€, so whatever.

I've done some research and found that picking the mechanical lock is surprisingly easy. However, I'm curious about how they managed to reprogram the immobilizer (not the radio, just the immobilizer). If anyone has firsthand experience or definite knowledge about reprogramming IMMO4, please share. I understand it involves either obtaining a PIN from the workshop or reading it from the EEPROM of the instrument cluster, but I'm not certain.

Previously, I only had the factory immobilizer and the AirTag for security. Now, I'm planning to buy some visible theft protection to deter future attempts. Sure, the Ghost or similar system could have prevented the car from being moved, it wouldn't have spared me the hassle of having the electronics fixed, so I'm not sure how I feel about that...

Anyway, I find it hilarious that they put so much effort into the theft, but somehow didn't find the AirTag which was probably chirping for 10 minutes straight...

I had a Bearlock fitted to mine. It locks the gearbox in reverse and the only way to steal it is drive in reverse............ so I always park it backup to a wall.

Link: Bear-Lock | Das Original. (effektive Diebstahlsicherungen)

 

[TheGrapeEscape]

I've done some research and found that picking the mechanical lock is surprisingly easy. However, I'm curious about how they managed to reprogram the immobilizer (not the radio, just the immobilizer). If anyone has firsthand experience or definite knowledge about reprogramming IMMO4, please share. I understand it involves either obtaining a PIN from the workshop or reading it from the EEPROM of the instrument cluster, but I'm not cecertain.i

I had a key programmed by timpsons before, £156 and they deleted the old key off the immobilisation and programmed the new key along with the one remaining key. Done it all through the obd port. The guy showed me how easy it was while doing it, which it was....just a simple push button process once they've gained access