what security measures do you take

[big nick]

I keep the CL on the driveway with a stering wheel lock, and if I'm not gonna be at home for a while the battery/rotor arm/earth to coil/live to starter motor are all good ways to fool the would be thief. But I accept that if somebody really, really wanted the car they'd bring a Hi-Ab or a flat bed..

[Nate]

a word of caution to you all about steering wheel locks. the ones that are an arm going thru the wheel like this:



can be usefully employed to provide extra leverage to snap a steering lock. the best sort are the disklock type that encase the whole wheel

[traindriver69]

a mate of mine had his car pinched a few years ago and had one of the through steering wheel locks when they found the car some days later they found the steering wheel with the crooklock still attached in the boot they had brought there own steering wheel with them.that is why i have ordered a disklock one.

[Rusty dan]

Security measures?
I have none in the Scirocco currently but I do have a Wheel brace supplied by VW themselves lol

[jeebz]

i had a gear and handbrake lock on my mini and that got stolen. steering lock on the scirocco now, untill i can fit a proper killswitch

[stu.gtx]

For the sake of £100 or so you might as well get a Thatcham cat 2 immobiliser. You'll probably get the cost back in reduction in premiums after a year or 2. When I got one on my Capri many moons ago it paid for itself straight away with the reduction in my premium. Plus it's piece of mind and better than messing on with removing fuses/cables/leads etc.

[seanr68]

For the sake of £100 or so you might as well get a Thatcham cat 2 immobiliser. You'll probably get the cost back in reduction in premiums after a year or 2. When I got one on my Capri many moons ago it paid for itself straight away with the reduction in my premium. Plus it's piece of mind and better than messing on with removing fuses/cables/leads etc.

I got quotes for mine with and without thatcham alarm/immobiliser fitted. I dont know if this is the same across the board but, there was barely £20 difference.

I''ve got one of those gearstick lock jobbies. Think i'll invest in a proper steering lock and maybe i'll wire a cutout switch in somewhere. A visual deterrent is the most effective thing, backed up by a lack of power to ignition should be enough to confuse the local "street rats".
I think alarms are pretty much useless in todays society....away from home at least. They're probably only really effective if YOU actually hear it yourself.

[stu.gtx]

When I first got my GTX no insurance company would touch it unless it had Thatcham approved security.

[whiteshark]

Snap, but that was 12 years ago!!. Back then Endsleigh gave me a discount if you had a certified immobiliser installed. The discount allowed you to have a free immobiliser. Those were the days when you got discount for having your advanced driving test. (Yeah Right!!) Last year my Laserline fob stopped working so I replaced the whole lot with a Cobra immobiliser. £100.00 fitted /installed and certified for a bit of piece of mine. Oka theres always the flat bed robbery but a well installed immobilser does what it should.

[steve]

a word of caution to you all about steering wheel locks. the ones that are an arm going thru the wheel like this:



can be usefully employed to provide extra leverage to snap a steering lock. the best sort are the disklock type that encase the whole wheel

If the discussion's going that way, yep, then cut the wheel. Crook locks, use them to pop the steering lock then bend them off.

Gearstick/handbrake locks, just unscrew the gear knob and yank the handyB til it goes over the gear stick, then fold the lock and shove a screwy down to release the handbrake (not automatics, they're actually pretty good on those).

Basic immobilser, just tap a feed to the fuel pump

Alarm - who's watching? Or grab the radio and do one.

More complex immobilser, walk away (having already ripped the column to bits and done the window or bent the door).

Standard VW security, handle out, pull the lock, scaff it and wire it, gone in 60 seconds (no, really).

Disklock on the other hand, see it a mile off and realise you're just nicking the contents of the car.

Mods, feel free to delete the methods listed above if you don't want them on, just want it to be clear that there's nothing that actually stops your car getting hurt aside from a disclock.

[jim91]

What a few others have said.............. Disklock!! I've them on Rocco and GTi, they're thatcham approved, highly visible and they ain't coming off in a hurry!

You'll get one for £70 or so, the odd time garages do an offer and have them a bit cheaper.

Might even be an idea for the register to sort a group buy???

[Dutch GT]

Got my last 2 used off the 'bay, local and cheap enough if you keep your finger off the 'bid' button. They should last forever and Plenty people get rid. Think I paid £20 or so. Just make sure they have more than 1 key.

[Vonlard]

I have a removable steering wheel but not a big joyriding thing round my way but I don't put much faith in any device that uses tubular pin locks. I worked as a locksmith and if someone knows how to get in to your car quickly and quietly they will know how to pick the lock with a pen.
I have tried driving mine with the wheel off and I wouldn't fancy going more than 1mph

[Nate]

Been thinking about this again, ready for when the mk1 comes back from the grotto. Over the years I've been asked to bypass all manner of car security stuff, either where the electronics have spat their dummy or the owner has lost/broken the key.

admittedly I do more or less know what I'm doing, but it still worries me how easy it is to get past quite a bit of this stuff, particularly bearing in mind how much some of it costs. Top of the line toad or Clifford can be bypassed in minutes, and the hardest part is usually finding the black box. And the immobiliser that defeated me for the longest? That was a small toggle switch fitted under the fans in the passenger footwell. My other favourite homebrew immob was a stereo 1/4 inch jack fitted in the dash next to the ign switch. The tip and the what is normally the earth were wired together in the plug, and that completed the circuit for the ignition. The middle terminal was wired to earth, so if you plugged the "key" in after turning on the ign, it would short to earth and pop a hidden fuse. Same would happed if you just connected all the pins together. very crude, but I reckon just as effective as anything thatcham approved

[Niall]

I've got pretty much nothing at the moment. Locking wheel nuts are in the post, but no real security.

I'm thinking about hacking my raspberry pi to work as a tracker at some point, but I'm lazy.