And it wasn't even Friday 13th...
Dec. 13th, 2002 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ventaThose of you following yesterday's saga, will be aware that Andy's car keys were stolen. His car was left unlocked (we couldn't lock it). It's one of those annoying kind with complicated keyfobs, which means that pressing one button sets the alarm, undoes the locks, kills the immobiliser... so Vauxhall said it'd be two days til they could get the parts to replace them.
Once Forensics had been to do their stuff, and we could touch the car, Jez and Andy pushed the car in front of the house. Andy tried to immobilise it, but the engine management computer was too damn clever - most of the ways you'd disable a car would disable this one permanently... until you pressed the button on the key fob. Which we didn't have. Some kind soul had volunteered to bring some manual locks from a scrapyard and was expected imminently. So, we left all Andy's tools in the boot, ready to fit the locks, and sat down to keep our beady little eyes on the car.
Sadly, someone kept their beady little eyes on us, and thus managed to find a few minute window when we weren't watching. Between about twenty to five, and five to five, it went. Presumably the people with the keys came back, pushed it out of earshot, then drove off. (We were watching for people or movement, in the dark, so, having missed the going, didn't immediately notice the gone, and can't narrow down the window any further.)
We should have been more vigilant - but to be honest, I wasn't really expecting anyone to be brazen enough to pinch a car from within 3 yards of our front window, while we were in the front room, at tea time.
William, my elderly Peugeot, is still parked on the drive. The doors are locked, the crook lock's on - though this is little use since someone has a complete set of keys. I've disabled him by pulling some of his innards out, though they're trivial enough to put back, and a neighbour has said she'll park her car so's to block him in the drive. I'm hoping he should be safe - though to be honest, I doubt he's very stealable anyway.
We have new locks to fit to him, but the tools required to do so were... in Andy's boot.
Once Forensics had been to do their stuff, and we could touch the car, Jez and Andy pushed the car in front of the house. Andy tried to immobilise it, but the engine management computer was too damn clever - most of the ways you'd disable a car would disable this one permanently... until you pressed the button on the key fob. Which we didn't have. Some kind soul had volunteered to bring some manual locks from a scrapyard and was expected imminently. So, we left all Andy's tools in the boot, ready to fit the locks, and sat down to keep our beady little eyes on the car.
Sadly, someone kept their beady little eyes on us, and thus managed to find a few minute window when we weren't watching. Between about twenty to five, and five to five, it went. Presumably the people with the keys came back, pushed it out of earshot, then drove off. (We were watching for people or movement, in the dark, so, having missed the going, didn't immediately notice the gone, and can't narrow down the window any further.)
We should have been more vigilant - but to be honest, I wasn't really expecting anyone to be brazen enough to pinch a car from within 3 yards of our front window, while we were in the front room, at tea time.
William, my elderly Peugeot, is still parked on the drive. The doors are locked, the crook lock's on - though this is little use since someone has a complete set of keys. I've disabled him by pulling some of his innards out, though they're trivial enough to put back, and a neighbour has said she'll park her car so's to block him in the drive. I'm hoping he should be safe - though to be honest, I doubt he's very stealable anyway.
We have new locks to fit to him, but the tools required to do so were... in Andy's boot.
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no subject
Date: 2002-12-13 05:59 am (UTC)I can't believe that they took the car like that, but it explains why they took the keys. I still think it was strange they didn't take anything else though :-/. Hope your car is ok.
God damn it, we need house insurance here :-/.
Yuck
Date: 2002-12-13 06:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-12-13 06:13 am (UTC)You've ruled out everyone in your house, but from my position of disinformation, I would expect that they would have to be fairly local and/or fairly well-informed in order to be able to pull off something as risky as that.
Now there's the rub...
From:Oh, and...
From:As ever...
From:Re: As ever...
From:Re: As ever...
From:no subject
Date: 2002-12-13 06:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-12-13 06:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-12-13 07:38 am (UTC)Give Andy a hug from me......I'd offer him Cyril, but I think he'd rather walk to work than drive that death trap ;)
Jo
Oh dear...
Date: 2002-12-13 11:59 am (UTC)This entire area is truly going downhill, sadly. There've been some disturbing occurences in my neck of the woods--and I live right next to a police station.
no subject
Date: 2002-12-13 03:36 pm (UTC)harsh *hugs*