Urgent warning: 240 thefts in south-east

[rtbcomp]

I bet if it was a brand-new car they'd have a different attitude. They seem to put the seriousness of the crime on monetary value of the items stolen. My £300 Astra which was stolen meant nothing to them, but it put me out of business.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by rtbcomp

I bet if it was a brand-new car they'd have a different attitude.

Do you know that to be the case, or is it an unfounded conclusion you have jumped to?

I'm certainly not defending the police for not investigating crimes (I think that is very poor of them), but I suspect their attitude would have been the same regardless of the value of the car.

[foggyjames]

The chap who first alerted me to this situation in the first place was given that exact message by the police - too busy investigating "higher value" vehicle crimes (keyless relay thefts of Range Rovers, etc) to chase after old bangers being stolen...!

cheers

James

[Levonsrealm]

This worries me as a new member of the volvo community and proud new owner of a 240 estate se '92. The south of Manchester (where I am based) is quite notorious for vehicle theft.
Just to ponder, if anyone has suggestions for personal protection and immobilisation of their car ( like disconnected battery/ removed fuel relay) I would love to hear them. shoot me a pm if you wouldn't want your advice publicly seen.
Apologies if this is viewed as thread commandeering, just noticed the thread had been raised from the dead and thought it may be a good time for people to open a dialogue once more on the subject and see if as a community we can share our ideas with one another.

[novomobile]

Originally Posted by Levonsrealm

This worries me as a new member of the volvo community and proud new owner of a 240 estate se '92. The south of Manchester (where I am based) is quite notorious for vehicle theft.
Just to ponder, if anyone has suggestions for personal protection and immobilisation of their car ( like disconnected battery/ removed fuel relay) I would love to hear them. shoot me a pm if you wouldn't want your advice publicly seen.
Apologies if this is viewed as thread commandeering, just noticed the thread had been raised from the dead and thought it may be a good time for people to open a dialogue once more on the subject and see if as a community we can share our ideas with one another.

Call me old fashioned if you like but my thoughts on this is "prevention is better than cure". I still fit my steering wheel stick lock, gearstick to handbrake lock, and clutch pedal to steering wheel steel lock rod, all painted a vivid bright yellow, on my old car. None of them are what you would call high tech, but any of them would be a pain to remove unless your well "tooled up". Hopefully it deters the chancer opportunist in terms of time and hassle to remove the car.....However I don't think professional car thieves would have a problem.....but to me its a little bit more peace of mind.

[Levonsrealm]

Originally Posted by novomobile

Call me old fashioned if you like but my thoughts on this is "prevention is better than cure". I still fit my steering wheel stick lock, gearstick to handbrake lock, and clutch pedal to steering wheel steel lock rod, all painted a vivid bright yellow, on my old car. None of them are what you would call high tech, but any of them would be a pain to remove unless your well "tooled up". Hopefully it deters the chancer opportunist in terms of time and hassle to remove the car.....However I don't think professional car thieves would have a problem.....but to me its a little bit more peace of mind.

I agree that preventative measures should be taken. If it is standing for a long time, i can't see any harm in disconnecting the fuel pump relay. That provides me the peace of mind that prevents me from checking on my car at odd times of the night.
Did you purchase a specific Volvo 240 anti theft kit?
I wonder with the amount of play in the gearbox as standard with these cars whether, given enough time, a rather industrious individual might be able to figure out how to get the anti theft device off.

[Thekilt]

the issue is in this modern world is the advancement of power tools. Many vehicle theives (mainly motorbike and Bicycles in london) carry cordless angle grinders. 30 seconds or less and a lock could be gone.
In the capital people just look on while its going on as they dont want to get involved/Injured so they get away with it.

If they want it, they will get it. Its very difficult to deter theives these days.

[novomobile]

I did not purchase a specific Volvo kit. All my vivid yellow mechanically operated with keys/locks were all manufactured in the 70 s. They were widely available from the likes of Halfords ,motor accessory shops and motor factors, and have lasted me well over the years. Like I said, they are just a good visual deterrent for casual chancers.