Amazon: URGENT: Break-in, door lock replacement needed

[woodman]

Hello

Last night, someone broke into Magnus by forcing the driver's door lock, rolled the car away down the hill, and my wife found it in the next street this morning. It looks like they were either just playing a prank or were trying to steal it and then realised they couldn't work out how to start it. We're mainly relieved that we still have the car!

The lock had been forced once before which I suppose makes it weak. So we need to change the lock, and for insurance purposes we probably need to get on with it pretty swiftly. The keyhole bit in the button is damaged.

Am I best off buying new, or does anyone have relevant spares I could buy from them? I'm going to contact Volvo 133 offline, as he lives near me and has lots of spares, but if anyone else can help that'd be great.

Many thanks, Andy.

[woodman]

On closer inspection, they've pulled a load of wires under the dashboard to look for something they can hotwire from, they've broken the steering column cowl trying to either find a way in that way or to use the auto tranmission selector; and also bent the indicator stalk. They've also broken the interior light. So it's a bit worrying, and I may end up with a longer list of bits and bobs that I need to replace....

[Ponvanman]

Hope you managed to get it home. There are some tossers about !!!

[Faust]

Sadly, the criminal filth will see an old car and think "easy to nick" in what passes for their minds. They don't give a damn about any damage they cause in the process, or the fact that they are potentially ruining someone's pride and joy.

Scum. The lot of them. They are probably too young/stupid to understand a manual choke anyway, so the odds are that an old car will stall and they'll abandon it within a few yards.

I use a one of those disc locks that covers half the steering wheel on my Amazon to deter the casual thieves… don't know if it'd go over a stock Amazon wheel though (I've got a smaller Motolita leather wheel fitted in my car).

Hope you get your car sorted out.

[Ron Kwas]

Andy;

Sorry to hear about such things, but I expect the armored cable did its job! We'll help you sort it.

Unfortunately the bastards can do a lot of damage while they are in the vehicle...perhaps you should consider an alarm system with a screaming loud siren located IN THE INTERIOR! ...it's called area denial by sound!

Condolences

[Amazonjulian]

Commiserations- glad it didn't end up worse.

[woodman]

Thanks for your support everyone. Large enough steering wheel locks are expensive but, more to the point, huge and cumbersome, which deters me from having one floating round the car while driving. Currently looking into a simple but effective immobiliser - easy to do of course, but it wouldn't stop them from doing damage trying to start it.

My Mrs reckons the manual choke alone is a major deterrent! Presumably they don't allow themselves more than about a minute to get the thing started, after that they scarper. But by then they've broken and bent things.

[Ron Kwas]

Andy;

I wasn't kidding...for an outside parked vehicle, a discretely located Kill Switch in combination with an alarm with interior mounted horn will make them move along before they can do too much damage...hopefully!

Condolences

[CLIVERALLY]

It sums it up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1TSsS-mB6c

[Derek UK]

A suitably sized motor cycle security chain and lock can be looped around the front seat mount, the one the raises and lowers the front of the seat, and then a couple of turns around the rim of the steering wheel before using the padlock. Won't stop someone hauling it onto a drop tail flat bed but if it's brightly coloured is a good visual deterrent.

New lock barrels from Brookhouse not too expensive and the 2 doors and boot set with same number and 2 keys best value.

You might have to glue up the Auto console as they are hard to find undamaged in RHD form.

What's damaged on the interior light? I might be able to help with that, even a complete one.