Evening all. At 3:41am on Monday morning we had a little "visitor", more appropriately described as a little "scrote". We have a Ring camera on the rear of the house, this picked up the said individual walking across from our neighbour's fence to our rear doors. He tries the handles before he is alerted by the Ring camera light, I suspect he had already tried the patio doors on the rear lounge, the video shows his shadow from the main security light. A wee bit disconcerting to say the least. We saw this video first thing in the morning on Bank Holiday Monday. The Police have been excellent to be fair, we reported it with a screen shot to the 101 on-line portal, later in the day we had a PC call by to check in on us, they have since done some door to door with our neighbours. I shared the video with them for any future identification etc. The question is: what else can I do to up the security of our property? The PC went through what we have and stated that there was nothing else that could be recommended! We have the following: - Ring Doorbell camera and hardwired Ring camera covering the front of the house - Locked drive post - Elite Stoplok Pro steering locks on all three cars - All external doors have 3 star anti-snap/pick locks fitted - The downstairs is alarmed each night, the whole house is alarmed each time we leave - All internal downstairs doors have locks accessed from the central point, these are locked each night before we go up - Car keys are in faraday pouches (even though my BMW doesn't even have comfort access!) I'm half contemplating getting rid of the M340i and buying something a little less desirable, however, its seems any car is susceptible to the scrotes. Maybe I could de-badge the car and disguise it a little. The Police stated that it was more than likely that they were after the BMW, so I'm worried that it is a marked car, so to speak. We've now taken to parking the BMW up at the top corner of the drive, under the bay window, and then completely blocking it in with the Honda. As it is an EV there isn't even the option to smash a window and roll it out of the way, so as a blockade it makes sense. We live in a very nice residential area, minimal car crime recently, the Police stated that they haven't had any reports in a while, so it does seem all the more of a targeted attack. Seems as though our hard earned possessions are sometimes not worth owning. As you can imagine, I'm really fed up with this, all the more so that Mrs W is paranoid at the best of times, this has only accentuated that fear. "Why can't you just drive a normal car....." etc.
I was going to post a screen shot of the little (insert an appropriate word here) but decided against it. Just picture the usual balaclava covered lad wearing all black.
Sorry to hear this. To be honest, it sounds like you're doing all you can and from my perspective, I'm not going to have my life ruined or toys curtailed because some little scrote or scrotes have got their eyes on them. I'd make it difficult for them to nick, as it sounds like you're doing, but I certainly wouldn't sell something so it can't be nicked. Just ensure you've got decent insurance cover and get a good night sleep! Our village is very sleepy indeed but a gang did nick a lovely RS6 from a chap in the village. He vowed never to have a nice car again (they cut the glass out of his back door to open it with the key from the inside!) and six months later he has another beautiful car on the driveway. This time blocked in with a battered but heavy Disco 4! Keep enjoying the fruits of your hard earned.
Yes it's a poor show, I feel the same. Have been eyeing up a new M3 but as it would live outside I'm worried that it would quickly disappear. Kindest regards Carl. ps. The only thing missing from your list is a hungry Dobermann!
So sad we can't have nice things without worrying that some scrote is going to take them. They should cut there fingers off when they do catch them.
Sounds like it's a one off rather than regular event. Don't let the bar stewards change your lifestyle.
Thanks for all your positive thoughts chaps, appreciated. Some calm thinking has helped me to put this into perspective, the car is amazing and I work hard for the money to own such a thing, so I am keeping it. As has been said, the scrotes aren't going to put me off, I've got as many security measures in place as is humanly possible (googling remote robot tazers.....) so need to relax a wee bit. There has been car thefts since the car was invented, the move to house burglary to gain the keys is a frustrating one. My insurance renews tomorrow, checking the small print today!
I leave my keys downstairs and in view in the lounge. If they get in and want them then I'd rather they took them and didnt come upstairs looking for the keys - less of a concern now its only me in the house but definitely the priority when daughter and grandkids were here. Ultimately its just a car and it can be replaced... If you have a camera on the front did that pick anything up as they are rarely alone when searching for cars to nick, so he may just have been looking for an easy touch to pay for his next "score"
As others have said you have all the sensible security measures I can think of and probably more than 95% of the general public. Enjoy the car and the fruits of your labour and don't let the scrotes spoil things. Must admit I am more paranoid about the M440i than I was on previous cars but that is probably because it is a bit more 'shouty' than the 6 series was. If the worst happens and it got stolen it is only a car and another reason I didn't activate the tracker (and had it removed) was I really wouldn't want the back if it had been ragged by a scrote and 3 of his mates..
Keys are always left at the bottom of the stairs, so if by some miracle they do get in the house, there is no need for a confrontation. The front cameras didn’t pick anything up, but as you said, there would have been others waiting nearby, maybe a car etc. The police have knocked on doors on our immediate road but nothing has come up. My son is a detective in the south west, he gets frustrated when asking for doorbell/camera footage as very few people actually pay for the storage of videos, making them all but useless for any evidence.
I have a Ring doorbell camera and the yearly subscription is due soon, I was contemplating letting it lapse but your above comment has changed my mind..
I have a Eufy door bell/camera. Has it's own storage hub so no need for a subscription. All locks are tamper proof and luckily we live towards the head of a dead end close where it is pretty much impossible to approach from the rear. There are also richer pickings in the "desirable" nearby neighbouring villages/towns of Prestbury, Alderley Edge and Wilmslow. My neighbours M3 and Z4 sit on his drive. Neither has a tracker but he has hidden some air tags in them.
I suppose a double barrel shotgun would be a bit over the top, but on a serious note, perhaps movement sensors at appropriate points linked to bright lights may help in putting them off. Manufacturers don’t help, making sure that it’s easy to recognise high-performance cars, what with multiple exhaust outlets, large scoops at the front and bulges whatever they think makes it look more aggressive.
Sorry to hear, I've always been concerned about this hence I've always tried to own moderate cars and not sporty cars as I know in my area 1) Insurance will be through the roof, 2) it wont likely be on my drive long as area does have car crime as well as other crimes i.e. knife crime etc but we don't hear much about it now as I suspect it is now classed as "normal". I was a bit concerned when I had the BMW previously but suspect the 320d wasn't a massive target although I did occasionally get asked if it was a M3... no idea how they thought that lol. Kev
Looks to me like you've gone belt and braces and done more than most tbf. We've got cameras at the back of the house facing the conservatory, the side of the house looking down the garden to the garage and my motorbike garage and ring doorbells front and rear. We've always left the landing light on at night, a hangover from when the kids were young, not sure if this helps but you never know. Yvonne's Yeti is tight up against the garage where my Z3 is and I have an Asgard garage for my bike. Outside of that I have a Jack, in the event said burgler got in the house Jack, 27, would recalibrate said burgler. No real dramas where we live but you never know.
In my youth, I had an Austin Healy 3000 Mk1 that wasn't lockable with only side screens on the doors. One evening we went to a dance at a local village hall. Came out at the end of the night to find the car gone! I knew that it wouldn't be far away, as I had a secret kill switch to the electric fuel pump. The Healy was a quarter of a mile down the road, parked and abandoned. No damage and even our coats were still in the car. The thieves must have panicked and run off. Beats any modern security system.
