Three MB's in the Tracker Top 10 Stolen Cars for 2010

[st13phil]

Stolen car recovery company Tracker has revealed the most stolen cars of 2010, with the BMW X5 SUV topping the list for joy riders. The top ten most stolen cars in 2010 are as follows:

1. BMW X5
2. Range Rover
3. BMW M3
4. Audi RS4
5. Audi TT
6. Mercedes-Benz SL
7. Mercedes-Benz CLK
8. Porsche 911
9. Volkswagen Golf
10. Mercedes-Benz ML

Stephen Doran of Tracker said: “These figures show that all car owners are a target for thieves. And with 84 per cent of all the cars we recovered last year being stolen using the keys, we remind every car owner to keep their keys safe at all times.”

[my bold ]

 

[artyman]

Doesn't say much for anti-theft systems does it

 

[Sp!ke]

They steal the owners keys - security on the car is good, less so the owners' houses.

 

[st13phil]

They steal the owners keys - security on the car is good, less so the owners' houses.

Quite, hence my :eek

 

[janner]

The top ten most stolen cars in 2010 are as follows...

The most stolen cars or the most stolen cars with trackers fitted?

 

[verytalldave]

I wonder how the "Tracker" top ten compares with the "all the rest" top ten?
I suspect most cars stolen for joyriding are fairly lowly models like Escorts, Fiestas and Astras. Easier to break into and start than all those listed in the Tracker top ten.

 

[Sp!ke]

I suspect you are correct on that one.

If you have a nice car though, it is wise to keep sharp when nearing home in case you are being followed and wiser still to keep the keys well hidden or in a key safe at home.

 

[Shude]

The cars listed are exactly the ones which tend to require a tracker to be fitted for insurance purposes!

There's something wrong with these stats.

 

[cl55 amg]

I suspect you are correct on that one.

If you have a nice car though, it is wise to keep sharp when nearing home in case you are being followed and wiser still to keep the keys well hidden or in a key safe at home.

Sorry but don't agree with keeping keys hidden, as far as I'm concerned if they break into my house where my children are sleeping the quicker they find the keys the better!

but go agree with keeping your eyes open incase you are followed and use your garage as much as possible.

 

[Gareth]

I for one keep my keys safe and my car is always garaged (i.e out of sight) and probably isn't that desirable for theft.

If I lived in Manchester and had a Porsche 911 on the drive I don't know how securely I'd want my keys in the house though tbh with some of the stories I've heard. I certainly wouldn't be keeping them upstairs where my child is.

 

[corned]

The most stolen cars or the most stolen cars with trackers fitted?

Tracker is a recovery device - not an anti-theft device.

 

[Sp!ke]

Someone should market sacrificial dummy keys for this kind of instance where all that happens when the remote is operated is that it sets off the alarm. (house and car)

Hide real keys and leave fake ones on view.

 

[corned]

Someone should market sacrificial dummy keys for this kind of instance where all that happens when the remote is operated is that it sets off the alarm. (house and car)

Hide real keys and leave fake ones on view.

Presumably that's the only use to which those keys on Ebay can be put (you know - the ones which can't be re-programmed to your car, despite what the seller says)...

 

[Shude]

Someone should market sacrificial dummy keys for this kind of instance where all that happens when the remote is operated is that it sets off the alarm. (house and car)

Hide real keys and leave fake ones on view.

Actually this would be fairly easy to implement. I have a couple of old MB keys that could be modified to just set off alarms if any buttons were pressed.

Could leave the key hanging on a hook in the house somewhere.

 

[markjay]

They steal the owners keys - security on the car is good, less so the owners' houses.

Not always... I know personally of an SL55 taken from outside the owner's office within 5 minutes of him arriving at work... it was driven away, not towed/lifted, and he had both keys (which the insurer asked to see plus a letter from MB confirming that duplicate keys were never ordered).

So apparently it is still possible to defeat the security on a modern MB if you know what you are doing.

But I do agree that opportunistic thieves or juvenile joy riders no longer drive-away modern cars, the stolen cars market is now dominated by professional criminal gangs who export them to Russia/China/Africa etc.

 

[markjay]

But... phew, I am relived that there are no C180K on the most-stolen list.... well, relived and slightly offended at the same time

 

[Alps]

if the thief wants your car and he is a pro, he will get it.

they will come armed with spare ECU`s , keys etc, and plug their own in and drive away!

All the cars on the tracker list arell most probably stolen to order and most shipped abroad.

There was a thread on here about a year ago about someones house being broken into, first step, CHANGE YOUR HOUSE LOCKS! make sure your house is secure, keep keys away from the front door and anywhere where they can be seen from a window or letterbox. just do a search on youtube for "lock bumping" and you will see how easy it is for someone to enter your house.

food for thought....

 

[markjay]

Tracker is a recovery device - not an anti-theft device.

At any rate tracker devices don't really work very well from the inside of a 14-feet sealed metal container....

 

[219]

:bannana:

it was driven away, not towed/lifted, and he had both keys (which the insurer asked to see plus a letter from MB confirming that duplicate keys were never ordered).

Not by the owner .

I would imagine that one way of obtaining keys would be to send off for the V5 , using the VIN number that all new MB's thoughtfully display in the windscreen , having it sent to an accommodation address in the name of someone whose passport/driving license has been obtained by burglary or forgery ( people do sell such things for nefarious undertakings stolen DL can also be changed to same address ) . With v5 and ID , MB will furnish keys and by the time the owner finds out , it will be too late .

A lot of trouble , but worthwhile for high value car .

 

[Sp!ke]

It would be a lot easier if you have a mate working somewhere within Mercedes.