Would you buy a headlight security upgrade kit ?

  • Yes

    Votes: 15 40.5%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 9 24.3%
  • No

    Votes: 13 35.1%

  • Total voters
    37
Thanks for the advice optimus, I have decided to just make them and sell them myself. The big question is, who is going to be prepared to part with their hard earned cash without even knowing exactly what the product is or how it works. I need a guinee pig local to me.
 
Well I have an appointment booked for Tuesday to price up professional manufacturing costs to save me working 24hrs a day in my shed.
 
Depends on the amount of hard earned cash.you need to give an idea of the said product and an idea on price.go to high and you will have a shed full of bits.
 
Well thats the kit all sorted and tweaked. Prototype kit still fitted to my car as I have been busy making another kit up for a mate. His car is presently fitted with the ugly plastic light guards so I have modified the kit so it will fit with light guards fitted to the vehicle. So in effect he will have belt and braces fitted to slow the theives down to a crawl instead of the normal sprint needed to steal the headlights.
I still have a full set of instructions for installation to write up including adding the diagrams. So until then, I will be fitting the kits myself. At the moment, the outwardly visible parts of the kit come in gloss black but there maybe the option to leave them primed so you can colourcode them yourself or for an additional charge, I will colourcode them to your vehicle prior to fitment.
If you have any questions please PM me.
Thanks Dave
 
I will post a picture tomorrow of the front corner of my car where the only visible part of the kit can be seen. The rest of the kit is all hidden out of sight.
 
The complete kit to do both headlights will be roundabout the £120 mark finished in gloss black. If you want colour coded to your vehicle it will be roundabout £140. Postage will be on top of this unless you want to collect.
 
Hi WolfyDave, can I ask a couple of questions?

I have a facelift disco. If someone stole the headlights then I am assuming the repair would be 2 headlights, replacing any broken fittings, repairing bodywork and repainting which I guess is an insurance claim.

If I had your security kit fitted then I am guessing the thief might give up without the lights but surely any damage will still result in an insurance claim and so where is the benefit to me in paying £100+ for the kit?

Also it is already a pain in the arse having to take the grill and headlights out just to change a bulb. Will the kit make that job more time consuming?
 
Hi WolfyDave, can I ask a couple of questions?

I have a facelift disco. If someone stole the headlights then I am assuming the repair would be 2 headlights, replacing any broken fittings, repairing bodywork and repainting which I guess is an insurance claim.

If I had your security kit fitted then I am guessing the thief might give up without the lights but surely any damage will still result in an insurance claim and so where is the benefit to me in paying £100+ for the kit?

Also it is already a pain in the arse having to take the grill and headlights out just to change a bulb. Will the kit make that job more time consuming?

Good points.also wonder what happens if lights still stolen after fitting your security kit then i assume you would cover cost of replacement lights.wife works for trading standards and says if sold as a kit to prevent theft then they must be fit for purpose.
 
I think maybe "reduce the chance of theft", rather than "prevent theft"?

see the wording used on other "antitheft" devices.

I am sure a wheel lock does not guarantee no theft, coz it wont stop a HIAB.
 
If I had your security kit fitted then I am guessing the thief might give up without the lights but surely any damage will still result in an insurance claim and so where is the benefit to me in paying £100+ for the kit?
Good points.also wonder what happens if lights still stolen after fitting your security kit then i assume you would cover cost of replacement lights.wife works for trading standards and says if sold as a kit to prevent theft then they must be fit for purpose.

ffs, it's enough to make the poor guy give up all together, typical litigious attitude that's turning this country to ****.

it's a double edged sword. Do you fit an extra strong lock to your front door, but gamble that there could be more damage, or that the intruder might just think of going next door because it's an easier target.

As for being fit for purpose, nothing can prevent their theft entirely, can only make it harder / less attractive. If they can be removed in minutes normally, then if it takes a thief 15 minutes with the guards on, then they are fit for purpose.

But no, don't accept that nothing is unstealable, and try and hit the guy who's actually got off his arse to do something about it for a new pair of headlights.

Typical whingers who need to just get on a bit.

I had my van broken into a few weeks back. ****ed me off. A LOT. Lost getting on for over a grands worth of gear. What to do ? I suppose I should now be trying to get the manufacturer in court as the locks are obviously unfit for purpose if they can be smashed with a screwdriver.

Or, just fit deadlocks and an alarm, and hope that will be enough. Can't stop them breaking in again, can always cut in with an angle grinder, or probably a can opener if really determined. So perhaps my court case shouldn't be with the manufacturer, but with the steel supplier, as they have supplied a panel which is unfit for purpose as it can be defeated.

Life is a bitch, people will always try and steal things, we don't live in a perfect world. All you can do is make your stuff less attractive to a potential thief, and hope.
 
All im saying is for a £120 it needs to be bloody good. the security on my van would prevent theft cos it does what it says on the tin.an anti theft device should do just that.a deterent is different.i dont want to put the man off as im interested,but i dont want to buy something that may just slow em down. your man is being to cloak and dagger and needs to reveal more.
the locks on your van are not stated as an anti theft device if they were then yes not fit for purpose,nobody sold you the van stating the metal was burglar proof if they did then you would have a case.
 
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To Otimus Prime, just because we ask some questions relevant to the product being offered you make some generalizations in your post suggesting that cambridgecockney and I are litigious and whingers but you know nothing about us so I suggest you keep your stereotyping to yourself.

If the questions were stupid or irrelevant then I would expect derision but the OP is looking to develop a product and the questions were relevant to that product. My first question was about the potential benefit of the product. If the bracket was £50 then the decision to purchase is easier but I would certainly have to think hard and understand the benefit to me before spending £150.
The second question was specific to how the product works, it is all very well trying to make your car secure but I would want to know how easy it is to remove the headlamp when you need to as if it takes a long time to take the unit out and then put it back in that is a major disadvantage.

I know nothing about the OP but I admire the fact that he is trying to find a solution to this problem but sometimes a good idea does not work commercially.

And for your information I drive a facelift Disco so would be a potential customer.
 
Well what a a baloo. I had mine stolen twice, I designed and made working light guards two years ago. As an Aluminium stainless and carbon steel fabricator it was a challenge to come up with something that worked but after some serious crying from my wife i had no choice. The problem is that with all the legislation about safety, patent etc i decided that i was alright jack, well me and old Roy around the corner who had had his stolen three times and Richard the farmer up the street (seven times) i had no need to go into mass production. But perhaps my design will appeal to some and maybe ease the problem. The police have recommended my light guards but what about the legalities!.... Design wise i wanted something that said oi #### off and don't bother, not -" look at my slender stainless straps and hidden stuff that you may possibly cut through with bolt crops or destroy trying". If anyone is interested then post here and i will send you some info...Sorry if this sounds to the point but after typing the whole sob story two nights in a row then loosing the whole thing just before pressing enter i have given in to the retch-id thing.. Regards Ado
 
Well what a a baloo. I had mine stolen twice, I designed and made working light guards two years ago. As an Aluminium stainless and carbon steel fabricator it was a challenge to come up with something that worked but after some serious crying from my wife i had no choice. The problem is that with all the legislation about safety, patent etc i decided that i was alright jack, well me and old Roy around the corner who had had his stolen three times and Richard the farmer up the street (seven times) i had no need to go into mass production. But perhaps my design will appeal to some and maybe ease the problem. The police have recommended my light guards but what about the legalities!.... Design wise i wanted something that said oi #### off and don't bother, not -" look at my slender stainless straps and hidden stuff that you may possibly cut through with bolt crops or destroy trying". If anyone is interested then post here and i will send you some info...Sorry if this sounds to the point but after typing the whole sob story two nights in a row then loosing the whole thing just before pressing enter i have given in to the retch-id thing.. Regards Ado

Yes p[lease would be very interested.having sleepless nights.
 
Well what a a baloo. I had mine stolen twice, I designed and made working light guards two years ago. As an Aluminium stainless and carbon steel fabricator it was a challenge to come up with something that worked but after some serious crying from my wife i had no choice. The problem is that with all the legislation about safety, patent etc i decided that i was alright jack, well me and old Roy around the corner who had had his stolen three times and Richard the farmer up the street (seven times) i had no need to go into mass production. But perhaps my design will appeal to some and maybe ease the problem. The police have recommended my light guards but what about the legalities!.... Design wise i wanted something that said oi #### off and don't bother, not -" look at my slender stainless straps and hidden stuff that you may possibly cut through with bolt crops or destroy trying". If anyone is interested then post here and i will send you some info...Sorry if this sounds to the point but after typing the whole sob story two nights in a row then loosing the whole thing just before pressing enter i have given in to the retch-id thing.. Regards Ado

where do you live? not very good for facelifts!
 
my comment were more aimed at cambridge than you neil, in particular his response:

Good points.also wonder what happens if lights still stolen after fitting your security kit then i assume you would cover cost of replacement lights.wife works for trading standards and says if sold as a kit to prevent theft then they must be fit for purpose.

How else can you read this other than "if i buy these and my lights still get stolen, I assume you will pay for me to replace them, my wife works for trading standards and says that you must"

Ok, so lets say the OP decides to give a guarantee, but this will have to be covered by efficacy insurance, which will add maybe and extra 20 to 30 pounds to the cost, which then becomes even more of an issue.

I appreciate your comments neil but mine stand: do you fit a stronger lock to your front door and risk extra damage, but hopefully the potential burglar will move on to an easier target. Part of the reason people fit intruder alarms is to act as a deterrent. If an intruder wants to break into a property, no intruder alarm will stop them.

By your reckoning to minimise damage, the only sure way to avoid potential damage is for you to carefully remove them every night so your vehicle doesn't get damaged if someone else tries to do so. In fact, maybe defender drivers should leave their vehicles unlocked and the keys in the ignition to avoid any potential damage being caused while try to steal the vehicle.

The OP has tried to come up with a solution, which cannot be perfect, but will hopefully act as a deterrent to the opportunist. If the thief is determined, they will be gone no matter what precautions you take.
 
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wife works for trading standards and says if sold as a kit to prevent theft then they must be fit for purpose.
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where in there does my wife say must.i asked her the difference between something sold as an anti theft and something sold as a deterent.the seller is being very protective by keeping things to himself worried someone will copy his idea.we asked the questions as to what he is selling.for the price i want something to stop them not just slow them down causing more damage.he isnt forthcoming with details of the product.
 

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