Yes it was a black Golf l am certain from grainy CCTV l saw at the time

Security hinge bolts, security hinges, or any of the other suggestions it's all you can do.

lightning said:

Yes it was a black Golf l am certain from grainy CCTV l saw at the time

Security hinge bolts, security hinges, or any of the other suggestions it's all you can do.

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Just for anyone out there, a black golf was seen acting oddly later that evening.
A black golf was also round a few months earlier with two men looking to buy our old corsa. Left a flyer but came round 3-4 times. When our D110 came back from accident repair they commented on how nice she looked and then never saw them again.
We also have a D90 in need of a lot of repair that they may have been looking a.
All reported to police, but would like anyone else to be aware.

Kitten said:

Unfortunately that would not have stopped them. They were spotted before they removed the doors and they had two doors in vehicle before we got out the house.
They had prepared everything first before they actually took anything or broke into vehicle.

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Yer can buy alarms which trigger if somefink is loitering near the vehicle.

The type of alarm I use is a bad tempered dog with really good hearing. If the barking doesnt put intruders off, the teeth usually do.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

The type of alarm I use is a bad tempered dog with really good hearing. If the barking doesnt put intruders off, the teeth usually do.

Col

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Do you leave the dog in yer tratter all the time?

Hippo said:

Do you leave the dog in yer tratter all the time?

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No, but its only about 20 ft from the living room window and the dog barks at anyone who walks past that she doesnt know, which alerts me and at least three neighbours. Nobody is going to nick my tratter though cos I take the steering wheel out and it takes about 10 minutes to prime the petrol pump before it will start.

Col

Its not just about protecting it at home. This has been going on for years. While the OP isnt keen on fitting an alarm and the benefits, increased security is the only way forward. Tratterers must increase security above the standard fit which to be frank is no betterer than a garden shed with a padlock and one of those coat hanger wire style staple locks with the screws on show. The type yer can lever oft with a screw driver. Or pull the door and the screws give up.

Tratter parts theft has continued for decades. Lack of security makes them too easy to nick. Bolts on show makes them too easy to strip. The OP finks she will recognise her doors but thems who have been around for years know different. Historically police have required photo or video proof they're yours. Same for wheels and other parts stolen. Marks and dents identify them.

Parts stolen day or night. At home or in car parks, side of road... We've seen it all over the years. Towed away or given a push to roll away and start further down the road. As a fellow LR owner it annoys me to see it happen to others in our community. If owners refuse to secure their vehicles then there's no hope. Especially if they continue to buy second hand parts. Puma and td5 bonnet sellers on ebay with every colour available are a good example.

The police are fully aware of the situation. They have had their own tratters stripped anorl. Ere's one of many.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3763756/amp/Land-Rover-parked-outside-base-stripped-bonnet-five-doors.html

Yer can hide yer head in the sand and pretend its not hapoening but it is. Tesco car park. LR show car park. School car park. Train stations. Dunt matter where yer leave them, robbers know security is poor. Doors unbolt while locked. Remove headlight to disconnect the horn. Its been covered hundreds of times each year on ere since LZ was born. Leave a valuable dog inside and they take that anorl. Roof racks, winches, ladders... Bolt on jewellery which attracts magpies. I'm not giving the game away by saying this. Robbers already know this. Sadly not all owners do.

I get mocked on ere for suggesting etching windows. Its obviouse they can get round it by changing the glass but that costs money or requires another theft. We've seen the industrial strippers at work. Police have even caught them. But there's more out there and they will happily strip or take yer vehicle with ease. The choice is yours tratterers. Fight back or claim on yer insurance.

Couldn't agree more

Everything you can do to increase security on your Landy

Park with the wheels on full lock (free) Windows etched (DIY kit £15) Ball bearings in the door hinge bolts (£5)
Move alarm from behind headlight (BBUS harness £65 or if just the horn, the cost of 1m wire)
And here's a good one, registration number on the roof (stick on letters £5)

lightning said:

Ball bearings in the door hinge bolts (£5)

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I remember you mentioned this before... bloody good idea @lightning - going to explore this when I update the hinge bolts. Cheap and likely very effective at slowing down thieves.

Sorry to hear this @Kitten - I can see you've already got some security on the truck (pedal lock, steering lock etc).

x

lf you have the original torx type bolts in the door hinges, you can tap a 5mm stainless steel ball bearing into the top of each bolt and it makes them much harder to remove.

x

Obviously it makes it more difficult if you need to remove them yourself, but it is possible.

x

That’s a good call on the deadlocks.

I’d considered this as an extra measure when I park away from home.

Will investigate how painful they are to install.

I appreciate this is an older thread , but reading this makes me wonder how they manage to select vehicles where all the door screws are not seized solid and the captives don't break .. Or do they just appear with a cordless drill and drill the heads out ? 5 minutes to nick all the doors ! takes e 10 minutes to mess around with one screw before chewing it up then drilling the head off . ( the easy way )

Ball bearing trick sounds good since the ball bearing cant be drilled so that's probably quite effective . Plugging the holes with small core plugs might be another deterrent that just buys time. Ball bearings in the screw heads and core plugs in the holes that would **** them off ..

or how about securing the door to the car at the A post with stainless cable . just a short length top and bottom , a bit like the run away cable on a trailer hitch ? you can do the same with the bonnet .

Door locks on the likes of a series are pretty worthless .

The doors that get nicked are mostly the Tdci model ones so the fittings aren’t as old and likely to not be seized.

I was watching a Landy on eBay with newer mismatched Tdci doors on it this week and wondered as to the origin of these doors…