Potential S4 buyer

Any car can be stolen, like any house can be burgled. Doesn't matter where you are, or the area it can just happen.

I have DSG in my Golf, always loved manual but like above I really like the DSG, it has launch control and it's fast at gear changes. I rarely use the paddles or up/down on the stick now.
 
I sometimes use the paddles to manual up-change when DSG is hanging onto 5th gear when I would prefer to be in 6th.
 
Seems majority were converted to DSG from manual? thats good to know and might try to get a test drive on the dsg B8.5 that the dealer has on site too to make a direct comparison.

As for the theft - yes - it does bother me - because my race bikes and other motorbikes are all in the garage. If they were to burgle the house to get the keys to the car - then i would be exposing the contents of my garage which is undesirable.

hmm, S4 was 4th on the list atleast on the few years between 2011-2014 according to google? lol, still a desirable car. Besides - i thought that these cars are easily stolen via the OBD port?
 
SDK^ said:
It's not hard to get the keys though : which is the OP worry.
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It's sufficiently hard that theft of vehicles has been falling significantly over the last 15 years. Obviously it still happens but the facts remain that you are less likely to have your car stolen now than at any point in recent memory.
 
[TW]Fox;28841896 said:
It's sufficiently hard that theft of vehicles has been falling significantly over the last 15 years. Obviously it still happens but the facts remain that you are less likely to have your car stolen now than at any point in recent memory.
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The risk of a car theft is less likely now because it's not so easy to pop the locks, jump start using ignition cables etc... However the threat is much higher because it's more likely thieves will enter your property to get the keys.

The current anti-theft protection devices on cars deter opportunists from stealing your car successfully, but organised groups will get it no matter what. I'd rather they didn't enter my property and scare my family so I would actually prefer the car to be easier to steal.
 
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SDK^ said:
The risk of a car theft is less likely now because it's not so easy to pop the locks, jump start using ignition cables etc... However the threat is much higher because it's more likely thieves will enter your property to get the keys.

The current anti-theft protection devices on cars deter opportunists from stealing your car successfully, but organised groups will get it no matter what. I'd rather they didn't enter my property and scare my family so I would actually prefer the car to be easier to steal.
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Rubbish.

You don't want your car to be easier stolen. What you want is your car keys easier found if they were to enter your property for them. My keys are left in a fairly obvious place, far away from the bedrooms.
 
xs2man said:
Rubbish.

You don't want your car to be easier stolen. What you want is your car keys easier found if they were to enter your property for them. My keys are left in a fairly obvious place, far away from the bedrooms.
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I always keep my keys, wallet and phones int he bedroom.
 
xs2man said:
Rubbish.

You don't want your car to be easier stolen. What you want is your car keys easier found if they were to enter your property for them. My keys are left in a fairly obvious place, far away from the bedrooms.
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As I said in my post - I would prefer would be thieves didn't enter my property at all. Breaking down the door/windows and entering causes distress. Not seeing the intruders makes it no better. If it's easy for Pro car thieves to drive it away without entering my house then it works for me.
 
I am lucky to live where I live as they tried twice to get to my house and failed twice, thankfully. On any map I appear to live in a field, so they were spotted twice by neighbors trying to find the entrance to our properties and because they were disturbed, twice, they ran out of time I believe and also because my car was parked in a garage they lost the signal. My keys sit by the front door, if they want the car they can have it. Frankly I wished they had taken it as it was diving into a depreciation hell hole at the time :D
 
Biffa said:
But don't they steal the entire car to then have enough time to remove the seats/interior/bodywork etc? Rather than risk being caught sitting there with a bag full of spanners and the alarm going off?
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See below - Ended up writing off a brand new RS3 through stealing and damaging the interior - repair cost was £22K plus.

All done outside his home without setting alarm off.













 
craig_t said:
I always keep my keys, wallet and phones int he bedroom.
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If I had a car worth stealing, no way I'd have the keys in my bedroom. Do you not have car insurance or something?

SDK^ said:
As I said in my post - I would prefer would be thieves didn't enter my property at all. Breaking down the door/windows and entering causes distress. Not seeing the intruders makes it no better. If it's easy for Pro car thieves to drive it away without entering my house then it works for me.
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Sure. Pro car thieves can likely take your car anyway without entering your home. It's the scumbags that break into your home to take your car for a joyride I'm more worried about. The sort of crack smoking scumbags that try to squeeze through dog / cat flaps and the like.

They are the people who are brazen enough to actually search your house for the keys. So I leave them out, nice and obvious for them. My cars are fully insured, and at the end of the day, they are only cars. They can have them so long as the GTFO of my house and leave my family alone.

Housey said:
I am lucky to live where I live as they tried twice to get to my house and failed twice, thankfully. On any map I appear to live in a field, so they were spotted twice by neighbors trying to find the entrance to our properties and because they were disturbed, twice, they ran out of time I believe and also because my car was parked in a garage they lost the signal. My keys sit by the front door, if they want the car they can have it. Frankly I wished they had taken it as it was diving into a depreciation hell hole at the time :D
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Exactly. It's only a car, and you would likely get more for it through an insurance claim than if you were to sell it anyway, mostly.

I fail to understand why anyone would put themselves or their family in any amount of extra danger just to protect a car. Something that could most likely be replaced with relative ease.
 
The worst we have had on our street is some lad walking down trying to open car doors at 1AM. Heard the noise and went out side to tell him to **** off. Gave 101 a call to. There isn't a chance in hell anyone will get the car keys, or anything else for that matter by entering our house. All they will get is some large bites.
 
xs2man said:
They are the people who are brazen enough to actually search your house for the keys. So I leave them out, nice and obvious for them. My cars are fully insured, and at the end of the day, they are only cars. They can have them so long as the GTFO of my house and leave my family alone.
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This. Had a heated discussion the other day with a friends dad who said I should keep my keys in my bedroom in a safe so they can't be stolen, he didn't seem to grasp the idea that if someone is willing to go to the lengths as to break into my house that it probably wouldn't be past them to intimidate my family to find them. If they're in the house then they can have them.
 
Antony101 said:
There isn't a chance in hell anyone will get the car keys, or anything else for that matter by entering our house. All they will get is some large bites.
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More likely is your dog will get a smack round the head with a bat, your keys will get nicked anyway and all you'd have achieved is still no car, an upset family and a potentially injured pet.

If they want it so much they break in your house, a dog isn't going to stop them. Most dogs won't attack intruders unless specially trained, however much people might like to think they would.
 
Antony101 said:
The worst we have had on our street is some lad walking down trying to open car doors at 1AM. Heard the noise and went out side to tell him to **** off. Gave 101 a call to. There isn't a chance in hell anyone will get the car keys, or anything else for that matter by entering our house. All they will get is some large bites.
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People that do this thing for a living will deal with a dog in seconds.
 
Our dogs have attacked someone in the past for trying to get into the house. Although neither of them are trained attack dogs I'd wager most people would deem it not worth the hastle. They bark the moment someone opens the front door.

I'd assume it would likely end up a matter of there being easier cars to steal in our street and ours would be left alone.
 
Antony101 said:
Our dogs have attacked someone in the past for trying to get into the house. Although neither of them are trained attack dogs I'd wager most people would deem it not worth the hastle. They bark the moment someone opens the front door.

I'd assume it would likely end up a matter of there being easier cars to steal in our street and ours would be left alone.
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I thought we were discussing targeted type thefts, where things like RS4s are being tracked back to homes specifically to be stolen. A dog won't deter those sort of people, it'll just a bash on the head on their way to wake you up and find your keys.

If you've just got a diesel rep mobile and you're talking opportunity theft, then sure they'd move on but that's not really what was being discussed as I understood it.
 
Antony101 said:
Our dogs have attacked someone in the past for trying to get into the house. Although neither of them are trained attack dogs I'd wager most people would deem it not worth the hastle. They bark the moment someone opens the front door.

I'd assume it would likely end up a matter of there being easier cars to steal in our street and ours would be left alone.
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My RS4 was targeted by a professional gang who were stealing to order. It had a tracking device attached to its rear wheel arch at Birmingham International Station. I live in a private location with a half mile long drive through a field, you can't see my house from the road or even see there are houses and they tried twice to get to my car, my house and me. Rest assured if they go to such effort you would end up with 2 dead dogs and a big lump on your head if they wanted your car, or worse a bullet or stab hole.

A walk by stealer is one issue and in such circumstances you are probably right, but cars targeted like mine was are by professionals, often from places where life is cheap. Four guys went down for 5 years (2 of them), 3 years and 18 months for trying to steal my car and for successfully stealing other cars, though I was lead to believe the guys were tech driven rather than violently driven, but others are very much about getting your car at any cost and come prepared to deal with dogs...and you if they need to.
 
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