# Stolen sat nav



## K18PBO (Nov 16, 2007)

Hello all you TT lovers,
Wanted to let you all know there has been a number of SAT NAV systems taken from TT's in the Midlands recently - including mine! This is at least what the local Police tell me. The usual markings of stolen to order... Passenger window smashed , dash damaged, along with the stuffs and scraps on the leather and paint work.

Hope it doesn't happen to you.
Paul.


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## DPG (Dec 7, 2005)

Sorry to hear this.

Was it broken into on your drive?


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## K18PBO (Nov 16, 2007)

Yes. Cheeky buggers.
You just never know!


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## StanTT (Oct 26, 2012)

Hi Gents & Ladies, new to forum but joined tonight as I also wanteed to let you know my 2009 2LT TDI was done by low lifes this morning, passenger window smashed and RNS-E (Sat Nav) system stollen, the police reckon I have been marked and there is a big rise in theft from Audi's at the moment. to buy the unit from Audi its about £2k so a quick buck for the low lifes. getting CCTV put up at my house the weekend, but police reckon they could come back again !!


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## wja96 (Mar 4, 2010)

I'm very sorry to hear that StanTT and K8PBO have been the victims of this.

It's amazing that they're so unsophisticated as to smash the side window then damage the dash getting the unit out. Usually, people stealing these things on a targetted basis are pretty slick and don't want to set off alarms etc.

One thing I am grateful for is that mine is generally locked away in a garage at night.


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## CWM3 (Mar 4, 2012)

Sorry to read this matey, it's becoming an all too familiar issue in certain areas, nearly all cases of theft are driven by demand, and unless it's for personal use, just a gain of a few pounds to the low life scum that carry out these crimes.

But at the other end of the supply line will be a potential TT owner who will buy an RNS-E far cheaper than dealer new price to 'upgrade' their car, often without any thought to where the unit has come from. Mainly these buyers buy from private sellers on auction sites, so I suggest in most cases we all have a fair idea whe they have come from.

It's the same old issue, feed the rats and they will keep breeding.

It's the reason why I went out of my way to purchase my car without satnav, as it lives outside, coupled with the fact it's not the greatest system in the world, so what's the point of paying a premium and then having it nicked?


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## DPG (Dec 7, 2005)

CWM3 said:


> It's the reason why I went out of my way to purchase my car without satnav, as it lives outside, coupled with the fact it's not the greatest system in the world, so what's the point of paying a premium and then having it nicked?


+1

I bought a system for my GTI off a UK forum. Bloke reckoned they were all refurb's and came from Eastern Europe

Once he'd fitted mine I had a play and noticed a folder called Matt and Janes music - Odd names for Lithuanian's.

Less than 3 days later my car was stolen so that was £500 well spent.

Won't get built in Sat nav again. The TomTom software on my phone does the job for the rare occasion I need it.


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## hope88 (Mar 25, 2011)

Sad news but I am not surprised. I've read on PH that bucket seats from an RS3 is stolen the same way too... scums like this making life hard for everyone as this will inadvertently raise insurance prices!


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## StanTT (Oct 26, 2012)

Hi Gents, thanks for your kind words, the Autoglass guy said he had replaced 5 Audi A1 side windows and 3 TT side windows in the last three weeks all for the same reason "Satnavs Stollen" !!

Why have Audi gone back to a single unit that is so simple to remove, Ive now put my old radio/cd back in and I'm in a dilema !! do I keep it as it is now and not worry about my car being outside "this means low life scum have won and controlling me" or have the new unit put in this week and then worry every night I go to bed ??

The ironic thing about my theft was that I had left my wallet in the car with £150 in it and guess what !! yes the gutter scum rats left my wallet in the car and also no damage at all to the dash.

I also live in Warwickshire Jc1 M6 gives you a good clue or the song "Sweet Chariots" but the local boys in blue did say there was a good chance they will come back !!

What should I do , get the new unit put back in and get CCTV put up outside my house or just give in to the sewer rats!! I agree though that its supply and demand, If you just thought for one second when buying something from an Auction site "where has this really come from"

Thoughts gents or ladies


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## CovTT79 (Aug 17, 2012)

Sorry to hear this has happen to you, I didnt know they were so easy to be taken out  I know some dealers have to take them out of cars on sale left outside due to the high amount of thefts, sometime I think the laws in some middle easten country's would be ideal here, they steal they loose a hand :twisted: , extreme but the police here are just to powerless


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## CWM3 (Mar 4, 2012)

StanTT, it's a dilemma mate, CCTV is not going to stop them doing it again, there is very little fear of being caught, and even then the penalties handed out are laughable, you are seen as a victimless crime as you are insured.

I had a motorcycle stolen outside work in July, the Polices response was, if you are insured you will get your money back, they don't give a toss.

So like you, dilemma do I buy a similar bike again or not, I did, but now park it in a monitored car park, chained at both ends, makes for a pain everyday, but in your case, putting a nav back in, will mean you will have sleepless nights, as it would appear you have no way of protecting it any better than a CCTV setup. personally I would rather sleep at night and put up with a tomtom!


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## StanTT (Oct 26, 2012)

Thanks CWM3, I think your right and thats where my head is at , The insurance are still paying for the new satnav but I think I will just take it straight out when it gets done and put my old unit back in.

I did mention to the police what I would like to do to the low life scum If I caught them, police weren't very impressed !! chopping off their hands is far to easy, these people who go round stealing other people stuff are a total waste of oxygen and should crawl back under their stones they live under. I still think though that Audi haven't helped the situation, my previous car was a audi A4 with satnav, to get that out the police come come and arrest me , sentence me & I would have served two weeks of my sentence and I would still be taking it out.

How do we combat these scum !! :twisted: :twisted: :evil:


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## CovTT79 (Aug 17, 2012)

CWM3 said:


> StanTT, it's a dilemma mate, CCTV is not going to stop them doing it again, there is very little fear of being caught, and even then the penalties handed out are laughable, you are seen as a victimless crime as you are insured.
> 
> I had a motorcycle stolen outside work in July, the Polices response was, if you are insured you will get your money back, they don't give a toss.
> 
> So like you, dilemma do I buy a similar bike again or not, I did, but now park it in a monitored car park, chained at both ends, makes for a pain everyday, but in your case, putting a nav back in, will mean you will have sleepless nights, as it would appear you have no way of protecting it any better than a CCTV setup. personally I would rather sleep at night and put up with a tomtom!


I'm in totall agreement here CCTV wont stop them, a friend of mine had his new BMW taken caught it all on camera the following morning, police said its happening a lot in the midlands and you wont see the car again, you need better security on the car they told him, because they take them without keys very quickly or keep it in a garage


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## StanTT (Oct 26, 2012)

Thanks CovTT79, How do you make your satnav more secure ? wire thecar upto the national grid    Now there's a thought. I agree with you though if the scum want it they will take it regardless of what security you have. Tomtom it is then and a brand new Satnav on the auction sites !!


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## javlar (Aug 1, 2013)

Hi,

I've just had mine done. They're not stealing to order. They're stealing for the satellite chip inside the system. They're smashing the unit up purely for this chip as someone has found a way of using the chip within a Sky + or Sky HD box as a way of getting all the subscribed channels for free.

Sky need to do something about it but they wont. Same thing is happening to VW and Skoda's that have the same system.

Its happening all over the country now.


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## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

javlar said:


> Hi,
> 
> I've just had mine done. They're not stealing to order. They're stealing for the satellite chip inside the system. They're smashing the unit up purely for this chip as someone has found a way of using the chip within a Sky + or Sky HD box as a way of getting all the subscribed channels for free.
> 
> ...


This is the most entertaining thing I've seen on this forum for ages. I look forward to more of your posts.


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

> *YAWN*
> 
> In November 2006, a crime wave targeting car radio receivers hit Wales. Over the course of three days, 205 cars were broken into, an increase in that form of criminal activity to almost four times its usual rate.
> Ninety-five percent of the cars so vandalized were Fords, leading police to conclude radio thieves were acting on a rumor that microchips in that manufacturer's car radios could be fitted to satellite receivers and digiboxes to gain free access to satellite TV channels.
> ...


from av forums


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## Vassilis (Mar 20, 2007)

Happened to me on my MK1 also. It was parked less than 50m away from the police station in Paris, and the cops where smoking next to my car without noticing that the window had been broken and the sat nav stolen :roll:


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## Bayley (May 8, 2013)

And mine is on the road *gulp*


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## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

Gazzer said:


> > In November 2006, a crime wave targeting car radio receivers hit Wales. Over the course of three days, 205 cars were broken into, an increase in that form of criminal activity to almost four times its usual rate...
> 
> 
> from av forums


Honestly, I don't even believe that story (I know it's a real story, I just think it's rubbish). If car thieves genuinely believed the rumour of free Sky using a Ford car radio, why did they only nick them in Wales, and why only for 3 days? It sound's like someone came up with a theory and the press ran with it because it made good news.

I was working for Sky at that time, in a relatively small technical team handling all the STB stuff and I don't remember anyone asking whether this was technically possible. I remember investigating reports of STBs transmitting on the international distress frequency (I think this was pinned on Freeview boxes in the end) and have tried to reproduce loads of different rumoured 'hacks' to make sure there was no truth in them, but never anything with a Ford radio.


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## Bayley (May 8, 2013)

Spandex said:


> Gazzer said:
> 
> 
> > > In November 2006, a crime wave targeting car radio receivers hit Wales. Over the course of three days, 205 cars were broken into, an increase in that form of criminal activity to almost four times its usual rate...
> ...


I was a senior engineer for virgin media for 5 years I can assure you its bullshit and a chip wont give you channels as everything is ubr/account bound with codes that are changed every 4hours nowadays.


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## Spandex (Feb 20, 2009)

Bayley said:


> I was a senior engineer for virgin media for 5 years I can assure you its bullshit and a chip wont give you channels as everything is ubr/account bound with codes that are changed every 4hours nowadays.


Well yes, it's a given that it was never going to work (although VM have been hacked, unlike Sky :wink: )... But I don't even believe a load of car thieves in Wales thought it was going to work either.


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

Spandex said:


> Bayley said:
> 
> 
> > I was a senior engineer for virgin media for 5 years I can assure you its bullshit and a chip wont give you channels as everything is ubr/account bound with codes that are changed every 4hours nowadays.
> ...


Well they re welsh, so who knows lol


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