Lotus and Car Crime

[ahagerty]

Hi all I was wondering how safe it was to leave a car like a Lotus Elise ( ie expensive, soft top, easily stolen (?), and desirable for joyriders) type of car in the street as opposed to a locked garage? I live in a flat and so don't have a driveway or garage :-( but hope to buy a Lotus Elise Mk2 soon :-) Should I wait until it can be garaged?

[adrianr]

Well, I wouldn't but plenty of people do. Depends where you live and whether you think the fun outweighs the worry. My brother managed to get mine towed away once - parked it on double yellows and the council lifted it off with a lorry while he was inside. Alarm didn't go off - he thought it had been nicked until he phoned the police. AdrianR

[smeagol]

Be careful, your insurance will be a lot higher without a garage.

[CJN]

My Elise sits outside around the back of my flat. It's got a CAT 1 alarm & immobiliser so the only way it can be stolen (I hope) is by towing it away although there is no fixed towing eye. I live in a fairly nice area & after 6 months of ownership don't worry too much about leaving it although I am always looking for the best space possible when out & about. Scallys would find it difficult to get in & out of & there could only be two of them without any extra loot!! CJ

[smeagol]

A Cat 1 can be overidden by an expert. All you have is a delaying action for the potential thief. Any car security is just making your car unapealing ie difficult to steal quickly. Insurance companies know this, that is why they like garages ie out of sight of thieves crusing looking for cars. I had someone break into my garage to try to steal my Elan. Luckily the immobaliser did stop them, but only by it being destroyed and ignition refusing to work. (I had to have the car towed to the garage). The police were very considerate. They told me that it was clear the car was being stolen to order... and that the reason I wasn't woken by the alarm was that they had probably disabled it within 30 seconds! Just as an aside they stole my neighbours car when they couldn't get mine and they UNLOCKED the crook-lock and disabled the immobaliser outside the persons window.

[Jonathan T]

I have the standard alarm and a tracker, which has it's own immobiliser. The insurance company wouldn't give me a discount for the tracker cos they said that the Elise is too cheap to be stolen to order and too high profile for joy riders. With two immobilisers, a tracker and a removeable steering wheel I think the car's reasonabley safe.

[ahagerty]

quote: With two immobilisers, a tracker and a removeable steering wheel I think the car's reasonabley safe.

Re the removable steering wheel. Excuse my ignorance but how safe are these? I am just wondering about removing and attaching a steering wheel everyday what wear and tear would result? Cheers Andy

[Jonathan T]

The removeable steering wheel locates on a number of pins and is locked to the column by two side pins. I've had no wear on mine in 10,000+ , including numerous trackdays. It's never ever felt loose or come off, in fact sometimes it's hard to get off. If anything does wear on it it doesn't affect the steering structure, just the pins.

[smeagol]

I like the idea of removable steering wheels etc. How are the insurance companies about them? If you mention a security measure and you haven't done it (for example nipped to the shops can't be a**ed to take the steering wheel with you) if it gets stolen I believe they try to get off the hook.

I know when 'little dears' attacked my car the insurance company wanted to know why the roof wasn't up. It was only when I pointed out that the alarm was a microwave system (ie worked with the roof up or down) AND the car was locked in my garage with the alarm on, that they became more reasonable.

[CJN]

Discussion with both Direct Line & Tesco Insurance went as follows--
CJN "If I fit a Tracker, will my insurance go down"
DL "Did the policy ask for a Tracker to be fitted?"
CJN "No"
DL "No then"
CJN "If I did my advanced driving test, would my insurance go down?"
DL "No"
CJN " How can I reduce my premium?"
DL "Do your pass plus, how old are you?
CJN "27"
DL "Forget that then, it'll make no difference. What about a less expensive car?"
CJN "hmmm, thanks"

What about if I connect my car to the mains & have two big dogs with really sharp teeth sat in the car with fire extinguishers?


CJ

[vas]

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CJN

then the b@st@rds will probably end up suing u for something or other.
its so good to see that the country we live in protects decent law-abiding citizens