Stealing Alfa Romeo Stelvio/Giulia... soooo easy

Stealing Alfa Romeo Stelvio/Giulia... soooo easy

Author
Discussion

vanman1936

Original Poster:

800 posts

226 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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All

This happened to me a few weeks ago.....it is so easy for them to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmpcsua_xZ0

Keyless entry was off / faraday pouch for keys.

I would strongly recommend a Ghost Alarm and/or Driveway Bollards for owners.

Stay safe.

Alan16ac

149 posts

156 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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I've been considering getting an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, after test driving one, a few things put me off, mainly quality issues. This is the nail in the coffin for me. That's madness how easily and quickly that can be done.

vanman1936

Original Poster:

800 posts

226 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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My Stelvio Quad is (was) frankly an astonishing machine, I am going to get another (or a Giulia).

I wouldn't let this put you off per se, most modern cars can be nicked via tech providing the thieves can get a few minutes with it.

Once you are spending a bit on a car, you just need to budget in a bit more to protect your asset.

Local police and web verify that a Ghost alarm makes theft all bar impossible (flatbed aside).

Annoyingly I was looking at fitting one...wasn't aware of how easy they were to steal until it happened, would have done immediately if i had known.

Alex Z

1,511 posts

83 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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That would definitely have me very concerned if I owned an Alfa, and put me off buying one if I didn't.

What are the thieves doing with nearly new high value cars these days? Breaking for parts seems highly unlikely as there's not enough demand, so are they all just being cloned and sold on in the UK, or are they getting exported overseas?

Easternlight

3,506 posts

151 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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Keyless cars. The answer to a problem nobody had, that's now a problem in itself!

vanman1936

Original Poster:

800 posts

226 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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Sold overseas or used as a criminal pool car for a while.

They do also strip them down for parts…why range rovers are so popular with thieves given how much they break down 😊

P. ONeill

1,455 posts

59 months

Saturday 8th April 2023
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Hard to see exactly what they did but looks way too easy.

pantsdrunk

7 posts

19 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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Hi - first time poster.

I had a Giulia QV stolen last year with what looks like the same method - access via the front radar sensor. Shockingly easy, mine was taken from the driveway in about a minute. Keys also in Faraday pouch.

Fantastic car in all other respects (and faultless reliability for me) but additional security, whether physical or Ghost unfortunately seems essential.

trashbat

6,008 posts

160 months

Sunday 9th April 2023
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There's somewhere that offers fitment of a metal plate that makes the radar plug inaccessible. I've forgotten the name. I think it's a bumper-off job, unfortunately.

r159

2,327 posts

81 months

Monday 10th April 2023
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trashbat said:
There's somewhere that offers fitment of a metal plate that makes the radar plug inaccessible. I've forgotten the name. I think it's a bumper-off job, unfortunately.
JTD Performance

OliilO

201 posts

144 months

Monday 10th April 2023
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AHM Motorsport/Alfacare also offer this.

MesoForm

9,156 posts

282 months

Monday 10th April 2023
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Easternlight said:
Keyless cars. The answer to a problem nobody had, that's now a problem in itself!
It’s not a keyless issue, they access the CAN bus and open / start it from there. There’s a few links in the ‘followed in my RS6’ thread but in essence they access some easy to get to wires, plug in some magic box and off they go. Evoque they cut away part of the boot lid, RAV4 they remove the headlight assembly, etc.

Square Leg

14,939 posts

196 months

Tuesday 11th April 2023
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A very clever chap on AlfaOwner has devised a loom that renders the radar useless to thieves
I have one installed in my QV as have many others.

The plate just means they’ll rip the front to bits to get to the radar plug - with the loom they can plug in as normal but won’t get any readings as the radar is now switched off.

vanman1936

Original Poster:

800 posts

226 months

Tuesday 11th April 2023
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Could you provide details of this chap please, will definitely fit to the replacement (plus a Ghost Alarm)

r159

2,327 posts

81 months

Tuesday 11th April 2023
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Google is your friend…there is a massive thread on Alfaowner…

Square Leg

14,939 posts

196 months

Tuesday 11th April 2023
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vanman1936 said:
Could you provide details of this chap please, will definitely fit to the replacement (plus a Ghost Alarm)
You’ll need to go over to AlfaOwner and read the thread.
It’s all very secure as to who gets one (as you’ll understand when you read it!)

RonnieHotdogs

1,034 posts

108 months

Tuesday 11th April 2023
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I really hope they sort this with the facelift / MY23 car.

The dealers are aware and some I've spoken to have been lobbying Alfa to get it sorted. I'm waiting on the Q2 pricing before deciding whether to go back to an Alfa, but I think this would be a deal breaker.

Not because it can't be mitigated using aftermarket parts, but out of principle because of the negligence on Alfa's part. Imagine not sorting out what's now a widely known and easily exploitable issue across most of your product range, which can be sorted with a relatively cheap part.

Then again, we're in the second week of April and there's no Q2 promotional pricing or finance info available to the dealers, so Alfa obviously don't want to sell any cars. Couldn't order one if I wanted to at the moment!

P. ONeill

1,455 posts

59 months

Tuesday 11th April 2023
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I don’t think this is solely an Alfa issue. Looking at the various forums and online videos this is possibly an issue for every manufacturer it’s a matter of when not if.

Terminator X

16,327 posts

211 months

Tuesday 11th April 2023
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P. ONeill said:
Hard to see exactly what they did but looks way too easy.
What were they doing? In broad daylight too, astonishing.

TX.

pantsdrunk

7 posts

19 months

Wednesday 12th April 2023
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RonnieHotdogs said:
I really hope they sort this with the facelift / MY23 car.

The dealers are aware and some I've spoken to have been lobbying Alfa to get it sorted. I'm waiting on the Q2 pricing before deciding whether to go back to an Alfa, but I think this would be a deal breaker.

Not because it can't be mitigated using aftermarket parts, but out of principle because of the negligence on Alfa's part. Imagine not sorting out what's now a widely known and easily exploitable issue across most of your product range, which can be sorted with a relatively cheap part.

Then again, we're in the second week of April and there's no Q2 promotional pricing or finance info available to the dealers, so Alfa obviously don't want to sell any cars. Couldn't order one if I wanted to at the moment!
Totally agree. Good to hear some dealers are lobbying - I also wrote to Alfa customer care for what it’s worth. Only need to read through that Alfa Owner thread to see the number of owners that have been victims of this. That’s a lot of customers that might hesitate to buy again.