We have a car with a external lock on the door, separate from the handle. Someone has drilled through the door behind the lock on all the similar cars in our neighbourhood. Is there anything I can fit around the lock to deter it happening again, it’s my partners “new” car but with an excess of £250 a go we can’t afford this to happen again….

Are they drilling to steal the car or lookin the glove box?

Leave nothing in it, leave it unlocked?

There used to be a crime prevention poster near work, telling you to lock your doors because “1 in 5 car break-ins happen to unlocked cars.” So statistics are in your favour.

They did about 20 cars, so I think it’s just to steal contents. My partner only lost a Crowded House CD, so they have no taste in music as well as being ******** ****** **************s

Leave the glove box open and take out everything, light on the front of your house. Leave unlocked with nothing in it.

We’ve thought of getting an alarm fitted, or alarm fitted stickers in the mean time and are on the look out for something that sticks on the door around the lock to deter drilling.

Move house

There is no glove box and she won’t be leaving anything on the shelf or in the car from now on.
We can’t always park outside our house as we are on the edge of a permit zone, so everyone and their dog parks in our road.
Not happy about leaving it unlocked as knowing our luck they’ll then steal the car…..

Can’t think of anything that could cover the lock that couldn’t equally be drilled/removed by thieves. 🙁

Maybe just replace the lock cylinder with a shotgun cartridge?

They did about 20 cars, so I think it’s just to steal contents. My partner only lost a Crowded House CD

Maybe just replace the lock cylinder with a shotgun cartridge

Genuine LOL, and coffe spillage.

Try a look on thatcham.org, they certify such kit.

Rigg up a babys nappy with nutella and corn left open face up on the passenger seat and make sure the boot cover isn’t across so they can see into the whole car. Finally go to a charity shop and buy a load of crap CD’s for £1 and leave them by the car as an offering.

I thought about getting notices saying “If I catch you be prepared to have your f*cking fingers broken” and giving them to all the other owners with the same problem……

What car is it?

Ultimately, anything can be broken into with enough will and powertools. It sounds like these guys have enough effort and power tools to do the job regardless of anything you can afix to a car.

If so many have been done, I’d be writing to my MP to get some more serious police investigative work done.

We fitted these to my wife’s Golf after the handles were levered open.

https://www.candrenterprises.co.uk/shop/armour-door-plates/car-golfmk117

Maybe there’s some plates you can get to go round your locks?

Not so sure about cars, but there are loads of anti-drill plates available for vans…..

External lock?

wwas. Unfortunately the lock is in the door not the handle…..

The thing is – if you put something on it to deter thieves it will only make them think you have something worth nicking and make more of a mess getting in.

I’d leave the doors open (and a sign on the window saying as such) then simply leave nothing valuable in.

what john says .

do you live in bosnia ?

my land rovers locks are so shit and a quick shove on the window lets you in anyway.

i just leave nothing valuable init and make it immobile by means other than the ignition.

All my vans have had internel extra locking.

Im of the opinion that dead locks and garage defenders being bright yellow monstrositys infront of your door all say “i have valuables in me rob me”

Unfortunately the lock is in the door not the handle…..

sorry, it was an example, I know yours will be different.

http://www.execspec.co.uk/security/commercial-van-security/ford-transit-custom-hi-security-drivers-door-lock-protection-plate/

in the mean time and are on the look out for something that sticks on the door around the lock to deter drilling.

Look up a company called Armaplate – not used them for a while but they make plates that defend locks/handles against common attacks / known vulnerabilities. More focused on vans rather than cars though.

Can be quite expensive though – more than your excess – you have the shiny bit on the outside but theres usually more metal on the inside of the door skin thats quite a faff to fit.

The plates can be a cost effective way of repairing the door / lock surround post break-in as then buying and fitting the plate is cheaper than repairing and respraying the door.

get an alarm

my folks never bothered – too much money/hassle/didn’t want to suggest that the car was valuable etc etc

then one day some tea leaves broke into every car on the street that didn’t have an alarm. Turns out they’re just enough of a deterrent to make someone move onto the next car…

Where do you live? Sounds a nice area…

When i had nice classic cars i just left them unlocked with nothing in. Even in central london at night, no one ever touched them. Cost more to break in damage to break in to discover nothing.

Probably now if you did it the thief would think it was a bait car.

Not happy about leaving it unlocked as knowing our luck they’ll then steal the car..

If they’re sufficiently organised to be drilling out locks (rather than hoying a brick through the window like normal people), locking your doors isn’t going to make a fig of difference to their ability to steal it.

Easiest way of breaking into a car to steal it is to first break into the house to steal the car keys.

If you stick those plates on Flash they’ll just smash the window.

Personally I’d just get used to leaving it unlocked if its a regular occurrence.

Apparently it’ll be 3 weeks at the fixers. I asked if this was a regular thing, the garage said it used to be but most manufacturers don’t stick the lock in the door anymore. I asked his advice on preventing it happening again, he suggested changing cars. Hey ho…

They used a drill? Have you tried taking away the extension lead they plugged it into?

*joking*

Try anything you like, if they want in they will find a way!

Alarms that ring/text you are fairly cheap now – might be worth looking at (although if you get there while they’re in the car I’ve no idea what you’d do!)

My wife occasionally (frequently) leaves the cars open at night. They do sometimes look inside, but we leave nothing in there.

For a bit of a laugh you could get a CD case, print off a CD cover of something popular and nickable, then instead of music record 80 mins of you screaming obscenities at car thieves.

My partner only lost a Crowded House CD

Does she take it with her?

alarms – you mean the noise makers that everyone generally ignores these days as they seem to go off at their own will – especially aftermarket ones..

Fill the locks with Chemical Metal and climb in through the boot?

the more i think about this

are you sure your not a victim of going back in time – isnt this one of those extinct crimes like what you see on tv in the cowboy time where the villain ties the woman to the railway lines.

ive not heard of this since like the 80s – who drills locks these days .

if you want into a car that has a key lock and you dont give a shit about it – you take a flat head chisel driver place it in the lock and hit it with a hammer hard – you turn it and the lock barrel comes out.

What about removing the external locks altogether and just having the holes filled and painted? Assuming your car has remote central locking.( if you do this always keep a spare key fob battery handy)

A hungry rabid pitbull on the back seat?

I had a Cortina 1600E years ago & some scrotes nicked it by getting in with some scissors!
I got it back undamaged & fitted a Yale lock, dunno how or if it deterred anyone but it never got touched again.

Steering wheel car alarm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SPARKRITE-Car-Steering-Wheel-Alarm/dp/B000KKCAVW

CharlieMungus – Member
My partner only lost a Crowded House CD
Does she take it with her?

Ha! Excellent! *doffs cap*