PLEASE do not let somebody sell you my stolen RNS-E 2012 unit

[dr_sean]

View attachment 11591

It took a pair of car thieves 20 seconds to break in and steal the new RNS-E navigation plus unit from my A3

It was the latest G version and I bought it from a trusted seller on ebay with 100% feedback

I installed it on 10th Jan 2013 and it this happened on 9th Feb at 11:30pm

Cameras on the house were obviously no deterrent

So if anybody tries to sell you this, it isn't theirs, please either pm me or contact Leicestershire Police - contact is PC Chaplin 993 quoting crime number LC 00601134

View attachment 11592

Yes, I have made a rookie mistake by leaving the code sticker on but it is not as if they cannot be hacked

I also have the Equipment card



And here it was



Apologies for the choice of music

It also had a brand new genuine Audi 2012 nav DVD and a SanDisk Ultra 2GB card with more crap MP3s

It would appear that Leicestershire is a bad place to have an RNS-E, especially in TTs, my local dealer intimated that they are replacing 1 or 2 a month!

Best wishes to all

Sean

 

[Simmo_Sportback_S_Line]

Scum! Hope you get a result mate.

 

[Blackie]

You have my sympathy. I am sort of glad ive now changed to the A5. At least all the parts are all over the car

 

[mjr901]

You have my sympathy. I am sort of glad ive now changed to the A5. At least all the parts are all over the car

Exactly the reason they now pinch the whole thing!!! have a look here!!

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/insura...ks-most-stolen-cars-revealed.html#post1796391

 

[tommo5600]

i F******* hate thieves! sorry to hear about this mate hope they get their hands lopped off!

 

[TAPNET]

I would hide your pin code mate you have just saved the thieves a job if not!

 

[autolatry]

Are you thinking it may be linked to the seller?

 

[Persian]

Are you thinking it may be linked to the seller?

This is what I exactly think? The sellers could keep a record of your address plus the security codes and everything and simply come after the unit!

Hope you get a result mate.

 

[dr_sean]

Are you thinking it may be linked to the seller?

That is one theory, do any other forum members have experience of this kind of theft after a recent ebay purchase?

 

[Ultra Violent]

SCUMBAGS !!!
Should have their hands cut off.

 

[Ironborn]

Oh, Geez. That's just not right. Truely unlucky mate. Did the car alarm ring? Got me worried now

 

[hughjass]

I would put money on its someone who knows you.

Does your camera footage give any clues?

 

[MrLapou]

Likelihood is, if they've seen your car there before, they'll be back to steal the replacement to..
Bunch of scumbags. Need their hands hung drawn and forfeited...

Sadly because of things like this I decided on a Syn2 system.

 

[andrecc]

Tinting the windows will make a thief job harder or no? Sorry to hear that

 

[dr_sean]

Oh, Geez. That's just not right. Truely unlucky mate. Did the car alarm ring? Got me worried now

You should be worried !!

That is my biggest concern, the alarm went off as soon as the window was broken.
It all happened too quickly.
It was 11.30pm and I heard the alarm straight away. I went to look out of my front window, saw somebody half in the car with the hazard warning lights flashing and the alarm going, by the time I got the front door open he was already away. There was an estate car idling just out of sight with a driver, heard it scream off up the road. I swear, looking back at the camera footage, after breaking the window he was in the car for less than 20 seconds. Luckily for me there was no damage to the dash and the loom escaped serious harm because there was a secondary adapter harness which came apart with a big yank.

Later, I sat through the last week of camera footage and was astonished to see that about 9pm earlier the same evening, the same car drove by and a guy sneaks onto the driveway, shines his torch through the window of the car and then runs off. The rest as they say is history...

So currently there are most likely two guys driving around Leicestershire, after dark, in a light coloured estate car, possibly an older A4 avant or Passat, checking out Audis, stealing nav units and they are taking the ****

 

[Jameze]

This is what I exactly think? The sellers could keep a record of your address plus the security codes and everything and simply come after the unit!

Hope you get a result mate.

My thoughts exactly. By buying off eBay, the chances are you're purchasing a stolen unit. By giving them a delivery address, you're telling them exactly where they can find it again.

Personally I wouldn't buy a unit off eBay for that exact reason. Now these guys know you have had an RNSE unit, they'll probably return in a month or so to check if you've replaced it with another so I'd be careful if you opt to replace it. Maybe think about fitting some Pentagon SupaGlass?

 

[Artimus]

B******s! Sorry to hear another one's gone! this seems to happen in spurts & is one of the reasons I went aftermarket. Would a sensor\chime with a floodlight on the drive have helped deter them, you think?

edit: you have the sellers address i assume? going to check out his mode of transport anytime soon?

 

[dr_sean]

So, an update... no news on my stolen RNS-E. Please check your serial number against this if you do manage to buy one cheaply



My contact at Leicester Audi recently went to court as a witness against 2 Lithuanians who were caught in possession of a stolen RNS-E navigation unit last year from a TT. Unsurprisingly they did not appear and were sentenced in their absence. It is worthwhile pointing out that Lithuania is a common source for these items on ebay.

I am probably just as foolish to have bought mine from ebay, even though it was from a registered business seller in Manchester. In my defence I did email him several times before purchasing.

These are the replies I had from him

Hi,
All my units come from Germany and Netherlands.
Condition is very good without any damage.
Unit comes with everything you need.
Thanks

Hi,
This unit comes with 12 months warranty.
The disc I supply is better than normal 2012 because it has speed cameras. You won't have any problem with this laser. It use to be a problem with really old 2004 - 2006 rns-e units.
The other thing to mention is that when you first power up the unit it displays the last location that the navigation was active. I can confirm that this is the case because when I got my gutted RS6 back after tracker located it, the map display indicated a secluded layby in the countryside in deepest Leicestershire. This had MMI 3G rather than RNS-E but the concept is the same.


Since the RNS-E is so much of a liability I have decided to sell my current vehicle, I don't need the hassle any more!



Best wishes to all, EXCEPT CAR THIEVES

 

[964kevin]

Polish email address?? odd for someone living in Manchester..

 

[B5NUT]

All my units come from Germany and Netherlands.
Condition is very good without any damage.

Could have been stolen from Germany and the Netherlands, I just cannot believe that there a that many right off cars with nav units, compaired to the amount on sale on ebay. If you had to guess I would say at least 60% would be stolen.

 

[autolatry]

Since the RNS-E is so much of a liability I have decided to sell my current vehicle, I don't need the hassle any more!

How sad is it that you end up feeling you can't have nice things that are hard earned due to theiving scum. Makes me furious.

 

[dr_sean]

Polish email address?? odd for someone living in Manchester..

No, not Polish, the ebay seller was damianme-uk, but he does sell a lot of Audi radio removal keys which at £4.29 a pop can only be fuelling this problem

 

[sliced]

theres a guy on gumtree in my kind of area selling loads of rns-e's for about £300-400, and he always seems to have a constant supply.

Audi RNS-E RNS E 2012 A3 DVD MP3 GPS Sat Nav Unit Navigation System in London | In-Car Audio & GPS for Sale | Gumtree.com

if you google search his number you'll see hes sold a lot of rns-e in the past year or two?

 

[dr_sean]

theres a guy on gumtree in my kind of area selling loads of rns-e's for about £300-400, and he always seems to have a constant supply.

thanks, I will see if he replies to my email

 

[B5NUT]

Also one in Manchester, that has units on ebay for around the same price, and they are all the latest version!

 

[Tay]

This has well and truly put me off an RNSE retrofit now, sorry to hear for your loss there! I had my window smashed in a couple of years ago purely to steal an iPod from my glovebox, but fortunately that day I took the iPod away from the car. Little Salford scumbag kids got away with nothing, except for smashing about 8 windows in the uni car park!

 

[Zak0123]

Since the RNS-E is so much of a liability I have decided to sell my current vehicle, I don't need the hassle any more!

Why not get some of the theft proof veneer that goes on the glass bud? Not used it myself but may be a solution?

 

[mfractal]

Don't those units come with some kind of factory code that you have to have to retrofit it? Or did those scumbags find a way around it too?

 

[_G_]

im no flee bay expert but is it possible to contact e-bay too and find out if this is on the site? hope the scum gets whats coming to him/her.