Is it worth owning a decent car nowadays?

[fizz]

Bought an A3 sportback sline a couple of months ago but recently after seeing a few pieces of scum watching my car outside my dad’s house & reading a few stories on here, I’m beginning to think if it’s worth owning a decent car in this country anymore.

Yesterday I went to my old man’s house as he wanted to go and buy some flooring, so I thought I’d go down with him and help him decide & load the car up. Left my car outside his house & when I got back the wife told me that she saw a few lads hanging around near my car and checking it out. I thought they were probably just looking at it but she insisted that they even walked back and had a quick look inside.

Well me thinking nothing of it left it parked there and later in the evening went to a mates house (he picked me up) only to be called by the dad saying that he had just chased of some scum who were looking inside my car with torches - he saw them by chance when he was closing the blinds in the kitchen.

In this day & age and the state of this country if mine was the only half decent car in the area I wouldn’t be 100% surprised but there’s been a Bentley continental GT parked in the same street for the last week & nothing has happened to that.

Are these scum just targeting Audi’s or where they after the RNS-E? Really getting put off by owning a decent car

 

[Duncan]

I wouldnt let that stopping me from having a nice car,

obviously i would make me certain that i had a good insurance policy and that i left nothing valuable on show.

where abouts do you live?

maybe its worth fitting a proximity alarm so that anyone who goes near the car it starts the alarm. i would have thought that would definitely put them off!!

 

[PNH80]

It's a difficult one isn't it but at the end of the day you have to decide what standard of living you want and accept that the more nice things you have, the more scumbags want to take them from you. Thats the way of modern society.
Car crime is no new thing but there are now more kids doing it and more organised crime in the UK than ever before.

That Bentley will be safe because it's too obvious. Try shifting a continental or parts on Ebay without being rumbled! Unfortunately Audi's are prime targets... Parts fetch high prices and they're quite common.

 

[Slipp Digby]

if its only getting targetted at your old mans house dont leave it there. simple really.

all you can do with a decent car is garage it when at home to discourage low level tea leaves and try to park it in sensible areas when you are out, leave nothing on show (remember to rub sat nav sucker marks off the window).

we all love our audis, but dont let it take over your life! if someone really wants to nick the car or mirrors they will. its not a new thing (Although ITV news at ten may try to convince you otherswise).

if you really feel like being targetted by thieves ask an Audi dealer to buy it back off you

 

[Matt]

I guess it depends where you live by the sound of it.

I live in a relatively crime free area and my drive is set back from the road with the car parked out of sight unless you were to come specifically up the drive. I still think that a determined theif will find it if they really wanted. For all I know they could watch me going up the driveway entrance then they'd know what was up there.

In the past 6 months there has been a couple of cases of a gang from Liverpool coming up to a town about 12 miles from where I am and breaking into houses for the keys to expensive cars. I think before that there hadn't been a car stolen there something like 8 years...

I certainly dont feel like I should be feeling selling up for something cheap, cheerful and less desirable yet.

 

[fizz]

Didnt think of that r.e the Bentley, good point. Just gona have to keep more of an eye on it. Based in Blackburn lanc's by the way. Just pissess you off that you work hard fro something and some idiots can just take it away from you.

It's a difficult one isn't it but at the end of the day you have to decide what standard of living you want and accept that the more nice things you have, the more scumbags want to take them from you. Thats the way of modern society.
Car crime is no new thing but there are now more kids doing it and more organised crime in the UK than ever before.

That Bentley will be safe because it's too obvious. Try shifting a continental or parts on Ebay without being rumbled! Unfortunately Audi's are prime targets... Parts fetch high prices and they're quite common.

 

[PaulAr]

Simple answer, Yes.

Its like saying "Is it worth having a nice house" and so on.

You could live in a undesirable property in an undesirable area, and drive a shed. Ok, you wouldnt have to worry about the scum bags so much, but you would have a crap life and the scum bags will have won.

Anyway, fingers crossed your car is safe and the pond life you saw are now lying in a remote ditch with a needle hanging out of their arm.
Harsh but fair IMO.

cheers
Paul

 

[Slipp Digby]

if its only getting targetted at your old mans house dont leave it there. simple really.

I sound a right know all ***** there - not intended. Think the other posters sum it up better, you make a choice to own nice things and scum bags will always want to nick or damage them.

Just balance up the riosk/worry against the days when the sun is out, your windows are down and your enjoying driving your S-Line :thumbsup:

 

[PNH80]

Basically mate you just can't win, no matter what precautions you take or how careful you are and it's nothing to do with where you live. If some one really wants it....They'll find a way to take it.
I used to live bang in the middle of town and had to park on the road (a busy one at that). There was a young offenders safe house accross the road and a homeless drop in centre just around the corner. Surrounded by the dregs of society basically. Not to mention ****** up youths on their way home at the weekend... The only damage to my car (amazingly) in almost a year was a scuffed mirror case. Some tw*t had run down the road and smashed every car wing mirror, luckily mine stayed put. 3 other cars on my street were broken into at some point. One of then, a camper van was repeatedly broken into and vandalised.

I now live in the country and i get more dodgy characters in cars lurking about at night then there ever was in town. I've been woken up twice at 3/4am by headlights on my drive. Thats a bit scary! I'm now a sitting duck for anyone who fancies trying their luck. No neighbours as witnesses, no street lights, nothing. Trust me, i'd rather fend off a few hoodies than organised criminals coming for my car at 3am tooled up.

What i'm getting at is you always take a calculated risk owning anything of value. Crime doesn't have any social or geographical boundaries. If you want a nice car, buy one, enjoy it and make sure it's insured properly. Thats all you can do mate.

Paul.