Modern Car Theft

imightbewrong

This is what I don't get though - why is my cheap router or phone or whatever harder to crack/fool than a £50k car?

The amount of security training I have to do at work is unreal, along with proving my systems are secure.  Didn't someone say 'you know what, this doesn't work yet - let's go back to those simple but secure key fob button thingies until we've worked it out'.

imightbewrong

The next step will be pub carparks - everyone is sitting in the pub - cars parked just outside.  Drive up with the device - wave it around - bobs your uncle - someone's luxury motor has popped open and of you go before anyone notices.

aVdub

Can't remember if I covered this on a course or read, but sure it was a Bosch system many are using and it is becoming out of date and easy to crack.

imightbewrong

We live in a different age now - made to order thefts - cars straight to the boat and away.  Some people have a very hard time getting their house insured due to high flood risk or subsidence risk - could see this going the same way.

imightbewrong

It's truly baffling

Astaroth

Government has recently set up Flood Re as a reinsurance pool to assist on the flood front so that issue should be reducing.

The issue of subsidence is typically for those that have already had subsidence but then you are looking at very different numbers.... the average Home insurance premium is much lower than that of Motor. The average subsidence claim is also typically much higher than the average theft of car claim. So the ratios are much more difficult to make stack up.

Now where you may presently have issues is that some Motor policies already state that there must be evidence of violence involved - either to the vehicle or the person but that doesnt just cause problems for those with these keyless cars and the use of relays but also for those who keep their car keys near the front door and are fished out using a hook or magnet etc. Similarly you get cases of deception (eg someone taking your acr for a test drive and speeding off as you go to get in the car with them)

Lack of cover is a different beast to being unable to buy insurance, particularly for a compulsary insurance like Motor.

imightbewrong

I'm really starting to sound like my mum now but the really frustrating thing is the system it 'replaced' was so simple - just having to physically have the key in your hand to open the car!!!  We've moved towards all this complexity and risk and arms race to mean you don't need to press a button a few times a day?

"Oh yes it's a lot more convenient, but just to be safe keep your keys in the (pub?) fridge and use one of those autolock things your grandad had."

Astaroth

The irony is that they are suggesting that you should start putting the autolock on the wheel again.

Do you really want to go back to the good old days where you could easily unlock the car with a coathanger? Starting it without a key wasnt much harder. Each door had to be locked individually. Doors could be locked without keys so increases risk of locking the keys in - a near weekly experience for my mother.

Enter central locking and you get electrical faults that can cause the doors to unlock. Immobilisors can fail and lock up your car.

Personally, I'm all for keyless/remote access to the car. Central locking, alarms, immobilisors, GPS etc are all good things as far as I am concerned even if they come with some risks. Dont particularly see the attraction of the keyless ignition any advantage I can think of is just really minor

Jezza99

The worst era was the 80s/90's Cars like the Sierra Cossie and Lotus Carlton became ridiculously expensive to insure, with owners having the grief of using multiple mechanical steering & gear lever locks, none of which prevented thieves, just slowed them down a bit.

I hope we don't have a return to those days, although I'd rather if my car did get nicked they didn't break into the house for the keys. I have never used "comfort access" apart from on a temporary company car for a few weeks, never saw the point of it, I don't find it a hardship to press a button on the remote.

Bl4ckGryph0n

And they (can I say BMW?) have known this for many years...