Attempted Theft

[tariq]

Last night two intruders broke into my house with the sole intention of stealing the keys to my IS200 parked on the drive.......Main problem being, myself, my wife and child were in the lounge watching Coronation Street at the time!!!!

I noticed in time and chased them off - they got away with my wallet and mobile phone instead......not a pleasant experience. The Police were very supportive, and stated immediately the target was my car keys. This was confirmed today when I called my mobile to be told by the scum "I only wanted your motor mate!!!!" - So that's Ok then! I just wish the b*stards come back!!

It's got me thinking though. I really don't need this kind of attention especially in my home! I'm seriously considering selling the car. Many of you will see this as weak - and to some extent it is. However I can't have a motor which attracts such attention that thieves are willing to break into my home whilst my family are in it.

Scum sucking parasites 1

Hard working honest bloke 0

[Brettster]

Very Sorry to hear that Tariq.

If you do decide to keep the car you could think about getting a 3rd party alarm fitted with the anti car jacking feature.

with that every time the a door opens you have so long to enter a personal code before the car comes to a stop. they might get away with your car but they wont get very far in it. maybe the sticker about it using that system alone would be enough to deter would be scum bags...

[UKPulse]

I can sympathize with you there - discovering intruders in your house is a traumatic experience!

By way of consolation it's worth knowing that the IS200/300 has picked up various awards (including one in Which? magazine) for its security, and winning a 'Best in class for security' award in What Car? a month ago. (At least I think it was What Car?, I've thrown the mag out now). So the chances of a Lex getting pinched off the street without the keys, are much lower that most other cars - BM's & Merc's included.

[jonthebarber]

gits although it does prove they have tastes .

[Steve]

I feel very much for you mate... I know it is not a motor but my son had his bike stolen from the hallway while they were having sunday lunch in the next room.

I do think it is a one off... and I do not think it should deter you from having a decent motor! Just precautionary measures are needed.

There are all types of criminals.. if they aint stealing from yor home there are those who will want to steal your car.

How did they break in anyway?

[tariq]

Thanks all for kind words.

The scum actually came in through the front door - the door was forced. However they never made a sound. I was only alerted by the fact that there was more light than normal in the hall area - They kept the front door open in case of a quick getaway.

Apparently house break ins and car jacking are more common with this calibre of motor given the superior standard security - they need the keys!! A screwdriver won't suffice.

Take care guys.

[vince-com]

Sorry to hear that, bad experience, had myself one two years ago, they attempd to stole the IS200 (bizarre because there is just a few in France but…)

Going in the morning to the parking I found the car 30 meters away from is previous park place ! Very unpleasant feeling.

This guys didn't know that a Lexus is equiped with an auto locking system !

I deduce that the guys came in the car breaking the rear little glass and a minute after the car locked with themself inside :)

They probably run out letting the parking brake off, thanks Lexus for that wonderful system.

[l3arx]

What is the Auto locking system I though mine only auto locks if you don't open the door 30 seconds after unlocking it with the remote.

[l3arx]

PS I actually caught someone trying to nick an old Orion I had once and stopped them by hitting their fist really hard with my chin The :arrrggg-matey: had a hammer in his hand so I guess I was lucky.

I also caught someone trying to nick my bike and thought twice about hitting them with my chin this time and just made a noise so they new i was there and ran off

[flying pig]

As one of the boys in blue,Lexus particularly is 200 /300 are in demand.Had an incident recently in my area whereby a previously stolen is 200 with 3 lads on board managed to get into the rear office of a shop took the car keys and then lifted the owners is 200 from an adjacent street

They were chased down the motorway but lost never to be seen again.I always make sure my keys are well hidden in the house whether in the day or night and always lock outer doors when in or out.A few straight forward precautions can prevent a lot of heartache.We get a lot of hook and cane type burglaries.A cane inserted through the front letter box and keys removed from a nearby table.Sorry to make it look like a crime prevention bulletin but if it prevents loss of your prized possession surely it can only be of a help to you!!

[Steve]

surely if the keys were stolen the insurance company would not pay up??

[norkep]

It's alway better to prevent than to find a cure afterwards.

[bex]

To Flying Pig,

On the contrary; I believe everyone here appreciates professional advice and its nice of you to keep us aware that there are people out there who make their living through theft, and that we should employ these preventative measures to keep our precious 200s/300s safe and sound.

I can't say that I have had any problems here in France, most likely due to the fact that I live all week in a very secure country (Monaco), but I imagine some areas of Nice, M****ille and naturally Paris would be a totally different ball game.

A mobile phone and a wallet? Bugger.

Count yourself lucky nothing happened to yourself and your family, that's the most important!

Sincerely,

Marc

[Steve]

flying pig

Would you be able to get figures on the most stolen cars in the UK?

Would be interesting to see some trends.

[james2210]

This should test the automatic censor!

Those bloody little thieving bastards ought to go and get bloody jobs and buy their own cars like us folk who have earned them.

Where abouts are you Tariq, is it a "high risk" area?

Have you got an alarm on your house? On my alarm, I can program different zones to chime when they are triggered. I might set the front and back doors to do this so I know if someone is sneaking about.

It makes me soooooo MAD that we are apparently not safe even in our own homes.

I'm going to throw the cat amongs the pigeons now....

It's a well known fact that a high percentage of this crime is done to fund drug addictions. Why not put all the money currently spent on chasing, catching, imprisoning and ineffectively rehabilitating these gits into providing as much free drugs to those who want them. That way, those who want to kill themselves by OD'ing on drugs can, and us poor innocent people don't have to fund their addictions (except with normal taxation). This would also free up more police to go about catching the old fashioned stripey jumpers and swag bags criminals.

[Steve]

Its the dealers that need hanging mate.. they are the ones selling it on the streets!

[Steve]

errr. Not car dealer either (waiting for smart comments) :P ;)

[Mitch]

IM VERY SORRY TO HEAR THAT. :(

there are some real scum out there

first time i ever heard of anyone braking into someones house while they was in it.

hope ur family is ok, not to shaken up...???

u work so hard to earn money for the nicer things in life then u gets these guys tryin to pull the fast one and take what u spent ur hard earned cash on.

thing that annoys me most is the fact that if u would of hammered the guys that broke in u would be probably in deep ***** wit the law.

wot do they expect us to do if they brake into our hous/try to mug/car jack us etc................ lend them a helping hand, maybe make the a cuppa while they lift the TV into their vans???

hell no.............brake into my house u better kill me first or run REAL quick coz u are gonna be beaten to death. sorry if that sounds extreme but thats how i feel and how i am.

THE AFTERMATH OF MY WRATH IS SO SHADY

the thing is, until the law is sorted whereas criminals breaking the law have to face the repercussions (spelling) and not get a chance to take the person whos house they broke into to court because the home owner was defending whats theres and defending there family, they will still be doing it as in my oppinion (maybe my oppinion only) the law is in the criminals favour as it is in the victims................

sorry if ppl dnt agree with what i said but just being truthfull

[vince-com]

Larx, by getting in the car previously locked, through a window, this is what they did to my last IS, the auto lock system will works if you don't insert your key…

At least that's what happen to me, founded the car locked in the middle of the parking but with the rear window broken. So I deduce that the guys run off when they heard and saw the car locking with themself inside, surely thinking that the car owner was on the way.

Marc, one adavantage to have such small number of Lexus in France, is that we're relatively safe form stoll problem.

Now another form of car jacking, is a rude one, the guys spot your car and for example at a traffic light they hit the rear bumper slowly to force you to get out of the car, once the second guy get in your car and run away, or the guy comes, open the driver door and get you out rudely, so to be safer :

- ALWAYS DRIVE WITH THE CAR LOCKED FROM INSIDE

- IF SOMEONE BUMP YOUR CAR, NEVER STOP IN A QUIET PLACE & IF ANY DUDE CALL THE POLICE

- IN A PARKING PLACE NEVER LET SOMETHING THAT COULD BE STOLEN, LIKE DOCUMENTS, CD OR ELSE CIGARETTES BOX (I use to let open the empty glove box)

Would enjoy to have an auto lock system when the car is running, like Audi, Renault or else, a bit boring to always locked it by myself

@d'taleur

[kev dood]

Here in Basingstoke and surrounding areas, we have been warned that people have been coming into peoples houses at about 7pm when people are eating etc, to nick their keys. Our front door is one of those annoying UPVC ones that shuts and unless locked can be opened from outside, so we lock it all the time now.

Why can't they just leave us alone. I like my car with me, not in someone elses hands.

[Steve]

I have the anti lock feature.. soon as the car reached 10MPH it locks all the doors!.. handy feature

[vince-com]

Can we adapt it to the IS series?

even a Clio had it…

[OOJONI]

Sorry to hear that mate. I had a simlar experience about 3years ago, came back from a party with my Mrs and was dropping her home and I was sitting in my Corrado VR6 with my Mrs talking around 4a.m in the morning and some ****** tried to break into the car while I was in it! Imagine that, first he scratched the bonnet with a key and then came over to the drivers side door and was going at it! To my amazement, we were just stunned. I pushed the drivers door open which hit him to the ground and jumped out and we both went at it (STUPID OF ME) cause he could have had anything to do me harm with, but the thought of my beautiful Yellow Corrado being tampered with, made me go mad. While I was taking out my frustration on the ***** my Mrs called the Police and they came and found me sitting on the *****. We all took a trip down to the station that night! Only for the guy admitting the damage and intent to try and steal the car and he did not see us sitting in it through the tinted windows, BLOODY C**T. Cut the long story short he was ordered to pay the costs of the damages he did to the car!

Really mate I sort of know what u went trhough but don't let some ****** stop you from living your life mate, just mind out. Hope the family is alright mate

[Damer]

I have had a similar experience. After i moved to a so called "better area" we had 3 attempted break in's all trying to get the car keys. Then someone set about the car door lock with a screwdriver. Worryingly this didn't trigger the alarm. Just made a real mess of the door which had to be replaced.

Since we have installed extra security lighting, also the local police were very good in stepping up patrols in the area. Since then 5 months trouble free, touch wood.

After hearing about other peoples similar experiences be interesting to know is particular areas of the country are targeting IS200. The police said because they tried to get mine 4 times it was probabley being stolen to order. I live in Stockport.

[Canaide]

Id just have to say that is pretty menal some nugget trying to break into your house while you are in it,

but alls i can say is dont let the di.k heads bully you into selling a fine peice of machinery cuz then they have potentially won. Playa, id agree with you as you gotta defend what is yours and sometimes a good

old fasion beating is in order.