Wheels stolen

Just a heads up folks.

Had a message come through facebook, Sunday morning, from a neighbour to my yard updating his status. Was complaining about being awoken at 3-4am by sound of neighbours garage being broken into. My garage!!!! Don't ask why I didn't get phone call etc.

He rang the police, but too late nobody was around. Anyway, turns out that it wasn't the garage, but they had stolen the wheels off my back axle on the transit. 3 of the 4 had gone, as the jack collapsed on them as they tried to hammer off the fourth wheel. Unfortunately they didn't get trapped underneath the wagon.

After spending yesterday and today trawling the internet and ringing around for mark 7 twin axle rims and tyres, it is apparent that theft of commercial vehicle wheels is rife at the moment.

Spare wheels are easy picking as you just wind them down.

With large demand for particular sizes of tyres and recession causing people to use partworn tyres, there is certain tyre sizes, namely transit mark 6 and 7s that they are like rocking horse muck. So rather than go and buy brand new it is the new fashion to steal them off other tradesmen.

I have looked into wheel locks suited for steel wheels and shall purchase some, but just watch where you leave your wagons overnight, as spares are easy pickings to rob but a bugger to get hold of.

Just thought would share as word of warning.

Cheers

I've got to ask ... and the Police's response was?............ please do tell....

This is happening here too,pal of mine had his 55 plate defender doors unbolted from his front yard last week,defender not visible from road,and pc plod told him that the night before a defender had its seats,headlights and front grille taken off and the owner was asleep in his bungalow bedroom about 5 yards away.

I thought this had stopped years ago

There was fashion then to swop wheels and tyres, so they'd nick your new tyres and replace them with wheels with bald tyres ...who'd be 100% sure when it happened?

Had the rear cage cut for them to take the spare wheel and new tyre. Went to look at the carpark CCTV only to find thieves had stolen the innards from the cameras leaving empty cases.

One salvage yard I spoke to said he had a woman drive in Saturday after a bonnet, she drove in without the bonnet as it got stolen the night before.

Apparently audi s-line seats are a favourite at the moment too.

Defender TDCi (Puma) doors, bonnets, and seats are stolen very often now, also late TD5 doors. It is well worth fitting (at the very least) security hinges on the bonnet so it can't just be lifted off, and filling the heads of the screws that hold the doors on with epoxy, or simply glueing a ball bearing in the heads.

I have even heard of a Puma bonnet being stolen in a traffic jam - two large ugly blokes jump out of a transit, pull the bonnet cable through the grille, lift the bonnet off and drive away, leaving the now terrified female driver of the landy quivering in her seat, too shocked to get the number.

Apparently the loss of all four doors and the bonnet from a Puma 110 is enough to write the vehicle off unless it is virtually brand new. It costs something like £15k to replace them by the time you account for the glass, door cards and fittings, painting, replacement harnesses, etc.

Just to give everybody the heads up the latest one is to steal the lights and grills from land rovers, new shape disco's and range rovers, not quite sure where they are going or why their is now such a big market for them. They smash the drivers or passenger window then release the bonnet and then go on to take the lights and grill!! Be on your guard :thumbdown:

There was a game twenty years ago

Nick a car and strip it

Abandon it andwatch where it goes ( which scrapyard)

When insurance co sell it to scrapyard buy it from the yard

Then reassemble it --- with original parts

You've just bought a top book car for scrap value, and have all the correct documents for it ...

Set up a production line and you'll be a millionaire in no time at all

There was a game twenty years ago

Nick a car and strip it

Abandon it andwatch where it goes ( which scrapyard)

When insurance co sell it to scrapyard buy it from the yard

Then reassemble it --- with original parts

You've just bought a top book car for scrap value, and have all the correct documents for it ...

Set up a production line and you'll be a millionaire in no time at all

Alright if it's cat C or D but if it's sold by the insurance for spares only you can't re-register it to go on the road.