Where Should You Keep Your Car Keys

[littlebrooklyn]

Last night some friends of ours had their house broken into and their car keys taken from the windowsill and their two Mercedes stolen

Now as far as our local Neighbourhood Watch goes, they recommend you never leave your car keys close to the front door as most car thieves seem to break into your home to get the keys and assume you will leave them lying around close to the front door.

However our friends deliberately left their keys close to the door as they feel that if someone goes as far as to break into your home to steal you keys, if they can't find them then they might attack you if you are home

I keep my keys in my bag and my partner always put his away out of sight. Now I am wondering if we are doing the right thing and might be better just leaving them on the windowsill

 

[robbi-wan]

Hi littlebrooklyn,
Unfortunately, due the much better car security these days, it is much easier to break in to a house to get the keys than drive the car away without them.
A friend of mine woke up to the sound of breaking glass in the middle of the night, and by the time he got downstairs - his new signum was halfway down the road.....

But I wouldn't leave valuables on show in my car any more so than i would at home let alone keys on a window sill. I have a big hairy dog so i have not much worry of anyone getting in - but i do not invite burglars/car thieves in either.
rob

 

[television]

Not quite on the subject, when going into a car Park in Sweden, there was a large sign, it said, "Why not empty your car yourself "

As for Littlebrooklyn I think she should put up a sign saying the trains are worth more than the car.

If it was me I would put up a sign saying Littlebrooklyn is worth more than the trains.

Malcolm

 

[littlebrooklyn]

If it was me I would put up a sign saying Littlebrooklyn is worth more than the trains.

Malcolm

Awww ty, you are sweet

 

[jberks]

I'm guilty of leaving the keys where I shouldn't but the cars are locked away in the garage and my 2 daft Collies make a lot of noise if anyone walks past - actually they're noisy if a leaf flutters 3 streets away. Hopefully out of sight out of mind.
Also, I suspect next door's 911 sitting on his driveway is a more tempting target!

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Well it's odd because our friend has a dog too and the dog made no sound at all. Both cars are diesel too and you would think that would have woken someone, but it didn't.

My poor partner has spent all morning today and most of yesterday driving around as the police reckon they might have been stashed in a busy car park for a couple of days to make sure they don't have trackers fitted to them

 

[television]

They do not start them outside the house, they push them down the road, and then start them.

Answer, only buy the last house at the bottom of a hill.

Malcolm

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Why did I think you couldn't do that with an automatic

 

[television]

Why did I think you couldn't do that with an automatic

Yep, in N or D, you can tow it,or push it.

Malcolm

 

[jberks]

Well it's odd because our friend has a dog too and the dog made no sound at all. Both cars are diesel too and you would think that would have woken someone, but it didn't.
(

With double glazing and cars coming and going, you often don't hear anything or just ignore what you do hear. My daughter left the front door unlocked a few weeks ago. Dogs went mental around 3-4am but they do from time to time (leaf moving etc) so I just threw a pillow at them and went back to sleep. The following morning my mobile had gone from the hall table but nothing else, not even the Wifes handbag sitting on the floor in the hall. I guess the dogs scared them off and they just grabbed the first thing that came to hand. Gave the dogs a big dinner that night!
Makes you think though.

 

[SLinKyjoe]

it is a good question. the Police advice is to hide the keys out of view. but not in the bedroom, as they dont want you waking up to strangers as you never know what the reaction is.

if your car can be locked away, locked, in a locked garage, thats the best place for the car, and then hide the keys elsewhere. if the car and its keys are not on view, then thevies will most likely move on to an easier target.

if you are unable to do this, then make sure the car is locked and has a reputable alarm active, and a tracker device. then at least if it goes, they have made an effort and most likley know what they are doing, so when they find your car, it is unlikly to have been used in a robbery, or "joyriding"

if, like me you have a car that could be desierable, i lock it up in a garage, which is locked, it has alarms etc, the keys are hid well in a locked area too. and when i am at home, i park the other death trap outside.....altho sometimes i park it 200yards away on a different street. then anyone "casing" my movements has no idea if i am in or out. I have auto lights etc in the house. i never answer the door to someone i am not expecting, and i only answer the phone if i can be bothered. mainly because works rings me, and i am fed up trying to explain to them what their job is, they are being paid to do it, why ring me? so i dont bother. and i work at daft times too. my neighbour, however, is in all the time as she is retired. and shes on the ball too.

above all, its insured and its only a car.

but if your keys are near the door, or on show, you are going to get burgled for them.

 

[littlebrooklyn]

above all, its insured and its only a car.

Is it true that some insurance policies will only pay out if you have a tracker fitted to the car

 

[panason1c]

Is it true that some insurance policies will only pay out if you have a tracker fitted to the car

Not true.....when you complete a proposal form you are always asked what type of security (if any) device is fitted and usually, separately, you are also asked if the vehicle has a tracking device fitted......you would obviously disclose whether or not a tracker is fitted and the company will quote you accordingly.

If you were not specifically asked if a tracker was fitted and the vehicle was subsequently stolen then the insurance company would pay out.

Some insurers will only quote for certain 'high value' vehicles if a tracker is fitted.

Regarding leaving keys near to the door......Would it be an idea to leave 'dummy' keys to hand?...i cant imagine the thieves by the time they realise the keys dont work actually returning to the house for the genuine keys as valuable time would have passed giving the victims time to alert the police.

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Some insurers will only quote for certain 'high value' vehicles if a tracker is fitted.

Like if you own an ML :?

 

[MIW615]

Keep all our keys in a wall safe :wink: :wink:

 

[television]

Electric insulated ram proof roller shutter door, no handles no lock,no access to rear of my house, I in 6 drive way going up, only snag, nothing worth stealing.


Malcolm

 

[television]

anyone "casing" my movements has no idea if i am in or out. I have auto lights etc in the house. i never answer the door to someone i am not expecting, and i only answer the phone if i can be bothered.


.

Cooo he really does live in a box of straw

malcolm

 

[turnipsock]

My poor partner has spent all morning today and most of yesterday driving around as the police reckon they might have been stashed in a busy car park for a couple of days to make sure they don't have trackers fitted to them

Funny you should say that...

I was in the lift in the Mitchell Street car park a while back. The lift is very small and, being Glasgow, conversation started. I said something about not being sure which floor I was on and somebody told a story about a woman who had her car 'stolen'. A week later, the police found it on the floor above where she left it. It's a mystery how it got to the floor above as the car didn't seem to have been tampered with.

 

[television]

Funny you should say that...

I was in the lift in the Mitchell Street car park a while back. The lift is very small and, being Glasgow, conversation started. I said something about not being sure which floor I was on and somebody told a story about a woman who had her car 'stolen'. A week later, the police found it on the floor above where she left it. It's a mystery how it got to the floor above as the car didn't seem to have been tampered with.

Reminds me of dragging my heavy suitcase around a Stansted Airport car park for an hour,your heart sinks as you realize that your car has been stolen. a car park attendent came by in his van,he asked me the date I parked it,he looked on his computer and said come on,I will drive you to the right car park.
And there it was, and they all lived happily ever after.

Malcolm

 

[turnipsock]

Our local celeb chef got his car stolen last year. Round here, we rarely lock our cars and often leave the keys in them as well.

The chefs house was broken into and a camera, some jewlery, a pot and the anything else that springs into your mind when the police ask you what was stolen, was stolen.

The police were mystified as to why the keys were in the ignition when the car was recovered. (If only the insurance company knew?)