Talk about bad luck!

Might be even more bad luck if your hopin for tomorrow to be FEBRUARY.

Sorry to hear about your woes but youve still got one more day of january to go and i hope its the best of them.

MAtt

G'day Steve,
Really sorry to hear about the damage and theft, Just makes me sick.
Really concerned about my new 70 with permanent fitted UHF, HF, GPS , MP3 and shiploads of other stuff.

Its bad enough the damage and theft, but also the inconvenience.

Cheers..................BIGDOG

What a bummer...sounds like me...

Can you please tell us where the car park was so none of us park there :)

Hope things improve Oh Ghost who walks

Better let us know who ya auto sparkie is, so we dont go there!

Where was the carpark, Kit?

Bet it was The Galleria in Morley.

'Bout time you ventured into town to strike fear into the hearts of mortal men.

Let a few of those maroons see your face, then die.

Hi Steve,

It is a real pain in the B** when things like that happen, we too have had a bad start to the yr with regards to our Landrover Discovery........We discovered a ticking noise in the motor took the car to Landrover and they listened and the responce from the mechanic was Mnn,Mnn.......and proceeded to tell us that it could be a big end bearing and it would cost anywhere from $4500.00 to $7000.00 to fix we nearly dropped dead on the spot......We have since found a mechanic that will do the job for much less than what landrover quoted.......The only good thing to come out of this nasty expensive situation is that we are glad this didn't happen on our trip up through the NT, then we would have really had something to complain about...

Mine was broken into in January too!! GPS Stolen.
The insurance company paid for the glass.
Just as a warning for others, the insurance company told me that in the last 6 months, windows smashes to steal GPS units have increased by 600%.
They warned me that they look at:
If you got a bracket then GPS is inside somewhere...
If no bracket but there is a suction cap mark on the windscreen, they also brake into it to find GPS or Ipod.
In mine, I had other more valuable stuff but they only stole my old GPS which was not valued at that much these days (bought it in 2003 but they did not take a 5 Watt hand held UHF valued at more than the GPS...

Story in SMH few days ago, 30 a day go missing in Paramatta area...

Thieves zero in on easy money from GPS units
Angela Cuming





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SMASH and grab attacks are on the rise and thieves are targeting Sydney cars fitted with global positioning systems (GPS) which cost up to $1300.

The high-tech gadgets that give satellite-assisted verbal directions have been popular with motorists.


In Parramatta, police figures put the number of GPS thefts at as many as 30 a day.


Police said GPS devices are an easy bit of hardware to off-load at pawn shops.


Liverpool local area commander Detective Superintendent Mick Plotecki said GPS thefts were a big problem in his area.


"You wouldn't leave $500 in your car so I don't know why people leave these things in their cars," he said.


Vehicle owners who tried to out-smart thieves by hiding their GPS unit in the glove box or under the seat were fighting a losing battle, Superintendent Plotecki said.


"We are finding that the thieves just look for the suction marks on the window where it has been stuck up. So even though they can't see the GPS unit, they know it is somewhere inside the car.


"The only real thing a driver can do is wipe down the window every time they take the GPS unit off.


"First it was mobile phones, then iPods, and now these."


Superintendent Plotecki suggested drivers stick to an old-fashioned street directory.


Police in south-west Sydney are also battling a huge surge in "drive-off" fuel theft, triggered by skyrocketing petrol prices. The petrol theft has been linked to the underground trade in stolen registration plates, which has risen at the same rate as bowser larcenies.


NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures show petrol theft, or service station fraud, has increased by 33 per cent since mid-2004, from 9163 incidents a year to more than 12,900.


In the same period, numberplate thefts rose by a third.


"You can tell when petrol prices rise because we see an increase in the instances of the theft of numberplates," Superintendent Plotecki said.


"They steal a numberplate, put it on their car and then go and steal a tank of fuel.


"When you consider that some people are driving a car that takes $100 to fill the tank, then you can see why some people think it is worth their while."


Superintendent Plotecki said a prepaid system introduced at 24 petrol stations in his area command had reduced petrol theft by more than 90 per cent in the past year.


Source:sunherald.com

Hi Phantom, Sorry to hear about your bad start to the year. At what carpark did you lose your and your daughter lose the GPS?

When I was researching for GPSs I found one that automatically recedes into the dash when the car is switched off, it was this feature that sold it for us. As GPSs are concerned it probably is not the top of the line but it certaintly does the job for us and we are more than happy with it, and as for these thieves they wouldn't even know it was there.

Cheers

D

Thanks all for the comments.
The car park is adjoining the Reading Cinema/Performing Arts Centre in Mandurah. Apparently someone saw them take mine. Pulled up in a white commodore, one jumped out smashed the window grapped the GPS and gone in about 20 seconds. Left a new camera on the seat and cash in the tray.
I also forgot to mention that some pr&@k snapped my uhf antenna yesterday as well.
Steve

Hello there Phantom, I quess you have got "DEVIL on the trail of those thieving Bastards. if he needs any help he could always call "REX",he will be on TV tonight. Go Devil LOS