STOLEN VEHICLE : KYY 536C

[Darren]

Fellow owners...

Long shot but my Mercedes Pagoda was stolen from outside my house today in broad daylight whilst I was out for just 3 hours. Please share this post in the hope that anyone sees the car :

Mercedes Pagoda 230 SL
Colour : Grey (with black soft top)
Registration : KYY 536C

[RAY]

 So sorry to hear that Darren, where about in london and what time.
I,m in Bromley South London.  Was it in the street, on your drive ? And as always when something like this happens i bet nobody heard or saw a thing.
Sorry
Ray

[StevenF]

So sorry to hear. 

The only thing worse than a thief is a thief who would steal one of cars. 

[TheEngineer]

After I sold my blue 230SL someone stole the hard-top off the car. By that time the new owner had possession of the car and title but it still grieved me that such a thing would happen.

[cfm65@me.com]

Hi Darren,
I am very sorry to hear about your loss. Holding thumbs that it would turn up soon.
Regards
Chris

[zoegrlh]

Really sorry to hear the sad news Darren. If by chance the thief exports it to USA we will keep our eyes open for it (newly shipped W113 230SL, gray from London to US). Since these cars are becoming more and more valuable, thieves will go to extremes to sell the car. Good luck in finding it.
Bob

[floatinghat]

Sorry to hear about your SL, sad what some will do for a buck.

[Tom Colitt]

Very sorry to hear that. I've been a victim several times over the years. Last time was just recently when they attempted to steal the car and since I now am very cautious they weren't able to.... Police have their fingerprints and are working to locate them... I will catch these thieves one at a time if I have to.

[stickandrudderman]

Sadly Darren you are the third of my customers to have their car stolen. You have my commiserations.

[waltklatt]

Sorry to hear of your terrible loss!
Were there any security cameras pointed in the direction of your car?  Public or private.
Maybe ask the neighbors around the area and hopefully one will have a picture of the lorry or tow truck that was used.
How was it taken so quickly?  paint. glass on the floor?

No one saw it being nicked?

Again, hope you get it back.

Walter

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Sorry to hear this Darren, hope you had it covered by insurance to the full price. I upgraded my coverage 2 years ago and may have to do it again. I hope you find a replacement soon, I fear the thief(s) part out the car and one never sees it again or sell it to some part of the world were chances to find it are very remote.

I saw your note on Facebook and like others we keep an eye out for it just in case.

Good Luck

Dieter

PS. I just finished a 1200 miles plus round trip and on the way down to Virginia I took naps in my car. During my stay down there I am in B&B's I find them far removed from the city and safe. I always make sure I am not followed. On my way back home I drove all the way just over 600 miles.

[TheEngineer]

May I suggest that you install a simple toggle switch somewhere that disables the starter circuit. If you do it yourself, nobody knows where the switch is.  You can reach it from the driver position. I tell people that my car has a sensor that reads my iris. My  model has a  stop solenoid on the injection pump. It is a very good place to wire the switch to. It also prevents flooding the cylinders with gas when shutting down the engine. It is a shortcoming of this model  that  when you  turn  the engine off using the key, some fuel is still injected until the engine  quits turning.

[ohoraherecaptain]

Man, that's really shocking! Reading the above responses I don't wish to rub salt in your wound!
Wish you the best.
JOH.

[Scottcorvette]

Really sorry to read this. Best of luck with getting the car back.

[zak]

So sorry for your loss.
Really hope it is found undamaged and unmolested.

jz

[Rothko]

Very sorry to hear about the theft.  I would be very upset if mine was stolen.  I assume that you've reported the theft to the authorities.  Due to the value of the theft, maybe they will actually do something about it.

Best of luck.

[gimp]

Very sorry to read about your loss.
It has been years since I have left the car unattended in a parking lot or Mall.
Theft is always on my mind.

[JamesL]

If I am not mistaken, this story has a happy ending

[Pawel66]

Really???

If so, I would love to see a picture of the happy couple!

[Rothko]

Don't keep us in suspense!

 

[JamesL]

Not my job to spill these particular beans!

[Pawel66]

  But you've sown the seeds already! 

[Darren]

All

First off thank you for the messages ! They were appreicated in the dark hours but as James has alluded the car has been found and is now back with me mostly in one piece. Its a very very long story as to how it was recovered but suffice to say without the foresight and frankly bravery of a flat bed driver named Wallid my car would be over the channel by now and being parted out.

As the poilceman who called me and was with the car (and Wallid) when I went to collect it at 01:00 AM last week said to me..."you owe that fella a drink". Happy to repprt he got a lot more than that and deservedly so.

Stickandrudderman will be sorting out the damage to roof, bonnet and steering column and so for now its a happy ending but a massive lesosn learned by me. These cars are easy to get into (in soft top format) for professional thieves as this gang most certainly were.

And James thank you for prompting me to update the thread ! Quite right :-)

Thanks again all...and if I may....look after you cars !!!!

Cheers

Darren

[RAY]

That, my friend, is fantastic news and i,m sure i speak for everyone.

But i must just say " we like a very long story " even if it is just to enlighten us as to what action's you took to find it, how much the police were involved etc etc to maybe give the rest of us an insight if any fellow members find ourselves in the same terrible situation.

Wishing you all the best in getting it back into shape, it will be with the right man to do it.

Ray

[cfm65@me.com]

Great news Darren,
Pleased to hear you got it back, pity about the damage though.
Regards
Chris
Cape Town

[Pawel66]

Thank you for confirming this excellent news!!! Really feel happy for you - it is a cheerful moment indeed!

I am sure everyone of us now would kill for hearing this long story you have there!

You've sown the seeds again.

Maybe you could spare a moment when the dust is down and drop a few lines...

I can take bullet points if that is easier.

[Kemal]

There's a story we'd all like to read in the Christmas edition of Pagoda World, especially us Londoners as it did take place on our home ground.

Glad to read it ended happily.

[JamesL]

Cracking idea Kemal - a seasonal tale with a happy ending.

[stickandrudderman]

It's remarkably easy for thieves if the car is left unattended with the soft top up.
I will refrain from posting details since I don't want to propagate a "how to" but one of these will make the job a lot more difficult.

http://www.disklokuk.co.uk/shop/disklok/?gclid=CjwKCAjwj8bPBRBiEiwASlFLFb5G0AXH0-hmKDfuCPO3pwrhyw6z89PA2_FPBwr894YZQdgrTPQJoBoCToAQAvD_BwE

If you can devise some means of locking the gear lever in the "P" position if auto or in any gear if manual then that would also make life more difficult for the ne'er do wells.

[Jonny B]

Darren,

I would also agree that this would be a great story for the next edition of PWorld. (Unfortunately it won't be at Christmas time - due to publish in March 2018).

That is just a minor detail, if you can provide the story along with some photos.

For the next issue I would need them before the first of December. That will allow for editing and proofing.

[waltklatt]

Might also help if the steering is turned all the way to left or right and locked.
Thieves can tow a car with the front wheels on ground and rears in the air.
A disc wheel lock is not too difficult.  But best bet is to use a lo-jack or some GPS locator device hidden in the car.
Thieves are becoming more savvy these days.
Was in Belgium a few years ago and there were several tow trucks that were called in by the parking police to clear a street of illegal parkers, after 10 minutes the whole block was cleared (maybe 15 or so cars).  They had electric scanners and remote duplicators and slim jims and opened/unlocked all the cars.  That's fast!
Walter

[Chris_ATL]

Has anyone hardwired a GPS locator? I tried searching and could not see a topic on it

[Pawel66]

I will probably do it - there are new offers on the market, If I install one, I will report what GPS offer it was.

Please note the new 123 ignition distributors have immobilizer.

[stickandrudderman]

This particular car was not started by the thieves, just steering lock broken and presumably pushed onto a low loader.

[66andBlue]

Looks like with some precautions our old cars are a bit more difficult to steal than these new pseudo-cars better called computers on wheels.

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-42132804/relay-crime-theft-caught-on-camera

[Pawel66]

Yes, I have read about it many times - with the "keyless" cars or with the keys emitting a radio signal pretty much permanently these cars are defenceless if the owner leaves a key somewhere where it can be spotted by receving-transmitting device. Old habit of hanging the car keys on the hook in the hall must be changed... and indeed mechanical locks take longer to crack.

A friend of mine used to drive one of the "keyless go cars" (an Audi). She forgot the key (or rather card) from home. She got in, drove away and got to the office 15km away, no problem. She realized she forgot the key-card when she wanted to go from office home in the evening. The key-card was on the kitchen table that happened to be close to the car standing outside. Anybody anytime could have taken the car from the driveway.

[JamesL]

I know someone who works for one of the car makers and they said they spent months working through the "what ifs" of keyless cars
I know we have had the situation of me starting the car and sending the wife off for an excursion and realising 30 minutes later that I still have the key. Fortunately I could call her and say "come home" as once the engine was off, the car would not have started again without the key.
We've also been known to leave her handbag in the car and I have locked the car, not knowing she has the other key in her bag. I am of the view that a proper key is no bad thing!

[Paul & Dolly]

I believe that some of the functions can be reprogrammed quite easily, to convert these into a "press the button" type key, hence improving the passive security.

Keep well

Paul

[stickandrudderman]

You can have an additional security device installed that requires the application of certain buttons on the dash/steering wheel in a certain order to start the car.

[TheEngineer]

We had a theft here in Seattle. A late model  Nissan. Apparently  the thief had a fob and was surprised  because   it was left in  the  car and the  police  found it. It worked  on all Nissan  cars. These universal fobs are used  by the  workers who unload cars from ships. Similar  to the pass keys the drivers of garbage  truck's  use to have access  to the basements of condominiums  to empty the garbage. If you have  the  right connection  and pay the price ....

[ohoraherecaptain]

Tou·ché.
Happy New Year.
JOH.