Car keys downstairs?

Tallon

Just reading the stolen BMW thread (again ) and was thinking if everyone has the same idea when it comes to burglary?

I'm lying here in bed and my car keys are on the window beside me. Is that safe?

There are 3 cars in the house, but mine is the one that's always in the garden. My housemate leaves her keys downstairs fir this reason, so would that annoy they burglars if they could start the car?

Interests to hear peoples answers

Tal

Edit: poll is private fyi

vectra

I leave them downstairs.
After all,if burglers come into your house in the middle of the night,then let them take the bloody thing. No point in inviting them upstairs where my family are sleeping.

squod

Mine are in the dead lock on the front door. My car < being burned to death in the event of fire.

shinikins

Mine are right by the door, my car is insured, my life isn't.

A neighbour of my sister's is a Garda, his wife got a new car just after Christmas, and about a week after she got it three guys in balaclavas came into the house to get the keys. The wife was in hospital overnight with concussion, the Garda was knifed pretty severely down his side, and the three young kiddies were terrified-because they brought their car keys upstairs to the bedroom at night, and the thieves woke them during the robbery.

Even if you don't get the value of your car back, I'd still rather wake up without a car and healthy, than threatened with a knife and a bat for it.

Voodoomelon

Thats appalling ^^. Terrorising.

Compton

3 cars, all the keys downstairs

Nissan doctor

I keep mine downstairs....but not in the same place as the fuel pump relay;)

seanybiker

Keep the keys in my pocket so on the bedroom floor somewhere

TestTransmission

I'm guessing alot of people wouldn't bother seeing as their car may not be a newish/performance/highly desirable car.These are more likely to be the targets of car thieves,they're not gonna break into a house so they can grab the keys to some Micra.
My house got broken into a few months back and thank **** my car was at the garage getting serviced.They took the keys to the girlfriend's car but left it behind,I wonder why :pac:

Panrich

keys upstairs, dog downstairs

ArphaRima

Car on driveway - Keys upstairs, dog upstairs, shotgun downstairs....hmmmm... I think some of these items need to be placed better.

Teyla Emmagan

A friend of a friend woke up in bed on the South Circular Road a few years back. There was a guy by the bed with a kettle of boiling water looking for his car keys.

Keys downstairs so. My car's worth nothing, but still. The cat's not much protection from burglars!

robtri

mmm I cant answer that poll....

Live in a bunglow... no downstairs

but leave them near the front door, not that any of them are desirable, even if they where, thats what insurance is for...let them take the keys and get out of my house

Wile E. Coyote

Downstairs beside the front door. If you want the car then take it. Just don't go waking me up in the middle of the night to get it.

EPM

If they break in they cant miss the keys. In saying that actually getting in would be quite difficult.

Blitzkrieger

Downstairs. I like my car but I like having my organs on the inside better.....

Zubeneschamali

I leave my keys by the bed (often still in my jeans), but just because I'm lazy, and thieves aren't likely to want either car. In general, I agree with the principle of letting thieves take stuff without violence and then siccing the cops on them afterwards.

That's why we have insurance and police.

Wolverine_1999

Man, you guys need to grow some cahoonas. It would be a fight to the death before I let someone nick my car :mad:

Yes, I am thinking straight and yes I do think the attitude in the country is just inviting people into your house. A dog sounds like a really good idea but they are just a bloody nuisance if not properly trained. Don't get me started on house alarms... the most that happens when one of those go off is nothing!

ARGINITE

I keep mine beside the bed right next to the shotgun.

Actually I don't have a down stairs and only own a Rover 200 so no fear of it being stolen

langdang

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

A friend of a friend woke up in bed on the South Circular Road a few years back. There was a guy by the bed with a kettle of boiling water looking for his car keys.

I refuse to believe this is anything but an urban myth until I see it in a newspaper...

Ficheall

What if one left a set of car keys that weren't actually the keys to one's car downstairs, and kept the real set upstairs? Of course that could just piss the burglars off..

jenizzle

No feckin way am I leaving my keys downstairs - purely because if I took them out of my bag, I'd lose them! I'm also lucky enough to live in an area that has a ton more burglary-friendly motors to choose from.

rain on

They live in my handbag which lives in my bedroom (which is on the ground floor). My housemate kindly leaves the keys to her newer and fancier car on the hall table though.

listermint

Its very simple, if you have enough elements in place to piss burglars off, they will leave your stuff alone and move onto the next target. Afterall were not talking a bank job here.

Dog
House Alarm
Car Alarm
Security Sensor Lights
Garden Post.


There are not many (if any) burglars that would bother their hole trying to get your vehicle if you had these items. They will move onto your easier neighbour with none of this and his keys by the front door so they can fish them out with a coat hanger

staker

Downstairs in the main hallway,two cars.Fuck it ,the cars can be replaced.

I'd love to own something fast like an RS6 someday, but to think it opens up this kind of threat makes me think again.

GavRedKing

Keys left downstairs on the kitchen table, first room on the left as soon as you enter the place so any robber would hopefully just take them and no harm would be done.

az2wp0sye65487

I have to say, I'm surprised at the responses here. Not that I disagree with them. I'm in the same boat as the majority. Leave them downstairs.

Life is worth more than car.

But I was expecting to read a lot more posts along the lines of Wolverine_1999's

gazmc18

I got myself a springloaded door, so when a burgular comes through my door in the middle of the night it slams shut behind him.
Then the speaker above his head announces "Let the games begin". Then the matrix music starts.
Its worked quite well so far!

neilthefunkeone

I always bring my car keys upstairs with me.. Its not worth robbing anyway.. But if they do make a grab for the keys my can of CS gas is closer.. Your move buddy!!!!

pajo1981

You'd want a second set of keys that would cut the engine after a set no. of mins/miles.

<snip>

What to do with car though?

no1beemerfan

I live in a bungalow with the car parked just outside my window, which is always left open (the small one at the top of the window) and I usually have the keys somewhere in my bedroom.

phasers

Car parked in garden, keys go on a hook downstairs. Mainly because I can never remember where I leave them if I don't

large hammer stays next to my bed.

n97 mini

If some strung out junkie breaks into your house to steal your Xbox 360, leaving the car keys by the front door is an invitation for them to rob that too.

We've been broken into twice, once a digital camera was stolen, the other time the mobile phones. If I had left the keys out I could probably add two cars onto that very short list.

Most break-ins are opportunistic, and not looking to steal the car.

langdang

n97 mini wrote: »

If some strung out junkie breaks into your house to steal your Xbox 360, leaving the car keys by the front door is an invitation for them to rob that too.

We've been broken into twice, once a digital camera was stolen, the other time the mobile phones. If I had left the keys out I could probably add two cars onto that very short list.

Most break-ins are opportunistic, and not looking to steal the car.

I agree - unless the car is particularly desirable (performance/expensive), I wouldn't leave the keys out as an invitation to the scummers to relieve you of it..

Cash or gold is the most likely target these days, but they'll take a car too for the craic if it's offered to them.

All these presuming you don't have a car that would appeal for robberies/hits etc. Can't believe the amount of coupes being stolen for these! Always assumed 4 door saloons were preferred...

Bartyman

Neighbour had his keys fished of the hall table, thieves then proceeded to load both family cars with as many goodies as they could from downstairs and drove off.

I don't believe in making it too easy for scum to drive off with things I worked hard for and they will sell for nothing.

wouldnt leave them in full view of front door/letter box, far too easy to fish out. and it does happen, regularly.

i leave them in kitchen though, on the off-chance someone does get it at least they dont come into me looking for them!!!

keithclancy

A guy I know who came from a rough part of finland had

1. CS Gas Spray hidden behind the electricity box next to the door
2. Hidden night vision Camera next to the front door.
3. Vibrating alarm under bed hooked up to a pressure sensor under the mat in the hall.
4. Claw hammer hidden behind the stairs
5. Flick Baton in next to the bed
6. Flick Baton Hidden in the Sitting room hidden behind the fireplace.

And they were the only ones he told me about, never mind his knive collection.

Also had a "Protected by Smith and Wesson" sticker on his Audi.

I think he wanted someone to break in, all this stuff made me feel uneasy tbh.

Kept his keys and everything of Value upstairs.

stargazer 68

My car keys are in my handbag which is always on the bedroom floor at night.

However, I was broken into a few years ago and my cards etc stolen out of my handbag - contents of which were scattered all over the sofa when I got up. As I got onto the bank I realised that I had, as usual, taken my bag upstairs with me when I went to bed!!! :eek:

Break all ties

I keep my keys in my jeans in the bedroom at night. I also have a loaded 357 on the nightstand ready to deal with any intruders.

Wossack

Keys up in the bedroom, right beside the fuse for the kettle
Tar spread out on the doormat
Broken up christmas decorations spreadout in the hallway
Paint cans on rope at the top of the stairs
Hot iron perched at the top of the laundry chute, with a string dangling down to the basement
Heating element on the doorknob to the sitting room
And theres a guy who lives across the road who I think is a weirdo, but I reckon he'll come to the rescue with his snow shovel if things really go bad

Riskymove

langdang wrote: »

I refuse to believe this is anything but an urban myth until I see it in a newspaper...

it does seem to have been used as a tactic

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330425/Burglars-strap-iron-pensioner-threaten-pour-boiling-water-granddaughter.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-12410118

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-12510021.html

Tallon

I remember when I was renting in Lucan, the house was broken into while we were all asleep

My car keys and one of the lads Motorbike keys were on the kitchen table

The guy took iPods, laptops, a wii etc but left the keys...

He was found in Blanchardstown a few hours later after selling most of the stuff

You can never know what their motives are

Riskymove

Tallon wrote: »

The guy took iPods, laptops, a wii etc but left the keys...

For a junkie/thief its a lot easier to offload those kinda things than a car

antodeco

99% of the time I keep them downstairs. There are three cars in the driveway. One set of keys for one of the cars, is in the other car, which has its keys in the sitting room. Within 2 foot of this is a large, wolf looking dog, and a very small hamster. Dog never bitten me, hamster has. Go figure!

Teyla Emmagan

langdang wrote: »

I refuse to believe this is anything but an urban myth until I see it in a newspaper...

Would agree with you generally, but my mate swears that it's true!!

Teyla Emmagan

Wossack wrote: »

Keys up in the bedroom, right beside the fuse for the kettle
Tar spread out on the doormat
Broken up christmas decorations spreadout in the hallway
Paint cans on rope at the top of the stairs
Hot iron perched at the top of the laundry chute, with a string dangling down to the basement
Heating element on the doorknob to the sitting room
And theres a guy who lives across the road who I think is a weirdo, but I reckon he'll come to the rescue with his snow shovel if things really go bad

Sounds more like you're trying to catch Santa...

Tallon

Riskymove wrote: »

For a junkie/thief its a lot easier to offload those kinda things than a car

I know that, just saying, you could leave your car keys downstairs and the robbers could still come up to your room

You're not automatically saving your life by leaving your keys downstairs

keithclancy

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Sounds more like you're trying to catch Santa...

Plug

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Sounds more like you're trying to catch Santa...

Mena

I keep them downstairs, but only because then I know where they are.

Sometimes I hark back to the days when I lived in SA and we could run these types of devices...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc

franksm

Keys upstairs, crowbar under the bed, house-alarm on at night time. I wouldn't make it easy for the fcukers.

The friend-of-a-friend tales do sound urban-legendary.